The Care You Deserve

With age, both MEN and WOMEN, undergo physiological changes that results in the decrease of their circulating hormone levels. Such a decrease, in our active patients, translates into decrease performance and delay recovery time. This drop in hormones causes our bodies to recover slower and suffer from longer periods of inflammation. There are many negative effects in high endurance female athletes, brought on by a decrease is healthy hormone levels. Lisbeth Wikstrom-Frisen has described in her book how this female hormonal imbalance can lead to serious menstrual dysfunction, that if not treated, could case conditions like increase  bone mineral loss.

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There is a big difference between hormonal replacement and hormonal supplementation. Those patients that have reached a physiological menopause (in women) and andropause (in men) are better candidates for hormonal replacement therapy (HRT). This is due to the fact that their bodies have ceased to produce enough hormones to maintain metabolic health. On the other hand, we know that our hormones start to decrease as early as our late twenties. High endurance athletes and active individuals notice those hormonal changes in a more pronounce way. This is way in Fitbodymd we do a thorough evaluation to discard any disease process affecting this hormonal production and tailor a hormonal supplementation regimen. This supplementation is intended to "supplement" and not inhibit ones own hormonal production, thus enjoying the benefits of more physiological levels that complement his or her active lifestyle.

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On the other had, as our patients age, they refuse to give up their athletic enjoyment and competitiveness  due to the onset of menopausal (in female) and andropausal (in males) symptoms as shown below:

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MENOPAUSE

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Most common female symptoms

Changes in Menstrual Cycle

Hot Flashes

Vaginal Dryness and Pain with Intercourse

Insomnia or Problems Sleeping

Frequent Urination or Urinary Incontinence

Urinary Tract Infections

Decreased Libido

Vaginal Atrophy

Depression and Mood Swings

Skin, Hair, and Other Tissue Changes

Loss of Muscle Tone and Muscle Mass

ANDROPAUSE

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Most common male symptoms

Diminished sexual desire and erectile quality

Decrease in nocturnal erections

Fatigue

Depression

Mood changes

Poor spatial orientation

Lean body muscle mass reduction

Decreased bode density and to an extend development of osteoporosis

Increase in central adiposity of fat accumulation

HRT of hormone replacement therapy aims in replacing the loss in quantity of the female and male hormones in order to help control, manage and treat the above symptoms and more. Most of these symptoms interfere with an active and competitive lifestyle, that our patients have enjoyed for many decades. We strive to offer our patients all the benefits that bioidentical HRT and hormone supplementation can offer and at the same time offer close medical monitoring in order to  balance health and performance.

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Now you may ask, why have I emphasized that we use bioidentical  HRT and hormone supplementation. I will provide the following example:

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For more than six decades women all over America have been treated with Premarin (the first brand of HRT in America).  Premarin, was made up of conjugated equine (horse) estrogens. Over time and many millions of women later it was discovered that only one type of hormone (estrogen) did not solve female menopausal issues and exposed them to an increased incidence of uterine cancer. With advances in technology and laboratory evaluation medicine has created more precise and safer ways of offering HRT to both Men and Women.  We can now measure very specific hormone levels in both men and women and custom prepare (compound) the medication to tailor each patient’s needs. We have also been able to create hormones that are identical in structure as the one created in men and women vs using synthetic or animal or plant based hormones. This bio-identical hormone formulation have lowered the associated risk that the traditional synthetic hormones brought.

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At FiTbodymd we recognize that HRT is not the sole treatment or the answer to keeping a healthy productive life. This is why we believe that HRT is only an adjunct to a treatment of dietary, lifestyle and exercise modification aimed in increasing and maintaining lean muscle mass and functionality in out later years. We want to help you burn the fat and build your muscle in a healthy and physiological way.

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There are several ways HRT can be taken, including:

•  as a cream or gel, which can be applied to the skin or directly into the vagina if you are experiencing vaginal  dryness

•  tablets, which can be taken by mouth or placed directly into your vagina to treat dryness

•  a patch that you stick on your skin

•  an implant, under local anesthetic, small pellets of estrogen are inserted under the skin of your tummy,  buttock  or thigh

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Araujo AB, Wittert GA. Endocrinology of the Aging Male. Best practice & research Clinical endocrinology & metabolism. 2011;25(2):303-319. doi:10.1016/j.beem.2010.11.004.

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Wikström-Frisén, & Lisbeth. (2016). Training and hormones in physically active women : with and without oral contraceptive use. Umeå universitet, Idrottsmedicin.