Hormone therapy is a great way to restore balance to the body and do away with the difficult (and sometimes even disabling) effects of hormone change. Balancing hormones effectively takes skill, expertise, and replacement hormones that are a good fit for you. With Pellecome, you can get bioidentical hormones that are perfect match not just to your hormones but also to your needs.
What Are Bioidentical Hormones? 14 Things to Know
1. Synthetic Hormones Are Only Bio-Similar
Synthetic hormones of the type usually used for hormone therapy are only very similar to human hormones. They aren’t identical at the molecular level. For years, these synthetic hormones have been the best option for those suffering from hormonal issues, but they are made to match the general range of human hormone needs. They aren’t customized to match the exact dosage of the precise hormones an individual may need to get the best possible effects.
2. Synthetic Hormones Can Cause Side Effects
The synthetic nature of mass-produced hormones creates unwanted, unpleasant side effects in some people. These side effects can include increased risk for a number of diseases, including stroke, dementia, and breast cancer, as well as increased risk for blood clots, depression, memory loss, and breast lumps.
Perhaps even worse, taking synthetic hormones could mean taking a risk for not much benefit, as some people’s bodies simply don’t receive synthetic hormones and use them as you might expect. They are getting the risks, but they aren’t enjoying the benefits that hormone therapy is supposed to bring.
3. Bio-Identical Hormones Are a Molecular Match
Bioidentical hormone pellets replacement therapy, or BHRT, uses hormones that are plant-based and safe. They aren’t just similar to the hormones the body naturally produces. They are identical at the biochemical level.
They’ve been tested and compared with synthetic hormones, and BHRT is not only more easily accepted and used by the body, but it reduces the long-term risks to the bones, heart, and brain that come with hormone changes. Beyond that, BHRT actually may decrease the risk of some of the very things that synthetic hormones increase the risk for, such as heart disease and breast cancer.
4. BHRT With Pellets Optimizes Hormone Levels
There are many ways to administer hormone therapy, but BHRT pellet delivery is by far the best. There are several reasons for this.
They Are Easy to Use
There’s no need to remember to take a pill, change a patch, or apply a cream when you use pellet therapy. Instead, a pellet is implanted between two and four times a year, depending on the individual. This is even better than injections, which require far more frequent visits.
They Offer a Steady Dosage
Most other forms of hormone delivery come with a risk of unsteady dosage. Pills can be forgotten for a day or two, and even when they’re taken consistently, many things can influence how much of the hormone actually makes it into the system, from a person’s gut biome, to the time of day, to even how much food is in the stomach.
Patches and creams also offer inconsistent dosages at times, and while injections are a consistent dose, they tend to offer more hormone right at the beginning and steadily less over time. Pellets offer a steady, predictable dose that offers the best results and the most consistency.
They Have Better Adherence
The biggest problem with patches, pills, gels, creams, and injections is that they only work when you remember them. Pellets never have to be remembered. They’re always at work, always applying the same, consistent dose from day to day. There’s no possibility of patient error or compromised results due to a lack of adherence.
They Are Safer for Others
One of the issues with other forms of hormone therapy is the way those hormones can affect loved ones and even pets. Gels and creams can inadvertently rub off when hugging a child or even petting a dog, causing serious health issues.
It’s important that neither pets nor other people touch patches on the skin or the skin just after a patch has been removed. Pills, gels, creams, and patches can all be accidentally accessed by small children, with potentially devastating results. Because pellets are internal, there’s never any concern.
5. BHRT Is a Candidate for Nearly Anyone
While hormone issues are frequently associated with menopausal women, the truth is that both men and women of all ages are subject to hormone fluctuations that can make life more difficult.
Hormones and Women
For women, the premenopause, perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause stages can all cause uncomfortable health problems. These hormone issues can start as early as age 30, and the decline continues throughout life. In the short term, unbalanced hormones in women can cause sleep disturbance, mood swings, memory loss, weight gain, migraines, heart palpitations, hot flashes, night sweats, and more.
In the long-term, the drop in hormone production can cause the bones to lose calcium, resulting in an increased risk of osteoporosis. It can also cause the skin to thin and increase a woman’s risk for diabetes, cataracts, tooth loss, and heart disease.
