A Fine Balance | A look at hormone replacement therapy for men and women
By Laura Kostad
Subtle changes in hormone levels can throw us off our game, but hormone replacement therapy can help.
Sometimes, no matter our age, stage, or phase of life, we can start to feel less like ourselves mentally, emotionally, and physically. We can’t always see it in ourselves, but others around us might. That sense of feeling “off” doesn’t always go away once stressful circumstances or life events pass, and the problem might not be just a state of mind: it could be a hormone imbalance.
For women, even if they haven’t yet reached perimenopause or menopause, hormone levels could still be the culprit. “A lot of women come into our clinic thinking they have depression,” says Dr. Rachel Fidino, owner of New U Women’s Clinic & Aesthetics in Kennewick. “Antidepressants are the number one drugs prescribed in the United States, but in many cases, these patients have an underlying hormonal imbalance, and once that’s fixed, they’re fine!”
When levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone fall out of harmony, a wide array of symptoms can arise–from vasomotor phenomena such as hot flashes and night sweats, to mood swings, stubborn body weight gain, decreased sex drive, disrupted sleep patterns, hair loss, diminished nail growth, dry skin, dry eyes, joint pain and irritability. An in-depth bloodwork panel targeting hormones can reveal the source of the problem. “There’s usually one hormone that’s leading the pack, and once you figure out what that hormone is, it’s easier to prescribe therapy to get her feeling better,” Dr. Fidino explains.
Some residual stigma still surrounds hormone replacement therapy due to earlier findings of adverse side effects, but more recent research has since disproved those findings. Modern treatments that utilize FDA-approved bioidentical hormones actually come with positive benefits. For example, healthy estrogen levels can stave off inflammations that can give rise to many types of cancer, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, strokes and even brain deterioration.
Hormone Therapy isn’t just for women…
Similar to the benefits of estrogen therapy in women, testosterone therapy can likewise decrease the risk of heart attack and stroke in men. Ruzicka dispels the common myth that testosterone therapy can cause men to bulk up, seemingly overnight.
Though some patients will take some form of hormone replacement for the rest of their lives, many are eventually able to taper off treatments completely.
It’s not just women who deal with hormone imbalances either. “Around age 33 to 35, men start to lose about 1% of their testosterone production per year. That equates to 10% by age 45, and 20% by 55. That loss can result in a big impact,” says William Ruzicka, ARNP and owner of Redefined Health Clinic in Richland. “A lot of men don’t always know what it is, they just know there’s something wrong,” he explains. “They usually have a myriad of symptoms, from something as simple as generalized fatigue all the way up to full-blown signs of low testosterone such as brain fog, unexplained weight gain, lack of motivation to do the things that they normally enjoy, decreased libido, and decreased strength. They may even be starting to lose muscle mass even when working out regularly. They might also be noticing that recovery time takes a lot longer.”
In addition to providing hormone therapy, both Ruzicka and Fidino pair their treatments with advice on how to support and sustain the outcomes of therapy through lifestyle changes.
“It’s a lot of coaching, a lot of hand-holding on our part, and we go into a lot of detail on what foods they’re eating, gut health, and antioxidants, and blend that with regular exercise, hydration and proper hormone management,” Fidino explains. “The body is a system,” Ruzicka adds. “There are all of these really cool stories that come out of this practice, and they are what drive us to help our community…how we’ve helped them save their marriage, given their life back to them, gotten them off their medications…the most fulfilling thing we can hear is that we’ve changed our patients in a positive way, getting them in the healthiest state possible so they can have the longevity of enjoying their lives.”
For more information please visit New U Women’s Clinic & Aesthetics or Redefined Health Clinic.