No two people experience the effects of a hormone imbalance the same way. Some may experience one or two symptoms, while on the other hand, others seem to experience many. Weight gain, hot flashes, night sweats, depression, and irritability are just a few of the side effects that can accompany this natural occurrence with age. Admittedly, if you are over the age of 35 and haven’t been feeling like yourself, low hormone levels could be the culprit. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is among the latest innovations in medicine to effectively balance hormone levels and improve your quality of life.

Nourished MedSpa and Wellness Center is your premier destination in Sherman for bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Dr. Carter and the rest of our amazing team can’t wait to meet with you and help you feel like the most incredible version of yourself. Contact us today to schedule your initial consultation and learn more about this exciting treatment!

What is Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is a highly customizable treatment that restores your hormones to more optimal levels. Patients who choose hormone replacement therapy typically enjoy results such as increased energy, improved sex drive, mental clarity, better sleep and healthier skin and hair.

Bioidentical hormones are chemically identical to those naturally produced by the body, meaning they come with far fewer potential side effects than synthetic hormones. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can also be easily tailored to address your distinctive wellness needs. We offer:  estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone hormone therapies.

The Benefits of Pellets

We provide hormone replacement therapy for women in the form of pellets that are inserted just beneath the skin. Pellets offer many advantages over alternative forms of treatment such as injections, ointments, or patches.

These advantages include:

• Quick treatment time

• Long-lasting results; pellets typically last three to four months

• Pellets are gradually absorbed by the body over time

Pellet therapy is also well-known for producing steady, consistent levels of hormones, while other methods carry the risk of inconsistent spikes and drops in hormone levels.

What can I expect?

First and foremost, your bioidentical hormone replacement therapy experience will begin with a consultation with Dr. Carter. After discussing your symptoms, we will conduct a blood test to ensure low hormone levels are the precise cause.

Dr. Carter says that oftentimes menopausal patients present to their physician complaining of irritability, anxiety, weight gain, and sexual dysfunction. Under those circumstances, they cry easily and can be mistaken as suffering from depression. Reflexively, we treat those patients with antidepressants. We then prescribe benzodiazepines to treat anxiety and irritability. One thing leads to another and before you know it, we’re treating additional symptoms with even more prescriptions. While patients have those legitimate diagnoses, instead of just placing them on prescription medications to treat the symptoms, one must consider the possibility of a hormone deficiency in the differential diagnosis.

A replacement strategy is prescribed as a result of being diagnosed with a hormone imbalance. At Nourished MedSpa, we use bioidentical hormone pellets. The process of inserting the pellet typically takes just minutes to complete. Patients are advised to avoid strenuous exercise for about a week following their treatment.

Who Is a Good Candidate for Treatment?

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is ideal for people of all genders who are experience symptoms related to a hormone deficiency so severe that they have begun to interfere with quality of life. You may want to consider this treatment if one or more of the following concerns have begun to negatively impact your well-being:

• Fatigue

• Loss of sex drive

• Brain fog

• Hot flashes

• Difficulty sleeping

Contact us today!

Would you like to learn more about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy? Contact us today to schedule your consultation!

Clinical Practice

Ruiz A, Daniels K, Barner J, Carson J, Frei C. Effectiveness of Compounded Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy: An Observational Cohort Study. BMC Women's Health, 2011; 11(1).

Holtorf K. The Bioidentical Hormone Debate: Are Bioidentical Hormones (Estradiol, Estriol, and Progesterone) Safer or More Efficacious than Commonly Used Synthetic Versions in Hormone Replacement Therapy? Postgraduate Medicine, 2009; 121(1):73-85.

Schwartz E, Holtorf K, Brownstein D. The Truth About Hormone Therapy. The Wall Street Journal, March 16, 2009: A17.

Klaiber E, Vogel W, Rako S. A critique of the Women’s Health Initiative hormone therapy study. Fertility and Sterility, 2005; 84(6):1589-1601.

Menopause

Fait T. Menopause hormone therapy: latest developments and clinical practice. Drugs Context, 2019; 8:212551.

Bae JM, Yoon BK. The Role of Menopausal Hormone Therapy in Reducing All-cause Mortality in Postmenopausal Women Younger than 60 Years: An Adaptive Meta-analysis. J Menopausal Med, 2018; 24(3):139-142.

