What Are Hormones?

Hormones are crucial to healthy function. Produced by both men and women, hormones are the way that your body sends signals internally, chemicals that influence and regulate different cells and organs. They play a part in nearly every major function in your body, including:

Various organs produce and send hormones, and together these organs make up the endocrine system. Hormones created and released by the endocrine system include testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, thyroid hormone, and others. Ideally, these hormones work together in balance to keep your body healthy and running well. If you have too little or too much of a given hormone, however, the result is hormone imbalance.

What Is Hormone Imbalance?

Hormone imbalance results when the body stops producing necessary levels of a given hormone. Typically, your body begins producing elevated levels of key hormones like testosterone and estrogen during puberty then continues to maintain them as you mature. If you suffer from hormone imbalance, your body has stopped creating enough new hormones and you’re experiencing deficiency. These deficiencies occur most often in people over forty, but in many cases hormone loss can begin occurring as early as the mid-thirties. Patients then begin to experience odd, unexplainable symptoms, a general loss of energy and vitality: changes in the body without an obvious cause. In many cases, these changes are the result of a hormone imbalance. Negative effects that hormone deficiency can be responsible for include:

In the past, these issues were often considered a normal part of aging. Patients reporting these symptoms would be told that it was just part of getting older, a process beyond their control. But today we understand that these are reversible symptoms of hormone imbalance, and by fixing the imbalance, the symptoms can be mitigated. The age-related drop in hormone levels—testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, and thyroid hormone among them—occurs at a different time and on a different schedule for each person, but eventually it happens to everyone.

What Are Bioidentical Hormones?

Bioidentical hormones are a modern solution to the problem of hormone imbalance. In concert with a healthy diet and a regular, rigorous exercise program, bioidentical hormones can help patients regain the strength and vitality they experienced at their physiological peak. Genemedics is among the nation’s leaders in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). Our clinics in for Hormone Replacement Therapy in Oregon help patients restore and replace their hormones to optimal levels, resulting in happier and healthier lives. Bioidentical hormones, notably, are exact matches for the hormones your body would normally produce. This is a key distinction from synthetic hormones, the main alternative to bioidentical hormones. Synthetic hormones were common in medicine for years, but they’ve been mostly supplanted by the bioidentical variant because, unlike bioidentical hormones, synthetic hormones are not perfect copies of the molecules produced by your body.

What Are Synthetic Hormones?

Synthetic hormones were commonly used to treat hormone deficiencies for years. But today’s physicians understand that they don’t work as well as bioidentical hormones; synthetic hormones come along with unwanted side effects. The main distinction between biomedical and synthetic hormones is that synthetic hormones are not identical to your body’s hormones because they’ve been created from animal sources. They are close matches, but not perfect. An example is the use of synthetic estrogen hormone to treat menopausal women. For years, synthetic hormones derived from the urine of pregnant mares were prescribed to women undergoing the effects of menopause, design to reduce their symptoms and lower their risk of serious diseases like stroke. But a groundbreaking study released by the Women’s Health Initiative in 2004 demonstrated that synthetic hormone therapy actually made women more likely to contact stroke, breast cancer, and heart disease. Since this bombshell news, the number of prescriptions for female synthetic hormones has dropped significantly. In the years since, the medical community has made great strides in anti-aging medicine and natural hormone replacement. Thanks to bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, it is now possible once again to provide safe, powerful hormone supplementation without the risk of negative effects. It is this kind of safe BHRT that Genemedics provides.

How Are Bioidentical Hormones Made?

The process of making bioidentical hormones involves deriving the necessary, biologically active compounds for ingredients like wild yams and soybeans. These base molecules become part of the overall human hormone analog, which the patient then ingests. Bioidentical hormones can be taken by pills, patches, gels, creams, pellets, and injection.

Bioidentical versus Synthetic Hormones

Bioidentical hormones are clearly more effective than synthetic hormones. Not only are they safer, they work better, and they interact with your body in the same way that you own natural hormones do. Since synthetic hormones are partly comprised of foreign, unrecognizable compounds, they have unforeseen effects on your body, but bioidentical hormones complement the molecules you already have perfectly and are therefore a superior alternative. Synthetic hormones and bioidentical hormones simply behave differently inside your body. Synthetic hormones often fail to completely dissolve in your body, and they don’t bind perfectly, while bioidentical hormones match up with your body and break down completely. Unlike bioidentical hormones, synthetic hormones can cause increased risk of heart disease, cancer, blood clots, and stroke. When it’s correctly applied, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy simply avoids these issues. Since the molecules bind with your cell receptors perfectly, the interactions that take place mimic those that should naturally be occurring in your body anyway. The result is a more powerful treatment that doesn’t create as many side effects and avoids unpleasant symptoms.

What Is Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is a completely customized program of supplemental hormones designed to make you happier and healthier. Though it does involve the prescription of hormones to lessen specific symptoms, BHRT goes much further than that: it’s a comprehensive treatment aimed at helping your whole body. At Genemedics, the first step is a battery of tests of your hormone levels aimed at gauging your current health. These tests, which are of your blood and saliva, are accompanied by assessment of your symptoms by a doctor. If your doctor diagnoses you with hormone deficiency, the next step is to create a personalized program of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy that will bring your endocrine system back into balance. The result of your BHRT program will be to bring your hormone levels back to the peaks they were at in your early twenties. It is necessary for bioidentical hormone replacement therapy to be customized for each patient to be completely effect; each program is different based on the patient’s biology, hormone levels, and stage of life.

Benefits of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy in Oregon

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy has lots of potent and far-reaching benefits. It’s quite common for patients on regimens of BHRT to see almost instant improvements in their health, without the negative side effects normally associated with synthetic hormones. BHRT can help people regain the strength and vitality they enjoyed at their physiological peak. Among the many benefits of hormone replacement therapy are:

Are There Side Effects to Hormone Replacement Therapy?

The risk of unwanted side effects is much greater when synthetic hormones are used than when they’re replaced by bioidentical. Nonetheless, if bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is not correctly implemented, there is some risk of side effects. The important thing is to make sure your program of hormone supplementation is well-designed and managed. Fortunately, doctors employed by Genemedics are among the nation’s finest at performing hormone replacement. These doctors have all been through thousands of hours of training in order to design BHRT programs, and Genemedics programs avoid side effects by sticking closely to the patient’s genetic makeup. If you think bioidentical hormone replacement therapy could be right for you, call any Genemedics clinic today to set up your complimentary initial appointment.