Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) With Dr. Willard.

3 minute read

This is the third of three articles I wanted to do for everyone.

Great on the Outside, Terrible on the Inside

After practicing for more than 30 years, I often had menopausal or older patients tell me, “Dr. Willard, you’ve got me looking great on the outside, but I feel terrible on the inside!” I knew what was going on, but was unable at that time to help them with the loss of their hormones. After obtaining training over several years, I have been helping women and men with this loss now for many, many years. It’s not common, but not exactly rare, for a plastic surgeon to offer this service. For me personally, it’s come about due to a particular curiosity and interest.

BHRT is about replacing the gradual decrease in production of our hormones that comes through aging. The use of bioidentical avoids the potential side effects that can occur using synthetics that are commonly prescribed. I know you’ve heard that hormones cause blood clots or maybe estrogen causes breast cancer. The synthetics can have issues. That’s why some doctors get “extra” training to safely care for you. Why don’t more docs use bioidenticals? I don’t know. It’s most likely a matter of taking the time to get the training. Part of it is lack of knowledge and following the Hippocratic oath-First do no harm. If a doctor doesn’t offer it to you, he hasn’t harmed you. But, LOSING those hormones harms you too. In time, BHRT will be the standard of care. It’s not here yet but it’s coming. For now it’s up to you to do the research and decide for yourself.

So, what are we talking about? There’s a lot to talk about! Obviously I can’t go through it all here, so I’ll give you some highlights of the benefits to replacing the hormones that gradually decline. The hormones I’m referring to are thyroid, DHEA, Estrogen-Estradiol, Progesterone, melatonin, vitamin D, testosterone, and a few others as well.

What Can BHRT Achieve?

Menopause symptoms can be greatly reduced and sometimes eliminated. Wouldn’t it be great to sleep through the night again? Of even more importance (if that’s not enough!) are the psychological and medical benefits. Many patients report an increase in their psychological well being and relief of minor depression. I’ve had multiple patients wean themselves off antidepressants. The problem was lack of hormones not a lack of antidepressants! The medical benefits are many. In brief there is a decrease in cardiac disease, vascular disease, strokes, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and even cancers. Isn’t it awesome to have the chance to prevent a heart attack as opposed to just waiting to treat one later!

Combined with diet change and even just a little exercise, weight loss is a side benefit. Wonderful.

To get started we do a baseline blood level of hormones to see where you are. After a few months on the hormones you need we recheck your levels and if all is stable, we test just once a year after.

If you are interested, call the office and we can send you a more complete description and how to get started. Please call. It may be the best investment you have made in your current and future health!

Sincerely,
Dr. Virgil Willard

Annual Sale 2019

Annual Sale is going on now through the end of December. Call 336-886-1667 or email kwillard@plasticsurgerync.com for more details.