Natural Hormone Therapy FAQ

What exactly are age management systems? Age management systems are a collection of techniques that form a strategy (or system) to help in anti-aging therapy. Part of the process includes hormone modulation (the science of optimizing hormones that are no longer being adequately produced by the body).

Other components include testing, dietary changes, nutraceuticals, exercise regimes and other techniques to help develop a unique age management system that will meet your unique needs.

Anti-aging therapy addresses the deficiencies in the body and identifies those natural homones that were once produced in abundance but that are now too low to maintain metabolic and endocrine functions at optimal levels. Once identified they can be addressed so you can enjoy a healthy and vigorous life.
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How long before you can actually see results from anti-aging therapy? Every anti-aging therapy program is different because needs vary with each person. Some individuals feel results within a few days while others take longer. Realistically, the average person can expect results within three to six months after beginning natural hormone therapy for age management.
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How long do I need natural hormone therapy? To reap optimal benefits it is recommended that you commit to a minimum of at least six months to see maximum benefits. We see most of our anti-agining clinic patients experiencing benefits before three months and they experience continued improvement beyond that point. Keep in mind that each body is different and so you should allow your body as much time as it needs to heal and rebuild. So, although you can elect to stop after consulting with your anti-aging doctor, you many want to remain on the anti-aging program for as long as you desire to optimize health.
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What happens if I stop the anti-aging therapy program?
The good news is that your participation in the anti-aging therapy will help restore health, vigor and longevity while you remain on the program, but if you should elect to stop, those benefits will fade over time. Don’t worry, you will not experience accelerated aging or dangerous side effects, your body will simply resume aging at its normal rate.
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At what age should a person start natural hormone therapy? There really is no age limit when it comes to the initial baseline evaluation. Deficiencies may begin to appear at a fairly young age while others might experience good hormone levels into older age. Clients benefiting from hormone replacement therapy (natural) have come in for treatment as early as the late teens and as advanced in age as the late eighties.

We at AMC believe that it is a good idea to begin a nutraceutical program, better diet and exercise as a lifestyle change as early as possible. As a general guidelline after about the age of thirty, humans begin to lose about 1% to 3% of their hormone levels annually.

Once the body begins to decrease its hormone production it is a good idea to start natural hormone therapy. One of the reasons we conduct blood tests and other assessments is so we can exactly identify where you may be most deficient and how we can best help you. Every person is different so we customize a program to meet your unique needs.
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Will hormone replacement therapy  interfere with my currently prescribed medications? Some people are amazed to find out that natural hormone therapy generally does not interfere with prescription medications. In some instances, medications may actually be reduced or no longer needed. This is why your anti-aging doctor (age management certified) is happy to work with your primary care physcian if desired.
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Will your anti-aging doctor be taking over as your primary physcian? Absolutely not! Your anti-aging doctor will, at your request, communicate with your primary physician or your current health care team, and/or specialists. Your anti-aging therapy is only one aspect of a complete healthcare program and your regular visits with your regular physician should be continued.
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How many meds, pills, injections, or ointments are needed daily?  Each situation will vary and your anti-aging doctor will take into consideration your individual tolerance when developing your program. Just how many medications and nutraceuticals are needed in oral, topical or injectable forms will depend on your medical, hormonal, and nutritional needs.
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What causes symptoms of menopause? Menopause symptoms arise when the body begins to change and experiences hormonal shifts, imbalances, and fluctuations. Some symptoms include weight gain, night sweats, insomnia, thinning hair, brittle nails, hot flashes, mood swings, lack of energy, forgetfulness, vaginal dryness, and loss of sex drive.

Weight gain and menopause? Since fat cells contain an enzyme that creates estrogen, the body tries to hold onto fat when estrogen levels begin to decline.

However, weight gain  can result from high levels of cortisol which inteferes with insulin and cortisol can overshadow DHEA hormones which can show up as low energy and fatigue.

Insomnia and menopause? Sex hormones regulate melatonin (a hormone that controls your sleep-wake cycle). So when those hormone levels drop, melatonin production increases and disturbs your sleep rhythms.

Hot flashes and menopause? Estrogen also impacts the body’s temperature regulation so a sudden fluctuation can trigger a hot flash. Mood swings also can be triggered by estrogen imbalances.

Natural homone therapy is a complex process because the level of a hormone is not as important as its ratio to the other hormones. This is why “balancing” hormones and a total program is important.
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Why does HGH have to be injected? Currently the Human Growth Hormone on the market breaks down if taken orally, so injection insures good absorption.

