Category: Women

FEEL AMAZING AGAIN…OPTIMIZE YOUR HORMONES

By Brenda Lee Herrod, APRN, MSN, WHNP-BC

PART I

Do you suffer from brain fog? Do you complain of anxiety and have endless nights without sleep, resulting in a lack of energy, fatigue, and mood swings? Are you frustrated from gaining fat around the midsection and losing muscle, no matter how well you are eating, or how hard you are working out? How is your libido? Many women (and men too) suffer from these symptoms, as well as hot flashes, incontinence, vaginal dryness, accelerated skin aging, and joint pain. They are discouraged when told that it’s just “midlife changes” and to deal with it.

You don’t have to live with it and continue to suffer. There are options available. If you have decreased hormone production and some of the before-mentioned symptoms, I strongly recommend checking into bioidentical hormone therapy to optimize your hormones. Age-related decline in hormone production is one the most common causes of hormone imbalances. Poor nutrition, lack of sleep, stress, and lifestyle choices can also cause hormonal issues and make you feel like “crap.” In our early 30’s our hormones start diminishing and continue to plummet as we age, especially by the time we are in our 50’s and 60’s. Chronic disease can develop if left untreated. Restoring your hormones can actually slow down the aging process and prevent issues like cardiovascular disease, which is the number one cause of death in men and women. Other health issues that can result from low hormones are Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and likely breast cancer.

Often the biggest fear that people have is that hormones can cause cancer. Cancer is not caused by hormones. The elderly have the greatest risk for cancer and they have the lowest level of hormones, while twenty-year-olds have the highest levels of hormones and a much lower risk of cancer. The important part is the type of hormones, the safest dose, route of administration, and having a provider closely monitor your labs, as well as the patient’s individual symptoms. It is essential and the best practice to treat patients on symptoms they are experiencing, as well as doing frequent lab work to monitor blood levels.

Bioidentical hormones are structurally identical at the molecular level to those naturally produced by our bodies and are made from wild yams. Synthetic hormones are derived from animal parts or urine and have a different molecular structure than what our body produces. Biodentical replacement therapy can be a part of a personalized health management program, but only when administered by providers specializing in natural hormone replacement therapy. These hormones include estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 OF THIS ARTICLE COMING IN JANUARY!
In the meantime, you can use the form below to…
Schedule a free consultation to learn more about bioidentical hormones and how they can help you!

REFERENCES
Gray, Stephanie. Your Longevity Blueprint, Advantage Media Group, 2017.
Donovitz, Gary, and Cotten, Mandy. Breast Cancer Incidence Reduction in Women Treated with Subcutaneous Testosterone: Testosterone Therapy and Breast Cancer Incidence Study. European Journal of Breast Health (2021): 17, 2. 150-156.
Donovitz, Gary. Testosterone Matters… More! The Secret to Healthy Aging in Women, Wheatmark Publishing, 2020.
Sieman, Robert S. Live Life Better with Natural Hormone Therapy, New Leaf Wellness, 2017.

SYMPTOMS RELATED TO HORMONE IMBALANCE

Are you experiencing symptoms like WEIGHT GAIN, DIFFICULTY SLEEPING, or DECREASED ENERGY?
Frequently related to these symptoms is…hormones!

HORMONES
Hormones play an important role in our overall wellness. They are part of the endocrine regulatory system and secreted by endocrine glands acting as messengers to trigger or subdue parts of our body. Hormone-sensitive target cells in tissues and organs make changes when exposed to hormones. The hormones are broken down or metabolized slowly, but function in very powerful ways. Even tiny amounts cause big changes, controlling and coordinating activities throughout cells, organs, or even our whole body. These changes control most major bodily functions from basic needs like hunger to complex systems like metabolism, growth and development, reproduction, and even emotions and mood.

Major endocrine glands: pituitary, pineal, thymus, thyroid, adrenal glands, pancreas, ovaries, and testes.