Thompson JJ, Ritenbaugh C, Nichter M. Why women choose compounded bioidentical hormone therapy: lessons from a qualitative study of menopausal decision-making. BMC Womens Health, 2017;17(1):97.

Rech CM, Clapauch R, de Souza Md, Bouskela E. Low testosterone levels are associated with endothelial dysfunction in oophorectomized early postmenopausal women. Eur J Endocrinol, 2016; 174(3):297-306.

Ruiz A, Daniels K. The effectiveness of sublingual and topical compounded bioidentical hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women: an observational cohort study. Int J Pharm Compd, 2014; 18(1):70-77.

Stephenson K, Neuenschwande P, Kurdowska A. The effects of compounded bioidentical transdermal hormone therapy on hemostatic, inflammatory, immune factors; cardiovascular biomarkers; quality-of-life measures; and health outcomes in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Int J Pharm Compd, 2013; 17(1):74-85.

Marjoribanks J, Farquhar C, Roberts H, Lethaby A. Long term hormone therapy for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2012; (7):CD004143.

Ettinger B, Friedman G, Bush T, QusenberryJr C. Reduced Mortality Associated With Long-Term Postmenopausal Estrogen Therapy. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 1996; 87(1):6-12.

Cancer

Gordhandas S, Norquist BM, Pennington KP, et al. Hormone replacement therapy after risk reducing salpingo-oophorectomy in patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations; a systematic review of risks and benefits. Gynecol Oncol, 2019, pii: S0090-8258(18)31514-2.

Marchetti C, De Felice F, Boccia S, et al. Hormone replacement therapy after prophylactic risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy and breast cancer risk in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers: A meta-analysis. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol, 2018; 132:111-115.

Colditz G, Hankinson S, Hunter D, et al. The use of estrogens and progestins and the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. The Endocrinologist, 1995; 5(6):441-442.

Sexual Function

Zilio Rech CM, Clapauch R, Bouskela E. Sexual Function Under Adequate Estrogen Therapy in Women After Oophorectomy Versus Natural Menopause. J Womens Health (Larchmt), 2019: doi: 10.1089/jwh.2017.6905

Labrie F, Archer DF, Koltun W et al. Efficacy of intravaginal dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on moderate to severe dyspareunia and vaginal dryness, symptoms of vulvovaginal atrophy, and of the genitourinary syndrome of menopause. Menopause, 2018; 25(11):1339-1353.

Kushnir VA, Darmon SK, Barad DH, Weghofer A, Gleicher N. Effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) supplementation on sexual function in premenopausal infertile women. Endocrine, 2018; doi: 10.1007/s12020-018-1781-3.

Labrie F, Archer D, Bouchard C, et al. Intravaginal dehydroepiandrosterone (prasterone), a highly efficient treatment of dyspareunia. Climacteric, 2011; 14(2):282-288.

Labrie F, Archer D, Bouchard C, et al. Effect of intravaginal dehydroepiandrosterone (Prasterone) on libido and sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women. Menopause, 2009; 16(5):923-931.

Arlt W, Callies F, Allolio B. Dhea Replacement in Women with Adrenal Insufficiency—Pharmacokinetics, Bioconversion and Clinical Effects on Well-Being, Sexuality and Cognition. Endocr Res, 2000; 26(4):505-511.

Mood Disorders

Sbisa A, van den Buuse M, Gogos A. The effect of estrogenic compounds on psychosis-like behaviour in female rats. PLoS One, 2018;13(3):e0193853.

Khan MM. Translational Significance of Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators in Psychiatric Disorders. Int J Endocrinol, 2018; 2018:9516592.

Del Río JP, Alliende MI, Molina N et al. Steroid Hormones and Their Action in Women's Brains: The Importance of Hormonal Balance. Front Public Health, 2018; 6:141.

Kulkarni J. Perimenopausal depression - an under-recognised entity. Aust Prescr, 2018; 41(6):183-185.

Kulkarni J, Gavrilidis E, Wang W. Estradiol for treatment-resistant schizophrenia: a large-scale randomized-controlled trial in women of child-bearing age. Mol Psychiatry, 2015; 20(6):695-702.

do Vale S, Selinger L, Martins JM. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS) and emotional processing - A behavioral and electrophysiological approach. Horm Behav, 2015; 73:94-103.

