Up until this moment I have only discussed issues of hormone replacement (HRT) as it relates to females. My aim is to help females over the age of 40 to look and feel great! As we age and particularly as we begin the menopause transition our bodies being to change and we feel moody and irritable, tired, have night sweats and hot flashes, palpitations, decreased sexual desire and pleasure, fatigue and just don’t feel like ourselves. Many women choose to “grin and bear it” believing there are no solutions and that feeling this way is a part of life. I am here to say, it doesn’t have to be! You absolutely have options. One of those options is bio-identical hormone replacement which is largely safe and very effective way to have more energy, lose weight, sleep better and enjoy sex again.
Once a woman has begun to feel better and her libido is back up and running, her partner may not be able to keep up with her new found desire. Although my clinic is set up to serve women I will also take on male partners of my clients and if your partner happens to be female, well then she of course is also welcome!
I would like to take a moment to make a comment of gender and pronouns. I have been using the pronoun she/her to indicate people who are born with ovaries and a uterus and he/him to talk about people born with testes. I recognize there are people who fall outside of this very limited perspective and I do not mean to leave them out. I simply only have the expertise at this time to treat males and females in the traditional sense of the word. I recognize there are transgendered men who go through menopause or transgendered men who need testosterone replacement. I am not ready to provide those services just yet.
Testosterone replacement for men has many of the same benefits as it does for women but men require higher doses. Testosterone will increase energy, build muscle mass which in turn decreases visceral body fat and insulin resistance and will lead to increased libido and improved erections. With age men also go through a transition known as andropause. Lower levels of testosterone seen with increased age is responsible for many of the issues associated with old age, like fatigue, erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, weight gain particularly in the stomach and decrease in muscle mass. Similarly to women we can use bio-identical testosterone to avoid or reverse these problematic issues.
Bio-identical testosterone has been shown to be very safe and does not cause prostate cancer. However, just to be sure we will check labs and ensure proper screenings are done to avoid even the appearance of unsafe practices. We also do not see risks for blood clots with bio-identical testosterone. We do see an increase in red blood cells which worries some clinicians but we do not see an increase in platelets. An increase in platelets is only seen in a rare genetically inherited condition called polycythemia vera. Consider this, if you are a long time smoker and have COPD or are an indigenous person living at high altitudes your hemoglobin and hematocrit are high due to physiological needs of the environment. No one suggests that you give blood to lower these numbers or that these higher than average hemoglobins puts these groups of people in danger of blood clots. We understand that it is actually beneficial for people living in high altitudes to have higher levels of hemoglobin so their body can distribute oxygen to the cells without greater effort on the part of the body. In the case of testosterone we also see higher levels of hematocrit and hemoglobin but get concerned that it will cause blood clots. What we don’t see is an increase in platelets. An increase in platelets would be concerning for clots but doesn’t happen with testosterone replacement.
I hope you can see testosterone replacement in men, just like in women can be very safe. It can also help you live with more energy, increase lean muscle mass, reverse or avoid insulin resistance and increase your libido. So if your partner is feeling great and you want to feel good too, schedule your initial consult with Hummingbird Healthcare today!
