Hormone Replacement Therapy for Women and Men of All Ages

Aging is inevitable. However, feeling your age does not have to be. In an era where people are living longer than ever before, our quality of life is becoming increasingly significant. Advances in medicine have extended our life spans far beyond that of our primitive ancestors. Early humans rarely lived to be older than 35—so they died while their bodies were still young by today’s standards. Our ancestors likely had little concern for their quality of life, much less their optimal health and wellness, in a world where only the strong survived.

Only a hundred years ago, people routinely perished from communicable disease, infections, or, for women and their children, in childbirth. Today, life expectancy is growing by leaps and bounds while the human body is still aging at nineteenth-century rates. Advances in fitness, medical innovation, and surgical technology have enabled both our bodies and brains to continue functioning, for some, well into our nineties—and that number is on the rise. So, although we are living longer, we are also living sicker. And the medical establishment is largely to blame. Men and women are not being told that long-term Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) will decrease the risk of much of age-related disease, including heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, breast and prostate cancer, and osteoporosis.

I view the aging process as just that—a process. You can either age passively or take a proactive approach; I advocate the latter. I describe my philosophy as Modern Aging and, ideally, it begins sooner than you may expect. With conventional medicine, the evaluation of hormone levels typically takes place only after the patient becomes symptomatic—for women, at menopause, and for men, during andropause (or, whenever they are suffering from low-T). By the time patients reach these milestones, it is far too late as the aging process is already in full swing. You can never press reset on aging and much of the aging process is irreversible.

While aging cannot be stopped in its tracks, it can be dramatically slowed through my Modern Aging protocol. I know that every patient is different and every concern is unique. While some of us are fortunate to feel great, a rising number of patients do not. Increasingly, patients are presenting with symptoms of hormonal imbalances while they are still quite young. I believe that it’s not a question of if you should start HRT but when. In a perfect world, patients may begin hormone optimization therapy as young as their 20s or 30s. I meet my patients where they are, tailoring an individualized program for hormonal optimization through pellet therapy with the goal of improving their quality of life for the long term.

Your Hormones and Your Health

In the same manner that a vintage car can operate for countless years if properly maintained, the human body can continue to function with the correct care. For optimal function, we must manage our hormones as we would change the oil in our car. Conventional physicians fail to recognize the significance of optimizing their patients’ hormones for healthier aging. So, although we are living longer, our various bodily systems are failing or functioning poorly at best. As we age, our quality of life is gravely diminished. As a Functional Medicine practitioner, I know that this does not have to be the case.

We all have hormones—having balanced hormones is equally critical for men as it is for women. Your body is composed of a variety of different hormones, including growth and sex hormones, which carry messages between your organs and cells. Essentially, hormones act as chemical messengers. They are secreted by glands in the endocrine system and their job is to make sure that the body stays balanced and functions optimally. Your sex hormones, your thyroid, and stress hormones all inhabit a delicate ecosystem. When one is out of balance, each individual system suffers.

Hormones help regulate the following:

• Mood and cognitive function
• Growth and development of the body
• Digestion and metabolism of food
• Body temperature and thirst
• Reproductive growth and health
• Muscle growth and health
• Sexual desire and function

Both women and men naturally produce the hormones, testosterone and estrogen. As we age, however, these amounts decline. For women, testosterone starts falling at age 21 and, for men, at age 30. Most women understand that they may require hormone replacement therapy as they approach and go through menopause. Men, however, may be less aware of the importance of adequate hormones at all stages of life. Men need to know that testosterone deficiency is a real disease—one that should be treated no matter what the age. Especially as we grow older, our quality of life is testosterone correlated. This means that inadequate levels of testosterone—in men and in women—is the number one reason you have quality-of-life concerns.

Positive Effects of Bio-identical Hormone Testosterone

The advantages of hormone pellets for both women and men are vast and the side effects are minimal and easily managed. The main regions of the body that testosterone protects long-term are the brain, heart, bones, prostate, and breasts. And the multiple advantageous effects of optimized testosterone include the following:

For Men

• Feeling of overall well-being
• Increased energy
• Builds muscle mass
• Stronger bones
• Reduces body fat
• Cognitive clarity
• Improved erections
• Prostate protection
• Cardiovascular protection
• Lowers cholesterol

For Women

• Feeling of overall well-being
• Increased energy
• Increased lean muscles and reduced body fat
• Stronger bones
• Reduced brain fog
• Relief from depression
• Enhanced libido
• Enhanced sleep
• Cardiovascular protection
• Lowers cholesterol

Furthermore, for women with autoimmune diseases, testosterone therapy has been shown to reduce the severity of the condition. Many studies show that estrogen makes the immune system more likely to attack to the person it’s living in, while testosterone actually provides protection from such attacks.

