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Two decades ago, The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) was designed to examine the effects of estrogen and progestin treatment, and estrogen treatment alone, on post-menopausal women. That now controversial study claimed that estrogen plus progestin treatment increased the risk of several illnesses.

However, in the intervening 20 years, the results of that study have been reevaluated. Based on more recent analysis of newly available data, it has been determined that post-menopausal women who are treated with estrogen and progestin do NOT have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, invasive breast cancer, stroke, or blood clots.

Unfortunately, many of the myths about Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT) that came from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study of still persist.

Now that doctors better understand the risks and benefits of Menopausal Hormone Therapy, the vast majority agree that MHT is the best way to control menopausal symptoms and offer certain health protection benefits as women age.

In this article the Menopausal Hormone Therapy experts at SottoPelle dispel 8 of the most common myths and misunderstandings about MHT.

1. Menopausal Hormone Therapy Does NOT Make Women Put on Weight

Research has shown that women who use Menopausal Hormone Therapy do not gain any more weight than women who do not use MHT.

It is actually the hormonal decline of menopause that causes fat to move from the hips to the abdomen and accumulate on the belly. In many cases, MHT can help reduce fat gain and improve muscle mass.

2. Menopausal Hormone Therapy does NOT Increase Breast Cancer Risk

An unfounded fear of developing breast cancer is the reason why many women do not take MHT. However, new information combined with better understanding of the data suggests that combined estrogen plus progestogen, or estrogen therapy alone, causes no significant increase in breast cancer in women aged 50 to 59 or in women who start treatment within 10 years of menopause.

3. Menopausal Hormone Therapy does NOT Increase Heart Disease Risk

More recent analysis of all MHT studies (40,410 women) revealed that Menopausal Hormone Therapy did not increase the number of deaths from heart and blood vessel disease or heart attacks.

Menopausal Hormone Therapy also did not increase the number of cases of angina (pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart) in healthy women or in women with pre-existing heart and blood vessel disease.

4. Alternative & OTC Menopause remedies are NOT as effective/safer than MHT

Women’s health care providers almost universally agree – and research supports – that Menopausal Hormone Therapy is the most effective way to control menopausal symptoms.

Additionally, there is no way to know if alternative therapies are safe because they are not FDA regulated. And DIY or online menopause remedies do not come in exact dosages and may even be contaminated.

While some complementary menopause therapies might have benefits for your situation, they are typically not an effective substitute for MHT – and should always be discussed with your physician.

5. All Progestogens do NOT have the Same Risks for Menopausal Women

Combined progestogen and estrogen therapy is used to reduce the risk of uterine cancer in menopausal women who still have a uterus.  But progestogen is a term that covers both progesterone (naturally occurring in humans) and progestins (synthetic progestogens).

Bioidentical (plant derived) progesterone has the same molecular structure as the hormones made in the body. However, synthetic (man-made) progestin is created in a laboratory and its chemical structure is not identical to the hormones produced by the body.

While synthetic progestin has been associated with an increase in risk of breast cancer, bioidentical progesterone offers a number of health protections. Progesterone thins the uterine lining, helping prevent the development of endometrial cancer. And, when paired with estrogen, bioidentical progesterone has been shown to provide protection against breast cancer, as well as cognitive decline.

If you are a perimenopausal or menopausal woman who is experiencing any of the symptoms of menopause,  contact Advanced Hormone Solutions today at 201-225-2525 or schedule a consultation at: https://advancedhormonesolutions.com/consultation-form/

Article created by SottoPelle and used by permission of SottoPelle. Advanced Hormone Solutions is a “Certified” SottoPelle provider

We’ve all heard the expression “you are what you eat.” And nowhere is that more true than in the arena of essential hormone production. Hormones affect every aspect of daily life – from energy level, to weight gain, mental functioning and even disease prevention. And the food we eat can affect the production and secretion of these crucial hormones in many ways.

How Diet Affects Hormone Imbalance

Some foods are what are called “endocrine disruptors” – meaning that they can mimic real hormones in the body – which results in preventing the actual “real” hormones from being activated at all.

Other foods, such as refined sugar and other processed foods, are considered “obesogens”. This term means that they disrupt the bacterial diversity in the gut – which in turn alters metabolism, increase body fat storage, and promotes unwanted weight gain.

Other foods can cause certain hormone levels to skyrocket above normal ranges – causing one hormone to become “dominant” throwing off the proper balance of necessary hormones. Dairy and soy are believed to to cause estrogen dominance – an imbalance that can make menstrual cycles and monthly mood fluctuations much worse.

Which Foods in Your Diet Can Cause Hormone Imbalance

1. Sugar and Hormone Imbalance

Many physicians will argue that sugar and sugar substitutes are the number one food culprit responsible for hormone imbalance, particularly in women.

