Illinois winters can be harsh. The cold, dark days may leave some feeling low on energy, moody, gaining weight, and struggling with libido. For both women and men, imbalances in hormones like estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol often underlie these unwanted symptoms. Fortunately, help is available right in your own backyard. This is where the Rejuvenate Hormone Center comes in. With customized bioidentical hormone therapy tailored to your unique needs, you can regain your zest for life even during the coldest months. Read on to learn all about the signs of hormonal imbalance, who can benefit, what to expect, and why Rejuvenate Hormone Center leads the way with expert, personalized care.
Feeling off and struggling to keep up with daily tasks? Before jumping to conclusions, it's important to get the right tests done to check your hormone levels.
Here are key symptoms that may signal it's time to get evaluated:
- Irregular periods - Hot flashes - Night sweats - Vaginal dryness - Low libido - Weight gain - Fatigue - Mood changes like anxiety or irritability
- Low libido - Erectile dysfunction - Decreased muscle mass - Weight gain - Fatigue - Depression
Don't resign yourself to feeling this way as normal parts of life or aging. An experienced hormone specialist can run blood panels and saliva tests to pinpoint where your hormone balance is off.
This provides a blueprint for customized treatment to get your mojo back!
Bioidentical hormone replacement offered at Rejuvenate Hormone Center can transform health at any age. From perimenopausal women to elderly men, patients see profound improvements in energy, sexual function, emotional health, sleep, weight management, and an overall sense of vitality.
Hormone optimization is also popular among athletes and weekend warriors aiming to improve performance, build lean muscle, sharpen mental clarity, and speed injury recovery.
With treatment tailored to your individual imbalances, the benefits are endless. Here's a closer look at key reasons patients pursue hormone therapy:
Up to 80% seek help for troublesome symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness that disrupt sleep and intimacy. Estrogen and/or progesterone therapy can provide immense relief.
As testosterone gradually declines at 2-4% per year after age 30, low T is inevitable. Supplementing levels back to an optimal range alleviates issues like reduced stamina, erectile dysfunction, depression, and stubborn belly fat.
Prolonged stress takes a toll by draining cortisol levels. Symptoms like exhaustion, cravings, and mood instability impede quality of life. Supporting the stressed adrenal glands renews health.
An under or overactive thyroid impacts the entire endocrine system. Optimizing thyroid function regulates metabolism, body temperature, mood, menstrual cycles, fertility, and more.
From weekend warriors to competitive athletes, balancing muscle-building anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormone leads to performance gains: improved strength and endurance, speedier recovery, increased lean body mass, and reduced body fat. Hormone therapy is also popular in anti-aging medicine for its protective benefits across body systems. Supporting optimal hormone levels can help slow signs of aging like muscle loss, weight gain, low energy, and cognitive decline.
Table 1 provides a summary overview of how key hormones influence health when balanced properly with treatment:
| Hormone | Role & Symptoms of Imbalance | Benefits When Optimized |
|---|---|---|
| Estrogen | Regulates menstrual cycle & menstrual symptoms, bone health, heart health, skin elasticity, lubrication of mucous membranes, iron levels, cholesterol. Symptoms of low estrogen: hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, urine leakage, low libido. | Reduced menopausal symptoms, health protective effects for skin, heart, bones, bladder. |
| Progesterone | Works synergistically with estrogen. Low progesterone signs: irregular/absent periods, infertility, PMS symptoms. High progesterone: fatigue, bloating, mood changes, acne. | Regulates menstrual cycle & contributes to fertility. Protects against uterine cancer. |
| Testosterone | Key functions: muscle building, fat burning, stamina, sex drive & performance, mood regulation, motivation & drive, vitality. Low T symptoms: fatigue, depression, erectile dysfunction, reduced strength and lean body mass. | Increased energy & stamina, reduced body fat & increased lean muscle mass, enhanced sex drive & performance, improved mood & motivation, health protective effects on the heart & brain. |
| Cortisol | The "stress hormone" with anti-inflammatory & immune regulating properties. Needed in precise daily rhythms. Chronically high cortisol: weight gain (esp. belly fat), acne, anxiety, insomnia. Low cortisol: chronic fatigue, cravings for salt & sugar, dizziness. | Regulates healthy daily cortisol rhythm to renew energy, immunity & resilience to stress. |
| Thyroid | Master gland that regulates metabolism, growth & development, mood, body temperature, menstrual cycles. Low thyroid function: fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, cold intolerance, depression. | Regulates metabolism (body weight, appetite, digestion etc.), menstrual cycle, fertility, mood, mental clarity. |
As you can see, hormone balance plays a foundational role across nearly all aspects of health.
