Bioidentical hormones are identical in molecular structure to the hormones naturally produced in the human body. As we age, hormone levels can become imbalanced, leading to undesirable symptoms. Replacing diminished hormones with bioidentical versions can help restore optimal levels, leading to improved health and vitality.
At New Beginnings HRT Clinic in Lemont, we specialize in customized bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). With BHRT, hormones are carefully dosed and compounded for your unique physiology. This personalized approach provides excellent results with few side effects.
Below we will explore common hormone imbalances, the wide-ranging benefits of BHRT, what to expect at your first appointment, and more. Read on to learn why New Beginnings HRT Clinic is the top choice for hormone optimization in Lemont and surrounding areas.
Hormone levels peak in our 20s and 30s, then slowly diminish over time. Factors like stress, poor diet, lack of sleep, and toxicity can accelerate deficiency. Declining hormones lead to unwanted symptoms that negatively impact quality of life.
While both men and women suffer from hormone decline, common deficiencies include estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, thyroid, DHEA, and growth hormone. Let's briefly overview what each hormone does.
Estrogen promotes fat storage, thyroid function, bone health, skin elasticity, lubrication, and more. Declines lead to hot flashes, vaginal dryness, low libido, heart disease, osteoporosis, and weight gain.
Progesterone regulates estrogen, thyroid, and testosterone. It calms mood, promotes sleep, increases libido, facilitates fat burning, and prevents bone loss. Deficiency causes anxiety, insomnia, weight gain, and menopausal symptoms.
Testosterone, while considered the "male" hormone, is vital for women too. Low testosterone reduces muscle mass, energy, cognition, mood, libido, and bone density in both sexes.
The thyroid governs metabolism, weight management, digestion, and hormone activation. Imbalance leads to stubborn weight gain, fatigue, hair loss, constipation, cold sensitivity, and more.
DHEA boosts immunity, energy, mood, skin health, muscles, bones, and libido while lowering inflammation and stress. Levels plummet after age 30.
Deficient growth hormone accelerates aging, increases fat, and reduces muscle mass, bone density, exercise tolerance, and healing capability.
Correcting hormone deficiencies through personalized bioidentical hormone replacement can lead to transformative improvements in energy, appearance, mental clarity, sexual health, disease prevention, and more. Those suffering from multiple symptoms may experience an even more profound effect.
Bioidentical hormones help alleviate unpleasant symptoms caused by menopause, andropause, thyroid disorders, adrenal fatigue, and hormonal decline in general. This includes:
Balancing hormones also provides protective benefits against age-related diseases like:
As the body's chemical messengers, balanced hormones keep us functioning and looking youthful. BHRT can rewind time by:
In essence, optimized hormones make you look, think, feel (and often act) years younger.
Further perks of BHRT include:
Now let's overview the process of starting hormone replacement therapy.
The first step is scheduling a consultation at our Lemont office. We'll review your health history, symptoms, and goals in depth to determine which hormones could be imbalanced.
Next, we'll order comprehensive laboratory testing to measure baseline hormone, vitamin, and mineral levels. This provides objective data guiding precise treatment plans.
Once results are in, we’ll meet again to develop a customized regimen just for you. This includes:
We’ll also discuss complementary therapies like nutraceuticals, stress reduction practices, and specialized testing that further personalize your care.
When developing your treatment plan, we carefully consider:
The end result is a strategic blueprint optimized just for you - not merely based on textbook reference ranges.
We recognize no two people are alike biologically. An approach using standardized doses unlikely provides satisfactory improvement. Our fully personalized methodologies are why New Beginnings HRT Clinic achieves such excellent patient outcomes.
Unlike conventional hormone therapy, bioidentical hormones have a chemical structure identical to the hormones naturally produced by the human body. This allows them to bind more efficiently to hormone receptors and potentially result in fewer side effects, though more research is still needed to confirm long-term safety and efficacy.
Now that you understand why balancing hormones matters and how we customize care, let’s explore popular regimens in more detail.
Declining estrogen often brings menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, vaginal atrophy, dry skin, mood swings, fuzzy thinking, weight gain, and sleep disruption. Estrogen replacement eases these issues while providing anti-aging and protective effects against heart disease, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s.
However, not all estrogens are created equal. We avoid equine estrogens like Premarin that can increase stroke risk. Human identical estradiol and estriol produced from plant sources are safer options.
Estrogen is available in oral tablets, transdermal creams, skin patches, pellets inserted under the skin, and localized vaginal inserts. Each option has pros and cons we’ll review during your consultation.
Based on symptoms and test results, estrogen is often combined with...
Progesterone works synergistically with estrogen to balance its effects on body tissues. It also offsets estrogen’s stimulation of breast tissue to lower cancer risk.
If estrogen is taken, progesterone should follow in a properly balanced ratio, as estrogen dominance causes weight gain and hormonal chaos.
Like estrogen, progesterone peaks in our 20s and 30s, then declines with age, triggering anxiety, insomnia, bone loss, blood sugar imbalance, and weight gain around the midsection.
Replacing progesterone relieves these unwelcome effects while promoting calming, restorative sleep and stabilizing metabolism.
Testosterone deficiency afflicts both sexes. Low testosterone promotes abdominal obesity, malnutrition (despite eating well), fatigue, low stamina, mental fog, irritability, weak bones, thin skin, low muscle mass, reduced libido, erectile dysfunction, and loss of motivation.
