Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy
Hormone Balancing – Optimizing Your Hormone Levels
By Dr. Thomas S. Lee, NMD
Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy (nHRT) uses bio-identical human hormones or plant precursors to help restore optimal hormone levels for one’s age and stage of life. This supplementation is done to gain the proven benefits that these optimal hormone levels provide to the body.
Hormones are natural messengers that affect thousands of normal health functions in tiny amounts. You can understand that they would be harmful if they are present in excess, at the wrong time, or in a form that is difficult for the body to use.
Early efforts to isolate hormones from plants or animals were unsuccessful. In the 1930s, however, doctors finally made human hormone molecules out of plant phytosterols, and these are referred to as “bio-identical hormones.”
Since then, doctors and drug companies have created thousands of products that were designed to be slight modifications of these human hormones, because it was possible to patent these and sell them as drugs. These drugs have been both good and bad, being used well and being misused for various reasons.
How to Arrange an HRT Consultation
Human hormone chemistry and physiology as taught in the science of endocrinology are very complex. Dr. Lee has been a practicing naturopathic physician specializing in family practice for the past twenty years. During that time, he has preferred the use of bio-identical hormones and plant precursors due to their safety and effectiveness. Modern popularity with these medicines as well as improved clinical testing methods have greatly improved the clinical outcomes.
If you would like to consult with Dr. Lee, you may contact us here.
The first step will be a brief initial phone consultation to determine what diagnostic information will be most useful.
If specific hormone tests are needed, we will mail you the test kit. You will provide the saliva sample at home, following clear, specific directions. You will send it to the lab using the included FedEx shipping materials that involve no additional cost to you.
After we receive the test results from the lab, we will schedule your full one-hour initial phone consultation with Dr. Lee to interpret the results and create a unique treatment plan with you.
You will have a half-hour followup phone consultation with Dr. Lee after 4 weeks. (This can be conducted via email.)
After the first call, you will be charged for the consultation package and lab testing. If you have had adequate hormone testing done recently, it may be possible to waive the lab fee.
Sometimes Dr. Lee will recommend that you use a custom-compounded transdermal crème from a licensed compounding pharmacy. NaturoDoc does not participate in the profits associated with these medicines.
Indications for Hormone Testing
The following tests and their prices are given here so that you can estimate your initial consultation expenses. We find that hormone saliva tests are the most affordable and accurate means of helping us to understand your specific condition.
Below are symptoms that may indicate the need for these respective tests:
Androgen Deficiency Male Panel
Low libido Incontinence Aches/pains Depression Foggy thinking Sleep disturbances Fatigue Decreased muscle mass Bone loss Thinning skin Memory lapses
Androgen Excess Male Panel or Stress Panel
Increased bone Loss of scalp hair Excessive facial/body hair Oily skin
Cortisol Deficiency Stress Panel
Fatigue Heart palpitations Sugar cravings Aches and pains Allergies Arthritis Chemical sensitivities Decreased muscle mass Stress Thinning skin Cold body temperature
Cortisol Excess Stress Panel
Sleep disturbances Fatigue Depression Weight gain in waist Bone loss
Female Panels
These tests help to identify the following complaints:
Estrogen Deficiency
Vaginal dryness Night sweats Heart palpitations Bone loss Foggy thinking Emotional Memory lapses Incontinence Sleep disturbances Depression
Estrogen Excess
Mood swings Menstrual changes Tender breasts Headaches Water retention Nervous Fibrocystic breast tissue Irritable Uterine fibroids Anxious Weight gain in hips
Progesterone Deficiency
Hot flashes Increased Candida infections Night sweats Decreased libido Vaginal dryness Depressed Foggy thinking Bone loss Memory lapses Sleep disturbances Incontinence
Progesterone Excess
Heart palpitations Breast swelling and tenderness Water retention Tearful Sleepiness Mild depression