This year, perhaps more than ever before, people are fully investing in themselves, doing everything they can to protect their health. You only get one body and how you care for it determines how fully you can enjoy your life. As you age, your body changes, and you may begin to feel different – fatigued, irritable, listless, depressed.

Why do you feel like this? Is it just part of getting older? Will you ever feel like yourself again?

Dr. Donna Becker has spent her career helping her patients understand the aging process, challenging traditional medicine’s approach to treating the symptoms of aging.

“I view aging as a treatable disease,” Dr. Becker explained. “I firmly believe that the process of physical aging can be slowed, stopped, or even reversed through existing medical and scientific interventions.”

Dr. Becker’s approach to hormone replacement therapy is fully dependent upon the patient. There is no “one size fits all” approach. What works for one patient may not work for another. The first step to understanding why you may not be feeling quite like yourself is by drawing labs.

“I order extensive bloodwork and review hormone levels in each patient in addition to vitamin levels and other important blood markers that can indicate deficiencies and appropriate treatment,” Dr. Becker explained.

All too often, Dr. Becker’s patients come to her after spending years with another provider.

“My new patients will tell me that their old doctor has them on an antidepressant or birth control or a low dose of estrogen,” Dr. Becker said. “But when I ask them if they had bloodwork done first, the answer is almost always no. Blindly prescribing hormones without first checking blood levels or telling a woman she needs an antidepressant because she feels “off” is ineffective and not fair to the patient.”

So, why is this happening? Why aren’t more doctors using hormone replacement therapy guided by bloodwork to treat their aging patients?

“Because hormone replacement therapy is not an easy process,” Dr. Becker explained. It’s not just one visit and you’re fixed,” explained Dr. Becker. “It takes research and time and a real investment in each patient. A lot of doctors don’t have time to draw labs, analyze results, prescribe an effective dose, redraw labs, follow-up and monitor each patient. Or they know their patient’s insurance only covers one visit annually so they prescribe something blindly and tell them to come back in a year. That’s not how I run my practice. To me, seeing the change in my patients when we get their hormones back to an optimal level, hearing them tell me that they haven’t felt this good in years – that’s worth everything.”

Dr. Becker welcomes new patients to make an appointment for a free consultation. She takes the time to listen to each symptom, each complaint, each concern. She then orders labs and only when indicated by test results does she prescribe bio-identical hormones. Bio-identical hormones are an exact molecular copy of the hormones that the body once made naturally in its youth, specifically estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.

“Estrogen helps prevent bone loss and can help with dryness, itching and burning during intercourse,” explained Dr. Becker. “Progesterone has a calming effect, helps you sleep and can increase your libido. And testosterone gives you that zest for life, that energy and spark you need to keep going.”
Not everyone needs hormone replacement therapy. Dr. Becker has found that some of her patients who have complained of symptoms often related to hormone deficiency actually were deficient in Vitamin D or Vitamin B-12. The bottom line is, blood work must guide all treatment!

“We now have the power to check an almost unlimited amount of laboratory values, including hormone and vitamin levels, and that information can lead to change,” explained Dr. Becker.

Hormones can be delivered in a pill, pellet or cream form. Dr. Becker works with her patients to find the best fit for them. She follows up with their care, continuing to monitor labs, advising them of proper diet and exercise regimens, and providing resources, reading material and peer reviewed studies so that they can be informed and active in their care.

“I have women who come to see me who were once active in their communities who are now suffering from such debilitating hot flashes that they are afraid to leave the house,” explained Dr. Becker. “Vice Presidents of huge corporations who are presenting to a room full of their peers and totally lose all focus and concentration. Men who used to run and bike and go to the gym who now feel sluggish and depressed and just want to sit on the couch all day. They all just want to get back to normal and get back to their lives. And I can help them get there.”

Dr. Becker’s patients often experience life-changing results. They feel motivated, excited and full of life again.

“I slept for about seven hours last night for first time I can recall in about a year,” wrote L.D., a patient of Dr. Becker’s.
“I desperately need your expertise managing my hormones,” wrote J.L, another patient. “The other doctors my insurance company has limited me to are unacceptable. I am ready to invest out-of-pocket for a better quality of life.”

If you are worried about the risks associated with hormone replacement therapy, Dr. Becker is happy to discuss all pertinent studies and statistics regarding your care.

“There are risks associated with using hormones and risks associated with not using them,” she explained. “I want my patients to feel educated and empowered to make the right decision for themselves. I get frustrated when I hear doctors say that older individuals do not need hormones. To me, they are the ones that need hormones most of all. You are never ‘finished’ menopause – your symptoms might go away, but the lack of hormones in your body is still causing your bones to crumble, your skin to lose collagen, your brain to atrophy.”

You need hormones to keep living and living with purpose and joy,” continued Dr. Becker. “And you are never too old to start taking hormones. It’s never too late to get your life back.”