Hormone therapy aims to supplement hormones that become deficient with age or due to medical conditions. When certain hormones drop below optimal levels, patients may experience unpleasant symptoms that impact quality of life. Replacing these hormones can provide immense relief.
At Optimal Hormone Wellness Center in Toms River, we offer cutting-edge hormone therapies to help patients regain health, vitality and an overall sense of wellbeing. With comprehensive lab testing, customized treatment plans and excellent patient care, we strive to optimize hormone levels for each unique individual.
Hormones are chemical messengers produced by glands throughout the body. They travel through the bloodstream, coordinating complex processes that keep us healthy. Hormones regulate reproduction, sexual function, mood, metabolism, growth and much more.
As we age, hormone production naturally begins to slow down. Lifestyle factors like chronic stress and poor nutrition can also disrupt optimal hormonal balance. When certain hormones dip too low, patients develop unpleasant symptoms that compound over time. Replacing deficient hormones can provide immense relief.
There are many potential benefits of hormone therapy, depending on each patient's unique needs:
The key is optimizing hormones based on each patient's physiology and test results - not just alleviating individual symptoms. Our practitioners take a holistic approach to identify root causes of imbalance and create tailored treatment plans.
The first step is always thorough testing. At Optimal Hormone Wellness Center, we take the time to listen to patients, hearing health histories and carefully evaluating symptoms. However, a proper diagnosis requires specialized blood and saliva tests to identify specific hormone deficiencies or excesses.
We use state-of-the-art testing to measure bioavailable hormone levels within cells and tissues - not just serum blood levels. This allows us to make appropriate clinical decisions to resolve stubborn symptoms. Patients can trust our advanced testing protocols and methodical analysis when creating treatment plans.
Some hormones that commonly decline, causing distressing short and long-term impacts:
Testosterone - The primary male sex hormone regulates libido, energy, strength, mood, metabolism and heart health. Low testosterone affects millions of aging men.
Estrogen - This primary female hormone declines during perimenopause and menopause, causing hot flashes, vaginal dryness, irregular periods, compromised bone density and other issues.
Thyroid hormone (T3, T4) - This regulates metabolism, weight, appetite, digestion, energy, heart rate and body temperature. Low levels cause hypothyroidism.
DHEA - This beneficial precursor hormone starts declining around age 30, leading to hormone disruptions that impair healthspan.
Melatonin - Declines of this sleep-regulating hormone cause insomnia and sleep disturbances as we age.
Growth Hormone - Plummeting youthful growth hormone levels lead to declines in cell regeneration, muscle mass, bone density, exercise capacity and resilience.
Again, treatment must be based around each patient's unique clinical presentation and hormone testing - not isolated symptoms.
Once we identify hormone deficiencies through testing, Optimal Hormone Wellness Center creates customized treatment plans to restore balance. We offer a range of hormone therapies and innovative techniques to optimize improvements in health, function and quality of life.
Optimal Hormone Wellness Center specializes in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) customized around each patient's physiology and hormone test results. The key advantage of bioidentical hormones is the molecular structure precisely matches the body's own hormones. This avoids contraindications and side effects associated with synthetic hormone analogues. Bioidentical estrogens, testosterone, DHEA provide targeted treatment with improved safety profiles.
We offer comprehensive testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) tailored to address low testosterone (Low T) based on symptoms and blood testing. Benefits may include:
Prescribed bioidentical testosterone comes in oral, injectable, pellet and gel preparations the doctor selects with each patient based on treatment goals, monitoring considerations, dosing convenience and personal preference. We also address factors that commonly disrupt testosterone balance, from obesity and medications to chronic diseases causing hypogonadism. Lifestyle optimization is key.
Optimal Hormone Wellness Center also specializes in estrogen replacement, including bioidentical estrogen and other therapies to alleviate uncomfortable symptoms of menopause and hormonal decline in women, which may include:
We identify therapeutic windows for each woman based on hormone testing and risk profiles. Estrogen therapy paired with nutrient support often relieves symptoms rapidly, while also conferring protective effects on bone mineral density, heart health and neurological function. We also address the importance of lifestyle optimization.
