Hormone replacement therapy near me: what to settle before you compare clinics

A local search for hormone replacement therapy returns two unrelated groups of clinics because the phrase covers two different FDA-approved drug families. One is menopause hormone therapy: the FDA groups the approved medicines into estrogen-only medicines, progestin-only medicines, combination estrogen and progestin medicines, and combination estrogen and other medicines, and names products including Premarin, Estrace, Climara, Vivelle-Dot, Prometrium, Provera, Prempro, and Activella. The other is testosterone replacement, where the FDA says the approved formulations include the topical gel, the transdermal patch, the buccal system applied to the upper gum or inner cheek, and injection. The approved uses differ, the labelled risks differ, and the questions worth asking differ. Deciding which one you mean is the step that makes the rest of a clinic search meaningful.

Quick checklist

• Write down which of the two drug families your question is actually about before you shortlist a clinic.
• Note the specific symptom or lab finding that sent you searching, because that is what a clinician will work from.
• Ask any clinic which of the two it treats routinely, rather than assuming a clinic that advertises "HRT" treats both.
• Look up any product you are offered by brand and generic name in Drugs@FDA before your appointment.

Red flags

• A clinic markets "hormone replacement therapy" without ever naming a drug, a formulation, or an approved use.
• The same programme is offered to every patient regardless of which hormone is involved.
• A product is described only by a brand or trade name with no generic name you can look up.

The FDA publishes a consumer list of the FDA-approved hormone medicines for menopause and sorts them into four groups. Estrogen-only medicines include Premarin (conjugated estrogens), Estrace (estradiol), Climara, Vivelle-Dot, Alora and Minivelle (estradiol patches), Divigel, Elestrin and EstroGel (estradiol gels), Evamist (an estradiol skin spray), Estring and Femring (vaginal inserts and rings), Vagifem (a vaginal tablet), Delestrogen (an injection), Cenestin and Enjuvia (synthetic conjugated estrogens), Menest (esterified estrogen), Ogen and Ortho-Est (estropipate), and Menostar, which the FDA notes is only used to prevent osteoporosis. Progestin-only medicines are Prometrium (micronized progesterone) and Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate). Combination estrogen and progestin medicines include Activella, Angeliq, Climara Pro, Combipatch, Femhrt, Prefest and Prempro. The FDA also names one approved non-hormone medicine for menopause, Brisdelle (paroxetine). The page carries a content-current date of 2019-08-22, so treat it as the category map rather than the current label, and check any specific product in Drugs@FDA.

Quick checklist

• Ask which of the four FDA groups a proposed medicine belongs to.
• Ask for the generic name, not just the brand, so you can verify it independently.
• Ask whether a proposed preparation is an FDA-approved product or a compounded preparation, and get the answer in writing.
• Check the current labelling in Drugs@FDA, because the FDA consumer list carries a 2019 content-current date.

Red flags

• A preparation cannot be found in Drugs@FDA and nobody will say whether it is compounded.
• A clinic will not put the product name and formulation in writing before you pay.
• A 2019-dated consumer list is presented as the current labelling for a specific drug.

This is the single fact most likely to be missing from a clinic page. The FDA states that testosterone products are FDA-approved only for use in men who lack or have low testosterone levels in conjunction with an associated medical condition, and gives as examples failure of the testicles to produce testosterone because of reasons such as genetic problems or chemotherapy, and problems with the hypothalamus and pituitary that control the production of testosterone by the testicles. The FDA is explicit that none of the FDA-approved testosterone products are approved for use in men with low testosterone levels who lack an associated medical condition. The picture moved recently.

The FDA describes the TRAVERSE trial, an FDA-required postmarketing safety trial run by an industry consortium led by the manufacturers of AndroGel and Androderm, which tracked serious major adverse cardiovascular outcomes in more than 5,200 men receiving at least one dose of AndroGel 1.62%; the FDA reports the June 2023 results showed 7.0% of men in the AndroGel group reporting a major adverse cardiovascular event compared with 7.3% in the placebo group, and says it determined the results did not demonstrate a new safety signal or trend.

The FDA then states that in June 2026 it requested updates to testosterone prescribing information, including removing the limitation of use stating that safety and efficacy in men with age-related hypogonadism had not been established, and revising safety information related to prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Quick checklist

• Ask which associated medical condition, if any, is being identified in your case.
• Ask whether the clinician is prescribing within the FDA-approved indication, and ask for that answer in writing.
• Ask what the June 2026 prescribing-information update changes about the conversation you are having.
• Ask what the current label says about prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia, since the FDA says that section was revised.

Red flags

• A clinic implies FDA approval covers low testosterone with no associated medical condition.
• The TRAVERSE result is presented as proof that testosterone is safe for everyone, rather than as the FDA describes it.
• Nobody can say whether what is proposed sits inside or outside the approved indication.

