Susan Bratton and Dr. Amy B. Killen talk about low testosterone, its symptoms, and cures. They’re doing a series on how you can pinpoint the cause of your erectile dysfunction and the solutions to reversing it for a nice firm penis.
Get the Ejaculatory Freedom Audio Series about how to get hard and stay hard and how to last as long as you want.
Contact Dr. Amy B. Killen at Biorestoration, Draper, UT biorestoration.com. 801-501-9797
LOW TESTOSTERONE – Signs, Symptoms, and Hormone Treatments
[Susan] I’m Susan Bratton, a trusted hot sex adviser to millions, and I’m with Dr. Amy B. Killen in her office in Utah, and Amy is a regenerative medicine specialist with expertise in erectile dysfunction. We’re doing a series on how you can pinpoint the cause of your erectile dysfunction and the solutions to reversing it for a nice firm penis.
Speaking of that, I’ve got a present for you coming up, but first let’s talk about hormones because, as you said Amy, hormones are your first line of defense with almost every guy that comes into your office. That’s the very first thing you check in addition to their history, etc.
MISCONCEPTIONS
There are many misconceptions about hormone replacement therapy and I wonder what the big three are? When guys come in, what do they misunderstand? What do they hear in the press? What cultural opinions do they face in today’s modern world?
The other is there’s a bit of ambiguity about whether they will produce hormones if I give them hormones. Guys get concerned that they will increase their risk of cancer, specifically prostate cancer. That is not the case at all. It’s disproved.
We will talk about hormones and what Dr. Amy tests for because it’s not just about testosterone. We will talk about the role in libido, reasons for using testosterone, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), and testosterone.
We will talk about the symptoms of low T and what bioidentical means when we talk about hormone replacement therapy, and we will show you options so you can go to your doctor.
BE YOUR HEALTH ADVOCATE
Be your health advocate because I’m sure you’ve found, as I have, that not every doctor has the time to be up with the latest things around hormone replacement therapy like you do.
This is your expertise, Amy. Let’s start with number one: Testosterone’s role in libido. If you don’t feel horny or feel like having sex, you should check your testosterone.
TESTOSTERONE AND LIBIDO
[Amy] We need testosterone for libido and to have an interest in sex. Your brain needs testosterone, but what’s interesting is that testosterone is important for maintaining the structural integrity of your penis.
Studies show that men with low testosterone over time have an increased amount of fat or fibrosis like scar tissue almost in the cells of the penis that are supposed to be elastic and expandable. Instead, it’s replaced by fat or fibrosis.
That can affect erections long term. Low testosterone increases your risk of diabetes and high cholesterol can also be affected. You could have arteriosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries, heart attacks, and strokes.
CANARY IN THE COALMINE
ED is the canary in the coalmine. If you have issues with erectile dysfunction, it could mean that artery plaque has attacked that nerve. We have a picture of it here for you. Why don’t you talk about that picture and explain the three veins?
We all have arteries that go to our heart, brain, and penis. What’s interesting about the ones that go to your penis is they’re a bit smaller than the ones that go to your heart or brain.
[Amy] When there is a buildup of plaque, which is arteriosclerosis, then you can see that in your penis, as far as symptoms go, before you see it anywhere else. You start having erectile dysfunction before your heart attack or stroke.
[Susan] The way you reverse it is you eat giant plates of organic vegetables and very good quality fats, meats, and fish.
Don’t eat any french fries, bread, and sugars and cut down your alcohol, walk every day, and get some exercise.
That’s how you reverse it. It is not difficult. You don’t need to take pills. Maybe there are some unusual cases with genetic modifications, but lifestyles are very important.
LIFESTYLE
Your lifestyle is the foundation of a hard penis. Testosterone and exercise are also linked. Men who don’t exercise also suffer from low testosterone.
Obese men have a higher percentage of estrogen and lower testosterone. It comes back to a healthy penis. Nutrition is the foundation exercise that sits on top.
It’s great to replace and add to your hormonal balancing but you have to start by taking care of yourself. Anything else concerning testosterone’s role in libido?
[Amy] It’s so important for interest in sex. I have guys who say their testosterone is low. They’ll say you could have a naked woman walk in front of me and I would look at her quickly and check my email because that does not interest me.
That interest, that thinking about sex oftentimes is due to testosterone. If you’re not thinking about sex, then you’re saying that you’re missing your vitality, drive, and life force. That’s what testosterone gives you. It’s that ballsy dude and the thing that makes you want to achieve things and have an awesome life.
CHECK YOUR LEVELS
[Susan] Come to a doctor like Dr. Amy and get your blood tests and see what you can do to balance your hormones. Not just testosterone. You do a full panel.
[Amy] We do testosterone, both total and free. That’s important because free testosterone is the active form of testosterone. You could have a high total but if your free is low, you don’t see the effects.
Generally, we also check for your estrogen because too much or too little can cause problems. We check your adrenal hormones like your cortisol, your stress hormone. If it’s too high for too long, it can affect your testosterone levels.
We check the thyroid, growth hormone. There’s a bunch of hormones that come into play in this but testosterone is by far the most common we see that’s low in our men.
BIOIDENTICAL HORMONE REPLACEMENT
[Susan] I want to put forward a very specific point on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Just before we started rolling the camera, I said, “You prescribe bioidentical? Correct?”
