As we age, our hormone levels decline, which can lead to a variety of troubling symptoms, things that can prevent us from living full, healthy lives. Signs of hormone imbalance include:
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Low motivation
- Brain fog
- Brittle nails
- Dry skin
- Dull hair
- Discomfort during sex
- Low libido
- Vaginal dryness
- Weight gain
Too often, patients report these symptoms to their providers, only to be immediately dismissed or handed a prescription for anti-anxiety or depression medications. It can make aging feel like a prison sentence, and it isn’t.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a safe and effective way to alleviate symptoms associated with low levels of testosterone, progesterone, or estrogen. Although there are many treatment methods for HRT, as a medical center dedicated to pursuing the most natural approach possible, we love to pursue a bioidentical approach. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) is 100% natural, plant-based, and metabolizes in our body exactly like our own hormones. They’re far more effective than synthetic formats mass produced in a laboratory and tweaked ever-so-slightly, just to ensure they can be patented.
Does Big Life offer Hormone Replacement Therapies as part of midlife medicine treatments that aren’t pellet based?
Absolutely! In fact, we love to work with patients to develop the approach that works best for them. In all cases, we use labs to truly understand what is happening in the body. We then assess all treatment modalities, from pellets, to topical gels or creams, to oral tablets, to peptides, to injections or even localized vaginal therapies. The optimal delivery method depends on your symptoms, lifestyle, and medical history.
We also work as a “coach” as you journey through hormone therapy and pursue authentic wellness. So many assume that feeling bad is simply a part of getting older. It doesn’t have to be.
How Does Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Pellet Therapy Work?
Bioidentical hormones replacement therapy involves insertion of a small pellet, larger than a grain of rice but smaller than a Tic Tac, into the fatty tissue under the skin. The procedure is simple, with your provider gently numbing the area to prepare your body for a painless insertion.
Research consistently shows pellet implants offer the most effective method to deliver hormones for both men and women, as they release a constant stream of hormones into the body, closely mimicking the way the body naturally releases hormones.
Men typically undergo the procedure two-three times a year. Women receive pellet treatment three to four times a year, although based on each patient’s lifestyle factors and biochemistry, your Big Life provider may opt to perform a free booster between pellets.
How Quickly Does Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Pellet Therapy Work?
Most patients will experience substantial benefits after the first round of therapy, but improvements become especially pronounced after the second round of pellet implants. Remember, our hormones don’t become dysregulated overnight, and the path to optimized health can take some time.
How Will My Provider Determine if I’m a Good Candidate for Hormone Replacement Therapy?
Like all things at Big Life, we lean into diagnostics and data to determine when patients are good candidates for hormone replacement therapy. If you’ve had your hormones looked at by other doctors, you might find we do things a little differently at Big Life. We will draw more comprehensive labs and compare your markers against healthy, optimized populations rather than older, sickly groups. We want your results to mimic those who are feeling incredible, not those who are just getting by.
Why Has Big Life Integrative Health + Regenerative Aesthetics Converted From Biote to the Evexipel Method for BHRT?
At Big Life, we’ve elected to convert our patients from BioTE to the EvexiPEL bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. A newer, more advanced method, we love EvexiPEL’s more targeted formulation to each patient’s specific needs and less painful insertion technique. This is especially true for men, who often receive more than one pellet as part of treatment. Rather than “fanning” pellets into the insertion point, the EvexiPEL method injects pellets linearly – minimizing tissue damage and the chance for any extrusion. Even so, we do recommend that women avoid strenuous exercise for a day or two following insertion and a little bit longer for men.
Does Big Life offer hormone therapy for women who are struggling with hormone-related issues earlier in life or who are looking to optimize their bodies for fertility?
We sure do! Although we are not a fertility clinic, we do understand the impact of hormones, when optimized or not, across the human lifespan. We adopt an integrative approach to help patients who are struggling with hormone imbalances or fertility issues. Every patient is different, and so therapies will be highly tailored to your specific needs.
Some approaches we may consider include comprehensive bloodwork to identify any imbalances or irregularities in the body that might be interrupting regular cycling, identifying root causes like chronic stress, nutritional deficiencies, and toxic exposure and developing plans to support the endocrine system, taking advantage of comprehensive hormone profiling diagnostics like DUTCH tests or saliva cortisol tests to map hormone metabolites across your cycle, and more. You’re in good hands at Big Life, especially during vulnerable moments in your health journey.
What if My Symptoms Aren’t That That Bad? Why Should I Consider Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy?
The science behind aging well is really advancing. No longer are we just trying to keep people comfortable. We want people to be living full, big lives all the way to the end. To do so, we need to take proactive steps now to ensure our heart health, our neurological health, and our metabolic health. Data suggests maintaining balanced hormone levels throughout our lives, including our thyroid, can prevent disease, including Alzheimer’s, heart attack, stroke, tooth loss, impaired vision, and other debilitating impairments. You can ask any Big Life staff member over 35 how they feel about hormone balance, and you’ll hear personal stories of prevention and relief from unwanted symptoms.
What about medical weight loss? Does Big Life offer therapies to help me lose unwanted weight?
We do. In fact, not only are our programs targeted to take advantage of clean, compounded peptides like semaglutide and tirzepatide, medical-grade peptides that have been found to radically assist patients in reaching their weight loss goals, we also act as a partner and coach for patients in our program. With regular check ins, we can determine how much “bad fat” your losing, while also protecting your lean muscle mass.
Lean muscle mass is a foundational predictor of longevity and quality of life. To be sure, as we age, muscle mass naturally declines (sarcopenia), but taking efforts through nutrition and exercise to sustain it prevents frailty, protects against falls by improving balance, boosts your resting metabolism, and regulates blood sugar to lower the risk of diabetes. In fact, studies consistently show that individuals with higher lean muscle mass have a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to those with low muscle mass. The Big Life weight loss program addresses the fat you’re looking to shed, while preventing you from developing unwanted health complications later in life.