Although things might change as research continues, current medical research indicates that the best way to introduce human growth hormone into the body is by injection.
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Is the Human Growth Hormone (HGH) approved by the FDA? Human Growth Hormone (HGH) was approved by the FDA for treatment of hormone deficient adults in the summer of 1996. So, it is simply a matter of being evaluated to determine if you are deficient.
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Isn’t it unnatural to inject or ingest hormones? Supplementing hormones when needed is as natural as taking the thyroid hormone. When hormones are taken they return your body to an optimal state where it functions well.

Natural hormone therapy today includes topical, sublingual or oral options while some of the bio identical hormone replacement therapy will require injectable hormones such as certain forms of testosterone or HGH.
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Is growth hormone safe? Will it make things “grow”? Human Growth Hormone can be used safely when prescribed and monitored by an anti-aging doctor. HGH helps in repairing cells and re-growing tissue. In fact, cells cannot repair, maintain, and heal properly in its absence. HGH has proven to be extremely helpful in strengthening the immune system, increasing mental acuity and focus, and preventing the onset of diseases usually associated with aging. Also, there is no recognized study or peer reviewed research that correlates physiologic dosages of HGH with cancer.
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What about the negative press about HRT for women?  There is a lot of misinformation circulating about natural hormone therapy. Most women over thirty-five years of age need some sort of hormone support, which can include testosterone, human growth hormone, thyroid, and others.

Our anti-aging clinic believes it is critical to the health and well being of every woman to replace these lost hormones with natural bio identical hormones in order to maintain quality of life and prevent unnecessary suffering. Bio identical hormones are natural hormones whose molecules are identical to those made by humans. Synthetic hormones are not natural to the human body and we urge caution with non-natural products.
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Do you accept insurance? The Age Management Center is a concierge medicine facility and so does not accept insurance. However, we are happy to provide you with a medical bill and copy of your clinical record since these documents often help when seeking reimbursement from your insurance company (or for documenting medical expenses for your tax filing).

In some cases, our anti-aging therapy qualifies under many health savings plans for obtaining at least partial reimbursement.
Therefore, we do not require or recommend asking for pre-approval. Insurance companies are designed with the goal of paying for those medical services that avoid hospitalization, not for services that optimize one’s health long-term.

Since natural hormone therapy is not curing “a disease” but rather maintaining and optimizing health, your insurance company may or may not cover these services.
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Why is the use of hormones being questioned when there are so many benefits? The use of hormones for physiological optimization is often confused with the abuse of hormones by those who do not need them. For instance, athletes usally do not have any partial hormonal deficiencies and when they abuse hormones there is a short-term benefit for performance but a possible long-term detriment to their body and so the questions that arise come from that abuse.
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Are you ever too old to start? Although we discussed this previously, it is good to mention that it is hormone deficiencies and not age that determine whether or not it is beneficial to start an anti-aging therapy regime.

Some people may consider treatment in their thirties when the hormone levels begin to decrease in small percentages. While older adults tend to experience greater deficiencies and so respond almost immediate to a natural hormone therapy program.

The benefit of early intervention is that it can reduce rapid advancement of diseases.
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Scientific Support of Hormone Replacement Therapy (Natural). Harvard University Medical School, Cenegenics Medical Institute, The Journal of the American Medical Association, The New England Journal of Medicine and other prestigious institutions and publications have studied and documented the benefits of medically supervised hormone replacement therapy (natural).

The use of Growth Hormone Supplementation and its relationship to health maintenance and reduction in disease risk goes back to 1998, when the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (Carroll, P., 1998) published the Growth Hormone Research Society Scientific Committee’s findings regarding growth hormone deficiency in adulthood and the effects of growth hormone supplementation. There findings showed that even in the context of a lower/normal range IGF-1, given appropriate signs and symptoms, a diagnosis of Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency was valid, and that replacement of growth hormone was associated with beneficial clinical outcomes.

Another study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (Johannson, G., 1997) described the use of growth hormone treatment in abdominally obese men. The study determined that growth hormone supplementation therapy reduced abdominal fat, improved both glucose and lipoprotein metabolism, and reduced diastolic blood pressure in treated subjects.

That same year in Clinical Endocrinology, (Verhelst, J., 1997) patients with entry IGF-1 levels at 120 ng/mL or below treated over a two year period with growth hormone, demonstrated a 50% reduction in risk for hospital admission and a 45% reduction in days missed from work during the study period.

There are hundreds, of published articles in recognized medical journals regarding the efficacy of hormone supplementation and the retention or improvement in bone mineral density, improvements in lean body mass, reduction in body fat, composition, and improvement of other markers of disease risk.

Many respected medical clinics believe there is no question that hormone optimization therapy is associated with subjective changes in markers of disease risk and well-being. (Provided by permission from the Cenegenics Medical Institute.)
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