There are many types of Hormone Replacement Therapy options out there, for both men and women. But what exactly is Hormone Replacement Therapy and how can it help you?
Hormone Replacement Therapy can help you to feel and look younger. Many options are easy to use and take little to no time out of your day. Within weeks, you should feel less pain, sleep better, have a higher sex drive, and look younger!
Keep reading to figure out how Hormone Replacement Therapy works, the different kinds of therapies on the market for men and women, and how we can help find the perfect clinic for you today!
What is Hormone Replacement Therapy?
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can be used for all sorts of illnesses and issues. Generally, you use Hormone Replacement Therapy when hormone levels are low. Hormones are important to regulate many factors in the body.
These include:
- Metabolism
- Blood Sugar
- Growth
- Blood pressure
- Mood
- Stress
And many more.
Men can often have testosterone imbalance while women can have an imbalance in estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
How Does Hormone Replacement Therapy Help Aging?
HRT helps to prevent aging by preventing the natural reduction of hormones in the body. As your body ages and hormones naturally decrease, your bones grow weaker, your metabolism slows, and your skin begins to sag, among other issues.
Keeping your hormones at a higher level, keeps your skin and hair looking healthier and younger. However, using HRT isn’t just for looking younger, you can also feel younger. HRT has been shown to help boost your metabolism again, increase your bone strength, boost your sex drive, and even get rid of those common aches and pains associated with getting older.
Why There are Different HRT Options?
There are different options for HRT due to several factors. The first is that as you age, the body needs different hormones. For example, in women, as you pass menopause, you need different levels of testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen.
Also, every single person has a slightly different makeup. Each person’s chemicals are vastly different. There is no way that one type of HRT will work for everyone. Having a lot of options allows doctors and patients to work together to figure out which combination or application works best for them.
The topical applications for HRT are also beneficial because you can control the dosage. Plus, the topical ones are much easier to use than others.
Overall, there are roughly 50 or more different types of HRT for patients to try. So there is something out there that will work for you. We are going to cover the most common types of therapies and applications, but know that if these don’t work for you, there still may be other options available.
HRT Options for Men
One of the most common hormones to lower in men is testosterone, and it is the one that causes the most problems when it starts to fail. For that reason, testosterone and Human Growth Hormone are the two products that men use the most.
Testosterone Therapy
There are many options for increasing testosterone in the body, from simple topical applications to implants. Each one comes with different levels of this hormone so that you can find something that works best for you.
Patches
Testosterone patches are similar to nicotine patches. They are easy to put on, just sticking a patch on a clean, dry area for roughly 24 hours, or as directed by your doctor. These have similar effects to the injection, but without the pain or need for stabbing yourself. The doses are steady, so you should feel the same throughout the treatment.
Intramuscular Injections
Testosterone injections are most often done by a doctor and generally occur every 7 to 10 days. Due to the way the testosterone is injected, it is fast-acting and there is often a little bit of time where the testosterone peaks. This can be nice to some, as it gives them a little boost.
However, there are more of a peak-and-trough type situation with injections, instead of a steady stream. It also requires constant doctor visits, which can be a struggle to schedule and remember.
Gel
This is one of the most prescribed versions of testosterone in the United States. This is another application, as it is just a gel administered daily that eventually enters the bloodstream. However, the negative for this one is that it can easily transfer to other people that brush up against the area where the gel was applied.
This can be dangerous to children and women and should be taken into consideration when using this HRT application.
Cream
Testosterone cream is very similar to testosterone gel. However, it comes in a much higher concentration of testosterone than the gel. This means you don’t have to apply as much to get the same level of testosterone, which reduces the contact risk.
However, there is still the risk of someone coming into contact with you and getting the testosterone effects as well, so it is important to keep aware of where you place the cream.
Implants
As the name suggests, testosterone implants require minor surgery. These implants go into your hip and must be changed every 3 to 6 months, or as suggested by the doctor.
If for some reason, your treatment must be ended early, it has to be surgically removed and must be done by a doctor. However, there are no topical transfer issues, and it doesn’t require weekly doctor’s visits.
Growth Hormone Therapy
Growth Hormone Therapy involves two peptides, often used together, to produce more Human Growth Hormones (HGH). These are Growth Hormone Releasing Hormones and Growth Hormone Releasing Peptides.
HGH increases your libido, metabolism, sleep, and mood. Once you leave your 30s, it is estimated that you lose up to 10% of your HGH levels per year. By the time you reach 60, you are often down to just 1/10 of your original HGH levels.