The FDA gives consumers a direct list. It says do not take hormone therapy if you have problems with vaginal bleeding, have or have had certain cancers such as breast cancer or uterine cancer, have or have had a blood clot, stroke or heart attack, have a bleeding disorder, have liver disease, or have allergic reactions to hormone medicine. On risks, the FDA says serious health problems can happen in women who take menopause hormone therapy, that for some women hormone medicines may raise their chances of blood clots, heart attacks, strokes and breast cancer, and that for some women who are 65 years old or older hormone medicines may raise their chances of dementia. It also explains the reason progestin is usually added: for women who still have their uterus, taking estrogen-only medicines raises their chance of getting cancer of the lining of the uterus, so those women need to take progestin to prevent endometrial cancer. The FDA is clear that not all side effects and warnings for each medicine are listed on that page.

Quick checklist

• Bring your full history of clots, stroke, heart attack, cancer, bleeding disorders and liver disease to the first appointment.
• If you still have your uterus, ask specifically how endometrial cancer risk is being addressed.
• Ask what the current label says for the exact product proposed, since the FDA page does not list every warning.
• Ask which of these risks apply differently to you because of your age.

Red flags

• Nobody asks about clots, stroke, heart attack, cancer, bleeding disorders or liver disease before prescribing.
• Estrogen-only therapy is proposed to a woman who still has her uterus with no discussion of progestin.
• A clinic describes menopause hormone therapy as risk-free.

The FDA-approved indication, the labelled warnings and the approved formulations are federal and do not change when you cross a county line. What varies locally is everything around them: which clinician holds the prescribing authority, what a first visit includes, what testing is done before anything is prescribed, what monitoring follows, what the total cost is, and whether any of it is covered. That is why a local search is worth doing and also why the results are hard to compare. This page quotes no price, because no price for either family of hormone therapy could be verified against a primary source, and an invented range would be worse than none. What it can tell you is which questions turn a list of nearby clinics into a comparison: name the clinician and their licence type, name the product and formulation, name the testing done before prescribing, name the monitoring schedule afterwards, and get the total cost including follow-up visits and labs in writing before you commit.

Quick checklist

• Ask for the name and licence type of the clinician who will actually prescribe, not just the clinic name.
• Ask what testing is done before anything is prescribed, and what result would mean no prescription.
• Ask what the monitoring schedule is afterwards, and who reviews the results.
• Ask for the total cost in writing, including follow-up visits and laboratory work, not the headline price of the first visit.
• Ask what happens, clinically and financially, if you decide to stop.

Red flags

• A price is quoted for a first visit with no statement of what follow-up and laboratory work will cost.
• A prescription is offered before any testing.
• No named clinician is identified before payment.
• A monitoring plan is described in general terms with no schedule.

Ask the questions that a clinic operating inside the FDA-approved indication can answer in one sentence each, and that a clinic operating outside it cannot answer without saying so. The list below is built from what the FDA publishes rather than from a template: each question maps to something the FDA states about approved use, approved products, or labelled risk. Send them by email so the answers exist in writing before money changes hands. If a clinic will not answer in writing, that is itself an answer, and it is worth knowing before the appointment rather than after.

Quick checklist

• Which FDA-approved product and formulation are you proposing, by brand and generic name?
• Is that product FDA-approved for my situation, or would this be outside the approved indication?
• Is anything you would prescribe a compounded preparation rather than an FDA-approved product?
• What testing happens before anything is prescribed, and what result would mean you do not prescribe?
• What is the monitoring schedule afterwards, who reviews it, and what would make you change or stop treatment?
• What is the total cost in writing, including follow-up visits and laboratory work?

Red flags

• The clinic answers by phone but will not repeat the answers in writing.
• A question about the approved indication is answered with a testimonial.
• The proposed product is not named until after payment.

Two patterns are worth naming because they survive contact with an ordinary search. The first is an approval claim that is broader than the FDA makes. The FDA states plainly that none of the FDA-approved testosterone products are approved for use in men with low testosterone levels who lack an associated medical condition, so any page implying blanket approval for age-related low testosterone is describing something other than the approved indication, even after the June 2026 prescribing-information update the FDA describes. The second is a completeness claim. The FDA says on its menopause consumer page that all side effects and warnings for each hormone medicine are not listed there, and that page carries a content-current date of 2019-08-22. So a clinic page that reproduces that list and presents it as the full current picture is overstating what its own source supports. This page makes no claim about how well hormone therapy works, quotes no price, and names no clinic, because none of those could be grounded in the sources it uses.

Quick checklist

• Check whether an approval claim matches the FDA statement about associated medical conditions.
• Check whether a risk list is presented as complete when the FDA says it is not.
• Check the content-current date on any FDA page being quoted to you.
• Treat any promised outcome as a claim to verify, not a fact.

Red flags

• A guaranteed outcome, energy level, or result is promised.
• An FDA page is cited for a claim the page does not make.
• A risk list is described as complete when the source says it is not.