There are many different types of HRT doctors today. HRT (also knows as hormone replacement therapy) for both men and women can be prescribed by urologists, gynecologists, general practitioners, and just about any kind of physician in-between!
Technically there is no such thing as a “HRT doctor,” or medical specialty given in “hormone optimization”.
So you may think that it does not really matter what kind of HRT doctor you choose for your therapy. Think again!
How to Choose the Right HRT Doctor
One of the first things I say to people who ask, “How to choose a hormone replacement doctor,” is, “choose one that won’t give it to you.”
If you have just scratched your head and said “huh,” what I mean by that is to go to a HRT doctor that will only prescribe hormone therapy to you if you need it.
The first step to choosing an HRT doctor is to find one who prescribes based off of your lifestyle and medical history.
A doctor would not prescribe insulin to a patient before determining that they have diabetes, correct? Yet, many doctors will prescribe HRT, based only on physical or emotional complaints, and do no further testing.
You want a doctor that gets to know you, knows your lifestyle, takes a detailed medical history, and runs complete blood tests, before he or she puts you on HRT.
If you walk in, and can just walk out with a prescription – walk away!
The second most important factor in choosing a doctor or clinic for HRT, is to be sure they are using Bioidentical hormones. Bioidentical Hormone Therapy, or BHRT, uses hormones that are the exact molecular duplicate as those produced by your body. Bioidentical hormones are custom made for your needs by a compounding pharmacist.
The prescription HRT products made by the pharmaceutical companies, are synthetic hormones. They are not the same chemical compounds that your body secretes, and are therefore not as well tolerated, or as effective as bioidentical hormones. These synthetic hormones are a “one size fits all” kind of dose and are not customized to your doctor’s specifications.
The third and last step is to find specialists that are better at prescribing HRT more consistently, accurately, and safely compared to others. There is not a “medical specialty” for a “hormone replacement doctor,” but you can still find an HRT doctor whose speciality gives them an extra edge compared to others.
Before Dr. Richard Gaines dedicated his time to helping men and women be healthier, happier, and more vital from their 30’s and beyond with HRT, he worked as an anesthesiologist. For three decades he was a board certified anesthesiologist at some of the most well-known hospitals in the country and maintains that specialty to this day.
So what does an anesthesiologist have to do with HRT? Plenty!
Anesthesiology is a very precise practice that requires exactly the right dosing, and continuous monitoring of a patient being put under.
If you give too much anesthesia there can be recovery issues, if you do not give enough, you can run the risk of the patient waking during a surgical procedure.
Most importantly, when meeting with a patient to determine dosage before a procedure, Dr. Gaines had to take every aspect of the patient’s overall health and medical history into account. He also had to constantly monitor them during surgery and adjust the dosages accordingly.
The precise dosing and continuous monitoring Dr. Gaines did as a former anesthesiologist, is exactly why he has achieved such wonderful results with his patients as an HRT doctor.
And now, we have an even better way to monitor patients with our recently launched Virtual Wellness Portal.
Health Benefits of Hormone Optimization
The only way to determine if you are a candidate for HRT is to have a proper blood test taken by your physician. This should also play into your decision of who to choose for your HRT doctor.
Just as all doctors who provide HRT are not the same, they do not all use the same diagnostic tools to evaluate your optimal hormone levels.
Once the diagnosis of less than optimal hormone levels is determined, like low testosterone in men, then you can start a testosterone replacement regimen. This regimen will be customized to your particular needs and lifestyle.
The benefits could change your life! For example men for whom I have prescribed Bioidentical testosterone replacement therapy report:
- Increased strength
- Increased energy
- Improved sexual performance
- Loss of belly fat
- Gains of lean muscle
- Increased bone density
- Improved cognition
In addition to the list above, most of my HRT patients tell me they just “feel better,” and have regained their ability to simply “enjoy life” once again.
You can find out a lot more about the benefits of having the right HRT doctor and many other ways to age well in Dr. Gaines’ new full length book, Great Gains For Life.
Have you or anyone you know tried any “age management” treatments? What were the results?
Start the conversation below.
