Estrogen and progesterone are hormones responsible for regulating the menstrual cycle and supporting a healthy pregnancy. Unfortunately, estrogen and progesterone levels decline as you age, prompting the transition to menopause. Although this is a natural process, it can cause some bothersome symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, vaginal dryness and mood changes. If you’re searching for relief from these symptoms, you may be a candidate for bioidentical hormone therapy.
What Is Bioidentical Hormone Therapy?
Bioidentical hormones are derived from compounds found in plants. Structurally, they’re identical to your body’s natural estrogen and progesterone. Because they have the same structure as your natural hormones, bioidentical hormones have advantages over conjugated estrogens, which are estrogen medications also used to treat menopause symptoms. Depending on which type of BHT you choose, it may come in the form of a pill, lotion, cream or gel. Some bioidentical hormones are injected by medical professionals.
Benefits of Bioidentical Hormones
Bioidentical hormone therapy increases the amount of estrogen and progesterone in your body, which offers several key benefits. The main benefit is that regulating your hormone levels helps prevent or reduce hot flashes, vaginal dryness, night sweats and other symptoms of menopause. These symptoms can interfere with your sleep and make you feel uncomfortable while working, spending time with your family or running errands. Using bioidentical hormones can help you feel more like yourself again.
Improved Sleep and Mood
In addition to regulating menstruation and supporting healthy pregnancies, estrogen is involved in the production of serotonin and other chemicals controlling your body’s sleep-wake cycle. Estrogen also helps regulate your temperature.
When estrogen levels decline, your body may not make enough neurotransmitters to give you a good night’s sleep. You may also find yourself sweating at night, making it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep for an extended period. Bioidentical hormone therapy increases your estrogen level, ensuring your body has enough hormones to help you sleep.
Hair Growth
Your hair grows in three phases: anagen, catagen and telogen. During the anagen phase, the cells in your hair multiply rapidly, resulting in hair growth. Once the catagen phase begins, the cells stop reproducing, and the hair follicles start to shrink. Finally, the hair stops growing in the telogen (resting) phase. Approximately 10 to 15% of the hair on your body is in the telogen phase at any given time.
Estrogen stimulates the growth of the hair follicles, which is why many pregnant women have thicker-than-usual hair. As estrogen levels decline, you may notice thinning hair at the top of your head. Many women also experience hair loss once they transition into menopause. Bioidentical hormones can stimulate hair growth, making you more confident about your appearance.
Better Nail Health
Estrogen also has an effect on keratin production in the human body. Keratin is a hard protein that gives the hair and nails their structure. If you don’t have enough estrogen, your body may not produce as much keratin as it needs to maintain healthy nails. Additionally, estrogen helps regulate the amount of water in your body. When the body doesn’t have enough water, the nails start to dry out, making them more prone to cracking and breaking. In some cases, bacteria get into these cracks, causing the nails to get infected. Bioidentical hormone therapy increases your estrogen level, which may improve your nail health.
Improved Sexual Function
As estrogen levels decline, you may find it more challenging to get aroused. The vagina also loses some of its elasticity, which may make it uncomfortable to have sexual intercourse. When you combine these changes with the vaginal dryness often caused by menopause, you may find yourself avoiding sex or having sex less often than you’d like. Bioidentical hormone therapy eases vaginal dryness and may boost your libido, improving sexual functioning.
More Youthful Appearance
In addition to its many other functions, estrogen plays a role in collagen production. Collagen is a protein that provides structure and support for your skin and other tissues. As you age, your collagen levels decline along with your estrogen and progesterone levels. This causes your skin to lose elasticity, resulting in fine lines, wrinkles and other visible signs of aging. Reduced collagen production can also make your hair look thinner. Replacing your natural estrogen with bioidentical hormones can help prevent some changes, giving you a more youthful appearance.
Reduced Risk of Osteoporosis
Your bones are constantly going through a process of growth and reabsorption. As a result, your skeleton regenerates about once every decade. Estrogen is one of the substances involved in maintaining a normal balance between growth and reabsorption, which means low estrogen levels may affect your overall bone health. In fact, researchers have linked low estrogen levels to osteoporosis, a condition characterized by reduced bone density. Weaker bones are more prone to fractures, making osteoporosis a severe concern for menopausal women. Taking bioidentical hormones may help reduce your risk of this condition by increasing the amount of estrogen in your body.
Fewer Symptoms of Depression
Women tend to experience depression symptoms more often than men, which may be due to differences in the amount of estrogen circulating in male and female bodies. Once you start menopause, you may find your depression symptoms getting worse due to the mood changes and sleep disturbances associated with declining hormone levels. BRT isn’t a replacement for antidepressants or other treatments for depression. Still, it can help combat mood swings and reduce the number of depression symptoms you experience regularly. BRT may also help reduce anxiety, leaving you feeling more confident and in control.
Side Effects of Bioidentical Hormones
It takes time for your body to get used to increased hormone levels. While it adjusts, you may experience these side effects:
- Weight gain
- Fatigue
- Acne
- Facial hair growth
- Breast tenderness
- Headaches
- Mood swings
- Bloating
- Spotting
The side effects of bioidentical hormone therapy usually fade as you get used to having more estrogen and progesterone in your body. However, if they persist, you may need to adjust the dose of hormones you’re taking.
Are You a Candidate for Bioidentical Hormone Therapy?
You may be a candidate for bioidentical hormone therapy if you’re experiencing night sweats, hot flashes, vaginal dryness and other symptoms of menopause. Bioidentical hormones are an effective alternative to estrogen conjugates made by pharmaceutical companies. Although they contain natural substances, some people should avoid BHT. You may not be a good candidate for bioidentical hormone therapy if any of the following apply:
- You have a history of stroke or blood clots.
- You have gallbladder disease.
- You have an increased risk of breast cancer or heart disease.
- You’ve already been diagnosed with heart disease.
Experience the Benefits of Bioidentical Hormone Therapy
Hormonally Balanced offers bioidentical hormone therapy and other services to help you look and feel your best. We have experienced, compassionate staff members to address your concerns and ensure you understand how to use BRT safely. In addition, our staff members are women who understand what it’s like to experience hormonal changes that can leave you feeling tired and uncomfortable, so Hormonally Balanced is the best place in Massachusetts to get more information about this treatment option.