Not only can too much refined sugar cause surges of insulin that eventually result in insulin resistance – but it is also thought to throw the stress hormone cortisol out of balance. It is speculated that the body goes into overdrive, producing too much cortisol, to combat the stress caused by the sugar-induced inflammation resulting from a poor diet.

2. Caffeine and Hormone Imbalance

While there are medical claims of certain health benefits of caffeine, when consumed in excess it can be a  hormone-disrupting drug that also spikes cortisol levels in the body!

3. Soy and Hormone Imbalance

Certain plant constituents derived from soy (“isoflavones”) have phytoestrogen activity – which means they mimic estrogen in the body. Since this can directly throw estrogen levels of balance, many experts speculate on soy’s relationship to breast cancer risk and thyroid imbalance.

Additionally, most soy consumed in the American diet is processed, as well as pesticide-ridden – making it highly inflammatory.

4. Factory Farmed “GMO” Foods and Hormone Imbalance

As the global demand for food began to rise in the late 20th century, industrial farming began. And along with it emerged the advent of strategically altering crops by cross-breeding the DNA of natural foods, as well as using and using chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides to grow more food, with higher yields more rapidly.

5. Pesticides and Hormone Imbalance

Pesticides have long been identified in studies as among the top endocrine disruptors.

Glyphosate is the most widely used pesticide, and many adverse health outcomes have been speculated to be linked to this pesticide over the last 30 years. Glyphosate contaminated foods often include: fish & other seafood, farm-raised poultry and meat, the skins on non-organic fruits and vegetables, and GMO crops like corn, canola, soybeans, legumes, and grains.

6. Mercury and Hormone Imbalance

Large fish like tuna, swordfish, and mackerel are great sources of protein and other valuable nutrients- but they are also some of the highest mercury-containing foods on the planet.

And excessive levels of toxins like mercury deplete vital nutrients, including the antioxidant glutathione – which means less effective and efficient detoxification.

7. Preservatives and Hormone Imbalance

In a typical western diet, foods are processed with a wide variety of preservatives to make them taste “better”, as well as to prolong their “shelf life”.

Common preservatives found in packaged foods in the U.S. include: Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), Bisphenol A (BPA), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and nitrites/nitrates. BHT, especially, has been demonstrated to lower testosterone and impair thyroid function.

Preservative-rich foods include: processed meat, non-organic butter, most packaged baked good, many alcoholic beverages, and even cosmetics (we inadvertently eat lip stick). Animal feed also contains high levels of these hormone disrupting preservatives –  and if we eat meat or poultry we what the animals eat!

Hormone Imbalance Treatment | Phoenix

Eating primarily organic, whole foods can assist the body in many ways to naturally keep hormones in optimal balance. Avoiding the foods listed above can help support blood sugar control, reduce inflammation, and lower the body’s overall toxic burden.

However, realistically, the average American’s busy lifestyle makes it almost impossible to get the perfect hormone balancing foods when consuming a “Western Diet”.

Fortunately, the SottoPelle hormone replacement method can help restore your body to optimal hormone balance! If you are suffering from fatigue, sleep disruption, low sex drive, poor sexual performance, mental fog, or any other of chronic symptoms, hormone imbalance may be the cause.

If you are a perimenopausal or menopausal woman who is experiencing any of the symptoms of menopause,  contact Advanced Hormone Solutions today at 201-225-2525 or schedule a consultation at: https://advancedhormonesolutions.com/consultation-form/

Article created by SottoPelle and used by permission of SottoPelle. Advanced Hormone Solutions is a “Certified” SottoPelle provider

Menopause. Every woman eventually faces this transition that marks the end of her reproductive years. And, there are at least 36 symptoms of menopause that range from annoying (like hot flashes) to life-altering (painful sex) to downright dangerous (broken bones due to osteoporosis).

Hormone therapy is the number one FDA approved treatment for relief of the symptoms of menopause. Hormone therapy is also FDA approved for the prevention of osteoporosis. Hormone therapy is the only way to replace the declining estrogen and progesterone levels of menopause.

In this article, the experts at SottoPelle take you “back to the basics” of menopause hormone therapy.

The Three Stages of Natural Menopause

Perimenopause is the period of time between the start of hormone decline (and related symptom symptoms – such as erratic periods) until one year after a woman’s final menstrual period. While most women think of hormone therapy in terms of menopause, it is often perimenopause when hormone therapy can be most beneficial.

Menopause itself refers to the confirmed one-year period after a women’s final menstrual period.

Postmenopause refers to the rest of a woman’s years after menopause.

Additionally, women can experience “premature” or “early” menopause when a medical condition and/or surgery causes decreased or halted production of female hormones.