Hormones you may have heard of: thyroid, insulin, cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

HORMONE IMBALANCE
Starting as early as age 25-30, our hormone levels can start to change becoming imbalanced and producing effects like weight gain, insomnia, fatigue, lack of energy, mood fog, anxiety, and depression. Often a hormone imbalance goes unrecognized. We might just identify the symptoms and chalk it up to getting older or being stressed and might possibly take medications to treat individual symptoms. These symptoms and more are why too much or too little of a certain hormone can be serious.

Schedule a free consultation if you are experiencing any of these symptoms.

VITAMIN INJECTIONS FOR ENERGY AND METABOLISM

Have you ever noticed that when you eat poorly, you feel tired and worn out? And then when you start to make healthy food choices, you feel more energetic and able to accomplish more? This is because our bodies respond to the nutrients (or lack of nutrients) in the food we eat. So when you switch from eating fast food and begin eating wholesome, home-cooked meals, you’re giving your body more of what it needs to function efficiently.

Now imagine: what if you could take some of those wholesome nutrients from your home-cooked food and inject them directly into your body? You’d probably feel pretty darn good, right? Well, that’s exactly what vitamin injections do. They provide you with the nutrients that aid in the optimal functioning of your body.

VITAMIN INJECTIONS AT NEW LEAF WELLNESS SUPPORT WEIGHT LOSS
What does this mean for weight loss? Sometimes, when diet and exercise alone don’t produce results, it’s because the body does not have everything it needs to work properly. So no matter how little a person eats or how many hours they spend on the treadmill, the weight still won’t come off. Or maybe that person just can’t seem to muster the energy needed to even get to the gym. Often, vitamin deficiencies are to blame. And at New Leaf Wellness, we’ve found that in many cases, vitamin injections are the key to reaching weight loss goals.

VITAMIN C INJECTION FOR THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND FAT BURNING
Vitamin C helps keep your immune system healthy, and it can also help you burn body fat during moderate exercise.

VITAMIN B6 INJECTION FOR STRESS REDUCTION AND HORMONE BALANCE
Vitamin B6 aids in stress reduction and helps keep your hormones in balance. In addition, it helps your body extract nutrients from food. So if you’re counting calories and eating a small lunch, vitamin B6 will help make sure you get the most out of every chickpea and green bean in your salad.

VITAMIN B12 INJECTION FOR ENERGY AND LOSING WEIGHT
Vitamin B12 is the energy vitamin. When you’re low on B12, you’re going to be low, period. If mustering the energy to get outside for a bike ride is your biggest challenge, vitamin B12 injections might be exactly the right next step on your weight loss journey.

VITAMIN B-COMPLEX INJECTION FOR CHOLESTEROL AND METABOLISM
All the B vitamins at once? Yes! The benefits of B-complex injections include increasing your good cholesterol and lowering the bad, metabolizing fats and carbohydrates into energy, protecting the immune system, and providing anti-aging effects.

WEIGHT LOSS INJECTIONS MIGHT BE THE KEY TO WEIGHT LOSS
Weight Loss Specialists at New Leaf Wellness, we specialize in weight loss, and if you’re struggling to lose weight, we can help. Our individualized programs include cutting-edge weight loss technology and one-on-one support by qualified and certified weight loss experts. Contact us by calling 888-728-7555. Let us help you reach your weight loss goals.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO FEEL 20 YEARS YOUNGER?

Which would you like to feel like?
Would you like to feel your age or would you like to feel 20 years younger?

When we are young, it is the abundance and perfectly tuned balance of hormones that makes us vital, wrinkle-free, sexually active and quick to recover from colds and flu. Hormones keep us fertile, and our joints limber and well- lubricated. It is our hormones that help us think well, remember where we put our keys and relate to others in intimate, connected ways.

As we age, hormones begin to fade, though exposure to toxins, eating badly processed foods, leading sedentary lives and not getting enough sleep also play their parts.

