If you are a woman who is experiencing significant menstrual cycle-related difficulties, then you may wish to begin treatment with a larger dose of estradiol to get a head start on your dysphoria. If you are a woman with a minimal amount of dysphoria related to your menstrual cycle, then you may wish to begin treatment with a smaller dose to start so that your transition is not as rapid.
Some women find they do not need any anti-androgens or they simply do not tolerate them well. These women might opt to take lower doses of estradiol and progesterone in order to minimize the importance of the androgens they produce.
Many women find they would prefer to remain on a lower dose of hormones in order to minimize the degree to which they undergo physical changes. Others prefer to remain on a smaller dose of hormones because they do not wish to have any physical changes or they do not find that the changes are helping them to feel more like themselves.
Most folks are keen to begin hormone replacement treatment. But, upon reflection, many realize that it is also a very big decision. Start by thinking about whether you want to consider alternatives to HRT before you actually begin treatment. Such alternatives include living as your identified gender, with or without hormone replacement treatment. Also, think about how you want to handle issues of disclosure if you are not yet comfortable being open about your identity.
You might assume that there is one kind of HRT, but the reality is that there are different types. For example, there are androgens, which are male hormones that are converted into estrogens when taken orally. Other types include oral and injectable estrogens, patches, implants, and intramuscular injections. It's a good idea to talk to your doctor about the different types of HRT available to you. While most types of HRT have similar effects, the amount and strength of each hormone replacement treatment differ. Taking the time to understand the various options available to you will help you make an informed decision about the best treatment for you.
Not everyone who is categorized as male at birth has an active testosterone-producing system. Testosterone is a hormone involved in a variety of processes in the human body, including the development and maintenance of male features and functions. If a person has a disorder of sex development, that's what the medical profession calls it, then he or she may have all the physical characteristics of a man, including a penis and testes, but no testosterone circulating in the body. For some individuals, we discover this condition at birth, but not always, so it is important to see an endocrinologist to confirm any suspicions.
It is highly recommended that everyone, no matter their age or current health status, have an annual physical exam done to ensure they are healthy and strong and taking proper care of themselves. This advice also applies to major surgeries and medical procedures, as it is important to ensure you are in good health beforehand. Even more routine treatments and procedures like Botox injections need to come only after getting a clean bill of health from your local doctor or wellness clinic. To better understand whether you are ready for Botox treatments and if this is an option that is right for you, several key questions must be answered.
Motivation is critical when it comes to knowing if Botox is right for you. Before you ever head to the wellness clinic or treatment center, you need to be honest with yourself about why you are seeking Botox. Wanting to look your best is perfectly fine, but you need to have something more than vanity motivating you.
Botox can do wonderful things and can help address and range of health and beauty concerns for people. However, it is not a miracle cure, and it is important to keep this in mind before seeking treatments. It can address some issues but not all and there is always the chance it might not work. You must be able to deal with that reality.
Like many medical treatments offered at medical centers and wellness clinics, Botox can be expensive, even if insurance helps with some of the costs. While it is fine to invest in your health and appearance, you should not go into debt or put yourself or your family in greater financial stress simply to get another treatment done.
The final point to consider before opting to get Botox treatments and scheduling an appointment with the local wellness clinic, consider your current health standing. Do you have any medical issues or health concerns that might affect Botox treatments? These must be discussed thoroughly before any treatments are carried out.
If you are considering Botox or similar treatments in the near future, now is the time to start preparing. Schedule a general check-up and consultation at your local doctor's office or wellness clinic and see if Botox is right for you.
More and more people today are getting serious about their health. Diet and exercise are becoming more commonplace, people are giving up unhealthy habits, and new and innovative treatments are making it easier to reach our wellness goals. One effective way of boosting overall health and wellness for many people lies in IV therapy and injections.
There are a host of treatments that can be available via IV, and they offer a wide range of benefits as well. Vitamin C, for example, when it is given through an IV gets absorbed by the body at a level that is up to 50 times higher than when taken the traditional oral route. Many other vitamins, nutrients, and supplements can be available via IV treatment. Knowing how to prepare for your appointment can help you get the most out of each treatment session!
For most IV treatments, you will want to ensure you are properly hydrated. This can make setting up the IV easier and can also aid in the body's absorption of the nutrients when you are not under or over hydrated. Your doctor can advise you on how much you should drink before your appointment.
