Hormone Balance

Hill Park Medical Center > Hormone Balance
BioIdentical Hormone Therapy, Chronic Illness, GI Health, Hormone Balance, Integrative Medicine, Menopause, Natural Allergy Treatment, Naturopathic Medicine, Peri-menopause, Women’s Health

Welcome Meghan Kemnec, ND to Hill Park Integrative Medical Center

We are very excited to announce a new addition to our medical team, Dr. Meghan Kemnec, ND.

Dr. Meghan Kemnec is a naturopathic doctor, functional medicine expert, and pediatrician. She is passionate about improving the health of the entire family, knowing that the wellness of our children begins with our health before conception. She teaches you how to take charge of your health with lifestyle changes and a blend of both natural and conventional therapies.

Dr. Kemnec specializes in pediatrics and women’s health from preconception to menopause. Her clinical interests include balancing hormones, immune health, digestive disorders, and endocrine disorders including diabetes and hypothyroidism, as well as respiratory health. She is trained in IV nutrient therapy, Perineural Injection Therapy, and PRP.

Dr. Kemnec holds a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine (ND) from Bastyr University and a BS from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. After graduating with her ND, Dr. Kemnec completed a competitive family practice residency at the Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle, WA. She is also a Diplomate of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

When she is not at practice, she enjoys spending time hiking and at the ocean with her family.

Please contact our staff at 707-861-7300 or [email protected] to schedule an in person or telemedicine appointment or book an appointment through the website.

BioIdentical Hormone Therapy, Chronic Illness, Detoxification, Environmental Medicine, Hormone Balance, Integrative Medicine, IV Vitamin Therapy, Menopause, Naturopathic Medicine, Peri-menopause, Women’s Health

Dr. Denise Cooluris, ND – Conditions Treated

Dr. Cooluris, Clinical Director of Hill Park, specializes in women’s health, integrative family medicine, complex medical issues, hormone health, and environmental medicine. She provides advanced management of bio-identical hormone therapy, IV Nutrient Therapy, and diagnostics for complex medical concerns.

Many of our patients are familiar with her care and presence at the center, which includes individualized diagnostic skill combined with a depth of clinical integrative medical knowledge.

Conditions Treated
Women’s Health
Perimenopause/Menopause
Endometriosis
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
Vaginal Health
Vaginal Atrophy
Vulvar Lichen Sclerosus
Acute & Chronic Vaginitis
Abnormal Uterine Bleeding
Hormone Imbalance
Thyroid and Adrenal Health including Hashimoto’s
MCAS
Mold
Environmental Toxicity
All general acute and chronic family medicine concerns

BioIdentical Hormone Therapy, Hormone Balance, Low Testosterone, Menopause, Peri-menopause, Women’s Health

Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy

Most women associate hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with menopause, but it actually has many more uses to correct hormone concerns that arise throughout a lifetime. Naturopathic and functional medicine doctors use a special class of hormone replacement therapy, called bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), to treat not only menopausal women, but, also perimenopause, fertility, PMS, PCOS, anxiety, insomnia, and even men who are having issues with low testosterone.

Bioidentical hormones are derived and modified from natural sources, such as the Wild Mexican Yam, and are structurally identical to the hormones our bodies naturally produce. Therefore, we can expect similar results from them.

Bioidentical hormones differ from synthetic hormone replacement therapy in several ways. Synthetic hormones are chemically foreign from the hormones we produce, so, they often behave a little differently than our natural hormones. One significant difference is that synthetic hormones have been shown to bind more tightly to the receptors in our bodies, which makes the receptors work overtime and have a much more potent effect, sometimes more than what we want.

A good example of synthetic hormones hijacking the normal processes of the body is birth control. Hormonal birth control is made up of synthetic hormones that bind very tightly to the body’s estrogen and progesterone receptors and “trick” the body into thinking it’s pregnant. This can happen even in relatively low doses. In this way, we can use the synthetic hormones to our benefit for family planning, but, we don’t necessarily need this effect in our hormone balance regime.