Optimal Hormone Wellness Center further personalizes hormone balance treatments using supporting nutrients and peptides:
We identify therapeutic windows for each patient based on hormone testing and risk profiles, avoiding guesswork. Supportive therapies promote optimal balance.
Hormone replacement plans require close monitoring and follow-up testing to ensure therapies remain effective long-term without adverse effects. We emphasize patient education about expectations, monitoring, potential side effects and results tracking.
Follow-up blood tests identify positive responses to treatment while making dosage adjustments as necessary. If hormone levels normalize but symptoms persist, we investigate and address other root causes like chronic infections, inflammation, environmental toxins, allergies, gastrointestinal issues and much more.
Patients have access to on-call practitioners via phone, text and email. We also provide nutrition advice and lifestyle coaching as part of ongoing support. Optimal wellness requires an integrative approach addressing the interrelated factors impacting hormone health.
Hormone therapy provides enormous benefits - yet optimal results require individualized treatment plans alongside attentive lifestyle modification and stress reduction. Key areas to address:
This represents just a subset of factors we evaluate during consults to create lifestyle plans supporting hormone optimization.
We emphasize sustainable long-term lifestyle changes that address root causes - not just short-term symptomatic relief.
Hormone therapy can help transgender individuals match their physical characteristics with their gender identity. Surprisingly, for transgender women, hormone therapy has been found to improve verbal fluency, improving verbal memory and executive functioning of the brain, suggesting positive effects on aspects of cognition.
As men reach their 40s-50s, testosterone levels gradually fall about 1 percent per year - called andropause. This leads to unpleasant symptoms that compound: low energy, weight gain, mental fog, reduced muscle mass and strength, decreased libido, erectile dysfunction, mood issues and more.
Diagnosing "Low T" and clinically-indicated testosterone deficiency requires thorough lab testing to accurately measure free and bioavailable testosterone levels - not just serum total testosterone alone.
At Optimal Hormone Wellness Center, we also establish TRT baselines by evaluating related hormones reflecting foundational health - like thyroid (T3, T4), DHEA-S, vitamin D, estradiol, LH, FSH, SHBG, prolactin, PSAs, liver enzymes, lipids, fasting glucose, CRP and other inflammation and immunity biomarkers.
This comprehensive overview coupled with correlation of symptoms establishes accurate clinical need for testosterone replacement vs. investigating other root causes. We determine appropriate baselines before starting therapy.
Follow-up blood tests then gauge treatment efficacy - avoiding over-replacement while ensuring continually optimized free and bioavailable testosterone based on a man's unique ratio of SHBG and albumin influencing results. Careful monitoring determines indicated dosage adjustments and addition of other supportive therapies like HCG, aromatase inhibitors or DHEA.
We emphasize supporting healthy lifestyle modification for best results: diet, exercise, sleep, stress management and more. TRT serves as an adjunct providing renewed vigor, drive and function.
As women enter perimenopause - the transitional stage starting around 40 - cycles become irregular as ovarian follicles begin declining. Neuroendocrine disruption causes widely varying estrogen levels. Stress hormones like cortisol and prolactin also increase. These combined effects often spark unpleasant symptoms:
Eventually menopause occurs: 12 months without a menstrual cycle due to complete ovarian follicle loss - meaning minimal remaining estrogen production. Symptoms often worsen during this estrogen-deficient state which can persist for years. Long term there’s increased vulvovaginal atrophy, heart disease, and osteoporosis risk without proper diagnosis and treatment of hormone deficiency.
However, there’s no “one size fits all” approach to hormone replacement therapy in women. The key is accurately assessing menopause status and determining one’s unique optimal estrogen range through testing.
We measure follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol, testosterone, progesterone, DHEA-S, thyroid hormone, melatonin, cortisol curves and sometimes anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH). Symptoms are also considered. Customized bioidentical estrogen and progesterone plans are created accordingly while monitoring labs and symptoms to continually optimize dosing.
