What is hormone replacement therapy?
About 85% of women experience menopause-related symptoms in their lifetime.1 Hormone replacement is typically used to diminish the symptoms that occur when hormone levels decrease or fluctuate during the peri-menopausal and menopausal stages of a woman’s life. In this blog, we will explain the signs and symptoms of hormone imbalance, the causes, and options available to help you determine if you could benefit from hormone replacement therapy. If that’s the case, you will learn how to get started on your way to being hormone healthy.
What are the symptoms of a hormonal imbalance in women?
There are a multitude of symptoms that can occur, but some of the most common are:
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Sleeplessness
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Weight gain
- Moodiness
- Irritability
- Low libido
- Vaginal dryness
These symptoms usually occur between the ages of 40 and 60, and differ for each person. Some lesser known symptoms can be skin irritations, heart palpitations, hair loss, fatigue, memory loss, and urinary issues.
Along with symptoms, low or imbalanced hormone levels can affect so many different systems in our body. Estrogen, alone, has over 400 functions! Your body’s natural estrogen can lower triglycerides (the most common type of fat in your body), reduce LDL (the “bad cholesterol”), improve insulin sensitivity, maintain bone density, increase water content of the skin, lessen wrinkles, and decrease the risk of colon cancer and heart disease. You may not realize that many things such as a rising cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and osteoporosis are signs of sub-optimal hormone levels, as well as reasons to consider hormone replacement therapy.
What causes hormonal imbalance?
There are multiple factors that can lead to hormone imbalance. For example, physical and mental stress can alter hormones such as cortisol. Rare genetic diseases or environmental factors can interfere with the body’s natural production or elimination of hormones. Some chronic diseases of such things as the liver or kidneys can slow the metabolism of certain hormones. And, of course, cancer treatments like radiation, auto-immune diseases, surgery, and even certain medications can result in an imbalance of hormone levels.
However, as it pertains to the years leading up to menopause, aging is the simplest cause of hormone depletion. As women age, ovaries stop producing progesterone and eventually estrogen. Dhea and testosterone levels decline as well.
What options are available to treat hormonal imbalance?
We simply aren’t designed to live forever. However, just as you exercise, eat healthy and take your supplements, there are things you can do to help yourself live a higher quality of life for longer with hormone replacement.
If you are seeking options to treat a hormonal imbalance, it’s important to understand that not all hormones are created equal. There are many commercially available prescription hormones – some are similar to what your body produces, and some are not. Bio-identical hormones are hormones that are identical in structure and function to what your body naturally produces. These hormones can be customized for each individual and made into hormone replacement therapy by a compounding pharmacy.
Although synthetic hormones may provide symptom relief, their actions and the way they affect your body systems, can be quite different. Hormones can also be delivered in different ways, such as, oral, topical, vaginal, transdermal patches or pellet inserts. Some delivery systems provide an added benefit, while others are not as favorable.
What are the steps to get started with bio-identical hormone replacement therapy?
At Kennebec Pharmacy we make it easy to take the necessary steps toward feeling better. We have pharmacists who are trained in saliva testing and bio-identical hormone replacement. We mention this because every prescriber has different experience and training on hormone therapy and testing. Our experienced pharmacists work with doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, midwives, and naturopathic doctors to come up with the best choice in hormone replacement for our clients.
Although many primary care providers and women’s health practitioners refer patients to us, you do not need a referral. Booking a consultation with our specialized pharmacist is a great way to get started. They will review your symptoms and history, and often suggest hormone testing via a saliva sample. As part of the consultation, those results will be analyzed and recommendations will be made to your prescriber. Once your doctor approves of this plan, you will soon be on your way to a more balanced life with bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT).
“I had no idea this was an option. The hormone treatment plan prescribed by Kennebec Pharmacy has helped me so much. I feel normal again, and I’m sleeping through the night! I wish more women knew about BHRT.”
Emily, 50 years old
Now you know there are options available to relive the signs and symptoms caused by a hormonal imbalance – feeling better is possible. We know this journey for women isn’t an easy one. Our women’s health experts at Kennebec Pharmacy can help answer any questions you may have along the way.
Reference:
- Woods NF, Mitchell ES. Symptoms during the perimenopause: prevalence, severity, trajectory, and significance in women’s lives. Am J Med. 2005;118(Suppl 12B):14-24. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2005.09.031.