We can reverse or at a minimum stall the ravages of aging with hormone support. There are many types of hormones that work together to create the puzzle that becomes our lives and the more pieces (hormones) we put together in proper balance and in the right formulations, the more likely we are to age in a healthy, vibrant and beautiful way.

The best hormones to use are the bioidentical ones and that is what New Leaf Wellness uses. They are prescription medications estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, thyroid and adrenal support, and they are pharmaceutically made to look identical to the hormones our own bodies make when we are young and healthy.

With the proper hormones, prescribed by New Leaf Wellness providers who are trained and experienced in how to use them and when to use them safely and effectively, we spend less money on health care, on going from doctor to doctor and test to test with no hope of improvement in sight.

With hormones in balance we don’t need yo-yo dieting. Our bodies stay at their optimal weight, and exercise is pleasant with results we can be proud of. With hormones we find ourselves getting sleep again and feeling refreshed in the morning.

Hormones are safe and they protect us from diseases of aging. They protect our bones from osteoporosis and our hearts and brains from deterioration.
Yes, it may sound like hormones are the fountain of youth, but all you have to do is ask and look at those who take them and compare them to their peers who don’t.

When we see patients for the first time we ask: If you didn’t know how old you were, how old would you think you are? The answer from people on hormones is always 20 years younger. From those who don’t take hormones, it’s always at least 20 years older. Which would you like to be?

WHAT IS PELLET THERAPY & WHY SHOULD YOU CONSIDER IT?

What is Pellet Therapy and why should you consider it? Subcutaneous estrogen replacement therapy often referred to as “Pellet Therapy” is not a novel idea. It was initially described in 1938 as an alternative treatment for menopausal symptoms. Subcutaneous estrogen replacement involves the placement of crystalline, biodegradable pellets of estradiol subcutaneously into the buttocks. Placement is performed in the office using local anesthesia.

Advantages of Pellet Therapy

Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) is very advantageous. ERT is superior to any other remedy for the treatment of hot flashes and vaginal atrophy. It has also been found to be cardio-protective, to improve cognitive effects, and to aid in the prevention of osteoporosis.

Despite these advantages, many patients discontinue their ERT for various reasons. The most common include irregular bleeding and or concern about breast cancer. Women discontinue therapy due to unreliability in taking pills, skin reactions to patches, nausea, or incomplete relief of symptoms. These patients may benefit from alternative routes of ERT like “pellet therapy”.

Subcutaneous ERT, unlike oral estrogen therapy, is better able to mimic premenopausal physiologic levels of estradiol and estrone. Subcutaneous estrogen has a favorable effect on lipid profiles with an increase in “good” cholesterol HDL and decreased level of LDL’s “bad” cholesterol. Although estradiol levels differ among patients, individual levels within each patient have very little variation. Implants provide more stable circulating estrogen levels than any other route of administration.

Insertion

Insertion is easily performed in the office. After a small area of skin is prepared with local anesthesia, a 5 mm skin incision is made in the subcutaneous fat of the buttocks. The trocar with cannula is advanced through the incision. The trocar is removed and the pellets are loaded into the barrel of the cannula. The obturator is inserted forcing the pellets out of the instrument into the subcutaneous layers of the buttocks. Complications, albeit rare, include bleeding from the insertion site, bruising, or wound infection.

Testosterone & Progesterone Therapy

Another potential benefit of pellet therapy is the ability to combine subcutaneous estradiol and testosterone replacement. Testosterone therapy has been used for patients who complain of reduced libido. A combined dose of estrogen and testosterone has been shown to significantly improve libido, sexual enjoyment, and menopausal symptoms lasting for 5-6 months.

Appropriate patients include peri/postmenopausal women seeking to relieve hot flashes, vaginal atrophy, maintain or increase bone density, and produce favorable lipid changes. Patients with an intact uterus require progesterone therapy to protect the endometrium, as do patients using other forms of estrogen replacement.

