Testosterone Testimonial
We have placed a really well-thought-out article (a letter to Roanoke Times) on this blog for you to read. It’s about TRT (testosterone replacement therapy). The author is using bioidentical hormones to balance testosterone levels.
Men, you should read this article. It clearly argues that there is a difference, not made clear by many physicians or researchers, between bioidentical and synthetic hormones used in replacement. Most, if not all, problems referred to in the medical and research literature (as this testimonial notes) occur in reference to synthetic products.
Read this article. For my part, I feel it truly reflects my issues and my subsequent resolution of many of them. Just today my primary physician gave me a full physical exam (including extensive blood testing) and everything was good. So good I am able to STOP taking all of the prescription medications she had previously prescribed. (If you don’t understand all of the technical references in the article, not to worry. You will find this read reassuring.)
Here's what Michael McCarty – patient of Dr. Heidi Archer of BodyLogicMD of Vail and Potomac Falls had to say:
"I went to my family doctor, then to a urologist and finally an endocrinologist. I questioned my levels of hormones. In all cases they said, diet and exercise was all I needed. All of them wanted to mask my real problem by prescribing me medications for my ‘symptoms”. They wanted me on medicine for diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, anxiety and erectile dysfunction. That’s five different medications! I refused to put those toxins in my body. The side effects are many which usually lead to more medication. So, being desperate and knowing what the real problem was, I went to see a doctor from BodyLogicMD, Dr. Heidi Archer. She is in Potomac Falls, VA. The doctors at BodyLogicMD are expertly trained in hormone replacement therapy. Not only that they understand nutrition and exercise. They believe in taking nutritional supplements. They are on the cutting edge of the aging human. Is it expensive? Not at all. I feel better now than at age 25!..."
It’s American Heart Month
A few weeks ago I decided to stop taking my low-dosage prescribed statin — a medication for cholesterol and triglycerides — without asking my primary physician. (I’ll know next week if my cholesterol level is below normal or not, as I have an appointment with my primary.) When I had my test for the BodyLogicMD bioidentical hormones program, my cholesterol was way low — too low. Dr. Landa pointed out what I already knew: low cholesterol is as bad as high. The body actually needs the “fat” in the diet to help keep the brain functioning optimally. Besides the fact that levels can be kept low with exercise and diet — the best way to control cholesterol — the statin medication makes me feel bad. My thinking is fuzzy, and I have strange muscle aches (for which I take QC-10). So, I’m taking a supplement to ward off the side effects of another medication. Bad.
What the heart likes is not only a good diet but regular exercise — aerobic is the best. So if you’re like me, what is “good aerobic exercise”? Well, from what I have been able to gather, it’s 30 minutes of treadmill with your heart at 130+ beats per minute.
So, take heart, men. Do it, lose weight, feel better, look better and, likely, live longer.
Why not????
Customized Nutrition
The diet. That dreaded word. For me, in the quest for better hormones, nutrition and health, my decisions about what to eat play a significant role in my progress. So I am o.k. with beginning a new diet to improve my health and get my body in tip-top shape.
Didn’t take an MD to tell me I needed to reduce my calories, but I needed direction as to what diet to follow and I wanted it to be connected with everything else I needed to do. I have been on cholesterol/triglyceride-controlling prescription drugs as well as two drugs for reflux. I wanted those issues to be addressed to get me off prescription medications and lose weight. The scale for body mass to height indicated I was pre-obese and should be 20 lbs lighter.
Dr. Landa gave me the diet that I will share with you. (Keep in mind: Since the BodyLogicMD program is customized, don’t conclude that my diet will fit others.)
No wheat/glutens (they just turn to sugar calories and put on weight, and likely contribute to my occasional Irritable Bowel Syndrome); no dairy (to address my reflux as well as reduce fat); no meat of color: beef, lamb, ham, bacon; NO JUICES (sugar); no “anything in a box, bag or bottle sodas, chips, candy, ice cream, crackers, or ‘instant anything’, etc.” Almost all of those items have sugar and chemicals you can’t pronounce.
Sure makes shopping easier. I go to the supermarket and whiz past 90%+ of everything in the store. I love to cook, so it’s also great to be creative with recipes that fit the diet restrictions. I can do this.
AND I am beginning to lose weight. – 7 lbs so far. Now onto a muscle-building regime to get some of my belly fat back to where it belongs — muscle.
O.K. This is a Maniac Post
Today, one of the first of 2010, I heard on the radio that health care costs for last year were equal to $7,600 a piece for every living man/woman/child in the U.S.! That’s outrageous!