While many accept unwanted symptoms as an inevitable result of aging, this simply isn't true. With hormone optimization tailored to correct specific deficiencies and imbalances, patients routinely restore energy, sex drive, stable moods, healthy weight, restful sleep, mental clarity, fitness gains, youthful skin, and an overall sense of well-being.
Now that you know the basics, let's move on to discuss the details of the treatment process at Rejuvenate Hormone Center.
The first step is booking a comprehensive consultation with one of our hormone specialists to check your levels and pinpoint which hormones need replenishing.
Initial testing typically involves blood tests, urine tests, and/or saliva tests which offer a window into how your glands and hormones are functioning. Testing the following provides insight:
Once complete, your care team can accurately identify which hormones are imbalanced. This informs the custom prescription plan moving forward.
Prescriptions of bioidentical hormones - crafted to be molecularly identical to the hormones your body naturally produces - help restore optimal balance.
Rest assured, the medications prescribed at Rejuvenate Hormone Center are high quality, rigorously tested for purity and safety standards, and specially prepared in compounding pharmacies.
Depending on your lab results and symptoms, we offer a wide range of effective hormone preparations:
- 17 beta-estradiol: The most common estrogen therapy used to relieve menopause symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness. Available in pills, patches, topical creams, injectable serums, vaginal inserts, and gels. - Estradiol/Progesterone combination: Sometimes prescribed together in sync with monthly hormonal rhythms. - Estriol: Weaker, short-acting estrogen occasionally used vaginally to improve dryness and irritation.
- Prometrium: Bioidentical oral capsule or suppository used to protect against estrogen dominance. Often prescribed cyclically to mimic monthly hormonal patterns.
- Testosterone Cypionate Injections: Most common, effective form of testosterone therapy for men over 30 with low T. Boosts energy, sex drive, and lean body mass while reversing symptoms like depression and erectile dysfunction. - Testosterone gels/creams: Absorbed through the skin daily, gels offer smoother testosterone release but dosing can be uneven. - Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG): Stimulates natural T production in addition to T therapy. Helps maintain fertility for men.
- Cortisol Manager: Herbal extract shown to regulate daily cortisol rhythms without suppression. Relieves adrenal burnout. - Phosphatidylserine: Cortisol-lowering amino acid derivative that combats stress & anxiety. - Relora: Herbal supplement to lower evening cortisol levels & reduce belly fat.
- Levothyroxine: Synthetic T4 thyroid hormone to treat hypothyroidism. Restores healthy thyroid function regulating metabolism, energy, body temperature, mood and menstrual cycles. - Liothyronine: Bioidentical T3 thyroid hormone. May be combined with T4 for improved effect.
This list provides an overview, but many other options are available as well to specifically meet treatment goals.
Our medical team stays up-to-date on the latest research to provide you access to a diverse array of hormone preparations, molecules, and delivery methods.
We customize all treatment plans down to the finest details after considering your symptoms, lab results, lifestyle and preferences.
Now that you understand the incredible benefits possible through hormone optimization, you likely want to learn exactly what to expect as a new patient at Rejuvenate Hormone Center.
All care begins with a comprehensive initial consultation where we'll review your health history, dig deep into symptoms, perform an exam, and order lab testing to correctly identify which hormones are imbalanced.
You can expect:
We closely track objective metrics like lab results along with subjective symptom improvements reported during follow-up visits. Managing hormones isn't an instant fix; it takes consistent testing and fine-tuning over months to find your optimal zone. But the payoff is huge in terms of restored well-being!
Rest assured your care team will closely oversee the process until all symptoms resolve and you report feeling your best.
Now that you know what to expect, let's explore the amazing benefits our patients experience when hormones regain optimal balance through replacement therapy...
