Our 1st blog discussed hormones- addressing what they are and symptoms of hormone imbalance. This blog discusses hormone testing and hormone replacement.

Hormone testing

An example of a hormone test many have experienced is a pregnancy test checking for pregnancy hormone (beta HcG) in blood or urine.  Your healthcare provider can check other hormone levels. Tests can measure the hormone levels in your blood, urine, or saliva. Most tests have a range considered normal. If tested, your levels are compared with others in a normal range. You may decide to have hormone tests if you have symptoms of abnormal levels.

What hormones are included in testing?

At Innovative Women’s HealthCare, we test levels of thyroid and sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone) and offer treatment for both.  Once you know your levels, you can decide if you’d like to continue without treatment, pursue traditional treatment options to help symptoms or if you’d like to receive hormone replacement. If you’ve been tested, your results will be reviewed with your provider. If there are some alterations in your levels, together you can decide what steps to take moving forward. Options include doing nothing, treating symptoms individually or hormone replacement.

Hormone replacement
What options are available for replacing hormones that are at suboptimal levels? We have available oral pills, topical creams, and long-acting subcutaneous pellets.  Hormones selected may be synthetic or bioidentical and both can be discussed.

Synthetic hormones mimic the activity of hormones produced in the body but differ in structure from naturally occurring hormones. Bio-identical hormones are derived from natural sources that are identical to the ones found in the human body. Studies have shown that bio-identical hormones have fewer side effects than synthetic hormones.

Doses of either type of treatment are individualized and during your clinic visit, we can determine which methods and amounts are best for you.

You might wonder what pellets are. They are very small compounded therapies of bioidentical hormone in amounts that meet individual needs based on hormone levels and symptoms. Pellet therapy provides consistent hormone levels through the day and avoids intermittent effects that can happen with other methods.

Innovative Women’s HealthCare offers options for hormone therapy. We are pleased to be the first clinic in the tri-city area to offer BioTE bioidentical hormone replacement for women and men. BioTE has been an available treatment for over 20 years. The evidence is growing that this treatment is helpful for longevity and vitality.

To find out if you might benefit from hormone replacement you can visit http://biote.com/ to read further. If you have questions or would like further information, please call Innovative Women’s HealthCare at 402 834-3973.

Sources: https://definedterm.com, http://biote.com

Come back for future posts about women’s health.  Topics will include:

  • Evidence
  • HPV
  • Birth Control
  • Colon Cancer and testing