Are your peri-menopausal or menopausal symptoms affecting your quality of life?
Do you show the symptoms of hypothyroidism?
Are you dealing with chronic fatigue, painful periods, or menopause related symptoms?
Is acne, weight gain, unwanted facial hair, or fertility problems affecting your quality of life?
If so, you may have a hormone imbalance.
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is a treatment which can help you manage these concerns.
Keep reading to find out more.
What Is Hormone Therapy?
Each of us has a series of hormones that course through our bodies. Serving as chemical messengers, these hormones control most of your body’s major functions.
This includes basic systems like letting you know when you’re hungry, but it also manages mood, regulates emotions, and affects your immune, digestive, and reproductive system, among many others.
So naturally, when these hormones are out of balance, it can lead to a wide variety of different health concerns.
In some cases, your body can be encouraged to produce the hormones you need on its own via non-invasive natural means.
However, in other situations, your hormone levels can be supplemented (replaced) to ease your symptoms.
Enter bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
What Does Bioidentical Mean?
Bioidentical- or bio-equivalent- hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is different than other forms of hormone replacement therapy, since the hormones are molecularly identical to the ones your body should be producing on its own.
These hormones are derived from plants, and can be considered safe and effective as treatment for a variety of hormonal concerns.
Natural Menopause Relief Treatments
As you age, your hormone levels will naturally drop. This is true for both males and females, but is particularly so for women approaching menopause.
However, bioidentical HRT can be used to bolster your fading hormone levels, which can significantly reduce the severity of your menopause symptoms.
Download our Menopausal Hormone Therapy Factsheet and learn more in our free Menopausal Hormone Therapy Masterclass.
There is no cure for menopause because it isn’t a health disorder – it’s a regular, natural part of life for most women. As a result, bioidentical HRT is designed not to eliminate menopause entirely, but to ease its symptoms.
In particular, menopausal bioidentical HRT can help with:
- Hot flashes
- Night Sweats
- Sleep
- Mood
- Joint pain
- Vaginal symptoms
- Bone Health
- Heart Health
Is menopausal hormone replacement therapy safe?
Please see the links below for a list of menopause societies from around the world, their resources and position statements:
The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)
Website: https://www.menopause.org/
Deciding on hormone therapy handout: http://www.menopause.org/docs/default-source/for-women/menonote-deciding-about-ht-2017.pdf
2017 hormone therapy position statement of The North American Menopause Society: http://www.menopause.org/docs/default-source/2017/nams-2017-hormone-therapy-position-statement.pdf
The British Menopause Society (BMS)
Website: https://thebms.org.uk/
BMS & WHC’s 2020 recommendations on hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women: https://thebms.org.uk/publications/consensus-statements/bms-whcs-2020-recommendations-on-hormone-replacement-therapy-in-menopausal-women/
The International Menopause Society
Website: https://www.imsociety.org/
Revised Global Consensus Statement on Menopausal Hormone Therapy:
Read the MHT Global Consensus Statement
Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy For PCOS
Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is a disorder associated with an imbalance of hormones. With PCOS, your ovaries may fail to release eggs, or do so irregularly. Women with PCOS generally have irregular menstrual periods, which may be prolonged or infrequent, and an excess of testosterone and other male hormones (androgens). The exact cause of PCOS is unknown, though some lifestyle factors are known to increase your risk. Bioidentical HRT may help relieve your PCOS symptoms by reducing your androgen levels and increasing your female hormones to be more in line with the acceptable levels. Along with lifestyle changes, these treatments can help you life a healthy, normal life.
Bioidentical Progesterone As Natural Infertility Treatment
If you’re having trouble getting pregnant, there are a number of different factors that could be contributing. That may include stress, weight issues, PCOS, congenital issues, poor nutrition, the presence of a thyroid disorder, or other hormonal problems. However, progesterone treatments can help. Progesterone is a natural hormone present in everyone, but it’s found in much higher amounts in women than men. Aside from fertility, it plays a role in managing your blood sugar, metabolism, sleep patterns, libido, and bone growth, among others. From a fertility perspective, progesterone is critical to your ability to become pregnant. It maintains the lining of your uterus, without which pregnancy is impossible. In fact, low progesterone levels are commonly found in women who repeatedly experience miscarriages. Progesterone also helps your body recognize the fetus as a welcome element, as opposed to your body producing an autoimmune response to it. By providing you with progesterone supplementation and monitoring your hormone levels, your naturopathic doctor can help you achieve an ideal level of progesterone for conception. If you’re having difficulty getting pregnant, or if you’ve experienced repeated miscarriages, it can be a heartbreaking experience. But you don’t have to go through it alone.
Other Benefits Of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
In addition to helping with menopause and reducing your risk of type 2 diabetes, bioidentical HRT has other benefits as well.
One somewhat unexpected potential benefit is a reduced risk of cataracts. This is because, like type 2 diabetes, postmenopausal women are at greater risk of developing them as a result of your body’s depletion of estrogen.
Likewise, bioidentical HRT has been shown to decrease the bone loss that so commonly comes with aging women. As a result, it may reduce your risk of a range of different bone-related issues, including osteoporosis, hip fractures, and tooth decay.
Bioidentical HRT may also be used as a treatment for:
- Reducing wrinkles
- Improving skin elasticity and hydration
- Improving quality of life of cancer patients
- Hypothyroidism
- Fertility issues
- Uterine Fibroids
Finally, many women with previously active sex lives experience a loss of libido during their postmenopausal years. Bioidentical HRT may help reverse that.
Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy At Annex Naturopathic
Are you interested in exploring whether bioidentical HRT is right for you?
If so, contact us today.
We’ll start with a full and thorough health assessment to determine where your health is at and whether bioidentical HRT or other treatment methods would be best suited to your unique needs, as well as to rule out any contraindications (things that would put you at higher risk of complications).
We may request you get an ultrasound or mammogram as well prior to starting.
There are a few different reasons why you may have unbalanced hormones, and bioidentical HRT isn’t always the best solution.
However, if we do decide on bioidentical HRT, it’s important to monitor your hormone levels on an ongoing basis in order to ensure they stay within an acceptable range.
Contact Annex Naturopathic
Are you approaching menopause, and worried about the symptoms?
Do you suffer from PCOS, endometriosis, hypothyroidism, or other hormonal disorders?
If so, Annex Naturopathic has natural solutions which may help.
Contact us today to book a FREE 15-minute consultation with one of our licensed naturopathic doctors to find out more. You’ll get all your questions answered, we’ll address your concerns, and you’ll walk away with a better understanding of how naturopathic medicine can help you.
Call us to book your FREE 15-minute consultation today.
