Hormone Replacement Therapy in Los Gatos
Hormonal decline is a normal part of aging, but the symptoms it brings are not something you simply have to accept without understanding them. At Lifetime Performance Medicine in Los Gatos, hormone replacement therapy begins with comprehensive testing and a careful review of how you feel, not with a prescription. This page explains the symptoms of hormonal change in men and women, why we test before we treat, how bioidentical pellet therapy works, and how we monitor safety over time. We serve Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell, San Jose, and the wider South Bay and Silicon Valley.
Signs Your Hormones May Be Changing
Hormone levels shift gradually, and the symptoms can be easy to attribute to stress, poor sleep, or simply getting older. Sometimes that is the whole story. Sometimes hormones are part of it. The only way to know is to look.
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In Men
Men may notice lower energy, reduced strength or muscle mass, more body fat around the middle, lower libido, changes in mood or motivation, difficulty concentrating, and less restful sleep. Testosterone tends to decline slowly with age, and these changes can develop so gradually that they feel like the new normal.
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In Women
Women may experience hot flashes, night sweats, disrupted sleep, mood changes, low libido, vaginal dryness, brain fog, and shifts in body composition. These often appear during perimenopause and menopause, when estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels change. Every woman's pattern is different, which is why a personal assessment matters more than a generic checklist.
For both men and women, symptoms alone do not confirm a hormonal cause. They tell us where to look. Testing tells us what is actually happening.
Why Comprehensive Hormone Testing Comes First
We never start hormone therapy based on symptoms alone. Comprehensive testing gives us a clear picture of your hormone levels and overall health before treatment begins.
Your assessment typically includes testosterone, estradiol, SHBG, thyroid, and metabolic markers, plus any additional tests your history requires. Rather than looking at one hormone in isolation, we evaluate how your hormones work together and how they relate to your broader health.
This assessment is part of our comprehensive evaluation, which also includes an 80+ biomarker panel, DEXA body composition scanning, VO₂ max testing, functional testing, and biological age analysis through PhenoAge, all integrated into your Lifetime Body Score.
Testing first establishes a baseline, helps prevent unnecessary treatment, and allows us to prescribe hormone therapy safely and precisely when it is appropriate.
Bioidentical Pellet Therapy and Why Steady-State Delivery Matters
For patients who are appropriate candidates, we use bioidentical hormone pellet therapy for both men and women. Bioidentical hormones are structurally identical to the hormones your body makes. The pellets are small and placed under the skin in a brief in-office procedure, after which they release hormone gradually over a period of months.
The reason we favor pellets is the steadiness of delivery. Some other methods can produce peaks soon after a dose and troughs before the next one, and those swings can affect how you feel. Pellets are designed to release hormone at a steady rate, which supports more consistent levels over time. Steady-state delivery is about smoothing out the highs and lows so your levels stay within a more stable range between placements.
Pellet therapy is not the right choice for everyone, and it is not the only tool that exists. Whether it suits you depends on your labs, your symptoms, your health history, and your preferences. That is a conversation we have together, grounded in your test results.
Your Physician-Built 12-Month Plan
Safety, Monitoring, and Honest Expectations
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Hormone therapy is a medical treatment, and we treat it that way. After therapy begins, we monitor your response with follow-up testing and check-ins, and we adjust based on both your labs and how you feel. Monitoring lets us keep your levels in a sensible range, watch relevant markers over time, and respond if anything needs attention.
We are honest about what hormone therapy can and cannot do. Many patients report improvements in energy, body composition, libido, sleep, and mood when their hormones are optimized appropriately, but responses vary from person to person, and results are not guaranteed. Hormone therapy carries risks and is not suitable for everyone. We will tell you plainly if we do not think it is right for you, and we will explain the trade-offs so you can make an informed decision.
Care at Lifetime Performance Medicine is physician-led. Dr. Richard Nguyen, DO, is a board-certified general and bariatric surgeon with a Vanderbilt fellowship and more than 20 years of experience, and the longevity division operates as part of Lifetime Surgical. Within our membership model, you see Dr. Nguyen twice a year, with your other visits led by Morgan Carmean, ARNP, who directs the wellness clinic.
Personalized Programs For Every Stage Of Health
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What to Expect at Your First Visit
Your first visit starts with a conversation, not a prescription. We review your symptoms, history, and goals, then order comprehensive hormone and metabolic testing so we are working from your actual levels. Once results are back, a clinician sits down with you to explain what they show, whether hormone therapy is appropriate for you, and what a plan would look like. If pellet therapy is the right fit, the insertion is a brief in-office procedure. If it is not the right fit, we tell you honestly and focus on what will help. Follow-up testing confirms your levels are where they should be and guides any adjustments over time.
Answers To Your Most Asked Questions
Bioidentical hormones are structurally identical to the hormones your body produces. We use bioidentical hormone pellet therapy for both men and women who are appropriate candidates.
Symptoms point us in a direction, but they do not confirm a hormonal cause on their own. Testing shows your actual levels, establishes a baseline, and lets us dose carefully and monitor over time. We test first as a matter of safe, responsible care.
A small pellet is placed under the skin in a brief in-office procedure. It releases hormone gradually over a period of months, which supports steadier levels compared with methods that can cause peaks and troughs between doses.
Hormone therapy is a medical treatment with real benefits for the right patients and real risks that must be weighed. We assess your candidacy carefully, monitor you with follow-up testing, and are honest if it is not appropriate for you.
Yes. We offer hormone testing and, where appropriate, bioidentical pellet therapy for both men and women. Our testing and plans are tailored to each person.
No. Hormone testing and services are available a la carte, and they can also be part of a membership that includes a full assessment and a 12-month plan.