Hormone Therapy San Diego can treat prostate cancer in men by blocking the production of natural hormones. It can also be used to help prevent bone loss by replacing natural estrogen in postmenopausal women.
Whether a woman takes estrogen alone or with progestin depends on her health and symptoms. FDA-approved forms of hormone therapy are available in pills, rings, patches, creams, and sprays.
Estrogen (also called estrogen) is a hormone that is a natural part of the body. It helps to develop and regulate female secondary sexual characteristics, including the uterus and menstrual cycles. It also plays an important role in hormonal birth control and feminizing hormone therapy for transgender women, intersex people, and nonbinary individuals.
Estrogen levels can vary between individuals and fluctuate throughout a menstrual cycle or over an entire lifetime. High or low estrogen can cause a variety of symptoms, such as hot flashes and changes in mood before or after menstruation. Estrogen is available in pill form for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and can help relieve the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, such as vaginal dryness, sleep problems, and joint pain.
Doctors typically prescribe estrogen-only medication if you’ve had a hysterectomy but still have your ovaries since it has less of a risk for long-term health issues like breast cancer and clots in the deep veins of the legs or lungs (deep venous thrombosis). But doctors sometimes recommend estrogen in combination with progestin in a pill or cream for women who haven’t had a hysterectomy and have their ovaries. This type of HRT is known as hormone therapy or HT and is usually prescribed under the brand names Activella, FemHrt or Prempro.
Estrogen is also available in creams, gels, or sprays that can be applied to the skin. These forms of ERT (which is also referred to as topical estrogen) are absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream. They are commonly used by women who have trouble with vaginal dryness, itchiness or pain during intercourse. If you use a gel, cream or spray, don’t let anyone else touch it, as they could get dosed with estrogen themselves.
Progestins
Progestins are synthetic compounds that mimic the action of progesterone. They are used for a variety of reasons, including contraception and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Different progestins have distinct effects that are related to their chemical structures and their interactions with progesterone receptors. These differences are critical to the effectiveness of progestins.
The progestins that are most commonly used for birth control include norgestimate, desogestrel, and gestodene. They can be taken in combination with estrogen or by themselves. They can also be added to other forms of birth control, such as the contraceptive vaginal ring or transdermal patch.
When taken at low doses, progestins prevent pregnancy by blocking ovulation and thickening the cervical mucus. This makes it harder for sperm to reach the egg, which can prevent fertilization. Some types of progestins can also increase the risk of blood clots in veins. This risk is lower when using norgestimate or depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, but is still present in other progestins.
Bioidentical progestins are made in a lab to be identical to the hormones your body produces naturally. They can be combined with estrogen or used by themselves, depending on your condition and the type of hormones you need. They are more closely matched to the hormones your body produces than other types of synthetic hormones.
Some doctors may recommend taking both estrogen and a progestin for the best results. However, some women only need a progestin. These pills are called progestin-only oral contraceptives or POPs, and they can be used to prevent pregnancy, treat amenorrhea, or ease premenstrual tension. Other uses for these medications include treating anemia, lowering cholesterol levels, and preventing certain types of cancer.
Combination therapy
In clinical practice, combination therapy can be used for a variety of indications. Depending on the condition, the treatment can be administered orally or via injection. The benefits of this approach include the ease of administration and increased patient compliance. In addition, combination therapies can improve the effectiveness of drugs by reducing the likelihood of resistance or adverse reactions. However, the effectiveness of combination therapy has not been proven in randomized controlled trials.
One way of assessing the effects of combination therapy is to compare it with monotherapy. However, this method does not provide a reliable estimate of the true clinical benefit of the treatment. It also does not account for the potential influence of placebo or observer bias. Moreover, it does not take into account the fact that monotherapy can be more effective than combination therapy in some patients.
The combination of a low dose of doxorubicin with the b3-adrenoceptor agonist mirabegron reduces the side effects of doxorubicin, but does not significantly improve outcomes. This strategy is an alternative to surgical removal of the adrenal glands. In addition, combination therapy may prevent the development of a p53 mutation in the tumor cells, which leads to resistance to conventional chemotherapy.
Combination therapy can also be used for non-cancerous conditions, such as adrenergic hypercortisolism. It can reduce the need for emergent bilateral adrenalectomy, thereby improving patient quality of life. In addition, it is a more cost-effective alternative to the use of medical monotherapy.
A combination therapy regimen can be used to improve the effectiveness of drugs by increasing their pharmacokinetics, distribution, and metabolism. The second drug can increase the rate or extent of absorption, distribution, and metabolism, while the first drug can modify the receptor expression. This allows a higher concentration of the first drug to reach its desired site of action.
Bioidentical hormones
The term “bioidentical” refers to hormones that are chemically identical to the hormones your body naturally makes. Bioidentical hormones can be made from plant or animal sources. Some bioidentical hormones are manufactured by big pharmaceutical companies and regulated by the FDA. Others are made by a special kind of pharmacy, known as a compounding pharmacy. These pharmacies make a variety of bioidentical hormone formulations to help with symptoms of menopause and other hormonal imbalances. The hormones may be made into a pill, gel, cream, suppository or nose spray.
Hormones are the chemical messengers that control almost every part of your body. When they are out of balance, they can cause weight gain, mood swings, a lack of energy and other symptoms that can affect your quality of life. The best way to treat these imbalances is with hormone replacement therapy, a safe and effective treatment that can reduce or eliminate your symptoms.
Women who go through perimenopause or menopause experience a wide range of symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness and irregular periods. Bioidentical hormones can help ease these symptoms and improve the quality of your life.
A naturopathic physician can recommend a combination of bioidentical estrogen and progestins to balance your hormone levels. In addition, they can prescribe bioidentical testosterone for men experiencing low libido or erectile problems.
Many women prefer the bioidentical hormones over traditional hormone therapy because it is safer and more natural. However, large research studies haven’t shown that bioidentical hormones are better or worse than conventional medications. Moreover, the risks of taking hormones can include an increased risk of blood clots and heart disease. Nevertheless, your doctor can work with you to develop the best plan for you.
Side effects
Hormone therapy is a treatment that adds, removes, or blocks hormones to slow the growth of cancer cells that need hormones to grow. It may also help prevent the cancer from coming back (recurrence). Hormone therapy is sometimes called endocrine therapy or hormone manipulation therapy.
Many breast, uterine and prostate cancers are fueled by the natural hormones estrogen and progesterone. Cancers that are fueled by these hormones are often called hormone receptor positive. Hormone therapy can be used to reduce the size of a tumor before surgery or to lower the chance that cancer will return after radiation or chemotherapy. It is also used to help control cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.
Common side effects of hormone therapy vary depending on the type of drug you take. They can happen during or immediately after treatment. They can also develop a few weeks or months after your treatment ends.
Women taking estrogen-alone or estrogen-plus-progestins may experience hot flashes and vaginal dryness. They may also have bloating, abdominal pain, or changes in mood and appetite. Women with heart disease or high blood pressure should not use this type of hormone therapy.
During hormone therapy, it is important to eat well and exercise. This can help prevent weight gain. It is also important to drink enough fluids to avoid dehydration. You should not smoke or have any alcohol while receiving hormone therapy.
A rare but serious problem that can occur with hormone therapy is a blood clot in the leg or lung. If you have a history of a blood clot in your legs or lungs, talk to your doctor before starting hormone therapy. If you have symptoms of a blood clot, such as calf tenderness or swelling, difficulty breathing or chest pain, see your doctor or go to the emergency department right away.