Bio-Identical Hormones are made from natural plant extracts into the same exact molecular structure as the hormones your body produces. That is important, because when your liver needs to process it, it is recognized as being a naturally occurring substance in your body, and therefore your liver is able to process it.
BHRT is very helpful first of all, for symptom relief for peri-menopausal and menopausal women suffering from symptoms of unbalanced or low hormones as they start become depleted. BHRT gives women symptom relief as well as increasing overall health and wellness.
Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy has been shown to be the best treatment for menopause, helping to reduce the frequency and severity of symptoms; however, symptom control is only one part of what Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy can do for you. Even more importantly, BHRT is helps to keep your mind and body healthy, as it helps to lower cardiovascular risk, as well as Alzheimer's and dementia risk, and osteoporosis to name a few. In March of 2016, the results of the ELITE study were published in New England Journal of Medicine, finding that women who begin hormone therapy early in their menopausal years experienced a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
At Avanti Hormones and Functional Medicine, we evaluate your hormones levels, usually by a lab draw blood test, or if you are currently on hormones, salivary or dried urine testing can be more accurate. We then review your lab results, and customize recommendations with a plan to fit your health plan and lifestyle. We offer many types of hormone therapy including, compounded customized creams, oral medication, patches, injections, and hormone pellets. Some of the hormones we help optimize, include Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone, Growth Hormone, and Pregnenolone. We also use BHRT to optimize Adrenal hormones such as DHEA and Cortisol as well as Thyroid hormone optimization.
Pellets are tiny implants made up of plant based bio-identical hormones, mainly Estrogen and Testosterone for Women, which are pressed into very small cylinders slightly larger than a grain of rice. They are placed under the skin in the fat tissue, in a minor 5-minute procedure with little to no discomfort. Butterfly tape is used on the tiny incision and closes back up within a few days. The pellets consistently release small, physiologic doses, providing optimal therapy by delivering the amount of hormone needed when needed, mimicking nature. For example, during exercise, more testosterone hormone is released, and while sleeping, less is released, just as in nature. Most patients begin to feel better and notice a difference with a few days to a week, others may take closer to two weeks.
Pellets deliver consistent, natural levels of hormones for 3-4 months in women. There is a very high success rate with pellets, with a very high percentage of patients continuing therapy for the long term as they notice such drastic, improved results in their overall well-being. Even patients who do not do well on creams or injections or other forms of therapy for various reasons, have a very high success rate with pellet therapy. Pellets have been safely used since the 1930's, both in the U.S. and Europe, and have made a big come back in the past fifteen years. Also, bio-identical hormones, including pellet therapy, do not increase the risk of blood clots like conventional, synthetic hormone therapy.
At Avanti Hormones and Functional Medicine, we work on optimizing hormone levels as well as helping you feel your best by also addressing other important lab values, as well as your nutrition, sleep and stress levels amount others. We then implement a customized plan to obtain optimal levels for all of these factors that can lead to amazing wellness, healthy aging, and reduction in the chance of chronic illnesses.
