Advanced Hormone Therapy FAQs
In our experience, our patients report feeling the effects of hormone pellet therapy within one week to a month from date of insertion. They notice a change in energy levels, hot flashes subside in women, libido changes, and sleep improves.
After the skin is sterilely prepped and a numbing agent is used, a small incision is made and the pellets are inserted. The incision is too small to warrant a suture. Instead, it is covered by a sterile strip for healing. For females, the small incision is made in the subcutaneous tissue on your backside just below the beltline. For males, the pellets are inserted into the flank area above the beltline often referred to as the “love handles.” Subsequent insertions are made on the alternate side of the body.
For women, the pellets range in size up to approximately the size of a Tic-Tac breath mint (~ 3/16” x 5/16”). For men, an average of 8-12 pellets, each approximately the size of two Tic-Tacs sitting side-by-side are used.
On average for women they last approximately four months and for men approximately five to six months. The duration depends upon the level of physical activity in which a person participates. If you live a sedentary lifestyle, the body uses less hormones. Therefore, they last longer. If you live an active lifestyle, the body accesses more hormones. Therefore, they last for shorter periods of time.
Estrogen helps maintain bone density, heart health, brain health, and helps alleviate hot flashes related to menopause.
Testosterone improves energy, muscle mass, libido, brain health, and overall wellbeing. Although testosterone therapy is not a weight loss program, some people experience weight loss due to an increase in energy, which increases motivation for more activity and leads to an improved metabolism.
Technically, if a woman has not experienced a menstrual cycle in 12 months she is in menopause. We use a combination of menstrual history and lab values to determine if you are in menopause.
No, if you are not in menopause, then you do not qualify for estrogen pellet therapy. However, testosterone may be what is needed to alleviate your symptoms.
A comprehensive lab panel is completed for each patient. While we concentrate on hormone optimization, we assess multiple factors that contribute to overall health. Our practice is to secure information that offers a “big picture” holistic view of a person’s health. For example, we assess thyroid levels, vitamins B and D, and determine if the body is effectively utilizing them. These elements, along with others including gut health, offer a more detailed view of a person’s physiological functioning, which allows for individualized care.
Testosterone and thyroid levels are assessed in both men and women. Estrogen and progesterone levels are assessed in women.
You will arrive at your first consultation and meet our staff who will ask you to complete some background information. One form will be the Hormone Symptom Checklist where you may convey your current struggles and concerns. Once the paperwork is complete you will see the Certified Provider to discuss the symptom checklist and any medical issues that may play a role in your overall health. We will discuss and educate you on our approach that involves addressing multiple functions of the body with the goal of optimizing hormone levels. Once our discussion is complete and we’ve answered any questions you may have, we order your lab work. We end the visit and schedule you for a follow-up visit (included in the fee for your initial consultation). During this follow-up visit we review your lab work and all the results with you and take time to have an open discussion to ensure your understanding. Based on these results, an individualized plan will be recommended. Our focus will be on optimizing a patient’s hormone levels through pellet therapy for hormone delivery. However, all options will be discussed including hormone creams, shots, and pill forms to ensure and accommodate patient needs and concerns.
If your sleep issues are hormone related, then hormone pellet therapy will help you. If your primary insomnia and resulting fatigue are related to sleep apnea or other conditions, then these issues must be dealt with as well.
If your anxiety issues are hormone related, then hormone pellet therapy will help you. If your primary anxiety issue relates to another condition, then this must be addressed and if appropriate, mental health care is advised.
It should be noted that side effects often resolve once your body regulates to the treatment after a period of time (approximately a week). However, it is important to know the potential side effects of any form of treatment. The following is a list of some of the potential side effects:
- Water retention weight gain
- Breakthrough bleeding (women)
- Acne or minor breakouts
- Increased hair growth (a concern for women)
A patient’s lab results, health history, age, lifestyle, and weight are considered in their recommended dose. EvexiPEL, is Ideal Medical Advanced Hormone Therapy’s bio-identical hormone therapy pellet of choice. For many years they have been synthesizing data and refining the dosing process that has resulted in the delivery of optimal effect for both men and women with minimal potential side effects. Furthermore, at Ideal Medical Advanced Hormone Therapy we seek ongoing input from our patients to ensure optimal dosing, and make adjustments when necessary.
EvexiPEL offers a natural alternative to synthetic hormone replacement therapies. Subcutaneous bio-identical hormone replacement therapy utilizes bio-identical hormones derived from natural, plant-based substances. Unlike synthetic hormones, the molecular structure of the bio-identical hormones – testosterone and/or estrogen is human identical. Since they are derived from nature, plant-based hormones metabolize in the body, just the way nature intended.
Yes, you can treat minor symptoms with many types of creams. Shots and pills are also options. However, our goal is to optimize your hormones so that not only do your symptoms go away, but you experience long term benefits as well. Additionally, we prefer using pellets due to their convenience for our patients. Hormone pellet therapy allows our patients the opportunity to receive their optimal dose for optimal impact.
Our patients report fatigue, brain fog, lack of libido, hot flashes, skin issues, dry and brittle hair, muscle atrophy, osteoporosis, metabolism issues, digestive issues, and more.
Yes, a woman’s body makes a small amount of testosterone, much less than men. But they do produce testosterone and it often decreases even before menopause, which may account for their symptoms.
It is important to realize that “normal ranges” are based on data gathered from the general population. Often, that range is wide and does not account for individual variances. Thus, a patient may test in the normal range and still feel terrible. In situations such as these we can commence hormone pellet therapy and after an appropriate amount of time we retest the patient’s levels. The results may show their hormone levels are higher AND are still within the normal range. The difference being, now they’ve achieved symptom relief. It is also possible that a person may achieve optimal outcomes with lab results being outside the normal range. This is one of the reasons why our individualized approach is so important.