On the opposite side of the coin, you may be required to fast for other treatments to ensure everything gets absorbed and processed by the body correctly. Following fasting protocols will ensure you get the results you need and that you do not suffer from uncomfortable side effects from the IV treatment session.
The final thing you can do to prepare for the appointment is to dress appropriately. Wear a shirt with short loose sleeves so that you can sit in comfortably for the appointment. Be sure to bring a blanket or jacket in case you get cold during your session as that can be a common side effect of IV treatment.
If you have questions about IV treatments, what options are available, if you are a good candidate, and what things you need to watch out for, be sure to contact your local IV clinic today. They can get you started and ensure you have all the information you need to make a well-informed choice about the treatments that are right for you!
When you have tried diets but regained weight or your doctors have told you that your weight is dangerous to your health, medical weight loss may be the answer for you. Obesity is a problem for about 93 million men and women in the United States. Often, those on a diet lose weight and regain it because they do not stick to the diet for many distinct reasons.
You will meet with the doctor, and they will discuss your goals and help design a customized program to help you lose weight effectively. They will want to know what you eat and what causes you to overeat. A customized program of diet and exercise will be designed to help you meet your goals. The doctor will teach you behavior modification techniques to help you stay on your diet and not overeat. Your shopping list will include healthy food and snacks and you will learn to avoid junk food. Buying healthy snacks to replace junk food will help you stay on your diet. Your program will encourage you to find a form of exercise you like to do during the day.
Behavior modification will include learning what to shop for on your diet, finding ways to control hunger during the day, exercising, and eating foods that make you feel full. It will teach you how to prepare meals and what to do with leftovers and cleanup. The doctor will give you tips on eating out, entertaining at home, and going to other people's homes. An exercise program will be a big part of your weight loss program. The diet plan will have foods lower in calories and with more nutritional value. They may recommend a specific diet suited to your needs. Overall, you will have a weight loss program suited to your individual needs.
Your doctor or clinic may prescribe weight-loss medication to help you with weight loss. Weight-loss medication is safe when used properly and often helps to burn calories. Some have side effects, and they will monitor this as you work through their program. These programs often last from a few months to one year and the doctor will teach you techniques to maintain the weight loss after one year. Many medical experts define successful weight loss as reducing body fat by 10% and maintaining the weight loss after one year.
Consider a medical weight loss program at a local clinic supervised by a doctor when you are overweight, have a chronic illness that requires weight loss, or want to improve your body image. A supervised medical weight loss program with a doctor will help you successfully lose weight.
Menopause is natural; but like many things that are natural for women, it's not always enjoyable. Typically, menopause is defined as when a woman stops have her period for a year or longer, though she may experience symptoms earlier. While women shouldn't be ashamed of going through menopause, that doesn't mean they have to suffer from the symptoms that come with it in silence. These can include hot flashes, a decreased libido, hair loss, dryness, and much more. Although there is no cure for menopause, there are ways that the symptoms can be treated. Some of these treatments may be tedious, or difficult for you to follow. Fortunately, you do have the option of finding menopause relief through IV drip therapy.
Generally speaking, IV drip therapies are slowly becoming more common and rising in popularity. IV drip therapy has been offered to treat mental health conditions like severe depression; so it should not come as a surprise that it is being offered to treat menopause symptoms. Essentially, IV drip therapies can offer vitamins, as well as some of the same hormones used to treat menopause symptoms through pills, but rather intravenously. The great thing about IV drip therapy in general is that it deposits the ingredients of different treatments directly into your bloodstream. This means that the effects will hit you faster than they would if you took a pill, for example. Additionally, rather than having to go through a daily treatment, you can usually take IV treatments every few weeks.
One of the major benefits of IV drip therapy for menopause is that it can give you an energy boost. Menopause often leaves women feeling drained and depleted. The vitamins that are often included in IV drip therapies feature magnesium, calcium, and Vitamin C, among others. This can give you that instant shot of energy that you need in order to get through the day.
Additionally, IV drip therapy helps keep you from getting dehydrated, as is often the case with menopausal women. Essentially, IV drip therapy allows you to have a cocktail created that will treat the symptoms you are struggling with most.
Less generic and more individualistic, IV drip therapy could very well be the future of managing menopause symptoms. If you're interested in learning more, reach out to us today!
