Every aspect of your well-being is dictated by the all-important levels of your body’s hormones. Unfortunately, aging can cause hormone levels to dip below the optimal range, creating a ripple effect that has profound influences on your mental health, physical strength and sex life. At MenRegen, our expert staff specializes in fighting the effects of aging for men through the use of bioidentical hormone optimization, or BIHO. Also known as bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, BIHO can restore your hormones to optimal levels, allowing you to be the best version of yourself.
Bioidentical Hormone Optimization Therapy
Is hormone Therapy Right For You?
For all information on hormone therapies please email Dr. Steve Zakany at [email protected]
What Are Bioidentical Hormones?
Bioidentical hormones are created using a molecular formula identical to the body’s naturally-produced hormones. Levels of hormones like testosterone naturally decrease with age, often resulting in a lowered sexual appetite, erectile dysfunction (ED), reduced muscle mass and reduced energy levels. By managing your body’s hormones with bioidentical hormone medication, we can restore them to a healthy range and help you achieve a healthier body and more youthful appearance.
The goal of BIHO is to maintain hormone harmony using prescription medication tailored to your unique needs and goals. Our team will work with you to create a multi-faceted program that meets your health goals and successfully manages the effects aging is having on your mental and physical well-being. We will perform comprehensive testing to identify your current hormone levels and determine the optimum dosage needed to replenish them. We can then track your progress, review test results and make adjustments throughout your treatment to ensure you experience the best outcome possible.
Aging is inevitable, but how well you age is up to you. Restoring deficient hormones to optimal levels results in more energy, a better memory, a healthier heart, better sexual performance, stronger bones and a more youthful appearance.
How Does BIHO Work?
Bioidentical hormones replicate the natural hormones produced by your body and are very different from the drugs designed by pharmaceutical companies to treat hormone deficiencies. Proponents of BIHO have noticed that pharmaceutical drugs can cause many side effects not found in bioidentical hormones.
As we age, all hormone levels tend to decline. You may notice a decrease in your muscle mass and bone strength, weight gain, increased insulin resistance (pre-diabetic state) and a persistent “mental fog,” just to name a few. By correcting or optimizing key hormones, we can slow or even reverse these undesirable effects. Hormone replacement in men primarily refers to testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), although other hormones may require replacement or optimization to achieve a perfect equilibrium. Optimizing hormones typically means increasing levels to those found at the 75th percentile of a 25-year-old man.
How Much Does BIHO Cost?
If you decide to pursue treatment with one of our BIHO programs, your first step will be to schedule a comprehensive evaluation which costs about $500. As part of your evaluation, you will complete a packet of forms at least three days prior to your appointment. During your preliminary appointment, you will undergo a comprehensive lab panel for use as a baseline against future lab work to determine how well BIHO is working for you. The Comprehensive Male Panel costs about $250 and includes the following tests: Comprehensive Metabolic Panel; CBC; Lipid Panel; TSH; T3, free; T4, free; Testosterone, free & total; Estradiol; PSA; SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin); IGF-1; LH; FSH; Ferritin; DHEA-S; and CRP-hs.
BIHO Cost Information
After your evaluation, you will receive a complete analysis of the findings and personalized treatment recommendations from our staff. Any bioidentical hormone prescriptions will be compounded specifically for your needs and can either be picked up from your local compounding pharmacy or sent directly to your home. Testosterone is generally prescribed as an injection you administer yourself once weekly, after being trained in how to do so. We typically recommend self-injection for testosterone therapy since it displays more predictability in maintaining optimal blood levels. It is also the most economical option with an average cost for most men of only $1 per day. Other options, such as creams or pellet implants, are available for men not interested in self-administering weekly testosterone injections.
Brief follow-up appointments are scheduled monthly, either in the office or via phone for a few months following your initial appointment to monitor progress and make any necessary tweaks to your dosage. Blood work is repeated two to three months later and further dose adjustments are made where needed. Once hormone levels have been stabilized at the preferred levels, major lab testing will be performed annually. Unfortunately, hormone optimization is not considered medically necessary and is not covered by medical insurance. As such, we do not accept or file any insurance claims.
What Are the Benefits of Testosterone Optimization?
Testosterone optimization results in increased muscle strength and lean body mass, improved sexual response, treatment of erectile function, and improved body composition. Testosterone therapy has also been shown to protect against cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arthritis and degenerative joint change. TRT can have a positive influence on your sense of well-being and counteract depressive moods that are often frequent during andropause (male menopause).
Additionally, testosterone optimization has also been shown to improve memory. Men who receive testosterone optimization consequently report that they feel stronger, younger, healthier and more confident. Patients often state that restoring their testosterone to optimal levels makes them feel as they did when they were in the prime of their youth.
The decision to start TRT is a personal and complex decision. There are many well-documented beneficial effects of maintaining a youthful level of testosterone, and we believe that the preponderance of evidence supports its use in most aging men.
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2299 Pearl Street, Suite 204 Boulder CO 80302
Monday – Sunday: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
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