Hormone Therapy
Bioidentical Hormones For Menopause
Hormone Therapy
As a small team we take pride in being able to offer a very personalised service to each and every one of our patients. We tailor all treatment plans to the individual and make it work for you, accounting for your age, preferences, lifestyle, and budget. Our patients usually comment that they have better energy, quality of life, and are able to do more activities they enjoy.
A desire for perimenopausal and menopausal symptom-relief is usually what first brings patients to us.
This is your chance to be proactive about your quality of life.
As women age, oestrogen and progesterone levels decrease significantly, and when this happens, it increases signs of ageing, risk of osteoporosis, and has a negative impact on cardiovascular health (to name a few).
At Harpal Clinic when we replenish hormones we don’t just optimise the oestrogen and progesterone, but assess them all, including testosterone and precursor hormones pregnenolone and DHEA.
We understand that in many people thyroid function changes during this phase and so we assess this too. In doing so, we take into consideration the entire hormonal cascade to ensure all is functioning at its very best. We also assess:
Although the average age of menopause is 51, we often see women in their 40s with perimenopausal symptoms. Experience of menopause symptoms vary greatly, and whilst some women have no or light symptoms, others find they make simple tasks and daily life a real challenge. Below we have outlined some of the more common ones we see in perimenopausal and menopausal patients:
The HRT normally prescribed by a GP is a synthetic, non-identical version of the body’s hormones (they are different on a molecular level to those found in the body). This can cause a myriad of side effects, which is one of the main reasons we find women are hesitant about HRT and are often advised to use them for a short period of time.
At Harpal Clinic we provide HRT using bioidentical hormones. These are plant based and are 100% identical to those found in the body. BHRT is an alternative to conventional HRT. One of the great things about it is that bioidentical hormones can be created specifically for each patient. As such, it is completely customisable which means we can tailor not only the hormones and dosages, but the application method, and give you only what your body needs. All our hormones are of the very highest quality and come from high end, trusted pharmacies. Alternatively, we are also able to source more affordable, generic bioidentical hormones which many of our patients love.
Once you’ve spoken to your Harpal Clinic hormone doctor they will be able to assess your individual situation and advise if BHRT is the right way forward for you.
What BHRT can help you achieve:
We encourage each of our patients to do their own research and frequently send our patients home with homework to research! What we will do is arm you with the knowledge you need to make an educated decision. We want to help you feel great and improve your quality of life.
Following on from your telephone or video consultation, we will usually recommend a series of comprehensive blood tests tailored to your specific requirements. This allows your doctor to get an in-depth look at your hormones levels.
We’ve recently introduced remote testing for our detailed blood panels which means that you won’t need to travel into the clinic for your tests. Wherever you are based in the UK, you can have blood drawn locally and then sent directly to our lab partner for testing. Alternatively, you can also do the Dutch test, which is a highly comprehensive urine test that tests for all your sex hormones as well as stress hormones, precursor hormones, neurotransmitters in the brain and organic acids.
You can find out more about the cost of bioidentical HRT for menopause at Harpal Clinic on our Fees page.
BHRT treatment is just as individual as you are. You will need an initial consultation, blood tests, and, once your results are back, a treatment planning consultation before you are provided with your hormone prescription(s). Bioidentical hormones are compounded bespoke for you based on exactly what your body needs from our trusted compounding pharmacy.
There are a few things to consider when it comes to the price of your hormones:
When you first get started on hormones, we prefer to separate them and start at lower doses in case you react negatively to any of them, then build up where necessary. This means that the initial costs tend to be higher. However, once we find dosages that work for you, we can combine certain hormones (for example oestrogen + progesterone + melatonin capsules) which brings the price right down, typically to less than a cup of coffee (< £3) a day per pill. There will be a small degree of variation depending on the ultimate dosing/hormone but this is a rough indication of what you can expect.
Please note that we can also provide body identical hormones which are more cost effective but come in fixed dosages. Please read about the difference between body identical and bioidentical hormones.
