Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy

What is Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Here at Wiseman Family Practice we understand that it is not enough to identify and treat each hormone problem, but each treatment plan has to be tailored to individualized need. We are personally involved in the process of compounding each hormone at the pharmacy level. Our providers work with the compounding pharmacy to create the most natural and effective hormones. Many of our patients have personal relationships with the pharmacists, nutritionists, and other professional staff at compounding pharmacies and find it invaluable to work with them directly in their hormone and nutritional approaches.

It is our highest priority that each individual bioidentical hormone that is issued meets the highest standard of patient safety. As a medical community we are learning more on how hormones work best and safest when tailored to each individual’s risk profile, nutritional approach, environmental risks, and holistic life practices. Hormones should be part of an overall wellness program for the ultimate benefit and safety.

We follow the guidelines of the lowest effective dosage and number of hormones used, which means we only prescribe what is necessary and do not recommend esoteric, unproven treatments. We always use more affordable over the counter hormones, nutraceuticals, and supplements when possible. Keeping each hormone program simple and effective is always our approach.

For added convenience we use all the latest forms of bioidentical hormone replacement including biote® pellets, pills, creams, gels, injectables, troches, and rapid dissolve tablets. You and your provider will decide which is best for you.

Get started today with a thorough medical assessment and blood testing with one of our medical providers at Wiseman Family Practice to see if you are a candidate for bioidentical hormone therapy.

Additional Bioidentical Hormone Information

Low T (Andropause)

The biological changes experienced by men during mid-life is known as Low T or Andropause. This condition affects more than 25 million American men over the age of 40. While Andropause is not a complete cessation of reproductive abilities, it is a decline in the male hormone testosterone. This drop in testosterone levels leads, in most cases, to loss of energy and concentration, depression, decreased exercise tolerance, decreased libido, and mood swings. These symptoms can be alleviated through medically-monitored bioidentical testosterone replacement.

Perimenopause

Perimenopause is the term describing the menopausal transition years for women. An estimated 60% of American women experience the onset of menopause as early as age 40. Perimenopause is the phase before menopause actually takes place, when ovarian hormone production declines, causing a host of early symptoms including hot flashes, mood swings, weight gain, depression, anxiety, and diminished sexual function. Perimenopause symptoms can be alleviated naturally through bioidentical hormone replacement.

Menopause

Menopause is the ending of menstruation in women. Beginning about age 45 to 55, it is estimated women begin to develop symptoms like those of perimenopause including hot flashes, decreased energy, diminished sexual desire, mild depression, hair loss, increased anxiety or irritability, and frequent urination. While most women experience these and other symptoms of menopause, not all women do. Menopause has three stages — perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. During the postmenopausal stage, the declining hormone levels may lead to a number of health risks such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s disease. These symptoms can be alleviated using natural bioidentical hormones.

Estrogen Dominance

Estrogen Dominance is a term often ignored by the traditional medical community. Symptoms can begin at any age after puberty and can manifest as common disorders such as PMS, endometriosis, and many menstrual irregularities, to name a few. Other escalating symptoms include muscle aches, breast tenderness, inability to lose weight, rapid weight gain, moodiness (especially around one’s period), irregular or heavy periods, and/or chronic fatigue. Estrogen dominance is caused by a variety of environmental and genetic reasons, but the end result is the same — the ratio or balance of estrogen to progesterone is abnormal and patients feel the ill effects of too much internal estrogen. A replacement program of bioidentical progesterone along with a specific nutritional diet can alleviate this problem.

DHEA

DHEA, the most abundant hormone in the body, is a steroid hormone produced naturally in the adrenal glands, gonads, and brain. Clinical studies have shown that DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) has a profound effect on the immune system, sex drive, metabolism, and emotional stability. Its effects on the immune system, through the modulation of stress hormones and its use as a powerful antioxidant, demonstrate potent age-resisting capabilities. Other health-related benefits include the ability to alter cognitive decline, to help the body cope with stress, and to exert a healthy influence over the heart through cholesterol modulation.

Most of the tremendous effects seen from DHEA are based on its ability to stimulate protein synthesis from the cell, which in turn, results in an increase in cell regeneration, increase in protein synthesis, and an improvement of immune function. DHEA is the ultimate antioxidant, as it appears to prevent the formation of free radicals.

For a high-quality formula, see our Wiseman Health DHEA.

Estrogen

Estrogen is the primary female hormone. It has been prescribed for over 80 years in women suffering from symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, insomnia, vaginal dryness, bladder problems, difficulty concentrating, and anxiety. With time, many of these symptoms may diminish; unfortunately, the disease processes such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s disease continue to increase in the absence of estrogen.

Women using estrogen have seen favorable changes in muscle tone, wrinkles, hair texture, and sex drive. Multiple studies illustrate that estrogen should not simply be used as a treatment for menopause, but rather as a life-long therapy for the deterrent of age related diseases such as heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression.

Estrogen is produced primarily in the ovaries and adrenal glands. Men also produce estrogen through a conversion of testosterone, although this is an extremely small amount. There are three types of estrogen found in a female’s body—estrone, estradiol, and estriol. The levels of all of these hormones fall dramatically at the onset of menopause.

