I recently received a text message from a patient concerned that testosterone was increasing his risk for heart attacks and blood clots. This patient said that his friend recently had a heart attack caused by a blood clot after being on testosterone for 6 months. The cardiologist told the friend that the testosterone was most likely the cause. The friend was advised to stop the testosterone and to tell his friends that taking testosterone is linked to increased cardiovascular risk. My patient was highly concerned and asked my opinion in whether he should continue his testosterone. What does the science say about
At some point in life, every male will start to notice the signs and symptoms of low testosterone. They will notice a decline in energy, decrease in strength and endurance, difficulty losing fat, a drop in libido, less than optimal erections, and changes in their mood. For most men this starts to happen in their late 30’s and 40’s, but I see more and more men in their twenties who have symptoms of low testosterone and when I check their levels they are in the bottom quartile of the normal range or even deficient. For these younger males, using human
When it comes to making a decision of whether or not to start using testosterone replacement, it is important you arm yourself with medical facts based on peer reviewed published literature. More and more evidence supports the safety and health benefits of using testosterone replacement to treat the symptoms of andropause (fatigue, reduced sex drive, erectile dysfunction, increased body fat, decreased lean body mass). In doing so many patients are not aware that they reduce their risks of dying from all causes by 25-50% (Journal of American Heart Association, 2013). I see hundreds of men in my practice
Men and women come into my office in different states of health and wellness and ask me the same question. What is the best diet to lose weight and achieve optimal health? The answer is not complicated but it’s definitely not simple. There are thousands of books written about what diet you should follow and most of them have the goal of patients losing weight. Unfortunately you can lose weight by following the Hollywood Cookie diet but your health will deteriorate and you will feel terrible. So what I generally recommend to my patients will depend on the state of
I can not tell you how many women in their late 30’s and older come to me saying “If I never had sex again I would be fine with it. But I know how important it is to my husband so I just deal with it.” They have never been told by a doctor how hormones affect their sex drives similar to men. Women make testosterone just like men do, just in smaller amounts. And when women are 18 their levels in the blood are typically 80-120 and they feel and look great. By the age of 40 most of
