Could Your Hormones Be Affecting How You Feel?
For years, hormone therapy has been surrounded by questions, misconceptions and uncertainty about its benefits and risks. But our understanding of hormone therapy continues to evolve. Today, Hormone Therapy Is Having a New Conversation!
In 2026 the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requested changes to the boxed warnings on menopausal hormone therapy products, including the removal of certain risk statements involving cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and probable dementia.
According to the FDA, “The goal is to provide updated information so women and their healthcare providers can make more informed, individualized decisions about treatment. The effects of menopause can make a woman’s daily life much harder, and therapies approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can help.”
Read more about Menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy from the FDA →
At Pure Image Laser & Spa in Greenwood, Indiana, our team of nurses and Nurse Practitioners provides personalized hormone optimization for women and men throughout Greenwood, Indianapolis and Central Indiana. Whether you’re navigating perimenopause or menopause, experiencing symptoms associated with low testosterone, or simply wondering whether your hormones could be contributing to changes in how you feel, understanding your options is a great place to start.
Hormones play an important role throughout the body, influencing everything from reproductive and sexual health to metabolism, bone and muscle health. As hormone levels change, some people may begin noticing changes in how they feel.
Potential concerns that may lead someone to discuss hormone health with a medical provider include:
- Persistent fatigue or changes in energy
- Difficulty sleeping
- Changes in mood
- Brain fog or difficulty concentrating
- Changes in libido
- Hot flashes or night sweats
- Changes in muscle mass or body composition
- Symptoms associated with perimenopause or menopause
- Concerns about testosterone levels
However, these symptoms don’t automatically mean you have a hormone deficiency or need hormone therapy. Many can have several possible causes. A qualified medical provider can consider your symptoms, health history and appropriate testing to determine what may be happening and whether treatment should be considered. That’s why hormone optimization shouldn’t begin with a prescription. It should begin with a conversation.
What Is Hormone Therapy?
Hormone therapy involves using hormones or hormone-related medications to address certain symptoms or deficiencies when medically appropriate. There isn’t one universal hormone therapy plan. Treatment can differ depending on whether the patient is male or female, the hormones involved, symptoms, age, medical history, medications, laboratory findings and other individual risk factors. At Pure Image, our goal is to take an individualized approach to hormone and wellness care rather than treating every patient the same way.
What Is BHRT? Understanding the Term “Bioidentical”
BHRT stands for Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
The term “bioidentical” refers to hormones that are chemically the same as hormones naturally produced by the human body.
The Mayo Clinic explains that bioidentical hormones aren’t automatically safer or more effective simply because they’re described as “bioidentical” or “natural.” It also distinguishes between FDA-approved hormone medications containing bioidentical hormones and custom-compounded bioidentical preparations, which can differ in how they are produced and regulated.
Learn more about Bioidentical Hormones from Mayo Clinic →
Women’s Hormone Therapy: Perimenopause & Menopause
For women, hormonal changes can begin well before menopause.
What Is Perimenopause?… Perimenopause is the transition leading up to menopause.
During this time, hormone levels can fluctuate and women may begin experiencing changes that can vary considerably from person to person.
These may include:
- Changes in menstrual cycles
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Difficulty sleeping
- Mood changes
- Changes in sexual health
- Vaginal dryness or discomfort
- Changes in energy
- Difficulty concentrating
For some women, these changes are relatively mild. For others, they can have a meaningful impact on everyday life. One of the most frustrating aspects of perimenopause can be simply not feeling like yourself and not understanding why. That’s where having a conversation with a knowledgeable healthcare provider can make a difference.
Hormone Therapy During Menopause
Menopause marks the end of menstrual periods and is a normal stage of life. As estrogen and progesterone levels decline, some women experience symptoms that significantly affect their comfort and quality of life. Hormone therapy isn’t appropriate for everyone, however, and its potential benefits and risks vary from patient to patient. That’s why the decision should be personalized rather than based on age or symptoms alone.
Hormone therapy is one treatment option for certain menopausal symptoms.
According to the FDA, approved hormone therapies can help relieve symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness and pain during sexual activity. Hormone therapy can also be used in certain situations to help prevent bone loss.
Men’s Hormone Therapy & Testosterone Therapy
Hormone optimization isn’t only a women’s health conversation. A responsible approach starts by determining whether a deficiency actually exists and whether testosterone therapy is medically appropriate for the individual. Testosterone plays an important role in men’s sexual function, muscle and bone health, body composition and other functions. But symptoms alone don’t establish that someone has low testosterone. Testosterone therapy isn’t simply about “boosting testosterone.”