Hormones and Men
For men, andropause is a very real though little-talked about issue. Again, the hormones tend to change most with age, but it’s possible for even relatively young men to suffer significant health issues when testosterone drops. After all, testosterone is essential to a man’s sexual function, muscle growth and maintenance, bone density, reproductive function, and much more.
Men suffering from unbalanced hormones may experience weight gain, particularly in the breasts, a lack of muscle growth, changes in sexual function, mood swings, depression, sleep disturbances, and more in the short term. In the long term, hormone imbalances can increase the risk for thyroid problems, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
6. Bioidentical Hormones Are Tailored to the Person
BHRT pellets are made to be a bio-chemical match for natural human hormones, but BHRT even goes a step beyond that. BHRT is tailored to each individual patient’s unique needs. The goal isn’t just to increase one hormone or decrease another. The goal is true hormone optimization for the individual, so each person can get back to feeling completely “like themselves” again.
7. Everyone’s Hormone Levels Fluctuate
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to measure general hormone levels and say for certain what a person might need. Each of us is unique, and there’s a fairly large range of “normal” within the larger population. Levels that are perfectly normal and healthy in one person could be a little low or a little high for someone else, depending on what their body has been used to over their lifetime.
8. It Takes a Little Time to Get It Right
Because this experience is so perfectly tailored to each individual’s needs, and because our hormone levels are unique to each of us, it can take a little time for levels to be fully optimized. Most people get a resolution of all their symptoms within a month, but for some people, it can take longer.
That’s because the whole journey is customized to your specific needs, and it may take a little trial and error or a few tests to discover just where your optimal hormone level is. Once you find it, however, you’ll experience all the amazing benefits of BHRT as your symptoms subside and you go back to feeling “normal” again.
9. BHRT Is About Treating the Root Cause of Symptoms
Many people are frustrated with medical interventions that seem to treat their symptoms one by one as if they are all disconnected from one another or don’t have a root cause. The whole point of BHRT is to address the root cause of the many symptoms of hormone imbalance.
Instead of taking one pill to address insomnia, another to address depression, and enduring lectures about weight gain when your body seems to be fighting you every step of the way, you can deal with the underlying problem that is causing all these issues: imbalanced hormones.
10. Not All Health Providers Offer BHRT
Not every health provider is aware of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, so it’s important to set up an appointment with someone in your area who specifically deals with this type of therapy. At your appointment, be sure to ask any questions you have about therapy and expect some blood tests to find out your current levels and whether you’re a good candidate for BHRT.
11. It Doesn’t Take Much to Prepare for Therapy
About a week before you have a BHRT pellet inserted, it’s a good idea to stop taking blood thinners, including over-the-counter products like aspirin and ibuprofen. Always talk to your healthcare provider before stopping any medication, especially if you take these on a daily basis. Other than this, however, there’s very little you need to do to be ready for hormone replacement therapy.
12. Getting a Pellet Inserted Is Easy
Pellet insertion isn’t complicated, painful, or difficult. All it requires is for your healthcare provider to first clean and then numb the area where the pellet will be inserted. For most people, this is the upper part of the buttocks. A very small incision is all that’s needed to place the pellet, and the whole thing takes less than 15 minutes.
There’s no need to arrange for a ride home, take time off from work, or plan for any other elaborate aftercare. Pellet therapy is designed to be fast, easy, and convenient. The pellet itself will gradually dissolve, releasing a steady, predictable amount of hormone into your body every hour of the day.
13. After-Care Isn’t Complicated
There’s no need to take a lot of time off from work or to plan for elaborate after-care, but it is important to pause most type of exercise for a few days, just to ensure the pellet doesn’t move or work itself loose before the insertion site is fully healed over. You should also avoid immersing yourself in water in bathtubs, hot tubs, or swimming pools until the bandage is removed.
14. You’ll Feel Like Yourself Again
If you’ve been struggling with the symptoms of a hormone imbalance, it’s impossible to overstate how much better you’ll feel once you address the root cause of these issues. In addition to serious and life-altering symptoms, hormone imbalances often cause symptoms we’re barely aware of because they come on slowly or seem like a “natural” part of aging. Once they’re gone, however, you’ll go back to feeling like yourself.
Learn More
If you’re interested in bioidentical hormones and how they can help you, find a Pellecome provider today to learn more about BHRT therapy and your needs.
