A hormone treatment programme that works for both men and women, helping to maintain health, balance and energy levels
Tired all the time?
Falling libido, self-confidence, strength and energy levels?
Putting on weight around your middle?
Unable to think as clearly or as sharply as you used to?
Just feeling altogether a bit too middle-aged?
All these are symptoms of declining male and female hormone levels as you age.
Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy may be able to help you, whether you’re a man or a woman.
Ageing and falling hormone levels
As we age, so our levels of the sex hormones drop, a change that results in so many of the symptoms described above.
We’re losing our mojo and our sexuality!
For women, this is the menopause, for which hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is available, helping to ease the physical and mental menopause symptoms, and making it possible to age gracefully.
But this standard HRT has three big problems:
- It usually uses synthetic hormones which, though very effective, are prone to side-effects and long-term health risks, especially when taken orally;
- The hormones are provided in a ‘one size fits all approach’ with only a limited range of treatment options available;
- For men, whose hormone levels fall more gradually and with fewer obvious symptoms, there is no standard HRT. They just have to endure their andropause.
Boosting sex hormone levels with bio-identical hormones
Bio-identical hormone therapy overcomes all these problems:
- The hormones used (mainly testosterone, oestrogen and progesterone) are all identical biochemically to those in our bodies (though they are produced from plants);
- In extensive studies the bio-identical hormones have been shown to be largely free of side-effects and long-term health risks, especially if taken by carefully selected methods;
- The doses provided are tailored specifically for each person, calculated following a detailed consultation and a range of specific blood tests;
- These treatments can be used equally in men and women, testosterone being given to men; oestrogen, progesterone and a small amount of testosterone for women, along with two other hormones, DHEA and/or pregnenolone, for both men and women.
What bio-identical hormone therapy can achieve
In working to restore your sex hormone levels, bio-identical hormone therapy can slow the ageing process, achieving these results:
- Removal of most symptoms of menopause (in women)
- Improved mood and positivity
- Improved memory and specific mental abilities
- Improved ability to handle stress
- Greater energy levels
- Improved self-confidence
- Increased libido
- Strengthened immune system, improving general health
- Reduced tendency to gain weight
- Improved muscle tone (mainly in men)
What it cannot achieve in women is restoration of fertility and the menstrual cycle!
Other hormones
Two further sterioid hormones are also frequently given in bio-identical hormone replacement therapy:
- Pregnenolone
- DHEA
Some doctors call DHEA the ‘mother’ of all hormones as it is a vital precursor in the body’s production of many steroid hormones, including the sex hormones. It regulates the functions and activities of other steroids in the immune system. It also has been found to be important in boosting mood, confidence and energy levels.
But its levels decline rapidly as we age, correlating closely with many of the symptoms people complain about in middle age.
Pregnenolone too is important in the body’s hormone production process, and is in fact a precursor of DHEA. It is often said to be the ‘grandmother’ of the steroid hormones. Similarly to DHEA, it can be used to treat declining mental ability and memory.
Either or both hormones are frequently given, along with the sex hormones, as part of a programme of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy. In both cases the substances given are identical to those in our bodies, and are equally applicable in men and women.
The treatment process
All the hormones can be given as a pill, lozenge, skin patch or skin cream, or a combination of these, normally taken once or twice a day, the method chosen varying with the hormone, dose levels and so on.
Find out about the treatment scheduleIssues and side-effects
Although this is still a relatively new form of treatment, at least in the UK, it is being widely applied by medical professionals around the world, and is backed up with an already vast amount of rigorous scientific study. Just about all the studies undertaken to date show bio-identical hormone replacement therapy to be hugely effective and almost completely free of the side effects that plague standard HRT.
Treatment costs
Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy is available in the UK only through private health care, and so therefore has to be paid for.
Costs include both your doctor’s time and skill in assessing and setting up your treatment, plus the cost of initial laboratory tests and formulation of your personalised prescription.
Most costs are incurred up-front when the treatment is initially being established. There are then some lower running costs associated with prescription renewals and occasional repeat laboratory tests.