For example, a condition called Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) can mimic perimenopause – causing irregular menstrual cycles, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and painful intercourse. And, a total or radical hysterectomy that removes both ovaries will cause “surgical” menopause.

Types of Hormone Therapy for Menopause

There are two basic types of hormone therapy:

“ET” refers to estrogen-only hormone therapy. Typically, estrogen is the hormone that provides the most menopausal symptom relief.

“EPT” refers to combined estrogen plus progestogen therapy. Progestogen is added to estrogen therapy to protect women with a uterus against uterine (endometrial) cancer.

Bioidentical vs Synthetic Hormone Therapy for Menopause

Older, synthetic (man-made) hormones had many side effects – some of which were quite dangerous. Something as molecularly complex as a human hormone can never be identically duplicated in a lab. So, synthetic hormones are often less-than-effective because they are not an “exact fit” for the body.

But SottoPelle Hormone pellets are “bioidentical” – which means they exactly replicate the molecular structure of the hormones produced by the body. Derived from 100% natural sources, bioidentical hormones are safer, more effective, and also free of many of the dangerous side effects of synthetics (lab-created) man-made hormones.

Hormone Therapy Delivery Methods

Local or “nonsystemic” hormone products – creams, rings, or tablets – only affect the specific or localized area of the body where they are applied.

Systemic hormone therapy circulates the hormones throughout the bloodstream – delivering to all parts of the body. Pills, patches, gels, injections, and pellets are systemic. can be used for hot flashes and night sweats, vaginal symptoms, and osteoporosis.

However, only time-released under-the-skin hormone pellets deliver estrogen and progesterone consistently and evenly 24/7 – just like the body does. Pills, patches, and injections, however, create a roller coaster of hormones that surge when taken and then wear off until the next dose.

Hormone Therapy for Menopause – Less is More

Like any medication or therapy, there are potential side-effects of hormone therapy. But precise dosing – using he least amount necessary to achieve the desired results – can help avoid many side effects. The lowest effective dose for the shortest amount of time to achieve the treatments goals is always the ideal.

Today, doctors prescribe much lower doses for much shorter periods of time than they did before 2002 – (typically 3 to 5 years). One of the advantages of hormone therapy pellets for menopause is that they are custom compounded for each patient’s specific needs – as opposed to one-size-fits-all pills that can provide excess amounts of hormones.

SottoPelle Menopause Hormone Therapy

Hormones affect every aspect of a woman’s body, including physical, mental, emotional, and sexual functioning. So, the hormone decline of menopause can be brutal.

SottoPelle® Method 100% natural bioidentical hormone therapy can help restore a woman’s body and mind to optimal balance during perimenopause and menopause. And hormone pellet therapy offers several advantages, including NO daily pills, NO painful weekly shots, and NO messy creams. Additionally, SottoPelle® pellet therapy utilizes bioidentical hormones that are safer, more effective, and more natural than lab-created synthetics.

If you are a perimenopausal or menopausal woman who is experiencing any of the symptoms of menopause,  contact Advanced Hormone Solutions today at 201-225-2525 or schedule a consultation at: https://advancedhormonesolutions.com/consultation-form/

Article created by SottoPelle and used by permission of SottoPelle. Advanced Hormone Solutions is a “Certified” SottoPelle provider

Menopause is a natural biological process in which female hormones decline as a woman reaches the end of her reproductive years. As estrogen levels decrease, the female body goes through many physical changes. Some unpleasant menopausal symptoms – such as hot flashes, mood swings, and insomnia will thankfully eventually subside. But sadly, menopausal hair loss can last the rest of a woman’s life unless it is treated.

Fortunately, there are some revolutionary new treatments – including bioidentical hormone replacement therapy – that can take to prevent or minimize hair loss during menopause.

Our SottoPelle hormone specialists and menopause experts discuss some of the best and most effective treatments for menopausal women’s hair loss.

How Do I Know if My Hair Loss is Due to Menopause?

There are many types and causes of female hair loss. Pregnancy and other medical conditions, for example, can result in Telogen Effluvium – a loss of hair in “patches” that often grow back.

“Androgenetic Alopecia” – also called Female Pattern Hair Loss (FPHL) – causes hair follicles to shrink. This results in hair falling out faster and growing back “wispier”, with fewer follicles per inch of scalp. Female Pattern Baldness is the most common cause of female hair loss and is caused by a combination of heredity and hormones.

Female hair loss due to the hormonal changes of menopause tend to be subtler and more gradual than the “balding” that males experience. Menopausal women will typically undergo overall hair thinning rather than distinct patches or “bald spots”.

Hair thinning due to menopause can occur on the front, sides, top or all over the head. Women will often notice hair falling out in “clumps” when brushing or washing their hair if the hair loss is due to menopause.

