Submitted by: Women’s Health Care of Warren
When sex hormones are adjusted and given correctly, the vast majority do see an improvement in their libido for both females and males.
We, humans, were never designed to live this long. For millennia we were having children between the ages of 14 to 18 and then perishing by age 24.
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So, there is a price for living a lot longer. One of the systems that changes is our hormone system. We start having problems making and regulating our hormones, such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, thyroid, and growth hormone. These hormones typically decline over the years and are responsible for changes we associate with “normal” aging. It has been recognized that many chronic illnesses are a result of the decline in various hormones. As a result, many years have been spent researching how these changes affect us and what we can do about it. Over the past decades, much has been learned about how to replace low hormones to get us as close as we can to our prime (30s). An example is estrogen replacement therapy in women. This is the most widely prescribed medication in the country; millions of women take this. There are different types of estrogen and different ways to take it (oral, transdermal patch, creams, and pellets). The data on the oral, natural bioidentical estrogen, estradiol, is stunning. Many studies show that oral estradiol protects women from coronary heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, diabetes, stroke, degenerative arthritis, sleep disturbances, osteoporosis, immune system decline, sexual dysfunction, macular degeneration, cataracts, colon cancer, and breast cancer. A large study showed that women on bioidentical estradiol and progesterone had a 39% reduction in breast cancer compared to women not taking any hormones. Hormone replacement therapy has been shown to prevent loss of muscle and muscle strength, accumulation of fat, increased cholesterol, thinning of hair, deterioration of nails and skin. It prevents various urinary bladder problems, impaired mobility, loss of independence, depression, fatigue, fractures, falls, tooth loss, and energy loss.
Hormone replacement therapy has been scientifically proven to improve memory, well-being, quality of life, bone density, cognition, endothelial function (blood vessel function), healing, strength and endurance, sleep, work capacity, healthspan, and motivation. It improves all lipid parameters-increases the HDL, lowers LDL, and reduces the oxidation of LDL (oxidized LDL is very bad). There are no other medications that increase your HDL. The impact on reducing heart disease is simply stunning; it is better than statins!
It can take time to get the right balance, but when that occurs the patient feels great. One problem that we occasionally see is a reduction in libido. The estrogen makes the liver produce a certain protein called SHBG. This protein reduces the amount of free testosterone, slightly causing a drop in libido. So, we supplement with a special testosterone cream which usually fixes the problem quite dramatically. Patients tell us they feel like they did in their 20s; life is good again!
Talk to your doctor to see if you are a candidate for bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
Women’s Healthcare of Warren
Dr. Gerald J. Pregenzer, MD, FACOG, FACS, FICS, FAACS, ACGE
65 Mountain Blvd Ext, Suite 201
Warren NJ 07059
732-469-8192