We approach HRT with a holistic and functional medicine-based perspective. We combine functional lab testing, diet, and nutritional support. It is very important to us to look at the whole picture of the hormone cascade in order to provide the right hormonal support. When the ovaries shut down, they no longer produce estrogen and progesterone. This means the adrenals have the heavy burden of taking over a lot of the hormonal work. Therefore, it’s important to support the adrenals before, during, and after menopause.

Also, if there is a thyroid issue that has not been addressed, the body will depend more on adrenals. If the body is already relying on the adrenals and then menopause occurs, women can really start to suffer.

Here are some of the studied benefits of hormone replacement:

Reduction in all cause mortality

Reduction in Alzheimer’s Disease

Prevention of cardiac disease via numerous mechanisms

Reduced risk of heart attack

Prevention of colon cancer

Prevention of osteoporosis

Prevention of Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Reduction of deaths from heart attack and breast cancer

No increased risk of breast cancer (except synthetic progestins)

No increased risk of thromboembolism

No increased risk of stroke

Functional medicine is a systems biology-based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Each symptom or diagnosis may be one of many contributing to an individual’s illness.

If you have menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, brain fog, or low energy. Or, if you have irregular periods, postpartum depression, or unpleasant symptoms related to your menstrual cycle (like PMS or PMDD), you may benefit from hormonal assessment and treatment. Every woman experiences her hormonal life differently and we use a functional medicine approach to get to the root of what could be causing the symptoms.

Typically we see patients on an annual basis, however, we are happy to work with women on a schedule that fits their individual lifestyle and specific needs.

We offer pap smears and can do clinical breast exams. For mammograms or thermography, we will provide a referral.

For routine labs, we work with Quest and they can bill your insurance for you.

We also work with Precision Analytical and Genova for state of the art functional medicine labs, these companies will bill you directly at the time of service.

We recommend that women start getting hormone panels done yearly starting anywhere from 35-40 years old. This is often the time a hormonal decline can start and symptoms of this decline can creep in. Each hormone is influenced by another, so it’s important to run a full hormone panel.

We will typically give a small starting dose and then build on that based on patient response and follow-up hormone panels. Hormone panels can be done every 6-8 weeks after the hormone has had time to build up in the blood and adequate blood levels are maintained. Maintenance hormone panels can be done every six months to a year to ensure that hormone levels continue to be appropriate.

Knowing how you are metabolizing hormones is an important part of the puzzle. Our philosophy is to use the lowest effective dose, and we meet many women who are on levels of hormone replacement therapy that are far above the appropriate ranges. We want to help you feel better, in the safest way possible, so it’s important to know where your levels are. We generally test levels 6-8 weeks after a dose change.