By KALIN KROHE
Panhandle Post
Family Nurse Practitioner Kailee Kelly at Greater Nebraska Medical and Surgical Services (GNMSS) recently started a new hormonal program called "Better Options" in Alliance.
This is a separate clinic from the hospital in Alliance Community Pharmacy
"I decided, after having several patients came to me with questions about their hormone health and having to refer them out of the community for testing and treatment. I wanted to bring treatment options to the community," Kelly said. "Right now, there's nobody in town that offers pellet therapy, which is the use of bio identical hormones. They're plant based and produced in nature. You can't patent that, therefore, it's not a drug because it is not FDA approved. But, it is FDA monitored."
Kelly starts patients off with a lab panel first.
"I'll check a complete blood count, chemistry profile, check their electrolytes, glucose, kidney and liver function," Kelly said. "Plus hormones. For example, thyroid, and then the breakdowns of thyroid T3 and T4 if necessary. Additional hormones such as vitamin B-12, vitamin D, estrogen, testosterone and PSA. All those labs, they can be very expensive. And sometimes insurance doesn't cover them. Even if they do, and they've met their deductible, that panel could cost $2,000. I have a contract with Quest where we can do the panel for $100 for females, and $110 for males. It is cash pay only. I start with the labs and look for any deficiencies and then discuss options during/following consultation. They can also take their labs and follow up with their primary care provider. If they want traditional therapy or other options other than pellet therapy, the choice is theirs."
"Labs can also be ran for prevention wellness if their insurance doesn't cover annual labs," Kelly said. "You can come to me consult lab work and take them to their primary[doctor] for review. After I do the labs, I'll do a consultation to discuss the treatment options. There are more risks with traditional [therapy] than with bio identical. We know that blood clots, cancer, those things exist. That's kind of why hormones have a bad rap. But, with the use of bio identical hormones they use safer 'better' options. I have been referring patients to Good Life Pharmacy out of Ord, NE. They do saliva testing and compound their own creams, patches, pills, etc. And a lot of what they use is bio identical. However, they do not do pellets. If a patient wants the pellet therapy, women do the pellet therapy about three to four times a year and men only need it twice to three times a year. They don't have to worry daily about a pill or cream or anything like that. I've been having to refer patients for pellet therapy to surrounding areas. I just wanted to have options for them here. I decided to offer two days a month for now, a weekday[Tuesday], which is my day off at the clinic as I'm still a full-time family practice provider here at Greater Nebraska Medical and Surgical Services in Alliance. And then one weekend day also."
Kelly said this treatment is not a new therapy. Its been around since the 1930's.
"It's been around for a long time, there's plenty of evidence-based research to support it, I'm happy to provide that information," Kelly said. "There are a lot of benefits of hormone therapy. And like I said, there's less risk. It's also being used right now to treat cancer. So, that's pretty interesting. But, some of the benefits are improved sleep, memory increased libido. Some studies actually show a decrease in breast cancer, when your hormones are optimized and balanced. We know that if your testosterone is balanced, you have a decreased risk of prostate cancer. When you go through menopause, you lose the estrogen because your body's not producing it. So, that can lead to osteoporosis. This can prevent osteoporosis. There's been studies that show that women are more prone to Alzheimer's because of a balance and an imbalance in hormones. This can help with that. Stubborn weight gain, hot flashes, depression, joint pain, muscle pain, these are all things that we can work to improve."
If people in the community are interested in the Better Options program, they can call Family Nurse Practitioner Kelly at (308) 760-8129 or visit betteroptionshormonetherapy.org.