What symptoms can hormone therapy address?
Hormone therapy is most often considered for symptoms that appear during perimenopause and menopause, or whenever a woman's hormone levels shift out of their normal range. Many women describe a gradual change: sleep becomes lighter, energy fades earlier in the day, and mood or focus feels different than it used to. The National Institute on Aging describes this same transition and the symptoms that commonly come with it.
Symptoms our patients commonly want evaluated include:
- Hot flashes and night sweats
- Sleep disruption and fatigue
- Mood changes, irritability, or anxiety
- Brain fog and difficulty concentrating
- Low libido and vaginal dryness
- Weight changes that resist diet and exercise
- Thinning hair and dry skin
HORMONE SUPPORT DURING PERIMENOPAUSE
Perimenopause is the transition period before menopause, when hormone levels begin to shift, and it often starts in a woman's 40s. It can last for several years before periods stop for good, and during that time estrogen and progesterone rise and fall unevenly rather than declining in a straight line. The Endocrine Society publishes a patient resource on menopause and hormone health that explains those shifts.
That unevenness is why perimenopause symptoms come and go. The changes women most often bring to Apex Wellness are irregular cycles, sleep disruption, mood changes, hot flashes, and fatigue that does not lift with rest. Many women are told these years are simply something to get through, and are never actually tested.
Apex Wellness evaluates perimenopause the same way it evaluates everything else. Your comprehensive blood panel is completed at our partner laboratory before your first consultation, so your hormone levels and related markers are measured rather than assumed. Dr. Delozier then reviews those values alongside your symptoms, your cycle history, and your health history, and documents what the two together show. When your symptoms and your lab values point to the hormonal shifts of perimenopause, he builds a treatment plan around those results, and follow-up labs confirm how your body is responding as the transition continues. When they point somewhere else, he tells you that plainly.
If what you are feeling sounds like perimenopause, request a consultation or call the office. Your labs come first, and the conversation with Dr. Delozier follows once your results are in.
How does the evaluation work?
The evaluation starts with your bloodwork, not a prescription. Every plan at Apex Wellness follows the same four-step care model: 1. Labs Before Consultation. 2. Medical Review. 3. Personalized Treatment. 4. Ongoing Monitoring.
The office sends your lab order to a partner lab, where a comprehensive panel is drawn to see your hormone levels, thyroid function, and metabolic markers. Once those results are back, you sit down with Dr. Delozier and he walks you through what they mean in plain language, alongside your symptoms, how long they have been going on, and your health history, and all of it is documented. If treatment is appropriate, your plan is personalized to your labs and your goals, and follow-up testing confirms your body is responding the way it should.
Who is a candidate for hormone therapy?
A candidate is a woman whose symptoms and lab results both point to a hormonal cause, and whose health history supports treatment. Many women in their 40s and 50s going through perimenopause or menopause are candidates, as are some younger women with documented imbalances.
Hormone therapy is not right for everyone. That is exactly why care at Apex Wellness begins with a comprehensive blood panel and a physician review of what it shows, rather than a one-size-fits-all protocol. If your results point to something other than a hormonal cause, Dr. Delozier will tell you that plainly and discuss appropriate next steps.
What should I expect as a patient?
Expect a process, not a transaction. Your first step is the blood draw at a partner lab, arranged by the office. Your consultation with Dr. Delozier is scheduled once the panel comes back, and it takes place at our Lincoln office at 7401 S 15th St, Suite A, Lincoln, NE 68512 (Inside Luminescence MedSpa). If you begin treatment, you will have scheduled follow-up labs and check-ins so your plan can be adjusted as your levels change. Questions between visits are handled by the same physician who designed your plan.