Ideally menopausal hormone therapy starts sooner than later - before bone density plummets or heart risks increase. We explain details like forms, doses and cyclic vs continuous options. Many women find tremendous relief. We also address proper diet, exercise, stress reduction and micronutrient support for best HR results.
Distinguishing between peri- and full menopause is difficult. Period irregulatory during perimenopause comes from erratic ovulation combined with short luteal phases featuring low progesterone production. Cycle lengths span everything from frequent to sporadic to long gaps.
Follicle loss accelerates ages 45-55. If periods disappear for 12 months it indicates full menopause - yet 5-10% still sporadically ovulate. Accurately diagnosing menopause status amidst these fluctuations means profiling long-term hormone and symptom patterns.
Estradiol testing can distinguish status yet still shows similar variabilities like night sweats and hot flashes occurring cyclically during perimenopause then persistently in menopause. Endometrial biopsies may show proliferative vs non-proliferative differences too. No single lab or symptom confirms status - we interpret multiple data points.
The thyroid gland produces hormones T4 and T3 which control whole-body metabolism: digestion, respiration, heart rate, body temperature, energy expenditure and much more. Low thyroid function causes hypothyroidism and a constellation of unwanted symptoms:
When the small butterfly-shaped gland in the neck doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone, metabolism slows. Left untreated for years, high cholesterol, depression, and heart risks also rise.
T3 is the more biologically active form that actually binds cellular receptors to exert effects. T4 is considered a reservoir converted as needed. People with low T3 specifically (22%) often go undiagnosed due to mild T4 elevations masking issues. Testing both provides a complete picture. Cortisol balance also influences T4 > T3 conversion. We identify patterns.
Iodine, tyrosine and selenium deficiencies can all contribute to hypothyroidism as well as hormonal disruptions like high cortisol, estrogen dominance or low testosterone skewing balance. Autoimmunity also attacks thyroid function in Hashimoto’s disease - greatly helped by T3 supplementation early to avoid long term destruction. We support healthy modulation of autoantibodies.
Optimal Hormone Wellness Center optimizes thyroid function by:
Patients report increased energy, mental clarity, motivation, warmth tolerance and weight loss when achieving ideal T3 levels. We ensure continually optimized dosing tailored for long term glandular support.
Human growth hormone (HGH) signals the liver to produce insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a pivotal hormone decreasing with age. Declining HGH/IGF-1 underlies sarcopenia (muscle loss), wrinkling and many aging effects.
Adult IGF-1 supports:
By age 60, GH levels drop by about 75% compared to youthful peaks. Low-normal IGF-1 levels double cardiovascular risks and mortality. Optimizing IGF-1 provides anti-aging effects:
Sermorelin acetate is a bioidentical growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) which stimulates pituitary production of HGH. Elevated endogenous natural growth hormone provides highly effective restoration for muscle, skin, bone and connective tissue health. Benefits include enhanced injury healing, strength gains, fat loss and Rhodiola-like energy and vitality - without risks of direct HGH administration.
Optimal Hormone Wellness Center tailors sermorelin regimens around patient needs and budgets based on IGF-1 testing, administered via subcutaneous injections. We’ve seen sermorelin work wonders. Treatment plans start with 3-6 month protocols to kickstart HGH production and sustain high levels. CJC-1295 peptides are also sometimes added to amplify GH release. Supportive therapies further optimize results.
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a prohormone produced mostly by the adrenal glands that gives rise to various sex steroids. DHEA provides numerous beneficial physiological effects:
However, DHEA production declines rapidly starting in one’s 30s. Low levels correlate with higher all-cause mortality in men and women. Supplementing declining DHEA can provide a remarkable anti-aging boost rejuvenating the entire endocrine system!
We diagnose clinically low DHEA-S levels via blood testing before creating treatment plans with bioidentical DHEA. Pellet implants release consistent doses. We tailor strengths and delivery methods based on patient symptoms, needs and follow up testing. Some need