What Causes Menopausal Hair Loss?

Clinical research has determined that hair loss that occurs during menopause is typically the result of a hormone imbalance. Both the female hormones estrogen and progesterone help hair grow faster, as well as help stay on the head longer. However, when estrogen and progesterone levels start to drop during menopause, a woman’s hair grows more slowly, falls out more rapidly, and becomes much thinner.

Further, menopausal hormone estrogen also triggers an increase in the body’s production of certain male hormones called “androgens”. And, frustratingly, androgens both shrink a woman’s hair follicles on her head and cause more hair to grow on her face.

Treating Menopausal Hair Loss

Seeing a doctor who specializes in hormone balancing, is crucial to accurately diagnosing the cause of your hair loss and identifying the best hair restoration treatment for you. Indeed, the cause of menopausal hair loss is almost always rooted in hormone changes. However, there are many additional contributors to thinning hair during menopause, including stress, illness or disease, certain medications, and some nutritional deficiencies.

A certified SottoPelle physician can order diagnostic blood tests – including estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and thyroid tests, as well as complete blood panels – to identify any underlying deficiencies that may be the cause of your thinning hair.

Hormone Replacement Therapy for Menopausal Hair Loss

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can effectively restore hormonal balance to menopausal women. This can provide long-lasting relief from many of the embarrassing or unpleasant symptoms of menopause, including hair loss.

After identifying a patient’s individual hormone deficiencies, a certified SottoPelle provider can prescribe customized, natural, biodentical hormone replacement. By restoring a woman’s levels of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone, a woman can more rapidly often re-grow thicker hair that stays on her head longer.

Other Treatments for Menopausal Hair Loss

Topical medications can improve female hair growth but have several unpleasant side effects. Finasteride (Propecia or Proscar) can result in decreased libido, breast tenderness, and excess hair growth in unwanted places. Minoxidil (Rogaine) can cause unwanted facial and/or body hair, dizziness, irregular heartbeat, fainting, chest pain, swelling of the limbs, weight gain, tiredness, and difficulty breathing.

Depending upon the underlying cause of a menopausal women’s hair loss, dietary supplementation can also help stop hair loss, and support hair regrowth. SottoPelle Hair Repair Supplement can be used in combination with hormone replacement for even better results.

This revolutionary hair restoration supplement supplies essential nutrients to support healthy hair growth at the deepest cellular level, including Saw Palmetto to help keep the hair growth cycle intact, as well as d-Biotin, Zinc and Selenium to stimulate scalp health, inhibit further hair loss, and encourage new growth.

SottoPelle has been helping menopausal women restore hormone balance and reverse the symptoms of menopause for more than four decades. If you are suffering from hair loss or other symptoms of hormone decline, Advanced Hormone Solutions will take a thorough diagnostic approach and prescribe the most effective treatment(s) to restore a thick and healthy head of hair.

For more info, contact Advanced Hormone Solutions today at 201-225-2525 or schedule a consultation at: https://advancedhormonesolutions.com/consultation-form/

Article created by SottoPelle and used by permission of SottoPelle. Advanced Hormone Solutions is a “Certified” SottoPelle provider

For many women, the decline in estrogen production that occurs due to menopause causes very visible and frustrating side-effects. These can include hot flashes, mood swings, hard-to-lose belly fat, insomnia, and more. But a much more dangerous consequence of menopausal hormone decline remains invisible:  the weakening of a woman’s bones or “osteoporosis”.

Estrogen, while primarily thought of as a “reproductive hormone,” is also essential to maintaining strong, healthy bones. As estrogen levels decline during menopause, the bones lose calcium. This puts a woman at serious risk of one or more broken bones. In fact, a full fifty percent of women over the age 50 will suffer a bone fracture because of osteoporosis!

And, since osteoporosis has no obvious external symptoms, many women do not even realize that they have it until they experience a fracture.

The good news is that osteoporosis can be prevented in women nearing or during menopause, through the use of 100% natural, convenient and safe bioidentical estrogen replacement therapy, available at SottoPelle® in the greater Phoenix, AZ area.

Preventing Osteoporosis with Natural Estrogen Replacement Therapy

To begin with, it is helpful to understand how proper hormone balance protects bones.  One of estrogen’s many functions is to stimulate activity in certain cells – called “osteoblasts” – that produce bone. So, when a woman’s estrogen level drops due to menopause, these osteoblasts no longer produce new bone cells, and the bones become more “hollow” or porous and weaker.

The very first FDA treatment that was approved to prevent osteoporosis was actually estrogen replacement therapy! Subsequently, pharmaceutical companies have jumped on the osteoporosis bandwagon, offering a variety of synthetic drugs and medications to improve bone density. These include bisphosphonates (like Fosamax and Boniva) and anabolic drugs. But, as with any lab-created drug, osteoporosis medicines come with a wide array of side effects.