Pellet Therapy and Libido

Subcutaneous ERT or “Pellet therapy” is a convenient form of estrogen replacement therapy, eliminating the need for daily pill or patch. Furthermore, combined therapy adding testosterone can also be used to adjudicate symptoms of decreased libido, leading to more sexual enjoyment.

New Leaf Wellness has a vision to provide women with awareness, options, and solutions. We take pride in providing a safe space for women to explore choices for their sexual health, rejuvenating their appearance, and improving their lives. New Leaf Wellness understands the intensely personal and sexual health issues involved in these surgeries/treatments. Our staff is dedicated to patients having the best outcomes with the highest levels of safety and comfort.

Lastly, if you have questions, please reach out using the contact form below and we will make arrangements for a FREE personal consultation!

PLASMA PEN: A UNIQUE TREATMENT FOR MORE YOUTHFUL SKIN

For years people have tried to find the magic serum or pill that would keep their skin from aging. The older we get, the more and more money we spend on attempting to keep the wrinkles at bay – and nothing ever seems to work! Finding the perfect solution to combat aging skin can feel like a never ending battle but thanks to developing technology, there are now more anti-aging methods than ever before. A treatment that is rapidly becoming more popular is the use of plasma pens – a non-invasive way to tighten, lift, resurface, and regenerate your skin!

How Does It Work?

The Plasma Pens is an FDA approved tool that uses fibroblast technology to stimulate increased production of collagen in your skin. These tiny controlled traumas to the epidermis cause the outermost layer of skin to create thin sheets of carbon crusts, which fall off within a few days, revealing beautiful and rejuvenated skin.

It is a non-invasive procedure that requires no scalpels, stitches, sutures or injectable anesthetic of any kind. It is a low risk procedure with minimal side effects, little to no downtime, and most patients are able to return to work the very same day after the procedure.

What do Plasma Pen treatments target?

  • Fine Lines & Wrinkles – crows feet, forehead lines, smile lines, accordion lines, marionette lines, neck lines, etc.
  • Jawline Tightening
  • Acne Scars
  • Upper and Lower Eyelids – hoods or under eye bags
  • Stretch Marks

This advanced form of skin care gives you great results without the dangers of a more invasive procedure like botox, fillers, or plastic surgery. It is a non-surgical procedure that generates immediate and long lasting results with no bruising, bleeding or extensive healing process.

Do you want your skin back to what it used to be? Our Plasma Pen treatments are a safe and easy way to start looking – and feeling – more like your younger self!

How to Schedule

Contact New Leaf Wellness today to learn more about our Aesthetic Services for men and women, or you can also take our short informational quiz to help point you in the best direction for your skin!

LOW TESTOSTERONE MAY CONTRIBUTE TO DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY IN MEN AND WOMEN

We traditionally think about testosterone helping with energy, sexual interest, erectile dysfunction and libido. When we look closely at medical studies, we find a link to depression and anxiety when testosterone is low.

I’ll repeat it: Low testosterone levels may increase the risk of depression and anxiety. Higher testosterone levels decrease the risk of depression and anxiety. Taking testosterone (testosterone therapy) if your levels are low often improves depression and anxiety.

Testosterone levels are tested with blood tests at our clinics. Blood testosterone tests give providers an accurate idea of the amount of testosterone that is available to be used by your body.

Testosterone levels can be raised in numerous different ways and require a prescription from the provider at New Leaf Wellness. New Leaf Specialty Pharmacy specializes in compounding personalized testosterone and other hormones. At New Leaf  Wellness, we also have NLRx supplements that can support your wellness.

Once you start testosterone therapy it will take 2 weeks or sometimes longer to see how well testosterone helps with depression, anxiety and other health issues.

