You may have heard a lot about peptide therapy but have no idea what it actually is. Most peptides are naturally occuring in our body, but with age, production can begin to slow or even stop. Simply speaking, this form of therapy uses these peptides to optimize health, treat certain ailments, treat hair loss, improve sexual wellness, enhance body composition, and promote weight loss.
Because of this versatility, many people turn to peptide therapy in Cincinnati to increase muscle and bone mass, promote collagen production, increase libido, and much, much more.
Oftentimes, our patients at Amy Brenner, MD & Associates think peptide therapy might be right for them, but they don’t know where to start or exactly how it could help. If you’re in a similar situation, keep reading to learn more about what peptide therapy in Cincinnati is.
Quiz: Is Peptide Therapy Right for Me?
What are peptides?
Before we can talk about peptide therapy, we should go into a little detail about what peptides are. You can think of peptides as smaller versions of proteins. Both proteins and peptides are made up of chains of amino acids, but peptides have 2 to 50 amino acids, whereas proteins contain 50 or more.
There are 20 amino acids naturally found in the body, which can combine into a wide variety of molecules (like how letters can create countless words). So that means peptides can be extremely specialized to perform different functions throughout the body. As a result, they have anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and muscle building properties (and that’s just to name a few).
Because peptides do so much for the body, they’re also crucial for maintaining balance and homeostasis. In fact, peptides are found in every cell of your body, which may be crazy to think about. As we age, our body’s ability to produce these different peptides decreases. Talking to one of our experts about peptide therapy in Cincinnati can help you to know if this can help you!
The importance Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
If you’ve been researching peptides, you’ve also probably come across the importance of Human Growth Hormone (HGH). Trust us, it’s more than just a buzzword—HGH is crucial for fighting against signs of aging and maintaining your overall health. It also keeps up body regulation, including in your digestive and endocrine systems.
How aging affects HGH levels
When thinking about aging, the first things that may come to mind are wrinkles and sagging skin. Although these are definitely factors that affect your skin, you have to consider what happens to your body as well.
As you age, your body stops producing as much HGH (no surprise). HGH is produced by the pituitary gland, a small gland that sits at the base of your brain. So what causes the production of HGH? Well, it’s part of a complex system that involves the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus secretes Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH), which causes the body to naturally produce more HGH.
But here’s the catch: in adolescents, HGH helps grow healthy bones and cartilage, but production tends to peak around age 20, at which point it drops off. That means as you leave your twenties behind, your HGH levels go down hill. Then, once you enter middle age, the lack of HGH results in fatigue, excess fat, poor sleep, bone loss, heart disease, and those aches that just don’t seem to go away.
What to know about HGH injections
“Shouldn’t I get HGH injections instead of peptide therapy?”
The cost of HGH injections is astronomical, and they have many side effects including, high blood sugar, swelling, bloating, and carpal tunnel syndrome to name a few. You shouldn’t get HGH injections unless you actually have a diagnosed HGH deficiency. Just because your body has a natural decrease in production doesn’t mean you have a deficiency. A physician will run a series of tests to see if you’d benefit from HGH injections, but for adults, it’s very, very rare.
Most of the time, doctors prescribe HGH for children who are having developmental issues. Adult HGH deficiency isn’t common, and it usually comes along with serious hypothalamus or pituitary issues. Therefore, you more than likely won’t be able to obtain prescribed HGH. No worries—that’s exactly why we recommend peptide therapy in Cincinnati!
What is peptide therapy?
Because peptides are highly specific, peptide therapy isn’t simply used for one thing. For example, sometimes people use peptide therapy for anti-aging, and other times they use peptide therapy to build muscle, increase libido, regrow hair, improve immunity, and enhance cognition.
For those who don’t have a diagnosed HGH deficiency but still want to replenish HGH levels, there’s a class of peptides called growth hormone secretagogues (we’ll go into different types of peptides later).
It’s definitely not some kind of miracle treatment; it’s simply science. These peptides can increase the production and release of GHRH, which as you learned earlier, leads to the production of HGH. As a result, they’re a great way to treat age-related conditions such as osteoporosis, obesity, and various chronic inflammatory diseases.
Another type of peptide is made from the part of the HGH molecule that causes fat cell death, making them a safe anti-obesity drug. Keep in mind that after you hit a certain age, the number of fat cells you have doesn’t usually change. So despite popular belief, you won’t be able to actually kill fat cells through eating healthy and working out; you can only shrink them. On the other hand, peptide therapy does have the ability to break down fat cells. Because of this, peptide therapy can be a great compliment to your weight loss program.
Other conditions peptide therapy can treat include:
- Collagen breakdown
- Decreased libido
- Decreased muscle mass
- Increased fat
- Tissue inflammation
- And more!
Basically, peptide therapy in Cincinnati is a safe, natural way to optimize your health (with little to no side effects!). Now there are over 60 FDA-approved peptide medications; and with all the new research coming out, that number will continue to rise.