We can’t afford to be sick in this country. The whole thing is completely NOT RIGHT.
I am trying to do whatever I can to stay out of the medical care monopoly/system. And I want to do whatever I can to not get old-looking – even though I’m O.K. with getting older. I have always been against getting trapped in the medical system. (It’s like what happens when you get trapped in the legal system: you lose control and the process is often endless.) I don’t like to take prescription pills because, even though they might cure what ails me, they always have side effects or just make me feel out of it. Not to mention the fact that taking such medications supports the medical-care complex of health insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry. The per-person cost proves to me that health care is out of whack with reality — and with affordability. We each need to do what we can to reduce our own health care costs.
And at those rates: Well, OMG, it’s no wonder we must control health care cost if we are ever to hold down inflation.
My BodyLogicMD program is, in my opinion, not only about looking as good as I can and feeling fit, it’s about me doing my part to reduce the $7,600 average annual expense for health care. It’s like reducing my carbon footprint — only in this case I’m reducing the giant footprint of the health care industry.
Wow! How about you helping, too?
Test results – Oh My God!
First, let me quickly tell you what I did after signing up with BodyLogicMD. They sent me to a lab with instructions for what blood to have taken for a battery of tests. They also sent me a kit for saliva testing – four small test tubes you fill with saliva and send off to determine your cortisol levels (it’s called the “stress hormone” because it increases blood pressure, blood sugar and reduces immune responses – most importantly it reveals your level of stress). Pay attention to this one, guys!
So, then I went to my BodyLogicMD Doc – that beautiful and fun woman doc I mentioned earlier – Dr. Jennifer Landa in Orlando (poetic, kind of). For over an hour, she reviewed with me the results and gave me a detailed rundown of what I need to do and not do and what I need to take (mostly nutritional supplements or bioidentical hormones).
Second, I had already told her what I thought were important issues I wanted addressed – with her and my help, of course. I mentioned that I had an elevated cholesterol/triglyceride ratio and was taking a small dosage of Crestor. I showed lots of cortisol stress (four hours after I was up in the morning, my cortisol drops to almost zero. Wow!). No wonder I was always feeling tired, needing a nap and having trouble “thinking straight.”
I also told her I knew I was losing muscle tissue and strength. Finally, the obvious: I have that old-man belly I want to get rid of. Those are the essentials.
So, what were the results?
Well, to be brief, I not only have the cortisol issue, but am pre-diabetic, have suboptimal DHEA (the so called “Mother Hormone” – it can adapt to fill the need of other missing hormones – including testosterone (Gents, that’s an important ingredient for good sex, strength, etc.). I am overweight by 20 lbs and need to exercise more. Sound familiar?
So, Dr. Landa gave me the rundown of what I needed to do and take. (Check subsequent posts for more details.) We will have a follow-up in three months – re-testing and checking on progress. I am already looking forward to it.
I know this blog post is missing the maniac touch, but let me tell you after learning about what was and wasn’t happening in this body of mine, I came out of my review session with the good Doc feeling like a maniac! I have to get on it!!
Again, I am committed to this program and will keep you abreast of what’s happening.
Bioidentical Hormone Therapy… Here Goes!
Trying to live out my life with a healthy dose of taking care of myself. Wow! What a simple concept, right? Wrong.
Belly fat, low energy, arthritis pain, off-and-on depression. Stop! I can’t let that be the life I live if there are choices — and there are.
I admit it, I hate exercise and don’t like being hungry (the on-a-diet kind of hunger). But I am determined to minimize the things I hate by getting back as many of those things I have either lost or dislike living with daily. If I can do that – and diet and exercise are required – I think I can change how I feel about myself.
So, I began this long, life-changing quest last Friday. I was tested to find out how my body-motor is running (that ultimate check-up we all avoid—ESPECIALLY men). Well, guys, the picture isn’t so pretty. The good news is it can be remedied with lots of side positive benefits – including more sex!
BodyLogicMD’s program is specific to bioidentical hormone therapy, nutrition and fitness. They do the testing, and assign you a physician to develop a supportive regime for you to fix, as my 94-year-old mother would say, “what ails you.” I did the tests, and Jennifer Landa, MD gave me the results and a personalized rebuilding plan. I’ll discuss the results — the plan and how it’s going — on this blog.
After getting beyond the overwhelming thing – like learning that the carburetor needs cleaning out, the fuel needs to be upgraded and the tires are almost flat – I am ready to get out of this ditch. I am doing it and I’m going to tell all!
BTW, love my doctor, wow! Everyone should be so lucky to have a beautiful, intelligent, fun woman tell you what you need to do to get back on the road.