There are many other factors that can contribute to depression and anxiety including nutrient deficiencies, let’s get you feeling better! New Leaf Specialty Pharmacy specializes in compounded personalized prescriptions of testosterone and hormone therapy prescribed by our providers.  We can help; contact us for more information…

CELEBRATION OF HEALTH

Celebration of Health
June 3, 2021  |  9am – 5pm

We are offering give aways, demo’s and specials that we have never offered before!
We are giving all who attend a FREE B-12 injection!  Please join us!

New Leaf Wellness has a simple mission – your health. Our commitment is not only the science, the reports and diagnosis, but also the healing, comforting and support that you need.

New Leaf is a partner with you for your life in wellness. What makes us able to help YOU uniquely? The fact that many of us are patients and have dealt with the same issues you are dealing with. That’s what makes our lives so enriched – holding your hand with understanding as you take each step of a journey we have walked ourselves. This last year all of us learned how precious health is so we are having a Celebration of Health on June 3rd.

Remember there is good news for those who suffer from hormone deficiencies, weight issues, migraines, or other health concerns: There are solutions. Schedule a time for a complimentary consultation and sit comfortably one on one with a coordinator to explore what you want from life, what the journey can look like, and how to reach your goals with help from New Leaf. There are no shortcuts to wellness and happiness. We’ve helped thousands  – let New Leaf help you reclaim the life you love and come to the Celebration of Health.

GIVEAWAYS!*
Plasma Pen Treatment (valued at $600)
Microneedling with PRP (valued at $349)
3 Month IV Vitamin Therapy Club Membership (valued at $765)

SPECIAL VALUE OFFERS
Hydration IV $39.00
Botox EXCLUSIVE pricing (limited)
Special Offers on Hormone, Low T and Weight Loss Evaluations
25% off Supplements & Skincare
50% OFF Plasma Pen, Microneedling and Facials
One Day Only Special Prices!
FREE B-12 Injections for EVERYONE!*

*Must meet with a consultant to confirm eligibility!

VITAMIN D FOR IMMUNE SYSTEM SUPPORT

Winter is almost over, but with winter months come more illness. There are good reasons why we tend to see more illness during the winter months. One of those reasons is lower Vitamin D levels. As spring approaches it is vital you get your Vitamin D levels back to their optimal levels.

Humans are supposed to get over 90% of their vitamin D from the sun (diet provides very little), and the recommended Daily Value (or previously the RDA) assumed that most people received plenty of vitamin D from the sun. Our ancestors (both ancient and recent) spent a lot of time outdoors in the sun. However, in today’s modern world many people do not get enough vitamin D even during the summer months. People living in northern locales get even less. If you haven’t had your vitamin D levels checked (and most people have not) we highly recommend asking your New Leaf Provider about it. In America, most people test insufficient or deficient for this important vitamin. It is thought that most people need from 7,500-20,000 IUs per day (from all sources, including sun) to meet our needs; we need more when we’re sick or stressed.

Vitamin D helps our immune systems stay balanced during the cold and flu season. There are Vitamin D receptors and activating enzymes on the surfaces of all White Blood Cells. The role that vitamin D plays in keeping the immune system healthy is very complex because the immune system has to be perfectly balanced. If there is too much stimulation, autoimmune diseases can set in. If there is not enough immune system activity, frequent infections can occur.

Low levels of vitamin D have been linked with both extremes, including being associated with worsening autoimmune diseases. Low levels of vitamin D are not the underlying cause of the autoimmune disease, but low levels of vitamin D can make autoimmune disease states worse. Low levels of vitamin D have also been associated with frequent infections. In 2009, the National Institute of Health warned that low vitamin D levels are associated with frequent colds and influenza.

So it appears that vitamin D helps keep the immune system balanced much like a gymnast walking on a balance beam. It is important that daily and weekly vitamin D supplementation help keep your immune system balanced during the cold and flu season.