John D. - Low Testosterone Treatment
"I was struggling with classic low testosterone symptoms - low energy hitting daily by 3pm, losing strength at the gym, 20 extra pounds that refused to budge from my belly despite diet and exercise, no sex drive which caused intimacy strain with my wife, and this overall "blah" feeling mentally. I took an online quiz which revealed I was at risk for Low T. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I booked with Rejuvenate Hormone Center.Based on blood tests, my total Testosterone measured 212 ng/dL which is extremely low for a 50-year-old man. My care team started Testosterone Cypionate injections weekly along with HCG shots to stimulate my own natural production. Within a few weeks, I had insane energy returning almost like my teenage years! I'm able to build more muscle now than ever before and dropped 12 pounds without even trying. My wife and I also reconnected intimately which feels amazing. I'm so grateful to feel "on" again thanks to T therapy tailor-made to fit my lifestyle and needs!"
Amanda S. - Menopause Treatment
"The night sweats were so bad, I considered sleeping on a towel like my grandmother did. I also had no sex drive which caused fights with my husband who felt rejected. And the anxiety felt crippling at times. I talked to 4 different doctors who basically told me this was normal aging at 45 years old and to get more exercise. I finally had enough and found Rejuvenate Hormone Center for a second opinion. My estrogen, progesterone and cortisol levels were so low! With bioidentical estrogen/progesterone combination patches and cortisol-reducing supplements, the change has been incredible. Every menopause symptom has reversed 100%. I feel happy, confident, and sexy again thanks to regaining hormonal balance. I tell all my friends they don't need to suffer through this transition the way our mothers did! There are better options nowadays with hormone specialists like Rejuvenate Hormone Center guiding you through the changes gracefully."
Table 2 shows a summary of the most common frustrating symptoms that patients present with initially compared to how they feel after a few months of hormone balancing care:
| Symptoms Initially | Symptoms After Treatment |
|---|---|
| Hot flashes, Night sweats | Resolution of hot flashes/night sweats = Restful sleep |
| Weight gain, Increased body fat | Healthy metabolism, Lost 10-15 lbs of belly fat |
| Low energy / chronic fatigue | Remarkable energy all day without caffeine! |
| Low libido, Vaginal dryness | Restored sex drive & sexual function |
| Erectile dysfunction | Rock hard erections return |
| Mood instability - anxiety, irritability, depression | Emotional balance - Positive mood, resilience to stress |
| Brain fog, Poor concentration | Mental clarity and focus |
| Muscle loss and weakness | Increased strength and lean body mass |
Isn't it amazing what balancing your biochemistry with precision hormone therapy can achieve?
These patient examples showcase the frustrations that initially drove them to seek help. But after undergoing proper testing and expertly-tailored hormone balancing care, all their unwanted symptoms dramatically reversed.
Now let's debunk some common myths around hormone therapy so you can make the most informed decision around your personal health and vitality.
Given mainstream medicine's general lack of education around optimizing hormonal health, it's no wonder myths abound.
The number one misconception patients express is that hormone changes must be endured as inevitable results of aging.
This defeatist perspective could not be further from the truth!
Optimizing your hormones to youthful parameters helps you shed years and operate at peak performance regardless of your chronological age.
Here we debunk the top myths with facts:
Myth: Taking testosterone causes aggression or extreme mood changes.
Fact: When dosed properly to optimal levels, testosterone enhances mood, motivation, confidence and even emotional control while reducing negative emotions like depression and anxiety. Only excessively high testosterone causes aggression risk in some users. At Rejuvenate Hormone Center, we carefully dose and monitor patients to avoid this scenario.
Myth: There are health risks to estrogen therapy like higher cancer or heart disease.
Fact: Earlier studies used non-bioidentical equine estrogen which does not mimic human hormones. In fact, low estrogen also increases heart disease risk. When dosed properly, bioidentical human estradiol protects against heart disease in early menopause.
Myth: Cortisol supplementation causes side effects like adrenal insufficiency & suppression.
Fact: Cortisol replacement certainly risks side effects by shutting down natural production. However, we use cutting-edge cortisol-modulating and gland-supportive therapies designed to nourish adrenals back into their natural balance. This improves cortisol rhythms long-term without causing suppression side effects.
Myth: Hormone therapy often causes unpleasant side effects.
Fact: Restored youthful hormone levels done properly causes a
