The journey through perimenopause and menopause is a unique and often challenging experience for every woman. What begins as a subtle shift can gradually escalate into a daily struggle with symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, and relentless fatigue.
For too long, women have been told these symptoms are an inevitable part of aging that must simply be endured. But what if there was a way to restore balance and reclaim your health, energy, and well-being?
If you are looking for resolutions, bioidentical hormone therapy, available at Lakewood Primary Care and Wellness, has been helping women regain control over their health. More about it will be explored in this guide.
What is Bioidentical Hormone Therapy (BHT)?
Before we peruse the benefits, it is quintessential that we understand what it is and how it helps. Bioidentical hormones are plant-derived, sourced from yams or soy, which are then chemically engineered to match the molecular structure of human hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
Since they are “natural” and “plant-derived”, they allow the body to recognize and metabolize them as if they were naturally occurring hormones. This explains why they are becoming a “more preferred” option for women over the traditional synthetic hormones.
Bioidentical hormone therapy is usually delivered through creams, gels, injections, patches, or subdermal pellets, usually personalized based on the patient’s needs.
Benefits of Bioidentical Hormone Therapy
Now that you have a better understanding of what BHT is, it is vital that we get a rundown of the benefits of it.
1. It offers relief from menopausal symptoms
The most well-known benefit of BHT is the relief it brings from the common menopausal symptoms. When a woman hits menopause, estrogen and progesterone levels decline, which contribute to various complications including:
- Hot flashes and night sweats
- Vaginal dryness
- Mood swings, anxiety, and irritability
- Sleep disturbances caused by night sweats and hormonal imbalance
With BHT, it becomes possible to restore these declining hormone levels and also reduce the severity of the common menopausal symptoms, improving one’s quality of life.
2. It alleviates fatigue and improves energy levels
One of the most common complain women with hormonal imbalance have is experiencing persistent fatigue. The main culprits behind it are the declining estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels, which causes the sluggishness and makes it difficult to maintain productivity.
Since BHT replenishes these hormonal levels, it regulates the metabolism and energy levels, contributing to:
- Increased stamina for daily tasks
- Improved focus and mental clarity
- Greater motivation to exercise and stay active
Many of our patients at Lakewood Primary Care and Wellness after starting BHT report “feeling like themselves” again.
3. It enhances mood and overall emotional well-being
Our hormones play a significant role in regulating our brain chemistry, in turn, our emotions. This includes modulating common neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine.
So, when there is a steep drop in hormones like estrogen or progesterone, women are prone to experiencing mood swings, irritability, anxiety, and even depression. BHT enables to balance these hormone levels, offering:
- A more stable mood with fewer emotional highs and lows
- Reduced anxiety and stress levels
- Better resilience to life’s challenges
The objective of bioidentical hormones is to target the underlying hormonal cause. So, for women struggling with emotional health linked to hormone imbalance, BHT can provide lasting improvement.
4. It restores sexual health and libido
Beyond the standard systemic functions, hormonal imbalance also impacts sexual health and libido in women. During their perimenopause and menopausal stages, many women experience vaginal dryness, thinning of vaginal tissues, reduced sensitivity, and a loss of desire for intimacy.
These, in turn, often take a toll on romantic relationships. Bioidentical hormones help revert these complications, and can:
- Improve vaginal lubrication and elasticity
- Enhance sexual desire and satisfaction
- Reduce discomfort or pain during intercourse
Since BHT directly addresses the hormonal decline in the patient, it offers a natural and more effective solution in improving sexual health and restoring intimacy.
5. It protects bone density and joint health
Our hormones play a significant role in preserving our bone density and joint health naturally. However, for women, particularly during menopause when estrogen levels plummet, it also increases the risks of osteoporosis and joint pain.
Without any kinds of interventions, most women are at elevated risks of fractures, joint stiffness, and long-term mobility issues. So, supplementing with BHT can help:
- Slow down bone loss and preserve bone strength
- Reduce the risk of osteoporosis-related fractures
- Improve overall joint health and flexibility
A lot of our patients with stiffness and discomfort in their joints report comfort and reduced pain after starting BHT.
6. It stimulates metabolism and offers better weight management
When you struggle with hormonal imbalance, it contributes to complications like stubborn weight gain, especially around the abdomen. It is due to the declining estrogen and progesterone levels, which slow down the metabolism.
These sudden changes in the body, especially during perimenopause and menopause, make it difficult for most women to maintain a healthy weight even with diet and exercise.
Following a consultation with our doctors at Lakewood Primary Care and Wellness, you will get a personalized BHT regimen to help regulate your metabolism, restore muscle mass and reduce fat accumulation too.
7. It offers cardiovascular health support
Estrogen is known to have protective effects on the heart and blood vessels. So, when its levels decline during menopause, women often face an increased risk of cardiovascular conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease.
Some of the ways BHT support cardiovascular health include:
- Improving cholesterol profiles (raising HDL and lowering LDL)
- Supporting vascular flexibility and circulation
- Reducing risk factors associated with heart disease
With our primary care doctors at Lakewood Primary Care and Wellness, we take a comprehensive approach, ensuring that bioidentical hormone therapy is part of a broader plan to protect heart health.
8. It improves cognitive function and memory
If you have a habit of being “forgetful”, often forgetting what you entered a room for or where you kept your keys, well, these are common in women with hormonal imbalance, especially during menopausal phase.
Since estrogen has protective effects on the brain and nerves, its decline severely impacts cognitive function.
So, being on BHT not only supports brain health but also play a significant role in reducing the risks of age-related cognitive decline.
Is Bioidentical Hormone Therapy Right for You?
Reading through the benefits, you might be thinking, “Well, these seem great. BHT might be great for me.” But, the question is, “Are you well suited to take them?”
To determine whether or not you’d benefit from being on BHT comes after a thorough medical evaluation at our clinic. Our doctors will assess you physically, discuss your medical history, the symptoms or complications you might be having and then determine the right treatment plan for you.
We focus on:
- Understanding each patient’s concerns and goals
- Conducting in-depth testing to identify hormone imbalances
- Creating personalized treatment plans
- Monitoring progress and making adjustments for optimal results
So, if you are considering being on bioidentical hormones to tackle your symptoms and hormonal imbalance, we are here to help you navigate through the process.
Schedule Your Consultation Today!
Living with the discomforts of menopause is not a requirement of aging. For many women, these symptoms are a clear signal from the body that it needs support to restore a healthy and vibrant balance.
You deserve to live a life full of vitality, comfort, and joy. If you’re tired of feeling “off” and want to opt for a path to wellness, we invite you to take the first step.
Schedule your consultation today and discover how bioidentical hormone therapy can help you feel like yourself again.