High HGH can also help with physical anti-aging properties. On top of feeling better, the more HGH you have, the more your skin cells can replenish to allow you to have healthier and younger-looking skin. Some studies even show your heart health and immune system can increase with higher levels of this growth hormone.
There are pills, sprays, drops, and injection forms of GHRH, so your doctor can easily find something for you.
Growth Hormone Releasing Hormones
Put simply, the purpose of a Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) is to tell the body, specifically the pituitary gland, to produce more growth hormone. Products like Sermorelin are used as GHRH’s to help increase the amount of Growth Hormone (GH) released and the number of cells that release GH.
Growth Hormone Releasing Peptides
Growth Hormone Releasing Peptides (GHRP) stimulate the body into producing GH. However, they do this by not only releasing more GH and producing GH cells but also increasing the amount of GHRH in the body. Common examples of GHRP are Ipamorelin and GHRP-6.
GHRPs tend to not focus solely on the pituitary either. Ipamorelin stimulates both the pituitary and the liver, which helps the body process and produce more hormones.
Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
Similar to traditional Hormone Replacement Therapy, Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) works by increasing the hormones in the body. However, instead of using synthetic hormones, the BHRT method focuses on providing natural hormones from plants and animals.
These can be great for people who want more natural methods to get their hormones. However, there are usually more ingredients to help bind the product when they are in creams, gels, or pills that can cause allergic reactions.
Peptide Therapy
The use of peptides for health and anti-aging is common. For example, the way most people get their collagen is via collagen peptides and often either come in a powder that you mix into drinks or as a supplement.
Peptide Therapy is very similar to Growth Hormone Therapy. However, like BHRT, it is a more natural way of increasing the hormones in the body. Peptides essentially are amino acids that tell your body to produce more hormones, or collagen, or whatever you are taking them for.
This way, the body does the work, thanks to a little boost, instead of adding more hormones artificially into your body.
What HRT Do Most Men Take
In the United States, topical testosterone applications are the most common treatments of HRT for men. This is due to the ease of use, lack of required doctor’s visits, and lack of injections.
HRT Options for Women
Women have a lot of hormones that affect their daily life. Testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone are the most commonly focused on when working to reduce aging. Often, some mix of these three hormones has to be prescribed to reduce risks and gain the most benefit.
Estrogen
Thanks to proper research there are now estrogen HRTs that are identical to the estrogen naturally found in the body. This helps to give you the best health and benefits with no side effects that can come from estrogen that isn’t naturally found in the body.
Besides the ones we’ve listed below, there are also vaginal tablets, creams, and rings. However, these don’t specifically help with anti-aging and are generally for health issues, so we won’t go over them in detail here, but you can always talk to your doctor about them if you think they may be useful for you.
Patches
With estrogen patches, they are placed just once a week on part of the body. Generally, the patch will be placed on the lower belly or back and replaced at the same time every week.
Gels
Gels are often used when only small doses of estrogen are needed. Gels are good for active people and in a rush, as it generally just requires one squirt or pump of gel, usually just rubbed on an arm, and it can dry in as little as 2 minutes.
Spray
Sprays come in a mist that you spray onto your arm or even a nasal spray. The nasal sprays still aren’t commonly used but are starting to grow more popular.
The mists are usually applied on the arm, with a suction to keep the spray in one area. You simply put it on shortly after a shower or after cleaning the arm and letting it dry and then don’t wash that part of your arm for at least an hour. It allows for lower concentrations, such as the gel.
Progesterone
Progesterone is often prescribed at the same time as estrogen, as it helps prevent the uterus from building and holding onto increased uterine linings, which creates a cancer risk. By taking progesterone, it helps to shed that uterine wall as well as balance out the estrogen.
Progesterone is often prescribed in a cream, injection, or pill form. Out of these, the cream is the most prescribed as it allows for slow release and can have anywhere from 1 to 10% strength.
Testosterone
Testosterone is produced naturally in women, and often in greater quantities than estrogen before menopause. So as you grow older, your testosterone will decrease. It is important to keep the amount high to reduce signs of aging.
For women, only two main types of testosterone are given, which are the gel and the implant. Other options are available, but these are the most common. Generally, these will be given to increase libido, so testosterone won’t always be prescribed.
Cyclical Hormone Replacement Therapy
This is a beneficial Hormone Replacement Therapy for women, as it mimics a normal menstrual cycle. Women’s hormone levels vary throughout their cycle, and won’t always be the same. By using the same prescription throughout the month, you risk having side effects. However, this will allow your progesterone and estrogen to adjust as they should, and may even help regulate your period, on top of reducing your aging process.