Where to find peptide therapy in Cincinnati
Just because peptide therapy comes with minimal side effects, doesn’t mean you should go to just anyone for therapy. You want to make sure you’re getting high-quality peptides administered only by medical professionals and obtained from a reputable pharmacy. We use the best pharmacy in the nation, Tailormade Compounding. Without those factors, you could do a lot of harm to your body when you were trying to help it.
At Amy Brenner, MD & Associates, since we’re both a med spa and medical practice, we’re uniquely equipped to be a “one-stop shop” for all things health and wellness. Our dedicated team of experts will personally work with you and examine your needs. As a result, you’ll gain a customized treatment to help you feel better and younger.
Peptide therapy treatments at Amy Brenner, MD & Associates
We currently offer a multitude of peptide therapy options at Amy Brenner, MD & Associates. If you’re unsure of which one you need, you can always talk to one of our specialists and we’d be happy to help. You can also choose to combine peptide therapy with any of your hormone replacement options for even greater health benefits.
Learn more about hormones and bio-identical hormone therapy for women.
CJC 1295 + Ipamorelin
Separately, CJC 1295 and Ipamorelin are great peptides to maintain your body’s overall health. Together, they act as a fast-acting therapy to stimulate the natural growth hormone production and release. As a result, our patients have noticed:
- Increased muscle growth
- Increased fat loss
- Increased cellular repair and regeneration
- Increased collagen production
- Increased bone mineral content
- Improved sleep
- Increased cellular repair and regeneration
CJC 1295 and Ipamorelin also promote slow wave deep sleep, which is responsible for the highest level of muscle growth and memory retention.
Note: We will not prescribe CJC 1295 and Ipamorelin for patients who have had any form of cancer.
Potential side effects:
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- Hives
- Redness at injection side
- Vivid dreams
- Difficulty sleeping (we’ll switch you to an a.m. dose if this occurs)
- Flushing in about 30% of patients w/ first injection, could be every time
PT 141
For many people, aging can negatively impact their sex life. If you’ve noticed a decrease in your sex drive, PT 141 could be the solution for you. Developed for its aphrodisiac effects, PT 141 generates sexual arousal in both men and women within minutes of administration.
It can also treat erectile dysfunction, even in men who haven’t responded to other treatments.
Here’s why:
PT 141 can cross the blood-brain barrier, therefore bypassing the vascular system to work directly through the central nervous system. This gives PT 141 an advantage over traditional ED drugs (such as Viagra), which can lead to many unwanted side effects.
This peptide also works great with the O-Shot for women and the P-Shot for men. Before you decide to combine treatments, however, make sure you speak with a sexual wellness doctor to guide you toward the best steps.
Potential side effects:
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- Nausea, lasting up to 30 minutes
- Vomiting
- Flushing
- Increase in blood pressure (only when administered as a nasal spray)
- Hyper libido
- Long-lasting erections
- Headaches
- Increased tanning
- Hives
Thymosin Beta4
Thymosin beta4 (TB4) is the predominant form of thymosin in our bodies, which is important for your body’s healing process. During healing, TB4 helps create new blood vessels in the injured area to provide nutrients and other healing properties.
TB4 can also decrease the amount of inflammatory substances called cytokines. Inflammation plays a large role in a variety of conditions such as Lyme disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and autoimmune diseases. Because of this, TB4 can:
- Promotes healing of wounds, muscle, joints, and nervous system
- Promotes hair growth, especially when loss/thinning is due to an autoimmune process
- Potent anti-inflammatory (may decrease acute/chronic pain)
- Enhances collagen synthesis (TB4)
- Increases blood vessel formation (TB4)
- Improved brain health
Potential side effects:
- Hives
- Redness at injection side
- Not for continuous use
semaglutide
Semaglutide helps to curb your appetite, encourages weight loss and helps to control blood sugar. Semaglutide works by simulating a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that targets areas of the brain that regulate appetite and food intake. Our office offers a full program that combines the peptide with personal wellness coaching. AB Modern Day Warrior Semaglutide Weight Loss Program combines Semaglutide Peptide Therapy with a balanced diet and an exercise guide that focuses on efficient and healthy options.
Learn more about AB Modern Day Warrior Semaglutide Weight Loss Program
- Promotes weight loss
- Reduces appetite
- Improves HbA1C
- Improves PCOS symptoms
- Lowers inflammation
- Reduction in cardiovascular event risk in patients with diabetes
- Reduces sugar cravings
Potential side effects
- Nausea and vomiting
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Pancreatitis
- Gallstones
- Hypersensitivity reaction (allergic reaction, hives, redness at injection site, lip swelling)
Schedule a peptide therapy consultation with Amy Brenner, MD & Associates
If you’re looking for peptide therapy in Cincinnati or want to learn more about what peptide therapy is, your first step is to schedule a consultation with Amy Brenner, MD & Associates. During your consultation, we’ll have an in-depth conversation about your health and wellness goals. From there, we’ll create a customized treatment plan to get your started. With us, you never have to worry about treatments that don’t fit your needs, because our main priority is to make you feel better, look better, and live better..