So, while there are now many new synthetic drugs for osteoporosis, most enlightened medical professionals prefer to treat the underlying cause of osteoporosis – estrogen deficiency – in order preserve bone density and prevent bone fractures in post-menopausal women. But just replacing estrogen with a one-size-fits-all synthetic hormone pill or cream isn’t the best answer.

The Two Types of Estrogen Replacement for Osteoporosis

There are two types of hormone replacement therapy: synthetic hormones created in a laboratory, and “bioidentical” replacement hormones that are derived from natural, plant-based sources.

Nothing that is created in a lab will ever be identical to what is found naturally in the body. But “bioidentical” hormones that are obtained from natural, living, plant-based sources are virtually identical in molecular structure to human hormones. So, the human body more readily “recognizes” bioidentical hormones, and they “fit” better with the body’s other cells. As a result bioidentical hormones – such as SottoPelle® Method estrogen replacement using subdermal pellets – are more effective than lab created hormones.

Bioidentical Estrogen Replacement is Safer for Osteoporosis

Because bioidentical hormone replacement therapy replicates the hormones that the body naturally produces, bioidentical estrogen replacement therapy is very safe for most perimenopausal, menopausal or post-menopausal women. The esteemed American Society for Reproductive Medicine, The North American Menopause Society, and The Endocrine Society have all unequivocally stated that most healthy, menopausal women can safely use estrogen replacement therapy for osteoporosis prevention.

(Note: A very small number of women with certain health issues – including women with breast or uterine cancer, liver disease, or a history of blood clots – should not use estrogen therapy.  Estrogen replacement therapy is also not for pre-menopausal women or for men.)

Ideally, the best time to begin estrogen replacement therapy for osteoporosis prevention is during early menopause. But, clinical studies have also demonstrated that estrogen replacement therapy can still preserve and protect bone mass, even when started more than a decade after the onset menopause!

Pellets: The Best Estrogen Replacement Method

Estrogen replacement was originally delivered by a wide variety of methods: daily pills, messy gels and creams, unsightly patches, and painful shots. But SottoPelle® has “changed the game” of female hormone replacement with long-lasting, time-released sub-dermal estrogen pellets, that last from 3 to 5 months with a single insertion.

To begin with, estrogen pellets are much more convenient to use – with nothing to remember to take every day, no patches to replace, no sticky creams to apply, and no painful shots.

Even more importantly, hormone replacement pellets are by far more effective that other estrogen delivery methods. Clinical studies have shown that use of estrogen pellets resulted in four times the increase in bone density of oral estrogen pills, and 2.5 times more bone mass than hormone patches!

Additionally, unlike hormone pills, shots, or creams that put your body on a roller coaster of hormone dosage ups and downs, time-released estrogen pellets deliver hormones the same way the ovaries do – consistently and gradually over time, only as they are needed.

Estrogen Replacement Therapy

Bioidentical estrogen replacement therapy prevents osteoporosis by restoring the body’s natural hormone balance – rather than introducing lab-created chemicals that come with harsh and dangerous side effects.

It’s never too late to take steps to ensure that you are NOT in the 50% of women who will suffer a bone fracture due to osteoporosis. Ask your doctor if estrogen replacement therapy is the right treatment to help you maintain strong, healthy bones after menopause … and for the rest of your life!  Then insist on bioidentical estrogen replacement pellets for the safest, most consistent, 100% natural, and easiest-to-use form of hormone replacement.

For more info, contact Advanced Hormone Solutions today at 201-225-2525 or schedule a consultation at: https://advancedhormonesolutions.com/consultation-form/

Article created by SottoPelle and used by permission of SottoPelle. Advanced Hormone Solutions is a “Certified” SottoPelle provider

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been around for more than 70 years. In 1942, Premarin (an artificial estrogen) was approved by the FDA for the treatment of menopausal hot flashes. Thanks to the book “feminine Forever” by Robert Wilson, full-blown HRT was essentially begun in the 1960s – but didn’t achieve the widespread popularity it has today until the 1990s.

Originally, hormone replacement therapy was administered by daily pills containing synthetic hormones that were made in a laboratory. In addition to being inconvenient to remember every day, lab-created pills had some unwanted (and even dangerous) side effects. Additionally, pills are “one size fits all” and are not customized to a woman’s unique needs.

However, in the early 2000s SottoPelle “bioidentical” hormone replacement therapy was introduced – using 100% natural, plant-derived hormones that are structurally identical to actual human hormones – instead of synthetic products. Bioidentical hormones (including estrogen, and/or testosterone) naturally restore hormone balance, in the same way that the body does when it is functioning properly – safely and without many of the side-effects of synthetics.