Did you know that about 50% of people in the United States are trying to lose weight at any given point? This fact (reported by the CDC) explains why unique eating and exercising programs like the HCG diet are becoming more popular. If you're about to transition to this dietary plan and want to make sure you're prepared, it is important to follow these simple preparation tips.
Start by creating an obvious list of goals you want to achieve through your diet. For example, are you trying to improve your pre-diabetes symptoms? Want to decrease your blood pressure? Improve your overall energy level? Your dietary plan will include various foods and routines that can help here, so make sure you are mentally prepared for this process.
A key component of this diet is eliminating addictive processed foods and focusing on as many natural alternatives as possible. Go through your home and identify processed foods you don't want to eat. Gather up all this food and take it to a donation center. Then, you need to shop and buy fresh foods and have a healthy kitchen that makes your dietary success easier.
The HCG diet is going to be something that many of your loved ones may struggle to understand. Talk to your loved ones and friends about the importance of this diet, and get support from a team who's willing to help you.
As you diet, lose weight, and get into shape, reward yourself! Don't overeat on unhealthy foods but, instead, buy something you've wanted to buy for a while, go shopping with your friends or family members, or take a vacation. There's nothing wrong with feeling good about yourself and taking steps to ensure you are happy.
Before you start on the HCG diet, make sure you talk to your doctor and a dietitian to ensure that you don't make any mistakes. It would help if you tried to go into this diet slowly, taking out processed foods one at a time and ensuring that your body doesn't react adversely to dietary changes.
You may be hearing more in the media about hormone replacement therapy than you ever have before. This is in part because hormone replacement therapy is being used to treat more ailments than it once was; and partially because this treatment is more accessible than it once was, as well. But with accessibility comes a lot of new myths, poised to keep you from pursuing hormone replacement therapy, even if it is the right option for you. With that being said, we're exploring the ins and outs of hormone replacement therapy, and some important myths that need debunking.
Many people interested in HRT are women, who are then turned off when they hear the myth that it does nothing for them after menopause. Women who are experiencing post-menopausal symptoms can still benefit from HRT, as it can lessen symptoms significantly.
This is one of the most harmful myths out there about HRT. While there is an increased risk for certain cancers when you have an influx of hormones into your body, if you are treated correctly this risk is minimized, and HRT itself does not cause cancer.
Whether you're thinking pills or injections, you may think that there is one way to take HRT, and it's not convenient for you. In fact, HRT can be taken orally, topically, or through other forms as well.
HRT is not just for women (nor is it only for cisgender people, by any means). Men, who produce twenty times more testosterone than women, can benefit from HRT as well, though they may have different treatments from women.
There are no major benefits to experiencing menopause symptoms. These symptoms are not a rite of passage you must go through; HRT can help you largely avoid them.
Many women experience menopause early, and they can benefit from HRT. It's even been shown to lessen heart disease in women who begin it early.
Just as with cancer, HRT does not cause heart disease. The only correlation between HRT and heart disease is that HRT can actually lessen the chances of women getting heart disease.
Could HRT be right for you? There's only one way to find out: talk to your doctor!
Testosterone is a hormone with many important roles in men, like assisting in sperm production and keeping the prostate healthy. But as you get older, your testosterone level may dip below what's normal. It can lead to health issues such as weight gain or low sex drive. And because low T levels can cause these and other problems, many men may wonder whether testosterone therapy is right for them.
The answer to that question depends on several factors, including your age and symptoms related to low T levels. Testosterone replacement therapy may be an option if you have the following:
Although testosterone replacement therapy is generally safe, it's not recommended if you have untreated or uncontrolled heart disease. This is because testosterone therapy may worsen any existing heart conditions.
If you're thinking of trying this treatment, it's also important to get a complete physical first, so your doctor can check for any heart problems that you may not know about. This will help them determine if using testosterone will put you at risk of more health issues.
Before starting testosterone therapy, you will first need some tests to determine whether your symptoms are related to low testosterone levels. If so, your doctor may recommend treatment with a topical gel, patch, or injection.
Before beginning therapy, talk with your doctor about possible treatments for underlying conditions that might contribute to low testosterone levels, such as thyroid disease or diabetes.
During treatment, you'll have regular blood tests. Your doctor may also recommend weight-loss programs and physical activity to help boost testosterone levels back into the normal range. It's important to maintain testosterone levels in the normal range with continued treatment.
