Hormone therapy has become quite the rage in recent years among people who struggle with age-related hormone deficiency symptoms. The therapy effectively helps these people cope with problems that come along with a low level of hormones in their bodies.
Several studies have shown the effectiveness of hormone therapy taken in specified amounts for a certain period.
However, one might still wonder whether undergoing the treatment is a good idea. To help you get a better understanding of getting hormone therapy, this article details all the necessary information you should know before taking up the treatment.
Is Hormone Therapy a Good Idea?
Yes, hormone therapy is a good idea. It helps people with low hormones stream through their system.
The body naturally produces molecules called hormones. They aid in regulating certain cells’ or organs’ functions by traveling via circulation. These include physical and mental development, reproduction, mood, and the body’s process of converting food into energy.
In glands, they are produced. The thyroid, adrenal, parathyroid, pancreatic, ovarian, and testicular glands are the main organs producing hormones.
These glands are a component of the endocrine system, which controls all of the body’s hormones. Several ways that hormone therapy alters your body’s hormone levels.
Tests may be performed to determine whether malignancy is hormone-sensitive. Hormone Therapy for Men and women is used when the body stops or slows down hormone production.
Your doctor could also advise hormone treatment to alter how a hormone behaves in the body and stop a hormone from attaching to cancer cells.
How is Hormone Treatment Administered?
Several methods can be used to provide hormone treatment. They incorporate:
Hormone Replacement Treatment Used Orally
Certain therapies are available in pill, capsule, or liquid form, which may be taken orally. A doctor can write a prescription for a variety of oral hormone treatments, which can then be purchased from a pharmacy and taken regularly at home.
If you have concerns about taking your prescription at home, speak with your healthcare provider.
Treatment Using Injected Hormones
Here, hormone treatment is administered through injection. These injections might be administered to your abdomen, arm, hip, or leg. Both intramuscular injection and subcutaneous injection are options.
A registered nurse can administer hormone injections at a clinic or doctor’s office. You may learn how to administer the injections on your own from your medical team.
What Are the Benefits of Hormone Therapy?
Hormone therapy can benefit both men and women in various ways. Male and female patients receive unparalleled restoration of quality of life after undergoing hormone therapy.
Their energy levels are higher; their emotions are more stable, sex drive is restored or improved. In addition, the treatment makes anxiety and depression less severe and boosts mental clarity and focus.
Moreover, once their hormone levels are back to normal, they can get their bodies back in shape. Some of the additional effects of the treatment on men and women are detailed below.
Advantages of Hormone Therapy in Men
By age 30, a man’s testosterone levels typically start to decrease at a rate of roughly 1% each year. Several age-related alterations may be dramatically reversed by hormone replacement therapy. Men have reported experiencing a boost in their energy levels after hormone therapy.
You could get a reviving feeling and notice that both your energy and endurance are rising as the hormone levels rise.
Some of the other advantages include enhanced workouts, a rise in bone density, an improvement in libido and sex drive, an increase in the development of facial and body hair, stimulation of red blood cell formation, and an increase in the growth of muscle.
You may shed extra weight more easily if you have more muscle mass, more energy, and a faster metabolism.
Pellet treatment is best for men to take bioidentical hormones when their testosterone levels drop. The advantages of using hormone replacement therapy to treat andropause and its function as an “anti-aging” supplement may add to its usefulness.
Advantages of Hormone Therapy in Women
Hormone replacement therapy is beneficial in women if a patient is healthy and experiencing moderate to severe menopausal symptoms, is unwilling to withstand other treatments, experiences loss of bone mass, is going through menopause, or has had a hysterectomy before age 40. In addition, in such cases, the doctors may decide that the potential benefits outweigh the risks of hormone therapy.
HRT is thought to provide a number of advantages for women. Some of these include easing menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes, vaginal dryness, night sweats, and discomfort brought on by estrogen depletion. In addition, it is thought to aid in osteoporosis prevention.
Due to their increased risk of osteoporosis, Parkinsonism, anxiety, heart disease, and depression, as well as earlier mortality, female patients who undergo early menopause and have had their ovaries removed should give hormone replacement treatment considerable attention.
How to Reduce the Risks Associated with Hormone Therapy?
Several studies have indicated certain risks associated with hormone therapy. However, these risks emerge only when the treatment is taken without proper consultation and dosage. It is essential to always talk with a certified medical practitioner to weigh all your options before taking up the treatment.
Here are some additional ways the Food and Drug Association of America implemented to reduce the risks of hormone therapy in men and women.
- Hormone therapy shouldn’t be used to stop heart attacks or strokes. People with a history of such diseases must also steer clear of the therapy.
- Menopausal symptoms may be treated temporarily with hormone therapy and must not be considered for long-term treatment.
- The longer therapy is taken, the higher the risk of heart attack, stroke, and breast cancer. Hence, long-term usage is discouraged in men and women.
- The dangers and advantages of hormone therapy for other issues, such as osteoporosis prevention, should be examined carefully. Those who already have coronary artery disease must not consider hormone therapy and should look into other possibilities.
Winding Up
Hormone Therapy for men and women has various advantages, such as controlling menopausal symptoms, boosting testosterone in men with extremely low levels of the hormone, and averting further problems, including osteoporosis and heart disease.