For men, you should be aware that testosterone may reduce your sperm count; so, if you are attempting to start a family, pellet therapy is not for you.

Why Choose BioTE Pelleting?

I want my patients to know that HRT is not only safe but also necessary for optimal health, particularly as we age. HRT was pioneered in the 1940s and initially designed for the management of menopause and the many uncomfortable symptoms that come along with it. For decades, HRT has been prescribed to menopausal women to treat hot flashes, sleep disturbances, night sweats, psychological and urinary symptoms, decreases breast cancer, and for the prevention of osteoporosis.

I chose hormone replacement therapy from BioTE for my patients because their quality control and efficacy exceeds the norm. Close isn’t good enough. I don’t want to leave anything to chance. I’ve done the research, so you don’t have to. With BioTE, I know that their pellets are highly regulated. We know the purity, the sterility, the concentration, and the potency.

I only recommend BioTE pellet therapy to my patients, women and men. It is the safest and most effective method of monitoring and optimizing hormone replacement therapy. Over eighty years worth of studies demonstratethe superiority of pellet therapy in maintaining constant and therapeutic hormone levels. The pellet method of HRT has been used in Europe, Canada, and Australia for decades, as well as by select physicians in the US. I am thrilled to be one of these physicians as I see the changes pelleting makes in the lives of my patients daily. Only through pelleting can patients be assured that their levels remain balanced and consistent: in a word, optimal.

Who Needs Hormone Pelleting?

If you’re a man or a woman over 40, you probably need HRT. If you’re under 40, there’s a pretty good chance. Age-related cognitive decline begins in your thirties and 50% of people will develop dementia by their eighties with no intervention. Anyone whose immune system is compromised can benefit from testosterone therapy. If your quality of life is waning, pellet therapy may be for you. NAMS (North American Menopause Society) recognizes that hormone therapy should be individualized. That’s why ordering and analyzing your blood work before pelleting is key. If you suffer from any of the following symptoms, hormone replacement with pellets can help:

• low energy – feeling tired all the time
• low libido – loss or lack of sex drive
• weight gain – especially in the midsection, along with muscle loss
• brain fog – loss of mental or cognitive clarity
• depression
• hair loss
• loss of muscle mass

The Pelleting Process

Bioidentical hormone pellets are concentrated hormones that are biologically identical to the hormones you make in your own body prior to menopause or andropause. Women should know that, before menopause, you naturally produced both estrogen and testosterone in your ovaries and adrenal glands. Bioidentical hormones have the same effects on your body as your own estrogen and testosterone did when you were younger with the advantage of greater consistency. When you were younger, your menstrual cycle caused monthly hormonal fluctuations—you probably recall your mood swings or your weight going up and down depending on the time of month. Men know that as andropause approaches, your muscle mass is on the decline, you develop unwanted fat deposits, general fatigue, and your erections just don’t feel 21 anymore.

With subcutaneous hormone pellets, such fluctuations will come to an end. Hormone pellets are plant-based bioidentical estradiol and testosterone. Smaller than a grain of rice, pellets deliver consistent healthy levels of hormones for three to four months in women and four to five months in men. Women will typically begin to see the benefits within one week and men may take up to two. Symptoms are relieved for months and patients no longer need to use pills, creams, patches, or monthly injections.Your doctor implants them into the fat of one of your buttocks—the whole process takes just minutes. Once the pellets are inserted, you can go about your daily life; only now, you’ll be loving every minute of it.

Dr. Prewitt’s Last Word

When you think about it, isn’t it ridiculous that conventional medicine waits for the symptoms of menopause and andropause to adversely affect our lives before offering treatment? As a Functional Medicine physician, I see no reason to wait. I want my patients to be and feel their best at every stage of life.