#1. Pellets Deliver Hormones Consistently

Hormone “pellets” are tiny implants, placed under the skin, that continuously release small, physiologic doses of hormones.

Pellets, or implants are made up of hormones (such as estrogen and testosterone) that are pressed or fused into very small, solid cylinders. These tiny, time-released pellets (smaller than a grain of rice) are inserted under the skin, to delivers hormones the way the body does – consistently and constantly, as the patient needs them.

Pellets are a superior method of hormone replacement because they avoid the inconvenience of daily pills and prevent the roller coaster “up and down” hormone “surges” that occur with once-daily pills.

#2. Hormone Pellets are More Convenient

In addition to avoiding the hormone fluctuations of other methods of delivery, pellets avoid the need for remembering to take daily pills. A single hormone pellet insertion delivers consistent, healthy levels of hormones for three to four months in women and four to five months in men.

“One-and-done” hormone pellets are also much more convenient than applying messy hormone creams every day – or sticking on unsightly hormone patches every week or two.

Additionally, hormone pellets do not need to be removed. They simply dissolve completely on their own over time.

#3. Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Pellets are More Effective

Something as molecularly complex as a human hormone can never be identically duplicated in a lab. So, synthetic hormones are sometimes less-than-effective (and can have dangerous side effects) because they are not an “exact fit” for the body.

But “bioidentical” replacement hormones are derived from 100% natural sources, exactly replicating the molecular structure of the hormones produced by the body. We believe that this makes then much more natural, safer, more effective, and also free of many of the dangerous side effects of synthetics (lab-created) man-made hormones.

Other studies indicate that, when compared to conventional synthetic hormone replacement therapy, bioidentical hormone pallets are superior for relief of menopausal symptoms, mood swings, decreased bone density, sleep problems, low sex drive, and issues with sexual sensation, performance, and enjoyment.

#4. Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Pellets are Safer

Older, synthetic (man-made) hormones had many side effects – some of which were quite dangerous. But SottoPelle Hormone pellets are “bioidentical”.

While others may disagree with us, some research shows that bioidentical hormone pellets do not increase the risk of blood clots like conventional or synthetic hormone replacement therapy. Additionally, in some studies, bioidentical progesterone has not been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer like synthetic progestins do.

#5. Hormone Pellets are Customized for Each Patient

While hormone pills are a standard one-size-fits all dosage, hormone pellets are individually dosed and ‘compounded’ for each patient’s unique hormone replacement needs.

A SottoPelle hormone replacement provider will start by identifying each individual patient’s hormone levels (and deficiencies) through very thorough blood testing. Extensive lab work will be conducted to determine which hormones are reduced or out of balance in the patient’s body.

This may include FSH, estrogen/estradiol, and testosterone (free and total) testing for women. Men may be tested for PSA (prostate specific antigen), sensitive estradiol, testosterone, LH, and more prior to starting hormone pellet therapy. Thyroid hormone levels (TSH) may also be evaluated in men and women.

Then, after the patient’s unique hormone profile has been determined, the SottoPelle doctor will personalize a custom hormone replacement therapy program just for them. The hormone replacement pellets will be “compounded” by a pharmacy to contain exactly what that patient needs (and nothing they don’t need) to bring their hormone levels back into near-perfect balance.

This is why many of our SottoPelle patients who have failed to find relief with other types of hormone therapy have experienced success with hormone pellets.

For effectiveness, safety, convenience, and consistency bioidentical hormone pellets are truly the safest and most effective delivery method.

In addition to being 100% natural, SottoPelle bioidentical hormone pellets are “one and done” – lasting up to six months with a single insertion. There are no pills to refill or remember to take, no painful shots, and no patches that fall off and need to be replaced.

For more info, contact Advanced Hormone Solutions today at 201-225-2525 or schedule a consultation at: https://advancedhormonesolutions.com/consultation-form/

Article created by SottoPelle and used by permission of SottoPelle. Advanced Hormone Solutions is a “Certified” SottoPelle provider

Menopause has long been associated with “mood swings” in women. But recent research has also indicated that menopause can aggravate or cause a relapse of pre-existing mental health problems.

The good news is that the hormone decline of menopause (and it’s debilitating side-effects) are not something women “just have to live with” anymore. Advancements in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy make hormone balancing safer, more effective, and more convenient than ever before.

This is wonderful news on many levels. For starters, while psychiatric drugs can help treat women suffering from depression, anxiety, trauma, schizophrenia, PTSD and a wide range of other psychiatric illnesses, medications often have dangerous, long-term side-effects. But medical professionals are increasingly recognizing that simply balancing the body’s hormones during menopause can naturally support and improve mental health – often even eliminating the need for psychiatric pharmaceuticals.