PELLET THERAPY CLINICAL STUDY

I am 59 years old and have been using hormone pellet therapy for over a decade. It has been a true life saver for me in more ways than anyone could imagine. About 9 months ago I started using pellets from New Leaf Specialty Pharmacy and my world got even better. I truly had no idea that there could be such a noticeable difference in the pellets themselves. I have always been a fan of this therapy, and moving forward I will only use New Leaf’s pellets. I only wish that I had the words to explain how amazing I feel. Thank you New Leaf!!

Jacksonville, FL Patient, Under Care of New Leaf Wellness Providers**

85% of all Patients report Hot Flashes or Night Sweats as a symptom. 94% report almost COMPLETE RELIEF of these symptoms within 4 weeks of PELLET therapy!

95% of all patients report SIGNIFICANT RELIEF of one or more symptom with PELLET therapy!

94% of all patients report IMPROVEMENT of LOW SEX DRIVE with PELLET therapy!

Using QUALITY MATERIALS and external testing for potency & sterility is all part of our PELLET compounding in our 503A STATE-OF-THE-ART facility for the SUCCESS and HEALTH of our patients at New Leaf Wellness.

ALSO:

  • Pellet implants deliver consistent, physiologic levels of hormones.
  • The consistent and physiologic dosing has been shown to maintain and improve bone density.
  • Pellet implants bypass the liver and don’t negatively impact clotting factors, blood pressure, lipid levels, glucose, or liver function.
  • Pellet implants have consistently been shown to improve:
    1. Cardiovascular Health
    2. Sex Drive and Libido
    3. Headaches and Migraines
    4.  Insomnia
 / Hot Flashes
    5. Mood and Depression
    6. Joint Aches and Pains 
along with many other symptoms!

An individualized approach to hormone replacement therapy, using biologically identical hormones, pinpoints a person’s exact hormone levels, and what hormones are needed to balance their hormone deficiency. The differences between synthetic and biologically identical hormones are in their chemical structures and functionality. Biologically identical hormones have the same chemical structure as the hormones created naturally in the human body.

At New Leaf Specialty Pharmacy fused hormone pellet implants are compounded using biologically identical hormones. The hormones are pressed / fused into very small cylinders. New Leaf Specialty Pharmacy compounds Estradiol and Testosterone quality pellets.

Pellet insertion is a relatively simple in-office procedure. The pellets are inserted subcutaneously (under the fatty lining of skin), either in the lower abdomen or the upper buttocks through a very small incision. The incision is then closed with sterile-tape strips. Patients cannot feel the implants under their skin. Implants placed under the skin consistently release small, physiologic doses of hormones, which have been shown to have many benefits including those listed above.

Fused Pellet Implants typically last between 3-4 months, depending on how rapidly the hormones are metabolized. After insertion of the pellets, vigorous physical activity should be avoided for 2-3 days, or as suggested by the provider. Some patients begin to feel symptom relief within 48 hours, while others may take up to two weeks to notice a marked difference or longer depending on a patients starting point. The pellets do not need to be removed, they are completely dissolved by the body.

Generally, there are minimal side-effects associated with the pellet implant procedure. Other than slight bruising, the other complications are very rare. Hormone “natural” side-effects vary and should be discussed with your healthcare provider.

Before starting any hormone replacement therapy, patients will work directly with a knowledgeable advisor to have hormone testing done to evaluate their personal hormone profile. Based on existing hormone levels and health history, the provider will make a hormone replacement recommendation. Once pellets have been inserted, hormone levels will be reevaluated prior to the insertion of the next round of pellets.

Pellet implants require a prescription from a provider. It is very important to work with a provider that is well versed in hormones as well as the actual pellet implant procedure and at New Leaf Wellness there is combined experience in this area of over 100 years. The placement of the pellet and the hormone dosing are extremely important in determining safety and efficacy. Pellets made by New Leaf Specialty Pharmacy follow strict United States Pharmacopeia (USP) guidelines.