This is useful for those who haven’t gone through menopause yet, as it allows their body to go through the natural menstrual process like normal. Once menopause is finished, they can switch to Continous Combined Therapy, which is what commonly happens.
Long Cycle HRT
Long Cycle HRTs reduce the amount of progesterone given, in case you are having too many side effects while taking progesterone. This often goes in 3-month cycles, so instead of having a menstrual cycle every month, it occurs every three.
This is a great option if progesterone just isn’t working for you, as you still get the benefits of HRT to reduce your aging, but without some of the nasty side effects that can come with the hormones.
Continuous Combined Therapy
Continuous Combined Therapy (CCT) is a good option for women who want the anti-aging benefits, and who are post-menopausal. This is because it gives you the same dose of estrogen and progesterone every day. Since the dose is the same and not going through cycles, you won’t have to restart your menstrual cycle again to get the benefits of feeling young.
Tibolone
Tibolone is very similar to CCT. It is a way to be period-free while still getting more hormones. It is synthetic and involves just taking tablets continuously, generally one a day. It often contains androgens, which are a group of hormones that often include testosterone. This can be a good option if most of your hormone levels are low, and not just estrogen and progesterone.
Estrogen-Only HRT
Estrogen-Only HRT is great for women who have had a hysterectomy. This is because, without progesterone, women can get a thicker uterine lining that doesn’t shed, which can increase the risk of cancer. However, if you no longer have your uterus, there is no need to add progesterone to the regimen, and you can focus on just one application daily.
Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy can be used in similar patterns to those above. However, instead of taking pills where you have to take high doses to prevent the liver from breaking it all down, they are often applied topically. This allows lower doses of the hormones.
BHRT also uses hormones that are very similar to natural hormones in the human body, without a lot of synthetic molecules. It also focuses more heavily on following the natural cycle of hormones, rather than just giving set doses every time.
Growth Hormone Therapy
For a long time, most people associated GHT with men. However, it is just as important for women as it is for men. By having low Human Growth Hormone in the body, you are more likely to gain weight, have bad moods, weak bones, and have low sexual wellness. As your body ages, your HGH decreases, which can lead to aging effects.
Keeping your HGH levels high significantly helps reduce aging effects in the body, and makes you feel a lot better. There are pills, sprays, drops, and injections for GHT, so finding an option that works with your lifestyle should be easy enough.
Like with men there are two ways to produce HGH in the body. These are Growth Hormone Releasing Hormones and Growth Hormone Releasing Peptides. Most often, you will be given a combination of both of these to stimulate the hormones and produce more growth hormones.
What HRT Most Women Take
While Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy can be used for men or women, it is most commonly prescribed to women. It is up-and-coming in the market of anti-aging, but it is gaining popularity quickly. This is because it follows the body’s cycles and uses more natural compounds to reduce side effects and help out the body more naturally.
Continuous Combined Therapy is the most commonly used for women who are no longer going through menopause but want to experience the anti-aging effects of HRT.
Which Hormones Should I Take?
This is where Prolong Labs and your clinic come in. You will be given several tests, including bloodwork, to see which hormones are low and other health issues you may have had in the past. By looking at these details together, the doctor should be able to provide the best hormone or combination of hormones that works for you.
Benefits of HRT
HRT can help with anti-aging. Your skin and hair look healthier within just a few weeks. However, it isn’t just the physical parts of aging. By taking Human Replacement Therapy, you may also find yourself not feeling so much pain that is common with aging. Your bones will grow stronger, you will sleep better, and your mood may even improve. Your sex drive can even increase due to HRT.
How to Get HRT
If you want reputable hormone therapy clinics for a good price, come talk to us at Prolong Labs. We will have you work with a therapist to get the perfect custom hormone plan to fit you and your needs.
We even have clinics nationwide that we work with, so you don’t have to travel across the country to get the help you need to look and feel young again. All you have to do is go on our website, fill out a form, and we will get back to you in no time.
Wrapping up
Hormone Replacement Therapy can be expensive and hard to find a trustworthy clinic. That is where Prolong Labs is here to help. We avoid overly expensive products and services while only working with the most reputable clinics.
By working with us at Prolong Labs, we can help you find a clinic that will work best for you and get the help you need at no extra cost. We also try to find someone close to you, so you don’t need to travel far to get the help you need to look and feel better.
We work with both men and women to find the best HRT for them as well as the specific application and levels of hormones for you. We covered a lot of the more common types of HRT. However, there are many more out there and it can get very confusing. By talking to our specialists, you can work to find the best combination of hormones and applications that work for you and your lifestyle.