The Mental Health & Hormone Connection

Endocrinologists are doctors and scientists who study hormones and how they affect the body. While psychiatrists and neurologists are medical professionals who study and treat the brain. Recently, researchers have combined these disciplines into a field of medicine called “psycho-neuroendocrinology” – which is the study of how hormones play a role in regulating mental health.

And researchers in this exciting field have discovered that certain hormone balancing treatments can offer a natural approach to mental health. By regulating and bringing into balance certain hormones that affect the brain, hormone therapy can assist in restoring the mind to optimal functioning.

Menopause and Depression

Scientists have not yet completely unlocked the link between depression and menopause. However, they do know that omen with a history of clinical depression and/or anxiety are often more likely to experience recurring clinical depression or anxiety during menopause.

Recent clinical research also suggests that women who had severe PMS when they were younger, or who experienced postpartum depression, may have more severe mood swings during perimenopause.

So, it is believed that thought that the hormone decline and imbalances of perimenopause and menopause can exacerbate or put a woman at a higher risk of a relapse of many mental health conditions – even though menopause itself does not cause the disorder.

Menopause and Bipolar Disorder

Menopause has also been shown in medical research to increase symptoms of bipolar disorder. Clinical studies seem to indicate that women with bipolar disorder are more sensitive to hormonal shifts during menopause.

During menopause, women suffering from bipolar disorder report more depressive episodes than women without this condition. Scientists believe that this is likely linked directly to the decrease in the hormone estrogen, which naturally happens during menopause.

Menopause and Schizophrenia

Psychotic disorders are severe mental conditions that cause abnormal thinking and perceptions – such as delusions, paranoia, hallucinations, and otherwise losing touch with reality. And research has also shown that a decline in estrogen levels can trigger or aggravate certain psychotic conditions, including schizophrenia.

While schizophrenia typically manifests during young adulthood, there is often a second peak in women around the time of menopause. Less frequently, perimenopause may also increase the risk of a first onset of schizophrenic psychosis.

Women with pre-existing chronic schizophrenia can experience a deterioration of their mental state and frequently require a higher demand for medication during menopause.

Menopause and Alzheimer’s

Groundbreaking research has also identified a link between hormones and Alzheimer’s disease in women. It was found that accelerated biological aging is associated with women with a certain genetic Alzheimer’s risk factor – but that hormone therapy, may slow this aging, and therefore potentially slow the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

This research provides further evidence of the crucial role hormones play in mental function, by demonstrating that estrogen therapy slows aging and lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in women with certain genetic predispositions.

Hormone Therapy for Menopause Mental Health

During menopause every woman experiences declining, imbalanced or insufficient hormones. And many preexisting mental and psychiatric conditions worsen during menopause. And while the potential role of hormone therapy in treating menopausal mental conditions is still being explored, the outlook appears very promising on many different fronts.

Hormones affect every function of the human body – including the functioning of the brain. By restoring balance to the body, hormone therapy may prove to be more effective with fewer side effects than harsh psychiatric medications that have dangerous or unpleasant contraindications.

SottoPelle® hormone replacement pellets can help restore your body and mind to optimal balance. And hormone pellet therapy offers several advantages, including NO daily pills, NO painful weekly shots, and NO messy creams. Additionally, SottoPelle® pellet therapy utilizes bioidentical hormones that are safer, more effective, and more natural than lab-created synthetics. Because bioidentical hormones are identical to the body’s own hormones, they offer more effective results, with fewer side-effects and risks.

If you are menopausal woman who is experiencing mood swings, “brain fog,” an increase in psychiatric symptoms, or any other symptoms of menopause, contact Advanced Hormone Solutions today at 201-225-2525 or schedule a consultation at: https://advancedhormonesolutions.com/consultation-form/

Article created by SottoPelle and used by permission of SottoPelle. Advanced Hormone Solutions is a “Certified” SottoPelle provider

Menopause is described as the cessation of a woman’s menstrual cycles for a period of more than 12 consecutive months as a result of her ovaries ceasing to function. While menopause develops naturally with age – at an average of 51 years – menopause may also be the result of surgery or cancer therapy.

Menopause is referred to as “surgical menopause” when both ovaries are surgically removed. In some cases, only the ovaries are removed – but a complete or radical hysterectomy involves the removal of both ovaries and the whole uterus.

Additionally, surgical menopause typically occurs within five years after a hysterectomy, even if the ovaries are preserved. This is due to disruptions in the ovarian blood supply, which gradually impairs ovarian function – including the production of female sex hormones such as estrogen and progesterone.

Surgical menopause can occur at any age that a woman has surgery. Surgical menopause not only causes immediate cessation of menstruation, but it also results in an abrupt and precipitous decrease in female sex hormone levels.

