(657) 231-6164

Bioidentical hormone therapy in Irvine, California

Hormone therapy should begin with a thorough evaluation, not a protocol.

Dr. German Zermeno has practiced medicine since 1986. At his Irvine office he reviews your symptoms, medical history, medications, lifestyle and laboratory results together, then discusses whether hormone therapy is appropriate for you.

Request an Appointment Call (657) 231-6164

Looking for specifics? Hormone therapy for men, or for women.

Dr. Zermeno takes his time, listens and addresses my concerns. The bioidentical HRT he recommended is a blessing.

Carlie C., Google review
A smiling man and woman in midlife standing back to back on a hillside above the coast, with illustrated molecules in the sky behind them.

We never use synthetic hormones, and we do not treat a single laboratory value in isolation.

What people usually notice first

Hormone levels shift over time, and the changes rarely announce themselves. They tend to show up as things that are easy to explain away.

Image accompanying hormone therapy information for women.
  • Hot flashes
  • Night sweats
  • Fatigue
  • Insomnia
  • Irritability
  • Anxiety
  • Weight gain
  • Brain fog
  • Poor memory and concentration
  • Low sex drive
  • Vaginal dryness
  • Hair loss

Hormone production declines through the years around and after menopause, and the effects reach well past hot flashes. Whether hormones are what is behind how you feel is a question worth answering with testing rather than assumption, since several other conditions produce the same symptoms.

If several of these sound familiar, an evaluation is how you find out why.

Request an Appointment or call (657) 231-6164

How the evaluation is done

The evaluation

Your symptoms, history and labs are read together

A hormone level on its own does not explain much. Thyroid function, sleep, medications you already take, nutrition and stress all shape how you feel, and any one of them can produce symptoms that look hormonal. Dr. Zermeno works through the whole picture before recommending anything, and will tell you when hormone therapy is not the right answer.

The physician

Two decades of conventional practice, then fifteen years of functional medicine

Dr. Zermeno practiced conventional medicine in a multispecialty group for twenty years before moving toward functional and anti-aging medicine. He has been in practice since 1986 and is board certified.

The hormones

Bioidentical only

Bioidentical hormones share the molecular structure of the hormones your body produces. Dr. Zermeno does not use synthetic hormones.

Afterward

Monitoring is part of the treatment, not an add-on

Symptoms, laboratory values and your response to therapy are reviewed on an ongoing basis so the plan can be adjusted as things change.

Why Dr. Zermeno prefers pellets

Hormones can be taken several ways, and each asks something different of you. Creams and gels depend on daily application. Injections are effective but require weekly administration, which produces peaks and troughs. A pellet is placed once, during an ordinary office visit, and releases gradually over several months.

The area is numbed with a local anesthetic first, and most patients describe brief pressure rather than pain. Some soreness at the site for a few days is common. The hormones are bioidentical, sharing the molecular structure of those your body makes, and never synthetic.

How often each method is used over the same span of several months

Creams and gelsApplied every day
InjectionsGiven every week
PelletsPlaced once, released gradually
Illustration of frequency only. Actual schedules and pellet duration vary by patient.

Hormone therapy is not appropriate for everyone, and it carries both potential benefits and risks. Whether it suits you depends on your health history, risk factors and laboratory findings. That determination is made during the evaluation.

Whether pellets suit you is something Dr. Zermeno will discuss after your evaluation.

Request an Appointment or call (657) 231-6164

A short introduction from Dr. Zermeno.

Dr. German Zermeno, MD

American Institute of Natural Medicine, Irvine

Dr. Zermeno earned his medical degree as a Physician and Surgeon at the School of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and completed a postgraduate fellowship in gastrointestinal disease at the National Medical Center in Mexico City. He obtained his MD license after relocating to Southern California.

After twenty years of conventional practice, he moved toward functional and anti-aging medicine, where the working question changed from which symptom to treat to what is producing the symptom. Hormone evaluation sits squarely in that approach, which is why he examines thyroid function, metabolic health, nutrition, sleep and stress alongside hormone levels.

Education
MD, School of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico. Physician and Surgeon.
Fellowship
Gastrointestinal disease, National Medical Center, Mexico City.
Experience
Practicing medicine since 1986. Fifteen years in functional medicine.
Credential
Board certified.
Request an Appointment or call (657) 231-6164

What the first visit involves

  1. A conversation, first

    You will talk through your symptoms, medical history, current medications, anything you have already tried and what you are hoping to change. This is the part most of the appointment is spent on.

  2. Laboratory evaluation

    Testing is usually recommended after that conversation, and what gets ordered depends on what you described rather than a fixed panel.

  3. A plan, explained before it starts

    Once the results are back, Dr. Zermeno goes through what they show, whether hormone therapy is appropriate, and what the options are. You decide from there.

  4. Follow-up

    If you begin treatment, your symptoms and laboratory values are reviewed at intervals and the plan is adjusted when it needs to be.

The first appointment is that conversation, nothing more.

Request an Appointment or call (657) 231-6164

In their own words

Patients of Dr. Zermeno describe their experience with hormone therapy.

Individual experiences vary. These accounts are not a guarantee of any particular result.

Patient storyHormone therapy
Patient storyPellet therapy
Patient storyHormone therapy

Request an appointment in Irvine

(657) 231-6164
4482 Barranca Pkwy, Suite 248
Irvine, CA 92604
Mon, Tue, Thu9:00 to 5:00 Friday9:00 to 3:30 Wed, Sat, SunClosed
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