Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy in Kennesaw, GA
Your hormones play a critical role in both your physical and emotional health, but both men and women are living with imbalances that affect their quality of life. At Kennesaw Gynecology in Kennesaw, Georgia, Angel Paas, MD, relies on bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) to safely restore balance to your body and improve your overall health and well-being.
Dr. Paas provides, detailed, tailored to you, informative, and consultative sessions about all options for hormone replacement therapy. This includes, but is not limited to, natural supplements all the way to insertion of testosterone pellets which are bioidentical and made by an FDA-approved compounding pharmacy.
Dr. Paas sees patients from all over Cook County including Marietta, Smyrna, and Powder Springs. If you are interested in getting started with BHRT, call Kennesaw Gynecology today or book an appointment online.
Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy Q & A
What is bio-identical hormone replacement therapy?
Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) is a medical treatment for balancing your hormones.
BHRT uses hormones derived from vegetables, like yams and soybeans, with the exact same chemical structure as those made by the human body. This molecular structure makes it easier for your body to absorb, as opposed to synthetic hormones. The synthetic hormones are 20 times stronger than BHRT and have higher risks of serious side effects, like headaches, weight gain, and heart disease.
The goal of BHRT is to provide a precise amount of hormones to restore the healthy balance of your body.
What do hormones do?
You have several different kinds of hormones in your body, including testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone, that affect how your cells function.
- Testosterone
Both men and women have testosterone, which is critical for your overall health and well-being. Testosterone is not only associated with libido and sexuality but also strength and stamina, your ability to heal, and your skin tone. It also protects you against cardiovascular disease, reduces your blood sugar, and enhances your mood. - Estrogen
Like testosterone, this essential hormone is found in the bodies of both men and women. Estrogen plays significant roles, protecting your brain from memory disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, and your body from problems, like osteoporosis, heart disease, and stroke. In women, estrogen also supports vaginal, sexual, urinary, and skin health as well as mood. - Progesterone
In addition to testosterone and estrogen, women also have progesterone. This hormone helps protect against female reproductive issues, like fibrocystic breast disease, ovarian cysts, and uterine and breast cancers.
When the natural balance of these hormones is thrown off, both men and women can experience a variety of uncomfortable symptoms.
What are the signs of hormone imbalance?
Low testosterone is a common problem in men 45 years of age and older. And the average woman has less than half of the testosterone at 40 that she had a 21. Not only does this hormone imbalance because a variety of uncomfortable symptoms in both sexes, but it also triggers menopausal symptoms in women.
Common signs of low testosterone include:
- Diminished sense of well-being
- Unexplained increases in body fat
- Decreased muscle strength
- Mood changes, like sadness, depression, anxiety, and irritability
- Fatigue, insomnia, and burnout
- Changes in memory and cognition
- Excessive sweating or hot flashes
- Decreased libido
Low levels of testosterone can also increase your chances of having elevated blood sugar, heart disease, osteoporosis, and certain cancers.
What causes hormone imbalance?
Some causes of hormone imbalance are surgical menopause. Surgical menopause is when the ovaries are removed and it catapults patients into menopause. Other causes include premature ovarian failure, where women become menopausal before the age of 40. This is extremely important to handle and treat properly as their bone, mental, and physical health are paramount.
How is hormone imbalance diagnosed?
Each patient is unique. Kennesaw Gynecology is able to afford plenty of time to determine where people are in their “change of life.” A formal history is recorded, focusing on the personal medical, surgical, and family history. Next, a questionnaire is filled out and bloodwork labs are taken. These steps help determine the best option for you and dosing of testosterone if that is appropriate.
What can I expect from BHRT?
To determine if you’re a good candidate for BHRT, Dr. Paas discusses your symptoms with you and performs a comprehensive exam and blood work.
After diagnosing your imbalance, Dr. Paas numbs a small area over your buttocks and makes a tiny (2-3 millimeter) incision. Then she inserts your BHRT pellet deep in your fat so you won’t be able to feel it and covers the area with skin tape. This process is painless, and you return every 3-4 months for a fresh dose.
In most cases, you start seeing changes in your mood and sleeping habits within a few weeks. As your system returns to balance in the months to come, you can expect to see more significant changes, like increased muscle mass and decreased body fat. Depending on the extent of your hormonal imbalance, it can take up to a year or longer before you achieve optimal results.
BHRT treatments for women typically cost $500 per insertion every three months, and male treatments cost $1,000 per insertion every four months.
Hormone Replacement Therapy FAQs
There is a multitude of symptoms that patients can face while going through a change of life. For women, the traditional symptoms are some, all, or one of the following: hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia that is new, mood swings, and vaginal dryness. Other symptoms we evaluate patients for include fatigue, mental fog, dry skin, weight gain, exercise fatigue or poor stamina, inability to put on muscle, hair loss, anxiety, depression, heart palpitations, incontinence, and a loss of an overall sense of well-being. For men, the decline in your feeling of general well-being, joint pain and muscular ache, excessive sweating, sleep problems, increased need for sleep, nervousness, anxiety, irritability, physical exhaustion, decrease in muscular strength, depressive mood, feeling you have passed your peak, feeling burnt out or having hit rock bottom, decrease in beard growth, decrease in ability/frequency to perform sexually, decrease in morning erections, decrease in sexual desire/libido.
We offer pharmaceutical grade supplements, antidepressants, traditional transdermal bioidentical estrogen, and progesterone therapy or bioidentical testosterone pellets.
This is where our practice differs. Our consultation visit allows us to review each patient’s goals, desires, compliance ability for dosing, etc., to make the very best decision for the patient. It is in these visits where no one is rushed and all questions get answered.
Our office is unparalleled in the concierge service we provide without the concierge price. We strive to partner with our patients to make an informed decision with them and do what is best for their situation. Feedback is important. We want to know how patients are doing while being treated. We strive to have a communicative environment with our patients and partner with them in their treatment plan.
Just show up dressed in comfortable clothing and have no plans to submerge in water like a pool or ocean for the next 5 days.
All information regarding post pellet instructions is given to you in paper form but Dr. Paas will review it at the time of the first insertion. Post-procedure, there is essentially no high-impact exercise for 5 days and no swimming or bathing for 5 days. You may shower 24 hours after insertion. Pain is minimal if not absent at the insertion site 99.9% of the time.
Schedule Your BHRT Appointment in Kennesaw, GA Today!
Call Kennesaw Gynecology at (470) 308-3365 to see if BHRT is right for you.