Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a treatment for women who have low hormone levels, like a woman going through menopause.

HRT is also called estrogen replacement therapy or ERT.

With HRT you takes estrogen, and often progestin, to help the symptoms caused by low hormone levels in your body.

Hormones are special chemicals that your body makes.

The job of hormones is to control how different parts of your body work. The main female hormones are estrogen and progesterone which are made by your ovaries. These hormones are a very important part of your reproductive system.

Estrogen is made during your menstrual cycle. Its job is to grow a thick layer of tissue inside the uterus (womb) each month. Estrogen also affects your bones and the health of your heart and blood vessels.

Progesterone is made by your ovaries during the second half of your menstrual cycle. It further thickens the lining of the uterus.

During menopause, usually in the late 40s or early 50s, your ovaries slowly stop making these hormones.

Onset of menopause is quite variable and can begin with missed or irregular periods.

You can have physical and emotional changes when your estrogen level is low.

Hot flashes

This is the most common symptom of menopause. A hot flash is a sudden feeling of heat that spreads throughout your body. Your skin may also sweat or blush. Hot flashes usually happen at night and may wake you up. You may have hot flashes on and off for many years.

Osteoporosis

This is also called bone loss. After menopause a woman's bones begin losing calcium and protein. This may cause brittle bones, which can make older woman more likely to break bones.

Heart and blood vessel disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death of women in the U.S. Estrogen seems to help prevent heart disease. You are more likely to have heart and blood vessel disease after menopause.

Emotional changes.

Low estrogen levels may cause emotional changes. These emotional changes may be linked to physical changes, like losing sleep because of hot flashes. Some women feel nervous, depressed, tired, or short-tempered. You may also have concentration problems (staying focused).

Vaginal dryness

The lining of the vagina may get thinner and less elastic because of dropping estrogen levels. A decrease in estrogen may cause your vagina to become dry. These changes may cause you to have pain during sex.

Bone loss is highest during the early years after menopause. To get the best results, HRT should start soon after the beginning of menopause.

You should continue with HRT for at least 7 to 10 years.

You and your physician can decide how long you should take HRT.

You will need long-term treatment if you are trying to prevent heart disease or osteoporosis. Bone loss will begin right away when you stop taking HRT.

The cost of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) can vary depending on the treatment type, dosage, administration frequency.

Initial Exam fee is $199 with $350 lab fee.

Medical insurance can be billed for hormone testing. Your insurance policy may or may not cover the cost of your TRT prescriptions and supplements.

Many insurance companies have little or no interest in your wellness and will only pay for illness.

First year:

Initial exam

2-month follow-up

4-month follow-up

8-month follow-up

After first year:

annual exam

bi-annual exam

Symptoms and intensity vary for each person, but many women start to notice relief from some symptoms within the first couple of weeks. Hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep issues tend to ease early on and continue to improve with time.

However, for other symptoms like weight loss and muscle gain, it can take up to 3-months to see results. Studies show that this is also the point at which 80% of women experience full relief. These are general patterns, and everyone’s body responds uniquely to any given treatment.

patient safety comes first. “Do no harm” has been one of the guiding principles of medicine for millennia, and we take that seriously.

As long as you fill out our questionnaire accurately and keep up with the follow-up exam, our physicians will be able to determine whether it is a safe for you.

That being said, we believe, based on scientific evidence, that HRT is the most effective treatment for menopause symptoms and is worth taking for patients who have been appropriately screened and deemed good candidates. For those patients, the risks are minimal.

Your physician can outline the risks and benefits based on your medical history, symptoms and labs.

HRT works well in tandem to address weight loss - and even more important, fat loss with muscle gain.

You will see a redistribution of weight to lower your BMI and increase your lean muscle mass. There may be a temporary gain of water weight over the first week or two, but that should go away quickly, and you should then start to see the desired weight loss.

It's still important to eat well and exercise. In addition to the direct metabolic effects, you should also sleep better with these medications. This in turn helps with weight loss by affecting cortisol and decreasing the food cravings we get when we are tired.

Don't expect to lose a lot of weight in the first month; slow, steady progress is what to expect, which adds up over time. The medications reverse metabolic effects of declining hormone levels. Like reversing a moving train, first, the weight gain needs to stop before weight loss can occur.