Rapid bone loss after menopause has been attributed to the decline in the production of estrogen, which is essential for bone growth. In addition, the loss of estrogen results in the development of heart disease, which is the number one cause of death for both men and women. Postmenopausal women on bioidentical estrogen replacement have a 70% decrease in mortality from heart disease. Bioidentical estrogen along with a dramatic improvement of both good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol, protects vessels of the heart and brain, and may protect against Alzheimer’s disease and a number of other medical conditions.

Human Growth Hormone HGH

Human Growth Hormone (HGH) has had a strong impact in the medical community ever since the landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1990 by Daniel Rudman, M.D. Human Growth Hormone, also known as somatotropin, is the most abundant hormone produced by the pituitary gland. Cells in the pituitary, known as somatotropes, produce HGH and release it into the bloodstream where it is absorbed by the liver and converted into various other growth factors.

It appears that nearly every organ in the body is dependent on HGH for proper growth and development. HGH regulates the body’s metabolism of proteins, electrolytes, and carbohydrates, and controls how the body uses fat. However, after the age of thirty, HGH declines at the rate of fourteen percent per decade. Low HGH levels are associated with bone thinning, loss of muscle mass and strength, loss of exercise capacity, increase in intra-abdominal fat, elevated blood sugars and cholesterol, increased fragility of skin, and decreased quality of life.

Typically as we age, lean muscle mass may decrease by as much as 30 percent, while fat may increase as much as 50 percent. The liver, kidneys, spleen, and brain, as well as, bone mass, all start to shrink. On a chemical level, the body becomes more susceptible to disease, the immune system declines, and the ability to metabolize sugar drops. Along with these factors, bad cholesterol levels soar, good cholesterol levels sink, and elimination of toxins becomes less efficient. HGH supplementation has not only the ability to halt these processes but to reverse them as well.

Melatonin

Melatonin is a powerful antioxidant produced naturally in the body by the pineal gland. It manages our inner clock by lowering body temperature to control our sleep and wake cycle. It regulates circadian rhythms as well as the deep states of sleep. Studies suggest that the immune system is stimulated during deep stages of sleep. Our levels are higher at night, are suppressed by bright light, and decline as we age.

Melatonin has been used for years to treat jet lag and insomnia. By using melatonin as a supplement, the sleep and wake cycle can be adjusted to allow quality rest at night and optimal function during the day.

For a high-quality formula, see our Wiseman Health Melatonin Complete.

Pregnenolone

Pregnenolone is most notably recognized for its tremendous memory enhancing properties. Many studies show that pregnenolone may be a powerful adversary against such age-related cognitive diseases as Alzheimer’s disease and normal age-associated cognitive decline.

Nicknamed the “grandmother hormone,” pregnenolone is a precursuor to DHEA, which in turn can convert to testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. It is a sterioid manufactured from cholesterol and is produced in the brain and the adrenal cortex. It works to keep the brain functioning at peak capacity. Levels are highest in the brain and studies have shown that it enhances many of our mental functions. Pregnenolone is to the brain what other hormones are to the body.

For a high-quality formula, see our Wiseman Health Pregnenolone 30.

Progesterone

Progesterone is the female hormone produced by the ovaries and adrenal glands. It functions to balance the effects of estrogen. Progesterone may be viewed as a lifelong partner of estrogen in a balanced relationship of yin and yang. Progesterone stimulates bone growth, while estrogen halts bone loss. Bioidentical progesterone enhances the action of estrogen as these two hormones were meant to work together to maintain a normal hormonal balance.

Female hormone levels of estrogen and progesterone drop dramatically after menopause. It comes as no surprise that after menopause heart disease in women skyrockets. In fact, it is the leading cause of death in older women with over a half-million deaths per year in the United States. This is more than twice as many as all cancer deaths combined.

The lack of progesterone causes disease processes similar to those caused by the lack of estrogen, which include osteoporosis, heart disease, decrease in libido, premenstrual symptoms, and a significantly diminished quality of life. The combination of bioidentical progesterone and estrogen can prevent this downward spiral by keeping women vital, strong, and healthy.

Testosterone

Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone, responsible for male sexual development and critical for maintaining erectile function, sex drive, normal energy levels, and mood. It also controls a wide range of other physical functions throughout the body. As with other hormones, testosterone declines with age in both men and women. In men it decreases 1% a year after age 40. At the age of 80, the levels are only one-fifth of the levels obtained in youth.

Both men and women benefit from the supplementation of testosterone. At optimal physiological levels, testosterone increases bone density and bone formation, increases muscle strength, enhances energy and sexual function, decreases body fat, and moderates cholesterol levels. Additionally, the hormone keeps a woman’s skin soft and supple. Testosterone is a hormone both men and women need to replenish as they venture into their fifties and beyond.

Testosterone replacement therapy is a safe choice to raise deficient levels. It provides dramatic benefits for men and women, moreover, men with higher physiological levels have less morbidity and mortality.

For a high-quality formula, see our Wiseman Health Test Support.