Bioidentical Hormones Have Their Share of Benefits. Understanding Them Fully Will Help You Make a Sound Decision.

When you experience symptoms from hormonal decline as you age, managing the issues only goes so far for some people. As symptoms worsen, they take small pieces of your life and happiness, chiseling away at your confidence in the process. If you’re at the point where you’re ready for a change, hormone therapy could be the answer.

Are you leaning toward bioidentical hormones in Dunwoody, GA? Discover how they stack up to traditional therapy.

Bioidentical hormones can be a solution when synthetic hormones weren’t ideal or in general.

How Bioidentical Hormones Work

Bioidentical hormones are typically made from a plant-based source, either soy or yams, for the most part. These plants produce steroid-like compounds with a similar structure to human hormones, which makes it possible to convert them into hormones that can bind to the receptors in the human body and ease symptoms of hormonal decline.

These molecules are essentially building blocks that scientists can use to create hormones identical to your own. The creation process consists of extraction, chemical modification, structural rearrangement, and purification.

With standard hormone replacement therapy, the chemists are creating the entire product from scratch. And the end result is a hormone that works similarly to a natural one, but it’s not identical.

Compared to bioidentical hormones, traditional options may bind differently to receptors. They might break down at a different rate, or they could produce effects that aren’t exactly the same as what your natural hormones would.

You’ll ultimately receive the effects easily and effectively when you opt for a bioidentical version because of how they bind to receptors and are broken down.

Have Different Options for Administration

You’re not limited when you choose bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. You may have heard from people who took the standard approach to replacement therapy and enjoyed using creams, gels, or injections because they fit well into their lives. ​

Bioidentical hormones are no different. Choose to receive them as a cream, patch, or pellet, for example. You may also get them as injections. Most commonly, estrogen and testosterone are the ones available in injectable form. It’s possible for progesterone as well, but this hormone is often given in another form to work alongside estrogen.

Help with a Broad Range of Symptoms

Hormonal changes from aging range from mental fog to hot flashes to weight gain to sexual dysfunction. With such a broad range of symptoms, you may question whether one treatment can assist with all of your concerns.

Fortunately, whether it’s with standard hormone therapy or bioidentical hormone therapy, you’ll find relief from your symptoms. Currently, research doesn’t show an immense difference between the effectiveness of one over the other. What is known is that your body generally will process bioidentical hormones well, so you’ll usually have adequate symptom relief because they mimic your own hormone activity.

May Not Cause a Lot of Side Effects

Everyone’s body reacts to substances differently. Therefore, you could have one friend who suffered from bloating and mood changes, a family member who experienced acne and headaches, and a co-worker who didn’t have any negative effects. ​

Though studies show mixed results about whether bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is better tolerated than traditional hormone therapy, most patients tolerate treatment well. The side effects are usually mild and include breast tenderness, fluid retention, nausea, headaches or migraines, leg cramps, breakthrough bleeding or spotting, or skin changes.

Once your body adjusts to the hormone(s), the side effects tend to dissipate. If they don’t, the dosage may need to be decreased slightly so the side effects stop, but the effects are still there.

May Pose Less of a Blood Clot Risk

Estrogen therapy has historically been known to cause blood clots, especially in people who already have a genetic risk or who smoke, are overweight, are older adults, have cancer or heart disease, or who lead a sedentary lifestyle. The logic behind this is that estrogen can affect how the blood and liver influence clotting.

Some studies suggest the clotting risk from bioidentical estrogen is less than that of typical synthetic estrogen.

Are a Highly Customizable Option

While the typical hormones that have been given for decades do have some customizability, they can’t be customized as easily as bioidentical hormones. If you’re looking for a solution that’ll have a high impact on managing your symptoms while not causing immense side effects, the ability to create a treatment tailored to you is greater with bioidentical hormones.

Are a Better Choice if You Want Something Naturally Derived

When you compare bioidentical hormones to the traditional means of treating menopause and andropause, those derived from plants originate from a natural source. They do undergo processing, but you may prefer to have a treatment that is plant-based.

Schedule an Appointment with PrimeHealthMD for Bioidentical Hormones in Dunwoody, GA

Bioidentical hormones are a way for you to find relief from your symptoms of andropause or menopause using a substance derived from plants. Although the information provided above hits many of the key points patients want to know about these hormones, we encourage you to ask any other questions you have. We’ll provide all the information you need to know to help you confidently make a decision.

If you decide hormone therapy isn’t for you, we can also prescribe Testosterone Replacement Therapy or Medical Weight Loss.

Call us at (770) 209-7706 if you have any questions or are ready to schedule an appointment. We’re happy to offer these hormones to our patients because of their advantages. See our reviews here.

P.S. We offer virtual consults, but you’ll easily be able to find us for in-person visits, as we’re right beside Perimeter Mall.