Category Archives: Women

Increase your Sex Drive

Published on May 13, 2016 by

A decreased sex drive can arise for many reasons and it can affect both women and men. A healthy sexual relationship with someone that you love is important. It is sometimes too easy to ignore this fact and let this part of your life slip away.

Balancing your hormones is one part of having a healthy libido. Without a proper balance of Estrogen, Progesterone, and Testosterone it is difficult to have a healthy sex drive. Our hormones get out of balance for many reasons and utilizing bio-identical hormones helps to fix that problem. Balancing your hormones is like putting gas into your car.

Just like there are many other parts to your car to make it run, there are also other things that affect your libido. Stress can greatly diminish your desire. Being unhappy in your relationship or being unhappy with yourself has a definite impact with sex drive. Medications can also have an affect.

Older couple laying in bed

It is important to take time out to unplug and relax. Yoga is a great way to learn to relax and keep your body limber. Turn off the phone, tv, and computer and breathe deeply and clear your mind. Hypnotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, Reiki, and transformational breathing are all things that can aide you in any relationship issues–with your partner and with yourself.

Having a healthy sex drive can make you feel better about yourself and can enhance your relationship. With an integrative medicine approach and a desire on your part to increase your libido, you should be able to regain your libido.

Posted in Hormones, Men, Women

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Estrogen For Men And Women

Published on February 28, 2016 by

Estrogen Word Cloud

Estrogen is often looked at as the enemy–causing weight gain, breast tenderness, bleeding issues, and even certain cancers. It is not Estrogen that is bad, it is the imbalance of Estrogen to Progesterone and Testosterone that causes the problems.

Every man and woman needs a certain amount of Estrogen in their bodies. There are actually several different Estrogen types that your body makes–a couple of them are even felt to be anti-cancer. Your body requires the proper amount of Estrogen in order to have healthy bones, skin, a good memory, a balanced mood, and to overall function well.

When you get your hormones evaluated by a bio-identical hormone specialist, we make sure to get your hormones into the right balance so that you can feel and look your best, while working to reduce your long term risk of dementia, osteoporosis, heart disease, certain cancers, etc.

Aside from taking bio-identical hormones and achieving the right Estrogen/Progesterone/Testosterone balance, you can also help your hormone metabolism in other ways. Reducing your sugar intake and regular exercise helps your body to metabolize your Estrogen properly. Consuming cruciferous vegetables and/or taking the supplement DIM also helps your Estrogen go down an anti cancer pathway.

It is a hormonal imbalance that causes the problems – not the hormones themselves. Utilizing bio-identical hormones, taking the right supplements, and living a healthy lifestyle have been shown to help men and women live an optimal life.

Posted in Estrogen, Hormones, Women

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Testosterone For Women

Published on November 15, 2015 by

JS is a 57 year old woman. She is married to a wonderful man and is a grandmother. When I met her she was already eating an organic diet and was walking her property on a regular basis. She complained about being unable to sleep, unable to lose weight, debilitating back pain, hot flashes, poor focus, fatigue and vaginal dryness. She felt like she was 80 years old, not 57. Her insomnia was debilitating and it was greatly affecting her life. Her other doctor had tried numerous sleep aides but she either had side effects or they did not help her. She was told that she simply had to live with it: a doctor told her that “not sleeping never killed anyone”. JS was fatigued on a daily basis because of her insomnia. This was her biggest complaint. She had no idea that insomnia can be a symptom of a hormonal imbalance. After all, it was not always the hot flashes that kept her awake. The hot flashes were pretty mild and usually in the daytime–she did not feel they were worth treating.

Happy Older Couple

After a complete hormonal evaluation we put her on Progesterone which is very calming and helps sleep. It also helps improve bone strength. She had a hysterectomy and was told by a prior physician that she no longer needed Progesterone. This is simply not true—there are other cells in your body that require Progesterone. For example, the brain has Progesterone receptors. By optimizing her Progesterone levels she was able to sleep better and this greatly improved her energy level.

She was also found to be low on Testosterone. Although her back pain had a physical cause, replacing Testosterone helped her body heal better. Optimal Testosterone levels helps to decrease general aches and pains. Many people feel that Testosterone is simply for sex drive but that could not be further from the truth. Testosterone is important for both men and women, performing multiple functions. Helping your body to heal is one of those functions. Testosterone also helps you to focus better, improves energy, allows your body to build muscle and burn fat, etc. Once we optimized the Testosterone of J.S., her back pain, focus, and energy all improved. She regained her vitality.

She was also given vaginal estriol which repaired her vaginal lining safely. Once the vaginal dryness and pain was repaired, her sex drive improved. (The Testosterone helped in that department too)

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Posted in Hormones, Testosterone, Women

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Signs Of Hormonal Imbalances In Woman

Published on September 24, 2015 by

Hormonal Imbalance

The signs of a hormonal imbalance in women can be obvious or it can be subtle and missed. I wanted to post a questionnaire that is simple to use in order for women to better see if they have a hormonal imbalance or not.

Answer these questions with none, mild, moderate, severe, or extremely severe so that you may have a better picture of what is going on in your body.

Do you have the following:

  • Hot flashes, sweating (episodes of sweating)
  • Heart discomfort (unusual awareness of your heart beat, heart skipping, heart racing, or tightness)
  • Sleep problems (difficulty falling asleep, difficulty in sleeping through the night, or waking up early)
  • Depressive mood (feeling sad, down, on the verge of tears, having a lack of drive, or mood swings)
  • Irritability (feeling nervous, having an inner tension, or feeling aggressive)
  • Physical or mental exhaustion (having a general decrease in performance, impaired memory, decrease in concentration, or forgetfulness)
  • Anxiety (inner restlessness or feeling panicky)
  • Sexual problems (a change in sexual desire or in sexual activity and satisfaction)
  • Bladder problems (trouble urinating, an increased need to urinate, or bladder incontinence)
  • Dryness of vagina (sensation of dryness or burning in the vagina or difficulty with sexual intercourse)
  • Joint or muscular discomfort (pain in the joints or muscles, a delay in recovery from workouts or injury)

After answering the above questions assess how many you symptoms you have. These are all indicators of a hormonal imbalance. The more symptoms on this list you have, the quicker you should get your hormones checked by someone who understands optimal hormone balancing.

Posted in Hormones, Women

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Women Need Testosterone

Published on July 27, 2015 by

What do you think of when you hear the word Testosterone? Most people say men, muscles, or sex drive. What they often don’t realize is that women have Testosterone, just a lesser amount than men have. (Men have some Estrogen too, but that is a topic for another day)

Hormone Pellets

Testosterone performs a variety of functions. Yes, Testosterone is important for building muscles and giving you a healthy sex drive–both functions that are needed by women, not just men. Maintaining a healthy muscle mass helps to keep you mobile and vital as you age, plus it helps you to burn fat. However, Testosterone is so much more than that. Testosterone helps you to think clearly and to have energy. It is important for repairing damage in your musculoskeletal system, gets rid of night/day sweats, and is one of the best natural anti-depressants. It helps you to sleep better and age more gracefully.

The list of benefits goes on and on. An optimal Testosterone level is one thing that both men and women need in order to function optimally. Bio-identical Testosterone is an important piece of a hormone replacement program. When given, and monitored properly, you will no longer feel as if you have passed your peak.

Posted in Testosterone, Women

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Testosterone pellets

Published on March 16, 2015 by

Men and women are both in need of Testosterone, just in varying amounts. Testosterone is critical for ensuring that you have vitality, are able to heal, can sleep soundly, have mental focus and it helps to stabilize your mood. It is not just about libido, or sex drive.

Hormone Pellets

Bioidentical Testosterone pellets are an effective way to get a daily dose of Testosterone. (In women we can also add bioidentical Estrogen pellets if needed). The pellets are easily inserted into the fatty tissue in the upper outer part of your buttocks as a simple outpatient procedure. The pellets secrete a low dose of Testosterone into your blood stream on a regular basis and secretes more when your heart rate and blood flow goes up. It is the most physiologic way to receive bioidentical Testosterone replacement.

It may take a few weeks after your first pellet insertion to visibly notice a difference. Testosterone performs a multitude of bodily functions, many of these are undetectable to you. Men typically require repeat pellets at about 4 to 5 months, with a maximum of 6 months and occasionally needing them at 3 months. Women typically require repeat pellets at 3 to 4 months, with a maximum of 6 months.

In return for a few simple procedures a year you can think more clearly, have less pain, feel happier, and overall live with more vitality. Bioidentical hormone pellets are one option for you to consider when optimizing your hormones.

Posted in Bio-Identical Hormones, Hormones, Men, Testosterone, Women

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Testosterone is not just for men!

Published on February 26, 2015 by

I see many different types of women for hormonal issues and occasionally they have actually started bio-identical hormones but still did not feel optimal. It is extremely rare for them to have been put on Testosterone, and if they were it is usually a suboptimal dosing. This shows that there is a lot of misunderstanding about Testosterone –both with patients and with prescribing doctors.

Testosterone in woman

Testosterone is a hormone that is present in both men and women. Obviously men have a higher amount in their blood than women, but it is still an important hormone for women to have. Many people think that it is only a hormone for sex drive and nothing could be further from the truth!! Testosterone is responsible for helping you heal, enhancing your mood, improving your focus and memory, helping your sleep, and giving you overall vitality. It has a few hundred functions in the body and without optimal Testosterone levels you will simply not feel like yourself.

Replacing your Testosterone with a bio-identical replacement hormone is a big part of regaining your vitality. Eating a healthy low sugar whole food diet, minimizing your toxin exposures, reducing your stress, and taking bio-identical hormones all work together to ensure that you live longer feeling young and vital. If you are feeling tired, depressed, have aches and pains, can’t sleep well, have brain fog, or feel less than vital; you will want to get your Testosterone and other hormones checked by a hormone specialist.

Posted in Health, Hormones, Men, Women

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Is It Menopause Or Am I Just Wacky?

Published on September 9, 2014 by

Sylvia (name has been changed for privacy) sat down in front of me and said “I am whacked”. “I feel like I am crazy–I fly off the handle at little things-it is so easy to get irritated. Also, I am not depressed but I just don’t have any joy or energy anymore. And I worry about little things. My regular doctor thinks I need an anti-depressant but I don’t think that is the answer. I never had these issues until I turned 46.”

What Are Hormones?

I actually hear stories like this quite often from women age 35-55. This is the time in a woman’s life when her hormones really start to change. It is so sad that women are made to feel like they are in need of an anti depressant automatically. Many health care providers, and patients, fail to look at the possibility that a hormonal imbalance can be the cause of feeling “wacky”.

It is a common misconception that hormonal changes are only felt as hot flashes or night sweats. Your hormones (specifically Progesterone, Estrogen, and Testosterone) have so many more functions in your body than just preventing hot flashes or giving you a sex drive. These hormones perform hundreds of different functions in your body. One of those things is helping you to feel emotionally balanced and to have better energy and vitality.

In Sylvia’s case I found that she lacked Testosterone, Progesterone, and B-12. I gave her a bio-identical Progesterone capsule at night which helped to calm her and enhance her sleep quality. I also inserted a bio-identical Testosterone pellet which also helped her to balance her mood and gave her back her vitality. She was counseled to eat an organic whole food based diet and to eliminate gluten (gluten has been found to be a hormonal disrupter and she was found to be sensitive to it). She was also given methyl-B12 injections (B-12 is important for the proper functioning of hormones) and this also helped her energy.

Feeling emotionally out of balance can be caused by hormonal imbalances and Sylvia’s case shows this perfectly. Feeling “whacked” is a thing of the past and without the use of an antidepressant.

