Wellness 101 and Hormone Imbalance | Treatments in Kansas City
Wellness is defined as “the quality or state of being in good health as an actively sought goal.” The idea of wellness is a huge goal for many of our clients at Aestheticare. Taking an active approach to your health looks different for a lot of people, and everyone’s motivations for getting healthier are different.
Some of the most common reasons people are looking to have a healthier lifestyle are:
- To feel better and more energized in their daily lives
- Prevent illness and health risks as they age
- Feel more confident and happier in their body
Whatever your motivation is for increased wellness, there are many things you can do to kickstart your health and improve your overall well being. Below we discuss why wellness is important, general wellness practices, and our new hormone imbalance treatments in Kansas City.
Why is wellness important?
Before jumping into general wellness tips, we should first explain why wellness is such an important part of our lives and how it can be beneficial for you.
Increased awareness of your health
While certain health issues aren’t necessarily in your control, taking the driver’s seat for your own health gives you the benefit of health awareness. It’s easy to put your health and how you’re feeling in your body on the backburner when life is demanding. That being said, you can’t function well in life when you’re not feeling your best.
With wellness, understanding how your body is functioning through a process like lab work helps you know your body’s baseline functionality. What may feel “normal” to you may have options to be corrected to better optimize your health. Something like blood work can give you key insights into glucose, insulin, and cholesterol levels. Knowing where you’re at helps you understand how to proceed in your body’s best interest, so awareness is essential.
Enhance your quality of life
As mentioned earlier, we can get so used to feeling a certain way that we consider it “normal” and live with it. This could be for symptoms like mood swings, chronic fatigue, and other things that can affect how you’re feeling day to day. Generally speaking, increasing your level of wellness enhances your quality of life.
For example, if you’re suffering from a symptom like chronic fatigue, that can significantly impact your routines. You might not have the energy to do anything after your workday, say no to spending time with friends or loved ones, and in general not enjoy activities because you’re so tired. If you were to treat chronic fatigue and get to a place where you have increased alertness and energy, you’ll get to enjoy your life without that constant tired feeling.
Prevent health issues down the road
It’s well known but important to touch on the value of preventative health measures. Many chronic diseases can be prevented with these lifestyle choices for wellness.
Think of the strategy similar to wearing sunscreen. Sunscreen is clinically proven to decrease your risk of skin cancers and skin precancers when used as directed. Building the habit of using sunscreen pays off in the long run in that you significantly reduce your chances of developing skin cancer.
The same idea can be applied to help prevent other health issues. With wellness, there are many lifestyle choices you can make to decrease your chances of chronic diseases.
Some common tips include:
- Quit smoking
- Eat a healthy balanced diet
- Get regular exercise
- Avoid drinking too much alcohol
- Get enough sleep
- Schedule regular health screenings
- Know your family medical history
All of these habits are great starting points to improving your health. There are also supplements you can add to your routine to boost your health even more. Though you can get these vitamins through a strategic diet, supplements make it a lot easier to ensure you get enough of certain nutrients regularly.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D aids in the absorption of essential nutrients, namely calcium and phosphorus. When we spend time in the sun, it helps us produce this vitamin, and we can also get it from food sources. It helps to regulate optimal immune system function. Vitamin D also helps your bones, aids in disease prevention, reduces depression, and enhances weight loss.
Fish Oils
Fish oil is a source of omega-3s, which are an amazing nutrient that can fight inflammation and support the health of your heart, skin, eyes, and more.
Multivitamins
A multivitamin helps you ensure that you get all of the important nutrients you need for wellness. Generally, you would get these from your diet and what you eat. For many people, getting all of your nutrients is difficult through their diet alone. A multivitamin is an easy wellness tool.
Collagen
You’ve heard us rave about collagen at Aestheticare for many of our treatments! That is because collagen is a protein responsible for the structure of your skin. As we age, we produce less of it. The more collagen you have the better your skin looks. A collagen supplement is a great way to improve your skin health at the source and pair with our skin treatments.
Hormone Imbalance | Treatments in Kansas City
One of the most common treatments that helps a large variety of symptoms and concerns is hormone replacement therapy for hormone imbalance. Hormones are incredibly important to your body because they regulate so many functions, like sleep, metabolism, blood pressure, blood sugar, and libido.
As you age, your body’s hormone production decreases, which can lead to an imbalance in how you feel. When your hormone levels are not at an optimal level, you can’t function as well as you would with balanced hormones. Hormone imbalance can affect anyone, but it is especially prevalent in women over 45 years old.
Hormone imbalance can present through many symptoms, including:
- Chronic fatigue
- Unexplained weight gain
- Decreased sex drive
- Mood swings
There are also symptoms that are prevalent in women’s hormonal irregularities:
- Vaginal dryness and/or atrophy
- Pain during sex
- Heavy or irregular periods
- Hair loss
And common symptoms of hormonal imbalance in men:
- Loss of muscle mass
- Decrease in hair growth
- Erectile dysfunction
- Difficulty concentrating
Hormone Replacement Therapy: How It Works
Below is an overview of our hormone replacement therapy, now offered at Aestheticare.
Consultation With Our Nurse Practitioner
To find out if you’re a good candidate for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) you’ll book a consultation with our nurse practitioner. We will establish care, go over your medical history, and discuss your symptoms.
From there, we will also discuss possible HRT options for you. Before we can ensure that HRT is right for you and create a treatment plan. This is to identify your baseline hormone levels in many different areas to see how your body is functioning on a hormonal level.
Lab Work and Follow Up
We will review the labs to see your baseline functioning for hormones. This will help us create a personalized treatment plan for you. We may even be able to begin your HRT treatment that day!
Our bioidentical hormone replacement therapy uses natural body hormones made from soy to help men and women with hormone imbalance. The term “bio-identical” means that the hormone is an exact match to the hormone that your body makes, though these hormones are made from soy and yam.
This is primarily through a pellet. This form of HRT treatment is a little larger than a grain of rice. The pellet is implanted in the upper/outer hip area, and it slowly releases over 3 to 6 months.
Check In
To see how well the HRT pellet therapy is working for you, we will have you do another set of lab work 3 to 6 weeks after the pellet is placed. We will discuss how you’re feeling with the therapy.
Treatment Goals and Results
The ultimate goal of HRT for hormone imbalance is to get you stabilized on a treatment dosage that works best for you. This is to ensure you don’t need to get a ton of lab work, and of course to make sure you’re feeling great! You’ll find improvement in your symptoms and feel more like yourself again.
Meet Our Nurse Practitioner
Amanda Whitson, APRN
Amanda has been practicing functional medicine including bioidentical hormone replacement and regenerative therapies.
She has completed an advanced fellowship in anti-aging, functional and regenerative medicine.
Visit Aestheticare for wellness and hormone imbalance treatments in Kansas City!
We’re so excited to launch this side of Aestheticare. We can’t wait to continue being a source of care for our clients for aesthetic treatments, and now for wellness! Aestheticare serves clients from Kansas City, Liberty, and North KC areas. Schedule an appointment for a wellness consultation today.
