Hormone Therapy in Bozeman, MT
Hormone therapy is an option when a patient’s own production of hormones wane or when they are insufficient and/or out of balance. Imbalance can occur throughout one’s life and can be due to diet, stress, anxiety, during or after pregnancy, disorders of eating, and especially during the peri-menopause/menopause and andropause ("man"-o-pause) transition. Hormone changes occur as we age, sometimes changing three to four fold from one day to the next, thus necessitating a way to restore those hormones and allow the onset of the aging process to be more comfortable and manageable.
Herbs and supplements are great for mild to moderate symptoms and can work well in younger populations when ovarian production of hormones remain. A shortcoming of herbs and supplements is they can never replace the hormones lost by virtue of aging or from early menopause.
Another way to restore and/or balance hormones is using Hormone Therapy (HT). HT is a broad term used to encompasses all forms of hormones used in association with peri-menopause/menopause symptom treatment.
While most women have heard of Hormone Therapy, many have become more aware there is a BIG difference between natural hormone therapy (bio-identical hormone therapy) and synthetic or non-biodentical hormone therapy. Dr. Lemley relies exclusively on bio-identical hormone therapy, which are the chemical equivalent of hormones made in our bodies since the dawn of mankind.
Synthetic/non-biodentical hormone therapy means using hormones that are chemically manufactured (synthetic) or non-native to a woman’s body (non-endogenous) to boost the loss of hormones associated with the onset of perimenopause or menopause. In our current medical world, non-endogenous hormones have erroneously been termed "natural hormones", because they often come "naturally" from the urine of pregnant horse mares, however they are not natural to a woman's body. So the terminology can be misleading and downright confusing for the general public. Non-bioidentical hormones are not native hormones found within a woman's body and these hormones have been associated with increased risk of problems associated with their use. In using HT, it is extremely instrumental to restore hormones with natural hormones native to a human physiology, known specifically as "Bio-identical hormone therapy.", or bHT. Bio-Identical Hormone therapies are superior to synthetic hormone therapy. BHT has a larger safety profile over the non-bioidentical counterparts, and bHT further serves to protect a woman's breasts, her heart, brain, eyes, colon, lungs, and bones from age related illness in ways non-bioidenticals can not.
The use of natural Bio-Identical hormone therapy (bHT), which Dr. Lemley is an expert in prescribing, means using bio-identical natural hormones that fit the the physiology of every woman. These do NOT come from a horse's urine, from a pharmaceutical labs alteration, or from some other molecule completely alien to the human body. Bio-identical hormones are the chemical equivalent to hormones which exist naturally in a woman’s or man's body, and often used to boost the body’s fading production of hormones by virtue of peri-menopause, menopause, or "man-o-pause." Dr. Lemley can prescribe many types of bioidentical hormones including estrogens such as estradiol, estriol, as well as other bio-identical hormones such as progesterone, DHEA, testosterone, cortisol. In some situations growth hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin (commonly known as HcG), and Oxytocin may be use as well, amongst other hormones.
As men and women grow older, we experience a decline in hormone production. Hormones play a key role in regulating continuous activity in our bodies and brains, and are essential to maintaining health, good mood, energy and vitality. A decrease in one or more hormones can result in a throwing hormones off elsewhere. Such imbalance can be the cause of many symptoms that we experience as we age, such as a slowing metabolism, weight gain, hair loss, loss of vital energy and reduced bone strength. Also, to mention the classic symptoms of hot flashes, night sweats, emotional distress including anxiety and depression, vaginal dryness and loss a lack of sexual libido, thinning of skin, and a decreased sense of overall well-being. Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy is a safe and effective treatment aimed to help palliate these symptoms, improve quality of life, and to avoid these health issues.
While hormone therapy is not the only option, patients that choose naturopathic and integrative Health Care at Bridger Natural Medicine can rest assured that Dr. Lemley has the knowledge and expertise in a variety of perimenopausal and menopausal treatments, one of them being Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy.