Menopause represents an important time in a woman’s life, where pregnancy is no longer a concern. The process is driven by the shutdown of estrogen production in the ovaries.
While you’re freed from the demands of a menstrual cycle and the risk of unwanted pregnancy, the dramatic change in the balance of hormone levels can carry equally dramatic health consequences and side effects.
Choosing an experienced gynecologist, such as John A. Whitfield, MD, as your menopause management physician can help make the transition to menopause less dramatic and more comfortable.
Many of the common side effects of menopause respond well to hormone replacement therapy, a rebalancing of hormone levels to approximate the losses stemming from menopause. Dr. Whitfield takes things one step further by using bioidentical hormones.
The complex chemistry of hormones means that, depending on the production method, synthetic hormones may have the same effects as natural hormones, but with slight changes to the molecular structure. Other manufacturing processes provide exact matches in molecular architecture, creating what are known as bioidentical hormones.
It’s thought that by precisely matching natural hormones, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) provides successful outcomes without potential long-term side effects.
Hormone therapy can be delivered through a variety of means. Pills, patches, gels, sprays, and injections are all used in certain circumstances.
Perhaps the easiest and most reliable delivery method, though, is the subdermal pellet. There’s no mess with topical ointments, and no pills to remember (or forget!).
A BHRT pellet releases hormones directly into your bloodstream at a steady rate, around the clock, for between three and six months. There’s no fluctuation as there is with dosage-based HRT delivery methods, and the direct absorption delivery means there’s no impact on your gastrointestinal system or liver.
Your BHRT pellet gets placed under local anesthetic in a procedure that takes less than five minutes. All you’ll feel is a slight pinch from the anesthetic injection. The incision made for the pellet is tiny, so there’s little risk of scarring, though this depends on the way each patient’s body responds. When your BHRT formula is optimized and symptoms are under control, your only commitment is returning for another pellet when the current pellet wears down.
The process starts in consultation with Dr. Whitfield. Call our Fort Worth, Texas office directly at 817-927-2229 to book your appointment with us today.
