For Men and Women
It is important to define the goals you hope to achieve with hormone therapy (HT). Contrary to the message conveyed by many anti-aging marketing efforts, HT will not give you a means of moving backward, of denying the aging process and keeping yourself young forever. However, a personalized program—with or without supplemental hormones—can help reduce physical symptoms and health concerns so that you can focus your energies on living your best life.
Though the aging process indeed results in a natural decline of sex hormone production, the body naturally adjusts. As a geriatric physician, Dr. Marcelo has met hundreds of elder men and woman who reported no struggles during andropause or menopause. Beyond the fertile years, there is an age-appropriate production of hormones. Hence, it is abnormal to struggle with symptoms such as fatigue, mood changes, weight loss resistance, bone disorders, hot flashes, night sweats, low libido, erectile dysfunction, or vaginal dryness.
When your sex hormones are not balanced, it’s important to understand why and never assume it’s normal aging. There is a root cause. At Panacea Biomedical Center, we will not jump to prescribing HT without understanding why your hormones are not optimal or assessing your health risk factors.
A 2007 study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, revealed a significant drop in U.S. men’s testosterone levels since the 1980s, with average levels declining by 1% per year. Another study of Danish men produced similar findings, with double-digit declines among men born in the 1960s compared to those born in the 1920s. Conversely, in recent decades, women are experiencing extreme drops in both estrogen and progesterone, or the rise of estrogen dominance. There is also a rise in male and female infertility as well as other female disorders such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, virilization, and fibroids.
Stress, poor nutrition, infection, and environmental toxicity are among the top reasons that have downstream effects on hormone regulation. Correcting nutritional deficiencies, intestinal permeability, microbiome dysbiosis, liver detoxification, methylation and mitochondrial dysfunctions are the fundamental initial steps for hormone regulation.
Part of your HT assessment will involve looking at your hormone urine metabolites with a DUTCH COMPLETE test. Your family history, medical history and current symptoms will be evaluated along with your test results. This will determine whether your hormones are converting to inflammatory metabolites that may generate disease, if you are a safe candidate for HT at the time of testing, and where to begin hormone optimization depending on your root cause.
Removing hidden infections and toxins, managing stress, balancing the gut, and optimizing nutrition and sleep are fundamental steps for hormone balancing. If HT is required, Dr. Marcelo will partner with you to decide your best choice. Options could range from herbals to homeopathy to bio-identical hormones.