And while the symptoms of natural menopausal typically onset gradually over time, the side effects of surgical menopause manifest very immediately because hormone production is stopped very suddenly.

Symptoms of Surgical Menopause

Surgical menopause and natural age-onset menopause share the same symptoms, including the following: vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and excessive perspiration, fatigue, insomnia mood swings, depression, vaginal dryness, increased body fat, and more.

Surgical menopause is distinguished from natural menopause, though, in that even after monthly cycles cease during natural menopause, the ovaries continue to produce trace quantities of estrogen and testosterone, which contribute to sexual desire or pleasure. But, surgical menopause leaves no possibility of residual sex hormone production – so it typically results in a higher loss of sexual function.

Additionally, omen who enter early menopause have an increased risk of ischemic heart disease, osteoporosis, and cognitive impairment. And, because estrogen is neuroprotective, a fast and abrupt decrease in estrogen levels (less than 50%) is often associated with increased cognitive decline and dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. So, the surgical removal of one or both ovaries before natural menopause raises the chance of developing these diseases age-dependently, with younger women being more at risk.

Hormone Replacement Therapy for Surgical Menopause

If a patient has undergone surgical menopause symptoms, it is prudent to explore the option of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) – both for symptom relief and for protection again serious disease as well as mental decline.

Hormone Replacement Therapy for surgical menopause typically consists of a combination of estrogen and progesterone for women who still have their uterus – and estrogen alone, for women who have undergone a total hysterectomy.

Once started for surgical menopause, Hormone Replacement Therapy is typically maintained until the patient reaches the age of 51. (The average age of natural menopause). Recent clinical guidelines state that Hormone Replacement Therapy should be maintained with appropriate dose changes on an individual basis, until they are no longer needed. But additional or ongoing HRT treatments may be recommended to alleviate certain specific related health problems such as osteoporosis.

In rare cases of a personal or family history of breast cancer, or certain kinds of liver illness, however, Hormone Replacement Therapy for surgical menopause would be contraindicated.

To learn more contact Advanced Hormone Solutions today at 201-225-2525 or schedule a consultation at: https://advancedhormonesolutions.com/consultation-form/

Article created by SottoPelle and used by permission of SottoPelle. Advanced Hormone Solutions is a “Certified” SottoPelle provider

Most people have heard of phytoestrogens but do not really understand what it is, why they are beneficial to your health and what the difference is between phytoestrogen and estrogen.

Not all estrogen is created equal so what exactly is the difference between phytoestrogen and estrogen? Phytoestrogens and Estrogen work completely differently in the human body and come from different sources.

Estrogen is produced in the female ovaries and is abundant in females throughout their reproductive years. Estrogen primarily keeps a woman’s reproduction system running smoothly and efficiently throughout her life. When Estrogen production begins its decline that becomes the trigger for peri-menopausal symptoms and ultimately full-blown menopause.

Phytoestrogens, are a plant-based hormone and are consumed by many in their diet around the world.  Many studies indicate eating plant-based phytoestrogens can be beneficial for cardiovascular health and can actually have a protective effect for certain cancers. Phytoestrogens in general are considered to be beneficial in overall health for both men and women.

Phytoestrogens do not replace or help balance estrogen. The reality is hormone imbalance at any age can lead to variety of conditions Keeping estrogen, progesterone and testosterone hormones in balance throughout life is important for overall health and wellness throughout adulthood.

Advanced Hormone Solutions can help you maintain balance. Schedule your appointment today at: https://advancedhormonesolutions.com/consultation-form/

Hormones play a very important role in women’s reproductive and their overall health. Hormones can go out of balance for a myriad of reasons throughout a woman’s lifespan but for certain during menopause. Menopause is characterized by a significant change in the women’s hormone levels when the ovaries produce less progesterone and decrease the estrogen. The decreased estrogen level leads to a drop in the quality and quantity of the eggs that are being produced causing infertility in women.

Even though there are many reasons why women may have a hormone imbalance, the most important and well-known reason is menopause. The common reason for addressing hormones tends to be when a woman realizes they are perimenopausal dealing with hot flashes, sleepless nights, weight gain and more.

Another hormone issue is excessive testosterone that can lead to Polycystic Ovaries (PCOS). PCOS can make it difficult for a woman to ovulate, and she may have difficulty getting pregnant. If a woman’s testosterone and estrogen levels are out of balance, pregnancy becomes difficult.

The reality is hormone imbalance at any age can lead to variety of conditions Keeping hormones in balance throughout life is important for overall health and wellness.

Advanced Hormone Solutions can help you maintain balance. Schedule your appointment today at: https://advancedhormonesolutions.com/consultation-form/