Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) New Orleans

From Archway Apothecary

Have you noticed that you don’t quite feel like yourself lately? Have you been more tired than usual, irritable or having trouble sleeping?

These are just a few of the signs you may benefit from hormone replacement therapy. Archway Apothecary serves men & women throughout metro New Orleans with compounded hormone therapy solutions customized for your needs.

More About Hormone Replacement Therapy

Unfortunately, our bodies don’t send us a text message saying “it’s time to start hormone therapy”!

In some cases such as post-hysterectomy, the need for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is easy to spot. Other times, most people report they simply don’t feel like themselves anymore.

For men, hormone symptoms often manifest in the form of fatigue, weight gain & low libido.

Women report a range of symptoms ranging from fatigue, weight gain, hot flashes and any number of unpleasant side effects.

Some of the benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) include:

Effectively treats menopausal symptoms
Helps prevent or treat osteoporosis
Muscle function improvement
A reduction in the risk of heart attack and heart failure
Lower mortality rates in younger, postmenopausal women
May help prevent skin aging

Generally speaking, HRT should not be used by women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant.

For women, hormone replacement therapy can significantly reduce the incidence and severity of hot flashes and is an effective way of relieving symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.

HRT can also help men under certain circumstances. New Orleans residents who could benefit from HRT may find a compounding pharmacy can best fully meet their HRT needs.

Female Hormone Replace Therapies

Progesterone and estrogen are extremely important hormones in a women’s reproductive system. A woman’s estrogen stimulates the release of eggs, while progesterone prepares the body for implantation of the egg.

As a woman’s supply of eggs diminishes over time, estrogen production also diminishes. Most women generally begin experiencing hormone fluctuations during their late 40s, leading to hot flashes and other issues as well.

Perimenopause can last from three to ten years, although the average is four years.

Menopause occurs at an average age of 51 years, and the postmenopausal stage ends when a full year has passed after the last period. While menopausal symptoms usually begin declining within two to five years, some women can suffer menopausal symptoms for as long as ten years.

Symptoms of menopause include:

Night sweats
Vaginal dryness
Thinning hair

Osteoporosis
Sleep issues
Hot flashes

Moodiness
Difficulties with concentration and memory
An accumulation of abdominal fat, along with smaller breasts

Male Hormone Replacement Therapies

Men may also benefit from hormone replacement therapy, especially as they age. Testosterone is the hormone responsible for developing the male sex organs and producing male characteristics, such as muscularity and facial hair.

Male hormone replacement therapy is most often used to correct the symptoms of hypogonadism, a condition in which a man’s body fails to make the necessary amounts of testosterone. While some men are born with hypogonadism, others may develop hypogonadism later in life.

In an adult male, lowered testosterone can cause infertility, loss of body and facial hair, osteoporosis, impotence, loss of muscle tone, and a lowered sex drive. Male hormone replacement therapy can replace this missing testosterone. Testosterone supplements can be given via compounds, injections, gels, and creams.

HRT from Compounding Pharmacies vs. “Regular” Pharmacies

Although many people in New Orleans may have heard of compounding pharmacies, few may really understand what a compounding pharmacy actually does.

While both a compounding pharmacist and a pharmacist at your local pharmacy have graduated from pharmacy school and are licensed to fill prescriptions, a compounding pharmacist has received additional training in the specialized art and science of compounding.

Compounding pharmacists go beyond the dispensation of medication. They offer private consultations, learn about each patient’s history, and recommend individualized solutions after conferring with your physician.

As an example, suppose your doctor recommended 25 mg of a particular hormone, but the drug was only available in a 75 mg tablet. What if it is determined that you actually need 100 mg of the drug, but the next commercially available tablet is 150 mg?

Your New Orleans compounding pharmacist can tailor your HRT to your exact needs, which makes him or her vastly different from the pharmacist around the corner.

Saliva Testing Kits for Determining Hormone Levels

Saliva testing can be an easy, non-invasive way of assessing your hormone needs, and may be the most reliable method for measuring hormone levels. Saliva tests, unlike blood tests, represent only those hormones actively delivered to receptors in the body.

The majority of hormones exist as free hormones or protein bound hormones. Only the free hormones are bio-available for delivery to the body’s receptors. Protein bound hormones do not fit the receptors, therefore, they’re considered non-bioavailable.

Saliva testing measures the bioavailable hormone—the portion delivered to the body’s tissue receptors. When New Orleans healthcare providers measure serum hormone levels, prescribing HRT based on those results, patients can easily be overdosed.

Get Started with a Hormone Testing Kit

Even if you haven’t talked to your doctor yet, you can order a Saliva Testing Kit from us to test your hormone levels. One of our compounding pharmacists will even help you read the results!

Order your saliva testing Kit

How Archway’s Compounding Pharmacy Can Help

Archway Apothecary is located in Covington, but we serve clients not only in metro New Orleans but across the US.

Our team of pharmacists & technicians are here to answer your questions and help you determine a customized HRT solution that will meet your needs. We also offer shipping on orders to make order refills easy & convenient.