Hormone Replacement
for Women
Natural Bioidentical Hormone Replacement
Hormone Replacement therapy available at Intellectual Medicine in Warwick, Rhode Island. Bioidentical hormones offer a wide range of physical, mental, and emotional benefits to both men and women. Here are some ways you can benefit from BHRT:
Physical benefits
- Enhanced Sex Drive
- Fewer Hot Flashes
- Decrease in Night Sweats
- Improved Energy Levels
- Weight Loss
- Improvement in Vaginal Dryness
Mental benefits
- Increased sense of well-being
- Decrease in depression
- Improved / sharpened cognition (loss of brain fog)
- Increased Sleep
Emotional benefits
- Improved Mood
- Reduced Risk of Anxiety
- Reduced Risk of Depression
- Increased Confidence
Is Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Right For Me?
If you are experiencing some of these problems and are a woman over the age of 35, then BHRT might help you regain your old sense of self along with your sexual vitality.
- You are a woman experiencing menopause or perimenopause
- You are fatigued and have noticed problems with sleep patterns
- You are faced with mood swings, hot flashes, and night sweats
- You are a woman experiencing vaginal dryness
- You deal with memory loss, foggy thinking, anxiety, and depression
- You have been dealing with weight gain and decreased muscle tone
- You are over the age of 35
How BHRT works. What to expect after enrolling:
01.
Call & Schedule Your BHRT Intake
We respect your time. When we schedule your BHRT Intake Appointment with Dr. Petteruti, we also order your Hormone Blood Panel. You get your labs done before your appointment. No wasted time, instead, your office visit is spent discussing your symptoms and lab work to find a course of treatment that feels right.
If you are suffering with symptoms related to a hormone imbalance, we are here to help.
Call Today to Schedule: (401) 921-5934
02.
BHRT Program
If you have a hormone imbalance you can sign up for our Bioidentical hormone replacement program. We’ve developed our BHRT Quarterly Program to keep Women on track and respond to a Woman’s changing hormone levels. This is a fully customized program, because no two women respond the same to hormones. We offer creams, injections,
Every three months, Women have a hormone blood panel, an appointment with Dr. Petteruti, and Compounded Prescriptions are ordered in three-month supplies. Pellets are placed every three months.
Our quarterly hormone program also includes prescriptions medication to enhance female libido, if requested.
03.
Pellets, Injection Training, or Cream
How you receive your hormones is all about personal preference and comfort. If you choose your bioidentical hormones through Pellet placement or self-injections, this will be done at your next appointment. A prescription for a topical cream would be sent to a compounding pharmacy.
Call us today to schedule your consultation
Services Include:
Every three months, Women have a hormone blood panel and an appointment with Dr. Petteruti. Dr. Stephen Petteruti, DO, ACOFP, ABBM, FAAMFM, an Anti-Aging, Metabolic, and Functional Medicine specialist and licensed physician personally oversees all BHRT patients. Your consult and appointments are with Dr. Petteruti. Injection Training is with and licensed RN.
For patients who chose self-injection, a 90 day supply of medication is ordered through a compounding pharmacy. For patients who chose Creams, a 90-day supply is ordered through a local pharmacy. Pellets are placed every three months by Dr. Petterutti in our Warwick, RI location.
We NEVER prescribe synthetic hormones. We only administer natural, bioidentical hormones – identical to what your body produces naturally.
No need to run around for lab work (although you can)! We generate a Lab order for you, which you can take anywhere – or – you can have your labs drawn here (faster turn time). The cost here with insurance is guaranteed to be $80. You will never pay more.
We require blood work from all prospective patients. This allows us to assess the quantitative values of your testosterone and estrogen. It’s essential to have blood work done before your intake appointment and quarterly during BHRT to ensure your red blood cell counts, blood lipids, prostate-specific antigen, and other relevant biomarkers are in a healthy range. Our Functional Medicine Blood Chemistry Hormone Panels are one of the most important tools we use to a clear picture of the health of the body.
With Functional Blood Chemistry Assessment, we look at the blood test with greater scrutiny. To see if part of the body isn’t functioning correctly and might be cause the of symptoms, or, may later lead to disease. Conventional medicine uses a standard bell curve analysis of all the people who have blood tests at the lab— healthy or not.
Patients enrolled in BHRT see the doctor Quarterly, every three months. Virtual appointments are also available. Bloodwork is done every three months in advance of your appointment.
What is self-injection for bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (HRT) like?
Scared of needles? Don’t worry, injections are not nearly as frightening as they may seem at first.
When injecting, the gauge of the needle matters. The gauge of the needles we use is very small when injecting testosterone; once you get past the initial puncturing of the skin, the needle will glide smoothly into your muscle tissue without much sensation at all.
We recommend taking deep breaths and be steady when inserting the needle. Patients report that it is not actually painful, it’s more about a mental hurdle they conquer with us during injection training.
During your injection training, we’ll teach you to use a firm grip on the barrel of the syringe, breath, and firmly penetrate your skin. The needle will smoothly glide into your muscle, at which point you will apply pressure to the plunger and dispense the testosterone. (Your muscle might twitch slightly but it’s not a painful sensation for most people, more so a reflex.)
The entire injection process generally takes 15 seconds. Always be sure to maintain a sterile environment by wiping the injection spot with an alcohol wipe beforehand to disinfect the skin. Never reuse needles or syringes as this increases the risk of infections.
What does it feel like to get a pellet?
Hormone pellets are tiny “packets” about the size of a grain of rice. These pellets are inserted under your skin (The most common site of insertion is the upper buttock) where they release a consistent dose of hormones as they dissolve. Typically, this takes 3 months, although it can vary from person to person. The hormone pellet insertion process itself is an outpatient procedure that takes places in our Warwick, RI office—and it’s faster and easier than you may think.
The entire procedure takes less than 15 minutes. While you should avoid strenuous physical activity for a few days, you can largely return to your normal activities immediately. Once implanted, the pellets gradually begin to release hormones and while the results aren’t immediate, many people feel a difference within a week of insertion.
For most, the hormone pellet insertion process is painless, although you may experience some slight discomfort, swelling, irritation, bruising, and/or redness afterward. The area is first numbed with lidocaine, and this may sting. After the skin has been numbed, a small incision is made in the skin, and the trocar is placed in the skin. Afterwards, the estradiol Pellets are placed beneath the skin. Ice is applied to the area for 5-10 minutes to minimize swelling and bruising.
Why pellet therapy?
Part of the appeal of BHRT is in it’s steady, consistent treatment. Patients find this to be a tremendous advantage over creams and injections.
Unlike other forms of BHRT, pellets don’t cause hormone levels to rise and fall over the course of hours, days, or even weeks. Rather, they keep delivering a steady dose over several months, allowing you to avoid the discomfort that may be caused by hormonal peaks and valleys.
No Chance of Incorrect Use
To receive optimal benefit from a medication, you have to take the medication correctly. However, people are imperfect, and it’s easy to forget to use your cream or injection or apply too much cream. With hormone pellets, however, there is no chance of user error, which means you can’t inadvertently compromise efficacy or tolerability.
You Can Set it and Forget It
Hormone imbalances and fluctuations can be deeply disruptive. With hormone pellets, you only need to see us 4 times a year for new insertions. Aside from that, you don’t have to think about your treatment—you won’t have to rush to pick up a refill at the last minute, wait for the compounding pharmacy, or forget to bring your medication when you go away.