Posted in Bio-Identical Hormones, Hormones, Women

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Bio-Identical Hormones For Women

Published on July 8, 2014 by

What to expect after a bio-identical hormone pellet insertion for women –

You will have had a local anesthetic before the bio-identical pellets are inserted. You will receive one to two bio-identical Testosterone pellets and possibly one bio-identical Estrogen pellet depending on your specific needs. The majority of women find that the actual pellet insertion is quite painless. You may feel a slight pressure at times but no sharp pain. The only possible discomfort during the procedure is when the local anesthetic is placed (it can sting a little).

Woman Stretching

It is important to ice the area where the pellet was inserted over the following 4 hours. It is best to place an ice pack on the area for about 10-15 minutes and then have a period of 20-30 minutes with no ice, then repeat. This will minimize any swelling and discomfort that you may have.

You must avoid immersing the area in water for 4 days. Showering is fine. No baths, pool, or hot tub use. You must also avoid heavy exercise for the next 4 days. Walking is fine. Any action that causes your buttocks muscles to contract strongly has the potential for pushing the pellets out. This is only a precaution for the first four days. After that time period you are free to do whatever you wish in regards to activity and water exposure.

You may have some tenderness in the area (buttocks area, above where pants pockets are) for a few days. Rarely some women feel a slight discomfort for up to two weeks. If you follow the instructions listed above this will decrease any discomfort. If you do experience tenderness it should not interfere with your daily activities.

The majority of women barely notice any discomfort after the procedure. You are able to go back to work after the procedure as long as you can follow the precautions given.

Testosterone and Estrogen perform many functions in the human body–they are not just there to help us feel better. It can take up to 3-4 weeks to feel the benefits of the pellets. If you feel no different by four weeks after the pellet insertion, it is important to get your hormone levels done so that we can assess your needs. Sometimes you need a booster bio-identical pellet insertion after your first insertion because your hormone stores were so low.

Each woman uses up their bio-identical pellets at a different rate. You will typically need a re-pellet at 3-5 months from the time of insertion. Get your re-pellet done at the first signs of your symptoms slightly recurring.

Communicate with the hormone specialist who inserted your pellets if you are unsure of what to do or if you have any questions. It is important for us to know how you are doing so that we may help you.

Posted in Bio-Identical Hormones, Estrogen, Hormones, Women

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Menopause Or Wacky?

Published on June 24, 2014 by

Sylvia (name has been changed for privacy) sat down in front of me and said “I am whacked”. “I feel like I am crazy–I fly off the handle at little things-it is so easy to get irritated. Also, I am not depressed but I just don’t have any joy or energy anymore. And I worry about little things. My regular doctor thinks I need an anti-depressant but I don’t think that is the answer. I never had these issues until I turned 46.”

Woman having an emotional migrane

I actually hear stories like this quite often from women age 35-55. This is the time in a woman’s life when her hormones really start to change. It is so sad that women are made to feel like they are in need of an anti depressant automatically. Many health care providers, and patients, fail to look at the possibility that a hormonal imbalance can be the cause of feeling “wacky”.

It is a common misconception that hormonal changes are only felt as hot flashes or night sweats. Your hormones (specifically Progesterone, Estrogen, and Testosterone) have so many more functions in your body than just preventing hot flashes or giving you a sex drive. These hormones perform hundreds of different functions in your body. One of those things is helping you to feel emotionally balanced and to have better energy and vitality.

In Sylvia’s case I found that she lacked Testosterone, Progesterone, and B-12. I gave her a bio-identical Progesterone capsule at night which helped to calm her and enhance her sleep quality. I also inserted a bio-identical Testosterone pellet which also helped her to balance her mood and gave her back her vitality. She was counseled to eat an organic whole food based diet and to eliminate gluten (gluten has been found to be a hormonal disrupter and she was found to be sensitive to it). She was also given methyl-B12 injections (B-12 is important for the proper functioning of hormones) and this also helped her energy.

Feeling emotionally out of balance can be caused by hormonal imbalances and Sylvia’s case shows this perfectly. Feeling “whacked” is a thing of the past and without the use of an antidepressant.

Posted in Bio-Identical Hormones, Estrogen, Hormones, Testosterone, Women

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