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A woman’s life is reinvigorated when she takes charge of her hormones. Often we have women come to our office who have ignored their hormones, and they are not happy campers. Time and time again, we witness lives gloriously renewed because women are now becoming educated about hormonal changes, and doing something about it.
As people age (both women and men), hormone levels begin not only to diminish, but also the hormones that remain, weak as they are, surge out of balance. Hormones must be replenished and balanced for optimum health. A woman who has had a hysterectomy or has passed into menopause is a prime candidate for the rewards of proper hormone balancing.
When the hormone levels are properly balanced, the body immediately reaps the benefits, because Natural Bio-Identical Hormones can be expected to:
1. Slow the aging processes
2. Increase energy levels
3. Improve breast health, including protection against malignant change
4. Increase bone density – even reversing osteoporosis
5. Diminish hot flashes
6. Protect against breast and uterine cancer
7. Maintain cardiac and arterial health
8. Delay and even prevent Alzheimer’s Disease
9. Return the pleasures of intimate sexual encounters
10. Slow or even reverse the growth of uterine fibroids
The good news is that female hormones can be safely replaced without the use of the detrimental synthetic hormones (Premarin, Prempro, and Patches) which we have all heard about on the news. Hormonal depletions can be restored with completely natural hormone therapy. We use only natural hormones which are NOT considered to be carcinogenic, are bio-identical with the natural hormones of the body, and are very effective! We custom formulate natural hormone regimens for each individual patient.
We work closely with a knowledgeable compounding pharmacy who prepares and packages hormone creams according to our instructions. The natural estrogens, estriol and estradiol, are normally available in the USA only from compounding pharmacies through prescriptions by physicians. They are not usually found in traditional pharmacies or health food stores. (When they are found in health food stores, they are not strong enough to be prescription strength. If they were, the FDA would quickly step in to call them “drugs” and require prescriptions.) The hormones used in the cream are derived from wild yams (progesterones) and soy (estrogens). These hormones are natural to the hormones in the female body. They are not synthetic, and they are not carcinogenic. (We no longer replace estrones (found in tri-est preparations), because they do have a carcinogenic tendency. Besides, your body will produce some of the beneficial estrones – the 2-hydroxy – from the natural hormones in the prescribed creams.)
Each cream is made to fit each woman’s own hormonal needs. Tests are done so we know what amounts of each ingredient best suit each individual patient. The hormone cream comes in a tube with an accompanying applicator. A two-month supply is contained within each tube, and it can be applied to the skin or a mucous membrane for greater absorption.
Not only do women benefit from hormone replacement therapy, men do as well! Whereas in women the sudden cessation of hormone production (as the ovaries fail) is termed Menopause, in men it is a gradual process that begins very slowly back at age 26, but speeding up as the years roll by. In men this is termed Andropause. Andropause is caused by a decline in the production of testosterone, the male hormone. Our male patients have benefited dramatically from our bio-identical testosterone replacement therapy.
Symptoms of low testosterone in men include:
• Loss of sex drive or libido
• Fatigue, tiredness or loss of energy
• Depression, low or negative mood
• Irritability, anger or bad temper
• Anxiety or nervousness
• Loss of memory or concentration
• Erection problems during sex
• Loss of morning erections
• Decreased intensity of orgasms
• Backache, joint pains or stiffness
• Heavy drinking, past or present
• Loss of fitness
• Feeling over-stressed
• Loss of drive and competitive edge
• Decreased effectiveness of workouts
Simple and effective, natural bio-identical testosterone supplementation can restore the youthful energy and vitality in men.
Contact our office to make an appointment to discuss your options. It may just change your lifestyle! And it is likely to rejuvenate your sex life.
A recent study showed that nearly 13 million Americans may be unaware of and undiagnosed for their thyroid conditions. Are you one of them?
Insufficient thyroid (thyroide) hormone causes bodily functions to slow down. If untreated, hypothyroidism can eventually cause anemia, low body temperature, and heart failure. Further, lower body temperatures that accompany hypothyroidism prevent efficient functioning of the enzyme systems in the body, especially in the brain. This leads to forgetfulness and diminished cerebral efficiency.
If you’re suffering with such symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety, unexplained weight gain, hair loss, and depression, this may indicate that you have undiagnosed hypothyroidism.
Low Thyroid Symptoms (Hypothyroidism)
• Fatigue difficulty
• Losing weight
• Depression body aches
• Low libido
• Cold all the time
• Water retention
• Dry skin, eczema
• No relief from treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia PMS, or menopause
• Diffuse hair loss or dry hair
• Cold extremities
• Constipation
• Poor memory
• Poor concentration
• Anxiety
• Weakness
• Pale skin
• Shortness of breath
• Palpitations
• PMS
• Heavy menstrual flow
• Muscle or joint aches
• Poor motivation
Each individual patient may have any number of these low thyroid symptoms, which will vary with the severity of the thyroid hormone deficiency and the length of time the body has been deprived of the proper amount of hormone.
Hypothyroidism is relatively easy to diagnose by means of a blood test to check TSH levels (the thyroid stimulating hormone produced by the pituitary gland) and T3 levels (the main thyroid hormone).
However, a proper blood study includes not only the TSH, which is a pituitary hormone, but also the free T3 and the free T4 levels. Total T3 and T4 levels are not appropriate tests for thyroid (thyroide) function, because they measure the sum of the functional free T3 and free T4 levels plus the conjugated T3 and T4 levels. Conjugated T3 and T4 hormones do not contribute to thyroid function, and as such are useless tests.
Only the free levels enable the physician to adequately assess thyroid function at the cellular level. This is the reason that many patients who have “normal” levels of total T3, T4, and TSH are diagnosed as having normal thyroid function, whereas if the “free” levels were checked, their symptoms of hypothyroidism would be properly diagnosed by virtue of appropriate thyroid (thyroide) function studies.
If you feel you are suffering with low thyroid symptoms, please contact out office to see how we may help with thyroid treatment.
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