Bioidentical hormone therapy offers several options for delivery and personalization. Bioidentical hormones are often compounded, which provides more flexibility in customized dosing and delivery form for your personal needs. The forms of bioidentical hormone therapy generally include transdermal cream or gel, lozenges, capsules, or suppositories.

Some benefits of bHRT include:

  • Lowers cholesterol and increases HDL (the good fat)
  • Maintains collagen in our skin and connective tissues
  • Improve cognition and protect brain tissue
  • Improve sleep
  • Improve mood and alleviate anxiety
  • Mitigate thermal regulation (warm rushes and hot flashes)
  • Improves cardiovascular health
  • Stabilizes bone health

At Hill Park Integrative Medical Center, we have several doctors who specialize in the prescription of bioidentical hormones for many different clinical applications. We treat both according to symptoms and labs and have had great success in hormone treatments across many patient populations, including reproductive age women, men, fertility, and post/perimenopausal women.

We don’t think that bioidentical hormone therapy is the only hormone balance regime – there are many solutions to hormone imbalance with the use of herbal medicine, targeted nutrient therapy, acupuncture, and many other resources. For moderate to severe concerns, bioidentical hormones can be very effective, especially in combination with other natural therapies, to correct hormone balance and are safe when applied correctly by an experienced doctor.

BioIdentical Hormone Therapy, Hormone Balance, Integrative Medicine, Menopause, Natural Immune Health, Naturopathic Medicine, Peri-menopause, Women’s Health

Understanding Perimenopause

Information about Perimenpause

Perimenopause is the window of time before menopause, which can be as long as a decade or more of changes prior to having a last period. The symptoms of perimenopause are often totally unrecognized by the general medical community, even though it is a time when women are seeking the most medical care. The hormonal fluctuations during this time influence change in our physical, mental, and emotional health that can significantly alter a woman’s sense of well-being as well as her relationships.

Many women are quite familiar with the symptoms of perimenopause: changes in her menstrual cycle: either heavier/lighter flow or more irregular than they have been, hot flashes or “warm rushes”, brain fog, difficulty losing weight, night sweats, joint pain, tendonitis, vaginal discomfort during intercourse, anxiety, depression, fatigue, palpitations, emotional lability, loss of libido, and a whole lot more.

One of the more challenging issues of perimenopause is that our brain can become like a “sieve” where words and tasks are easily lost, making multi-tasking a really difficult course of the day, at one of the busiest times of our lives.

Stress plays a significant role in the early onset and rapid progression of perimenopause. It is common that women will have hormone imbalance due to chronic stress while entering perimenopause, possibly worsening the symptoms and adding momentum to the process, which can have a negative impact on our fertility, and overall health.

Along with the overt symptoms, there are risks to the decline in hormones: bone thinning and osteoporosis, alzheimer’s disease, insulin resistance/diabetes, high blood pressure, and arthritis. This is an important window of time to examine a personalized “risk reduction” approach to hormone fluctuations such as family history or existing conditions so that the transition toward menopause does not have a cost on the decades of health ahead.

While some women are just moderately inconvenienced by these symptoms, they can be quite severe for other women. Often times the medical messaging is to just “live with it”, but this is pretty dated, and frankly… not sufficient. There are many treatment options that integrative medicine and naturopathic doctors offer to effectively balance hormone fluctuations and minimize symptoms while not interrupting the natural process of perimenopause.

Women have been finding their own medicines to balance their health since the beginning of time, but sometimes we need help when our own approach is not quite enough, or uncertain. After a detailed medical interview, if necessary, one of our doctors can help to test your hormones levels, along with thyroid and adrenal hormone levels, or any additional tests that may be important for you. We can then formulate a treatment course that will be personalized to your symptoms, hormone balance, and overall wellness.

Perimenopause and hormone health can be a smooth, safe, and even enjoyable experience with the support of nutrition, herbal medicine, bioidentical hormone therapy, self-care, acupuncture, and an experienced doctor to help find the right course for you. Contact us at 707-861-7300 to reach out to the office staff.