Menopause, a challenging phase for many women, often brings symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, and low sex drive. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), including Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT), is gaining popularity as a treatment.
An Anti-Aging Specialist, specializing in BHRT, helps men and women recover from hormonal imbalances and decline. BHRT addresses deficiencies caused by aging, stress, or lifestyle factors, aiming to restore equilibrium in the body's hormonal network, which regulates functions such as metabolism, reproduction, sleeping, digestion, and immune function.
What are some signs that your hormones are shifting and, therefore, that you might be a candidate for BHRT? These include:
Menstrual cycles gradually ending (irregular periods can continue for several years)
Thinning hair, on both your head and body (this occurs in most men and women, although usually more noticeably in men)
Lowered sex drive and signs like vaginal dryness
Often weight gain, especially around the stomach/abdomen
Exhaustion and having less energy, for some even chronic fatigue along with muscle weakness
Dryer skin
For many, changes in body temperature and other common symptoms of perimenopause, including hot flashes or night sweats
Sometimes trouble sleeping or symptoms of mood changes/emotional instability like irritability and anxiety
Cognitive changes like brain fog, reduced concentration and trouble remembering
Part of the problem is that symptoms that are often attributed to aging or menopause, such as weight gain and fatigue, can actually begin in women before menopause takes place because they’re caused by lifestyle factors or other hormonal imbalances.
BHRT targets specific hormones crucial for overall well-being:
1. Estrogen: Produced primarily in the ovaries, fat tissue, and adrenal glands, estrogen is essential for female puberty, ensuring breast development and a healthy uterine lining. Your Anti-Aging Specialist can balance estrogen levels to improve sleep, strengthen bones, increase skin elasticity, and maintain youthfulness.
2. Progesterone: Vital for producing other hormones like estrogen, testosterone, DHEA, and cortisol, progesterone is integral for strong brain functioning, blood sugar regulation, a healthy libido, and thyroid hormone production. Balancing progesterone with BHRT prevents estrogen dominance and maintains essential functions.
3. Testosterone: While primarily a male hormone, testosterone is present in smaller amounts in women. BHRT can restore testosterone to healthy levels, improving libido, muscle tone, and energy, while addressing issues like weight gain, hair loss, and depression.
4. Pregnenolone: Controlling the function of various hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, pregnenolone declines with age, contributing to issues like depression, fatigue, and stress. BHRT can balance pregnenolone levels, protecting the nervous system and balancing moods.
5. Thyroid Hormone: Regulating the adrenal system, imbalances in thyroid hormone can lead to weight gain, depression, fatigue, and other unpleasant symptoms. BHRT helps balance thyroid hormone, promoting weight loss, body temperature regulation, and improved moods.
An Anti-Aging Specialist may order tests based on presenting symptoms to determine hormone levels, tailoring BHRT for maximum symptom relief. While BHRT may benefit those who haven't found relief through other approaches, it should be considered after addressing all underlying issues.