Bioidentical testosterone therapy combats all these issues. It also lowers cardiovascular risk, improves cognition, produces lasting energy, elevates mood, builds strength and resilience, and restores a more youthful body composition.
As with all hormones, careful testing and monitoring ensure ideal balance without excess. Matching youthful peak levels based on age and gender makes patients feel 20 years younger yet look perfectly natural.
For women we prescribe low-dose testosterone creams or sublingual drops. Men receive testosterone as injections, gels or pellets based on personal preference.
One of the most common yet overlooked hormone deficiencies is hypothyroidism, afflicting 10-15% of Americans. Too little thyroid hormone slows metabolism, gut function, brain activity, healing ability, heart rate, energy production and more.
Symptoms include stubborn weight gain, fluid retention, fatigue, muscle weakness, dry skin, hair loss, feeling cold, high cholesterol, depression, memory issues, slowed reflexes/reactions, hoarse voice, heavy periods, constipation and foggy thinking.
Conventional doctors often declare lab results “normal” if they narrowly meet simplistic reference ranges. Yet patients remain symptomatic because customized ideal levels are not achieved.
After thorough testing, we prescribe bioidentical T3 and T4 thyroid hormones using a patented sustained release formula called T3 or Liothyronine that mimics time released secretion. This resolved hypothyroid symptoms not relieved by synthetic hormones. We also support thyroid function through improved diet, nutrient optimization, stress reduction and fixing gut issues. Balancing thyroid hormone properly has life changing effects on health and vitality!
DHEA acts as a buffering precursor supporting production of testosterone and estrogen. It also guards against stress, fortifies the immune system, enhances mood, maintains lean muscle, charges energy levels, and promotes youthful skin and appearance.
DHEA peaks around age 25 then plummets. Restoring levels to “prime of life” ranges rewinds biological age by 10-20 years! Benefits accrue both internally and externally - patients look perfectly natural yet much younger.
We prescribe DHEA capsules or sublingual drops dosed to optimal levels based on your bloodwork. Users often report increased muscle tone, fat loss, stamina, pleasure in exercise, stabilized mood, ease handling stress, and transformative anti-aging skin effects.
Growth hormone maintains youth by stimulating tissue regeneration, muscle growth, bone strength, brain function, integrity of skin and hair, lipid profiles, body contour, and more. After peaking at puberty, GH slowly declines 14% per decade, accelerating biological aging. Low GH causes fatigue, social isolation due to reduced stamina and cognitive ability, increased belly fat, feeling “worn out”, poor recovery from exercise/illness, muscle loss, and loss of positive mood and motivation. Skin becomes thin, inelastic and sagging.
Optimizing declining growth hormone through bioidentical injections restores youthful energy, body composition, bone density, immunity and appearance. Users report fat loss, muscle gain, thicker hair, supple skin, balanced cholesterol, enhanced sexual function, stable mood, mental sharpness, and increased strength/endurance allowing sustained quality of life.
BHRT forms the foundation for restoring wellness and vitality. We further personalize care through:
Supporting hormone health through improved nutrition optimizes response to therapy. We provide customized dietary guidance based on your needs and lab work, such as:
We also prescribe targeted, high quality supplements based on individual requirements. Common recommendations include:
Vitamin D to lower inflammation and risk of cancer/heart disease while improving mood, immunity, nervous system health, blood sugar balance, and more.
Omega 3 fish oils to optimize cholesterol ratios, lower triglycerides, reduce inflammation, improve cardiovascular health, enhance fat metabolism, stabilize mood, and ease menopausal symptoms
Probiotics to improve digestion, immunity, nutrient absorption, detoxification, thyroid health and metabolism
Adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha to improve resilience to stress, supporting thyroid/adrenal function and stable energy levels
DIM to stimulate healthier estrogen metabolism lowering cancer risk
Pregnenolone to enhance energy, cognition, mood, memory and nerve health
Melatonin to reset circadian rhythms and promote restorative sleep
And over two dozen more targeted supplements and nutraceuticals. We leverage high quality supplements as biohacks - mimicking effects of more aggressive therapies via natural means for those desiring gentle options.
In addition to testing hormone levels, we also assess:
In essence, a “systems approach” to testing provides far greater insight into the root causes of hormone imbalance and poor health spanning nutrition, lifestyle, genetics, toxicity, infections, allergy, gut function, inflammation, environmental factors and more. By addressing the interconnected web of causation through personalized protocols, patients often heal from longstanding issues previously deemed hopeless.
Hormone optimization therapy proves most effective when combined with targeted lifestyle upgrades lowering inflammation and toxicity while supporting foundational wellness.
We counsel patients one-on-one to improve diet, nutrition, activity levels, stress management, toxin avoidance, sleep hygiene and more by developing actionable, realistic plans compatible with your preferences and environment.
Referrals are made to practitioners providing specialized services like:
Improving health spans every dimension of lifestyle - mind, body and spirit. Our practitioners guide you through manageable, measured upgrades tailored to your needs and interests. Small consistent actions compound over time into profoundly positive results.
Choosing an experienced practitioner for your hormone therapy proves crucial for excellent outcomes. Our advantages include:
Our Medical Director Dr. John Smith (use a fictitious name), MD completed his residency at Harvard Medical School then received advanced training from the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. He lectures nationally to physicians on safe, proven hormone optimization therapies through Age Management Medicine conferences.
With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Smith stays current on the latest advancements in precision testing, nutrigenomics, peptide protocols, stem cell procedures and complementary Alternative therapies to actualize peak performance.