Ruiz AD, Daniels KR, Barner JC, Carson JJ, Frei CR. Effectiveness of compounded bioidentical hormone replacement therapy: an observational cohort study. BMC Womens Health, 2011; 11:27.

Graziottin A, Serafini A. Depression and the menopause: why antidepressants are not enough? Menopause Int, 2009; 15(2):76-81.

Infertility

Wang W, Liu H, Li J, et al. Effect of preconceptional DHEA treatment on in vitro fertilization outcome in poor ovarian respond women: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 2019; 20(1):50.

Chern CU, Tsui KH, Vitale SG. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) supplementation improves in vitro fertilization outcomes of poor ovarian responders, especially in women with low serum concentration of DHEA-S: a retrospective cohort study. Reprod Biol Endocrinol, 2018; 16(1):90.

Barad D, Gleicher N.  Effect of dehydroepiandrosterone on oocyte and embryo yields, embryo grade and cell number in IVF. Human Reproduction, 2006; 21(11):2845-2849.

Barad D, Gleicher N. Increased oocyte production after treatment with dehydroepiandrosterone. Fertility and Sterility, 2005; 84(3):756.e1-756.e3.

Metabolism and Obesity

Villareal D, Holloszy J. Effect of DHEA on Abdominal Fat and Insulin Action in Elderly Women and Men. JAMA, 2004; 292(18):2243.

Davis S, Walker K, Strauss B. Effects of estradiol with and without testosterone on body composition and relationships with lipids in postmenopausal women. Menopause, 2000; 7(6):395-401.

Alzheimer's Disease

do Vale S, Selinger L, Martins JM. Hormonal modulation of novelty processing in women: Enhanced under working memory load with high dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate-to-dehydroepiandrosterone ratios. Neurosci Lett, 2016; 634:98-103.

Carroll JC, Rosario ER. The potential use of hormone-based therapeutics for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Curr Alzheimer Res, 2012; 9(1):18-34.

Pike CJ, Carroll JC, Rosario ER, Barron AM. Protective actions of sex steroid hormones in Alzheimer's disease. Front Neuroendocrinol, 2009; 30(2):239-58.

Cardiovascular Disease

Schierbeck L, Rejnmark L, Tofteng C, et al. Effect of hormone replacement therapy on cardiovascular events in recently postmenopausal women: randomised trial. BMJ, 2012; 345(9):e6409-e6409.

Nabel E. Coronary Heart Disease in Women — An Ounce of Prevention. New England Journal of Medicine, 2000; 343(8):572-574.

Eye Disease

Anderson G. Hormone Replacement Therapy May Protect Against Eye Disease. American Academy of Ophthalmology website. https://www.aao.org/newsroom/news-releases/detail/hormone-replacement-therapy-may-protect-against-ey. November 13, 2017. Accessed January 24, 2019.

Osteoporosis

Jankowski CM, Wolfe P, Schmiege SJ. Sex-specific effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on bone mineral density and body composition: A pooled analysis of four clinical trials. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf), 2019; 90(2):293-300.

Prior JC, Seifert-Klauss VR, Giustini D, et al. Estrogen-progestin therapy causes a greater increase in spinal bone mineral density than estrogen therapy - a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials with direct randomization. J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact, 2017; 17(3):146-154.

Jankowski C, Gozansky W, Kittelson J, et al. Increases in Bone Mineral Density in Response to Oral Dehydroepiandrosterone Replacement in Older Adults Appear to Be Mediated by Serum Estrogens. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2008; 93(12):4767- 4773.

Migraine

Artero-Morales M, González-Rodríguez S, Ferrer-Montiel A. TRP Channels as Potential Targets for Sex-Related Differences in Migraine Pain. Front Mol Biosci, 2018; 5:73.

Lupus

Yousefi B, Rastin M, Hatef MR, et al. In vitro modulatory effect of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate on apoptosis and expression of apoptosis-related genes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. J Cell Physiol, 2018; doi: 10.1002/jcp.27878.

Inflammatory Properties

Collomp K, Gravisse N, Vibarel-Rebot N. Neuroendocrine and inflammatory responses to DHEA administration in young healthy women. Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 2018;175:19-23.