Testosterone replacement therapy can help improve your quality of life and well-being. If you feel like you may be suffering from this condition and want to know more about how it can affect your health, speak with a qualified health care professional as soon as possible to discuss the right steps for you.
If you suffer from depression, you are not alone. An estimated 264 million people are affected by depression across the globe. While depression affects everyone in different ways, the one thing everyone suffering from depression has in common is that they often find it difficult to treat. There are many different medications prescribed to treat depression, all with their own side effects. But many suffering from depression feel like nothing works.
This is one reason why patients and mental health professionals alike are exploring ketamine infusion therapy. At face value, the idea of using ketamine to treat depression may seem rather strange. But there is a reason why it's catching on.
Ketamine infusion therapy is one of two means of administering ketamine for the treatment of depression. It essentially involves treating the patient with ketamine through the use of an I.V. Considering the most effective way of administering ketamine, infusion therapy allows the ketamine to enter the patient's bloodstream directly. This means that the effects of ketamine will be felt more quickly and often in a stronger sense. These types of infusions were originally used as anesthetics. The effects of an infusion can last for days or weeks, with patients typically receiving about six infusions over the course of two to three weeks as a part of their initial induction phases. Once the induction phase is over, they will receive maintenance treatments every two to six weeks.
Every potential patient should discuss ketamine infusion therapy with their mental healthcare provider. Every person is different and will respond individually to therapy. But generally speaking, people suffering from serious mood disorders in which depression is a common symptom, such as major depressive disorder, are potential candidates. Those with bipolar disorder can also potentially receive this therapy, though it is not advised for those suffering from active psychosis, mania, or cardiovascular disease.
While the effects of ketamine infusions are fast, patients will typically begin to see an overall response within six infusions. After those infusions, they will begin to maintain their benefits through regular infusions.
It's important to note that not everyone will respond to ketamine infusion therapy. However, it's a great potential alternative to those who have not responded to standard medications and therapy.
You might have heard of IV therapy, but did you know it can help you in your weight loss journey? If you’re currently on, or even considering, a medical weight loss plan, there are many options you can choose from to supplement that plan, including IV therapy.
Intravenous, or IV therapy, consists of introducing nutrients into your system directly through your veins. Instead of having to worry about taking pills and eating certain foods, you can simply provide your body with the vitamins and minerals necessary for a healthy body. IV therapy is often used in emergency situations to help a body in distress, but that doesn’t always have to be the case.
Besides IV therapy, however, there are other practices you can partake in to supplement your medical weight loss journey. We’ll look into these other practices as well. First, let’s take a closer look at what IV therapy is and how it works.
As we’ve discussed, IV therapy brings nutrients directly to the bloodstream. Besides ingesting vitamins and minerals in pill form or through various foods, these nutrients can only be absorbed into the body through the blood. IV therapy, or IV treatment, is something almost anyone can participate in, as long as it is medically safe to do so.
IV therapy is oftentimes used to help athletes recover. After a hard workout, athletes’ bodies need to reboot. While eating and drinking particular substances helps in that regard, introducing critical nutrients via an IV treatment helps expedite that process. This is particularly where the IV treatment can help in your weight loss journey. If you’ve just completed a hard workout, recovering via IV treatment may keep you healthy even as you push the limits.
Wellness clinics and your typical doctor’s office can perform IV therapy. Some practices might refer to it as IV drip therapy. If you’d like to learn more about IV therapy, check with your primary care physician to learn more about its benefits.
Participating in regular blood tests can help maintain a healthy medical weight loss journey. These blood tests can complement the treatment you receive via the IV, as they can help monitor critical levels and keep you on track.
One of the best ways you can make the most of both blood tests and IV treatment is by using one to supplement the other. For instance, if you find yourself low in vitamin C, you can increase those levels via IV treatment. In fact, when introduced through IV treatment, vitamin C can reach a concentration of 50 times more than any oral supplement. Again, it’s best to consult with your physician to ensure these levels stay at a healthy point.
Besides certain markers measured by blood tests, hormones are another area where you might look to improve your medical weight loss results. Hormone replacement treatment is something you should speak to your physician about if you’re concerned about your testosterone and/or estrogen levels.
Whether or not you introduce IV treatment into your medical weight loss journey is a discussion you should have with your primary care physician. Consider the other options we mentioned as well, from participating in regular blood tests to looking into hormone replacement therapy. Plan out with your doctor what your goals are and how you’re going to get there.
