Bioidentical hormone therapy is the most effective treatment for hormone replacement. It is an important type of therapy before menopause but also at any stage of life, as a hormonal balance is necessary to live a healthy life.
How does a hormonal imbalance affect a woman’s body?
As women age, hormone levels decrease and, in some way, become unbalanced. This is accompanied by a number of symptoms:
- Hot flashes
- Mood swings
- Weight gain
- Fatigue
- Lack of libido
- Memory loss
When the specialist in Gynecology and Obstetrics replaces the hormones that women are losing with bioidentical hormone treatment, the symptoms usually disappear.
Are estrogens necessary in hormone replacement therapy?
Estrogens are the most important hormones to protect women from certain serious diseases, such as heart attacks or other heart pathologies, Alzheimer’s disease and osteoporosis. In addition, estrogens reduce hot flashes and sweating, sadness, insomnia and vaginal dryness, and estradiol also plays an important role in the functioning of the immune system.
Why is testosterone necessary for women? What about hair growth?
Testosterone provides mental clarity, improves libido and tones muscles. Without testosterone, many patients report mental confusion, weight gain and poor muscle growth, despite regular exercise.
There is very little chance of hair growth with the bioidentical hormones used in hormone replacement therapy compared to treatments using synthetic hormones.
Does hormone therapy help if libido has disappeared?
A good hormonal balance always helps and improves sexual desires.
Are there any side effects with bioidentical hormone therapy?
Side effects are very rare. In women, transient breast pain may occur for 7-10 days after the start of treatment.
Acne and hair loss or alopecia may occur rarely with testosterone therapy. As mentioned above, facial hair growth is rare and can also occur in women during menopause, even if they do not use hormones.
On the other hand, hormones released by pellet implants or in creams do not pass through the liver and do not adversely affect coagulation factors, lipid levels, blood pressure, glucose or liver function.
Do hormone treatments make me sick?
There is no medical reason why hormone treatment would cause the patient to gain weight.
Testosterone increases metabolism (by 8%) and helps to tolerate exercise and gain muscle mass. In this case some patients may retain fluid in the first few weeks or notice an increase in muscle, which may result in a difference in weight of a maximum of 2kg. However, this is not an increase in body fat. On the contrary, most patients, with a balanced diet and exercise, have managed to reach their ideal weight and stay healthy. Any weight gain above 2-3kg is diet related and not treatment related.
Can treatment with bioidentical hormones cause cancer?
Breast cancer and uterine cancer are those that have been linked to estrogen, testosterone and progesterone hormones. It is important to note that not all hormones are equal and it is synthetic progesterone (which is not used in this treatment) that has been associated, in some studies, with an increased risk of developing breast cancer. In contrast, pellet hormones come from natural sources.
Bioidentical estrogens and progesterone do not cause cancer. However, if the patient has breast cancer and that cancer has estrogen and/or progesterone receptors, and the patient is on hormone replacement therapy, the hormones will cause the cancer to grow faster. In contrast, testosterone has been shown to help protect the breast and decrease the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence.