The Benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy

Explore the numerous benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Learn how HRT can alleviate symptoms and improve overall well-being. Contact us today!

The Benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy
Next Health Staff
|
December 6, 2023

Testosterone is a key hormone for many bodily functions, and young men and women often benefit from having plenty of it in their early years. But time stops for no one, and it’s normal for testosterone production to decrease as you get older.

You don’t necessarily have to accept the side effects of aging or the symptoms of low testosterone or low T. In fact, hormone replacement therapy from providers like Next Health may be able to provide several key benefits and alleviate any of the symptoms of this chronic condition.

Let’s break down the potential benefits of hormone optimization therapy from Next Health.

Testosterone and Its Role

Testosterone is one of the most important hormones in the body for both men and women, though it performs several extra functions in men. Testosterone is needed for muscle growth and fat distribution, sex drive, and much more in both sexes.

But for men, in particular, testosterone plays a major role in bone density, targeted fat distribution, body hair and facial hair growth, sperm production, red blood cell production, and much more. In short, testosterone is vital for men to develop properly and maintain many secondary male sex characteristics.

What Are The Signs That You Need Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Although all men produce lots of testosterone, the level of testosterone made by your body doesn’t stay the same over time. In fact, testosterone production peaks in the teenage years and early 20s and gradually tapers off and decreases as you get older.

Many men experience the symptoms of low testosterone as they age. Testosterone dips about 1 percent per year after age 35 or so. Even though this is a normal symptom of aging, low testosterone levels may lead to several negative symptoms or side effects, including but not limited to:

  • Low libido or sex drive
  • Decreased body or head hair
  • Loss of energy
  • Loss of cognitive ability
  • Loss of muscle mass and increase in fat commission
  • Increased risk of stroke, heart issues, and other risk factors

Testosterone decreases do not occur at the same time for everyone. Some men experience low testosterone earlier than they should, or they lose more testosterone production than they normally would by the time they are an average age of 30 or 40.

Even women may experience low testosterone or low estrogen. Postmenopausal women may experience sharp declines in estrogen and/or testosterone, leading to postmenopausal symptoms including:

  • Night sweats
  • Vaginal dryness
  • Hot flashes
  • An increased risk of women's health issues such as uterus decline, blood clots, and more

For all of these conditions and more, HRT or hormone replacement therapy is a potential solution. Many women use the lowest effective dose of estrogen or progesterone specifically for menopausal hormone therapy.

Regardless, hormone replacement therapy provides synthetic testosterone or estrogen, depending on the needs of the patient. By providing your body with extra essential hormones, you may experience the reduction of several negative symptoms or an increase in positive symptoms.

Potential Benefits of HRT

HRT, especially from licensed providers like Next Health may lead to several major benefits.

Improved Libido

Since testosterone is a key hormone related to libido and sex drive, HRT may help clients recover their sex drives if they have waned or decreased over the years. For women, hormone optimization from Next Health may help with natural lubrication, sexual pleasure, and more.

For men, HRT and synthetic testosterone may help alleviate some of the symptoms of low libido, helping to recapture the energy of your youth.

Increased Energy

Testosterone is also an important hormone for energy levels across the board. It’s normal for men and women with low T or other hormonal imbalances to feel under the weather or not as energetic as they did when they were younger.

Properly administered, HRT may increase energy and help older adults tackle the challenges of life with renewed vigor and intensity. This translates to every aspect of life, including exercise performance, work drive and ambition, and even personality.

Better Muscle Gain and Fat Loss

There’s lots of evidence to suggest that testosterone is closely related to fat distribution, muscle gain and repair, and other aspects of bodily wellness. Many young men can build muscle quite quickly because they have a surplus of testosterone.

Older men and women looking to get fit and stay fit (to enjoy the benefits of bodily health well into their golden years) may also benefit from HRT that replaces decreased testosterone because of this connection. Depending on your diet and exercise regimen, you may also experience increased muscle gain and faster weight loss by giving your body extra testosterone.

While HRT can’t help older individuals build muscle at the same rate as younger counterparts, it may still make exercise more enjoyable and lead to better results than you might see otherwise.

Reduced Aging Symptoms

Many of the side effects of aging are related to low T and decreased hormone production overall. Therefore, certain types of hormone optimization, like Next Health’s unique treatment, may also reduce some of the signs of aging, including:

  • The onset of wrinkle lines and aging spots on the skin
  • Low energy levels and decreased mobility

While testosterone alone cannot turn back the clock fully, HRT may help older individuals feel and act younger than before.

Enhanced Cognition

In addition to all of the above benefits, there’s some evidence to suggest that testosterone replacement therapy and hormone optimization from Next Health may lead to increased cognition or better mental agility.

For example, several observational studies indicate that testosterone therapy may affect cognitive functioning as people get older. It's normal for some mental agility or acuity to be lost with age. Testosterone could help reverse these effects and improve mental performance in memory, concentration, and learning.

With each of these benefits, it’s crucial to remember that testosterone is a wide-ranging hormone that plays many crucial roles in the body. Any hormonal replacement therapy will have several effects regardless of the intended outcome.

Because of this inherent unpredictability, one should only pursue hormone therapy from a licensed, experienced provider like Next Health.

Are All Types of HRT Equal?

No. In fact, the vast majority of testosterone hormone replacement therapies utilize testosterone hormone injections. These have several major problems:

  • For one, synthetic testosterone injections flush your body with extra testosterone in a sudden rush.
  • This can lead to “hormone swings,” where your body is overwhelmed by the sudden amount of extra testosterone, and you experience negative side effects as a result.
  • For another, hormonal injections of testosterone could overwhelm the body’s natural testosterone production capabilities. In time, this may cause the body to stop producing testosterone by itself, requiring higher and higher doses of testosterone injections.

In contrast, HRT from Next Health is a superior treatment in many ways.

  • We use bio-identical synthetic testosterone pellets. Bio-identical synthetic testosterone is designed to match your body's own testosterone samples.
  • Because of this, the testosterone we provide our clients is absorbed more readily and easily by the body since your body recognizes the synthetic testosterone has its own.
  • Furthermore, our hormone therapy provides you with your testosterone via pellets.
  • The pellets are digested at a slower rate by the body, so the testosterone is absorbed more gradually and evenly.
  • This does not run the risk of overwhelming your body’s natural testosterone production or confusing it over time.

Next Health’s hormone therapy may be a prime choice for men and women who experience any of the above symptoms of low T, including loss of libido, low energy, decreased muscle gain, and so on.

Other effective progesterone or testosterone therapy may use skin patches or gels/creams, which provide the hormone through skin absorption. Still, others use hormone sprays, which often include the lowest dose possible of a given hormone.

That said, hormone therapy through a capsule or tablet, like we offer at Next Health, is generally regarded as the best choice for hormone therapy.

What Are the Risks of HRT?

No hormone treatment is without risks, whether you get testosterone, progestin, or some other hormone.

HRT use may lead to complications, including:

  • Increased risk of breast cancer
  • Higher risk of endometrial cancer
  • Higher risk of ovarian cancer
  • Vaginal bleeding in women
  • Risk of gallbladder disease
  • Risk of heart attack
  • Risk of coronary heart disease and generally increased cardiovascular risk
  • High blood pressure and high cholesterol

That said, hormone optimization at Next Health can mitigate these risks through careful application of hormone treatments, thorough discussions with wellness specialists, and uniquely tailored optimization plans designed for your health above all.

Summary

In the end, the benefits of hormone therapy are unique to every individual, but there is lots of evidence that HRT can be beneficial for treating the symptoms of low T and similar conditions. Due to our unique bioidentical hormone pellet therapy, Next Health’s hormone optimization is the ideal choice for anyone wanting to benefit from the potential advantages above.

Want to know more or sign up for an appointment? You can contact Next Health’s nearest location today and speak to one of our wellness experts for more information.

Sources:

Testosterone — What It Does And Doesn't Do | Harvard Health

Testosterone for the aging male; current evidence and recommended practice | NCBI

Effects of hormone replacement therapy on sexual psychophysiology and behavior in postmenopause | NCBI

Testosterone physiology in resistance exercise and training: the up-stream regulatory elements | NCBI

Effects of Testosterone Therapy on Cognitive Function in Aging: A Systematic Review | NCBI

Start with Next-Health

“We believe health is not the absence of disease. Health is the abundance of vitality”
Get Started with a Complimentary Consult
Next health mobile connect
next health phone connect

Other Resources

How to Improve Your Mood & Energy
Next Health Staff
|
March 1, 2024

How to Improve Your Mood & Energy

read post
Seasonal Affective Disorder Self-Care
Next Health Staff
|
March 11, 2024

Seasonal Affective Disorder Self-Care

read post