Men concerned about testosterone may experience symptoms such as:
- Reduced libido
- Lower energy
- Erectile dysfunction
- Changes in muscle mass
- Difficulty concentrating
- Changes in mood
The Endocrine Society recommends that hypogonadism be diagnosed in men who have signs or symptoms consistent with testosterone deficiency and consistently low testosterone concentrations confirmed through appropriate testing.
In a 2026 statement, the Endocrine Society again emphasized that an accurate clinical diagnosis is important and that symptoms alone aren’t enough to diagnose testosterone deficiency.
Learn more about Testosterone Therapy from the Endocrine Society →
Meet Katie Haines, MSN, FNP-C
When considering something as personal as hormone therapy, who provides your care matters.
Pure Image Laser & Spa is proud to have Katie Haines, MSN, FNP-C as part of our provider team. Katie brings over 20 years of nursing experience spanning emergency medicine, critical care, pediatrics, aesthetics, hormone therapy, wellness and advanced patient care.
For patients exploring women’s hormone therapy, men’s hormone therapy, BHRT or testosterone therapy, having an experienced medical professional to guide the conversation is an important part of the process.
Katie has served in leadership roles and helped train fellow providers. Her passion for patient education, wellness and individualized care makes her a natural fit for Pure Image’s approach.
Her areas of expertise at Pure Image include:
- Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
- Wellness consultations and personalized treatment plans
- Medical weight loss management
- Peptide therapy
- Neurotoxin and dermal filler injections
- Microneedling and laser treatments
Experience Matters and So Does Feeling Comfortable With Your Provider
Clinical experience and credentials matter. But patients also want a provider who listens to them, answers their questions and makes them feel comfortable discussing their concerns. One recent Pure Image patient described her experience with Katie in a five-star review: “Katie made me feel comfortable and relaxed. She’s a true professional.”
The review followed an aesthetic treatment rather than hormone therapy, but it speaks to something that matters across healthcare: feeling comfortable and confident with the person providing your care. Hormone health can involve very personal conversations. Pure Image strives to create an environment where patients feel comfortable asking questions and becoming active participants in their care.
Why Credentials Matter at Pure Image
Hormone therapy is medical care. Treatment decisions may involve symptoms, medical history, medications, laboratory findings, individual risk factors and ongoing monitoring. That’s one reason the medical background of the Pure Image team is such an important part of who we are. For hormone optimization, that means focusing on patient education, appropriate evaluation, individualized treatment decisions and continued medical follow-up rather than following the latest wellness trend.
Pure Image Laser & Spa is run by experienced nurses and Nurse Practitioners, bringing a clinical perspective to both aesthetics and wellness.
What Can You Expect From Hormone or Peptide Therapy at Pure Image?
Your hormone journey shouldn’t begin with someone simply handing you a prescription.
It should begin with getting to know you.
1. Start With a Conversation
Your provider can discuss your symptoms, health history, concerns and what has changed in the way you feel.
2. Appropriate Evaluation & Testing
When appropriate, laboratory testing can provide valuable information that can be considered alongside your symptoms and medical history.
3. Understand Your Results
Numbers on a lab report are only part of the picture. Your provider can review your results in the broader context of your health.
4. Discuss Your Options
If treatment is appropriate, you can discuss potential options along with their benefits, limitations and risks.
5. Continue the Conversation
Hormone therapy isn’t necessarily a “set it and forget it” treatment. Appropriate follow-up gives your provider an opportunity to evaluate your response and determine whether changes or additional monitoring are necessary.
Conversation → Evaluation → Testing → Personalized Plan → Follow-Up
It’s a thoughtful approach centered on the individual rather than simply chasing a number on a laboratory report.
Is Hormone or Peptide Therapy Right for You?
Maybe you’ve found yourself saying… “I just don’t feel like myself anymore.”
Explore Hormone Optimization at Pure Image Laser & Spa
There’s a lot of information (and misinformation) surrounding hormones, BHRT, menopause and testosterone therapy.
You don’t have to sort through all of it by yourself.
At Pure Image Laser & Spa in Greenwood, Indiana, our team of nurses and Nurse Practitioners provides personalized wellness care for women and men throughout Greenwood, Indianapolis and surrounding Central Indiana communities.
With experienced providers including Katie Haines, MSN, FNP-C, Pure Image offers a place where you can ask questions, better understand your hormone health and explore your options with an experienced medical professional.
Whether you’re navigating perimenopause or menopause, concerned about symptoms associated with low testosterone, interested in BHRT, or simply ready to learn more about your hormone health, we’re here to start the conversation.
Ready to Learn More?
SCHEDULE YOUR CONSULTATION with Pure Image Laser & Spa and take the first step toward better understanding your hormone health.
Hormone therapy and testosterone therapy are not appropriate for everyone. Treatment recommendations should be based on an individual medical evaluation, and results and experiences vary by patient.
