With the FDA’s recent shift on hormone replacement therapy, more patients suffering from menopause symptoms can find relief at Svelte Medical Weight Loss Centers.

While many women deal with gradual symptoms of menopause, Susie Bragg, RN, BSN, was hit with them all at once as the result of a surprising breast cancer diagnosis when she was just 45. Needless to say, the dramatic changes took a toll.

“I went through a different kind of menopause because it was chemotherapy-induced, so I got a quick and terrible introduction and it was really difficult to lose all of my hormones at that age,” she recalls. “During menopause, you’re not yourself. You look in the mirror and you don’t recognize the irritable person you’ve become. The brain fog, the irritability, the hot flashes—stuff like that is all real, and women who have been through it know what I’m talking about.

“But bioidentical hormone optimization has literally transformed my life. My quality of life is so much better.”

For nearly a decade, Bragg and her husband, Richard Bragg, MD, have not only helped thousands of patients significantly alleviate debilitating symptoms through hormone optimization, but they have also both continued to personally reap the benefits of the treatment themselves. Now, following a major announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), they are excited for even more people suffering from the effects of menopause and andropause to visit their flourishing practice, Svelte Medical Weight Loss Centers, and find the relief they have long been searching for.

The FDA recently made a major policy shift when it decided to remove “black box” warnings—its highest safety alert—from all hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products containing estrogen, either alone or combined with progestogen. The warnings had originated in 2002 from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) trials and cautioned about elevated risks for several diseases.

“Basically, they had some bad data back in 2002 that said hormones were going to cause breast cancer, dementia, stroke and heart disease, and that was all wrong,” Dr. Bragg says. “The problem was that women were getting all of these menopausal symptoms—like not being able to sleep, low sex drive, joint pain, brain fog, fatigue, irritability—and being told they had to live with it because the hormones might give them cancer or something else. Some were treating those symptoms anyway because they were so miserable, but now they can treat them with the FDA’s blessing.”

The (WHI) trials had long been questioned by HRT supporters because the average age of the women studied was 63, much older than most women who seek treatment for menopause around 45 to 50. The FDA’s reversal stems from a comprehensive review of decades of scientific data, including the agency’s own expert panel this past July.

The Braggs are hoping physicians will educate women about the FDA’s decision, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of bioidentical hormone optimization. It is different from traditional HRT, which uses synthetic hormones, in that it restores the natural hormonal balance in the body through pellets that are inserted underneath the skin.

The procedure is safe, effective and painless, and comes with just a few restrictions after it is performed. Women need to have it four times a year, while men need just two or three doses. Dr. Bragg says the time to start varies by person.

“It’s truly up to them,” he explains. “They usually get to the point where they’re miserable enough from the symptoms and they want to seek out some help. With hormone optimization, you get some vitality back and you enjoy life more. You have energy to go out and do something after work, rather than go home and take a nap.”

He speaks from experience, having discovered the therapy—and BioTE, the company that perfected it and which Svelte partners with—when he was suffering from andropause in his 40s.

“It’s amazing to me how many of our female patients are surprised to hear that their husbands can also do this, because they don’t relate to men having menopause,” Susie Bragg says. “But men are actually suffering too—that’s why my husband went and got pellets, and I noticed right away. My daughter and I both said, ‘Dad’s back.’”

She was more hesitant because of her experience with breast cancer, but when she learned more about the treatment being cancer-protective, she too dove right in.

“The very first BioTE pelleting I got made such a difference,” she says. “It takes two weeks for the pellets to kick in, but I noticed two weeks later that I was sleeping great, my brain was sharper, I had more energy and I was much stronger at the gym. … It was so exciting and I felt so good.”

Many Svelte patients have been similarly transformed, and the burning question they have for Dr. Bragg is, how long can they benefit from bioidentical hormone optimization?

“They can do it lifelong,” he says. “It helps build bone density, so it can prevent pena osteoporosis. When they stop, their levels will get pretty low and they’ll start feeling symptoms again. So they never have to stop.”

Svelte Medical Weight Loss Centers
Locations in Dr. Phillips, Lake Mary and East Orlando
(407) 804-5200
SvelteMD.com