WHY DO YOU NEED US vs A PRIMARY CARE DOCTOR?
Often time patients will go to their primary care doctor and ask them about their hormone levels. What happens next is far too common practice, and we are here to help fix this issue.
FIRST: Primary doctor will put in an order to have your blood drawn to test for your hormone levels, amongst other things
SECOND: Once your results come in, your doctor will review your results with you.
THIRD: THIS is where the issues lies...
According to the reference ranges on the lab report, you may come back as in the "normal" range with a total testosterone level of 300. This would be on the low end of the "normal rage."
SITUATION #1: What often times happens is that the doctor, typically a GENERAL practitioner, will see that you are in the "normal range" and determine that you do not need hormone replacement therapy, even though you advised them that you are actively experiencing symptoms of low testosterone: i.e. low energy, erectile issues, low libido, depression symptoms, etc. But since the doctor stated that you do not need testosterone therapy, you are unable to get the treatment for the symptoms you are experiencing.
SITUATION #2: The doctor may not be well versed in hormone replacement therapy at all, but can tell from your results that you are in the low normal range and understands that you can be experiencing there. So this doctor will try and help you but could potentially make your situation worse...
We often explain to patients that you would not go to your primary care doctor to perform your knee surgery or put your through your physical therapy protocols, right?
Hormone OPTIMIZATION is NOT their specialty. Our licensed providers are SPECIALISTS in this field. THIS is what they do EVERY DAY!
HOW COULD THE GENERAL DOCTOR MAKE YOUR SITUATION WORSE?
This doctor may prescribe you testosterone but advise you to take a low dose of testosterone and do 1 injection every 2 weeks. The problem with is that at that low dose, your body will shut down its natural production of testosterone once you start injecting the synthetic version of it. The larger problem here is that when you inject once every 2 weeks, the half life (how long the testosterone in your body is reduced by half) is about 7-8 days. This means that by the time you are ready for your next injection, the testosterone in your body will be reduced to practically zero. So whatever symptoms you were feeling before taking the injections will be back and, in most cases, be WORSE than before because now your natural production has stopped.
And we won't even get into the issues that people have when trying to manage a proper protocol while trying to go through insurance to cover their therapy.
This is where we come in.
We are here to help you every step of the way in managing your protocols. We follow the research in the field to ensure that you are going through your protocol in way to help you achieve symptom resolution.
You will:
- Have access to a licensed provider and/or patient care coordinator to address any questions or concerns along the way.
- Be able to contact us via secure text messages through our online patient portal, via email, or live video chat.
- Receive regular patient follow-ups so we can track your symptoms, order your follow-up blood work, and recommend any adjustments to you protocol that your provider feels will help achieve symptom resolution.
