Hormone Therapy in Toronto & Markham

Testosterone replacement therapy

Considered for men whose symptoms and repeated morning laboratory testing are consistent with hypogonadism. Diagnosis rests on the bloodwork, not on a symptom questionnaire. Screening before prescribing includes prostate and haematological parameters, and those parameters are re-checked on a schedule for as long as therapy continues. Administration routes differ by plan and are decided at consultation.

Testosterone replacement therapy →

Bioidentical hormone therapy

Considered for adults with an assessment supporting hormone therapy — most commonly women in perimenopause or menopause. Both Health Canada–licensed products and compounded preparations exist; the difference between the two is explained before anything is chosen. Personal and family history, particularly of breast, endometrial, cardiovascular and thrombotic disease, is reviewed in detail because it changes what can be offered.

Bioidentical hormone therapy →

Why they are not interchangeable

People sometimes arrive asking for “hormone optimisation” as a single product. It is not one. The assessment for a 48-year-old woman with disrupted sleep and the assessment for a 38-year-old man with a confirmed low morning testosterone share a method and nothing else.

What is not offered at this clinic

Pellet implantation, thyroid disease management, fertility treatment, growth hormone and anabolic steroid prescribing are not provided here. If your assessment points that way, you are referred rather than treated.

• First visitConsultation and requisition for baseline testing
• Results reviewOnce laboratory results are available — typically within one to two weeks
• If therapy beginsEarly review and repeat bloodwork within the first months
• OngoingScheduled review; intervals set by therapy and by your results
• DurationReassessed at each review; not an open-ended prescription

Hormone therapy is a continuing medical relationship. If you are looking for a single visit with a prescription at the end of it, this is not that.

Cost depends on the therapy, the preparation prescribed, and the frequency of monitoring your plan requires. Laboratory testing and medication are billed separately from clinic fees, and a compounded preparation is priced differently from a Health Canada–licensed product.

Because the plan is not known until testing is complete, a figure quoted before assessment would be a guess. A written estimate is provided once the plan is set, before anything begins.

Risks discussed before consent

• Testosterone replacement — effects on red blood cell count, on fertility, on prostate parameters, and on cardiovascular risk factors. These are the reason for the screening and the repeat bloodwork.
• Bioidentical hormone therapy — effects on breast and endometrial tissue, and on cardiovascular and thrombotic risk. Risk varies with age, time since menopause, the hormones used and personal history.
• Both — injection-site or application-site reactions, and the possibility that therapy is stopped because monitoring shows it should be.

Absolute contraindications

• Known or suspected hormone-sensitive malignancy, including breast and prostate
• Pregnancy, planned pregnancy, or breastfeeding
• Undiagnosed abnormal uterine bleeding
• Active thrombotic or thromboembolic disease
• Severe untreated hepatic disease

Seek urgent medical attention

Call 911 or go to your nearest emergency department for chest pain, shortness of breath, one-sided weakness, difficulty speaking, sudden severe headache, or pain and swelling in one leg. Do not wait for a clinic appointment and do not email the clinic first. Report new or unusual symptoms — including mood change, unusual bleeding, or breast changes — to the clinic promptly, and to your family physician.

This page is general information about how hormone therapy is assessed at this clinic. It is not medical advice and it is not a substitute for consultation. Nothing here should be used to decide whether to start, change or stop a medication.