Is Hormone Replacement Therapy Right for Me?
You may blame your lack of energy, poor sleeping habits, and weight gain on stress and aging. But these symptoms may be signs of a hormone imbalance. Though hormone replacement therapy benefits almost anyone suffering from the symptoms of hormone imbalance, you may wonder if it’s right for you.
At OnePeak Medical, we offer many innovative treatments and therapies to optimize your health and well-being. Our team of health care providers includes experts in hormone therapy. Though many of our patients benefit from our hormone pellet therapy, we always conduct a comprehensive exam to make sure it’s the right treatment.
Here, we want to share with you our process for deciding when hormone replacement therapy is the right choice.
Is it my hormones?
As you get older, the production of sex hormones slows down. In women, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels start to fluctuate in the months or years leading up to menopause. Men also experience a decline in testosterone production as they get older.
An imbalance in sex hormones may cause many of the symptoms you consider a normal part of your aging process, such as:
- Lack of energy
- Insomnia
- Mood changes
- Weight gain
- Low libido
- Irritability
- Poor concentration
- Hair loss
- Poor memory
Though your hormones may be making you feel less like your usual self, symptoms alone aren’t a good indicator of whether hormone replacement therapy is right for you. If we suspect your symptoms may be due to a hormone imbalance, we perform comprehensive hormone testing.
Our hormone test checks your blood hormone levels, which definitively determines if your symptoms are due to a hormonal imbalance.
Thyroid problems also affect hormone balance and cause many of the same symptoms. When we do hormone testing and therapy for men and women, we check your thyroid levels too.
Is hormone therapy right for me?
When you have an imbalance in hormone levels, hormone therapy is the primary treatment. For our patients, we use bioidentical hormone pellet therapy. Bioidentical hormones are plant-based hormones modified to have the same structure and function as the hormones produced in your body.
Our bioidentical hormone pellets are custom-made to match your unique hormone needs and may contain estradiol or testosterone. We may also include progesterone, as well as pregnenolone or DHEA, which are hormones produced by your adrenal glands.
Though hormone therapy is the primary treatment for hormone imbalance, it’s not right for everyone. In addition to your hormone testing results, we also take your medical history, symptoms, and age into consideration when deciding if hormone therapy is right for you.
If hormone therapy isn’t right for you because of your medical history, we provide other treatment options to address your symptoms.
What to expect from hormone therapy
Some of our patients start to feel the positive effects of hormone therapy within 72 hours after the placement of the pellet. However, for most of our patients, it takes about three weeks to experience the full benefits of hormone pellet therapy.
Once your hormone levels are back in balance, you may notice improvements in your mood, energy, and sleep. You may also have an easier time dropping those extra pounds you’ve been struggling to lose.
In addition to your physical symptoms, hormone therapy also benefits bone health and may lower your risk of osteoporosis.
For our hormone therapy patients, we schedule routine follow-up appointments to monitor symptoms and perform additional hormone testing to recheck levels. Your hormone pellet naturally dissolves over time, and we replace it as needed.
Our hormone experts would love to help you determine if hormone replacement therapy is right for you. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.