She’s like, “I wouldn’t prescribe anything that wasn’t bioidentical.” I was like, “Exactly.”
There are two kinds of hormone replacement: Bioidentical and pharmaceutical. How do you describe them?
[Amy] Basically, bioidentical is exactly like the hormones your own body makes. Bioidentical testosterone is just like the testosterone you make and the importance is that your body reacts to it as it does to its testosterone.
If you take something that’s been modified so it’s not like what your body makes, you put that in your body, then your body often will give you an inflammatory reaction. It can cause many problems and side effects.
That’s true of all the hormones: progesterone, testosterone, estrogen. Whatever you take, you want it to be just like the hormones that are already in your body.
NO PATENT MEDICINE
[Susan] You don’t want a patent medicine, a prescription pharmaceutical made so that that company can patent it. They alter the molecules such that it’s patentable which means it’s been rendered not bioidentical. Not the same as your own body.
You have to be careful and be a smart consumer. Bioidentical replacement therapy. Is it always compounded or not?
[Amy] It’s not. You can get bioidentical testosterone. You can get bioidentical estrogen from the pharmaceutical companies as a prescription that your insurance may pay for. It’s not always compounded although we do have a lot of options when we do something compounded as far as delivery methods and dosing.
DELIVERY METHODS
[Susan] Let’s talk about delivery methods because I’ve got a handful for you. Which ones would you like first?
[Amy] How about the needles? Injected testosterone for men is very common. You can inject it either once or twice a week. Sometimes, even every day. Injecting it into your own body is a common and inexpensive way.
This needle is a little smaller than what I would put in your muscles, but you could use a small needle if you were doing it subcutaneously, which is under the skin.
The needles range in sizes but most men don’t find them to be too horrible. You get used to it quickly if that’s the modality you prefer.
What’s the benefit of injecting testosterone versus the other things?
[Amy] It works for pretty much everyone. You get it in your body and absorb it. That’s the main thing. You don’t have to think about it as often.
[Susan] How often do you inject?
[Amy] Usually, once or twice a week. It lasts pretty long.
[Susan] Here’s probably the one that lasts the longest.
[Amy] This is a testosterone pellet. Your doctor would insert this underneath your skin about this far deep usually in your hip. It’ll be put in and it lasts from between four and six months.
It’s more than one of these. We do several of them. It lasts for a while and it dissolves slowly and it’s easy for guys who don’t want to think about their testosterone levels at all.
T CREAM
[Amy] This is a cream and you click it out on your hand and you rub it on different parts of your body as your doctor directs. It’s once a day. These are compounded by a pharmacy. So you get a prescription for that.
[Susan] Amy calls this a trochee. I call it trokay. It doesn’t matter what you call it. Just call Amy.
[Amy] this is not as common for men because they need higher doses but common for women. Sometimes for men, it goes in your mouth under your tongue and dissolves. It gets taken up by your mucous membrane in your mouth.
[Susan] It uses sublingual delivery. Those are different ways that you can supplement your testosterone. You go to a doctor and get your tests and they see what your range is.
The biggest thing I’ve learned about hormone testing is that it doesn’t matter what the numbers are, it matters how you feel. You’ll know when you feel yourself again. Many doctors say don’t bring yourself to the level of your age.
CHEAT THE DIAL
If you’re 55 and you’re replacing hormones for a 55-year-old man, why not cheat the dial down a bit. You’re talking about regenerative medicine here down to 35. What do you have to say about that? What do you think about that?
[Amy] I try to keep the levels within the normal range. I’m not trying to get your levels to be 5. I don’t want you to have steroid rage issues. I try to get them towards the upper limit of what’s considered normal for even a younger guy because men often feel the best at that level.
However, everyone’s different. Some guys feel great with a middle-range dose and it’s important to check the numbers. Check the symptoms and tune your dosing based on those two things.
A NEW LIFE
[Susan] It was amazing because I had been on estrogen replacement therapy for several years, and recently I switched to bioidentical and I instantly felt better. Within less than a week, I was like whoa! I didn’t realize what I was missing. Your setpoint diminishes as you age and you forget how happy and carefree you used to be.
You forget how confident you used to be. You forget the spring you used to have in your step. Then, you dial back the clock using regenerative therapies such as bioidentical hormone replacement, and, all of a sudden, you’re like whoa, this was so easy.
I could say that there’s one thing that every guy should consider is getting their hormones tested and considering using bioidentical hormone replacement.
It doesn’t just affect your sex life, it affects your whole life. I get nothing for this by the way. I’m an advocate for you, really is what I am.
If you were sitting there thinking I’m not sure, you probably need testosterone because if you feel like I don’t care about stuff anymore, that’s your testosterone telling you that you’re turning into a granny.
LOW TESTOSTERONE SYMPTOMS
[Amy] There are a lot of symptoms that guys don’t realize are low testosterone. Things like lack of motivation and apathy. Guys are always telling me they feel blah. That’s often low testosterone. Also, things like insomnia, problem sleeping, anxiety, depression are all tied in. A lack of muscle-building, extra fat accumulation in places where you don’t want it to accumulate.
There are many symptoms we don’t always think about that are associated with testosterone.
[Susan] There you have it. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy for that kick-ass dude with no erectile dysfunction problems.
Don’t forget to check the link to get my ejaculatory freedom audio series. It is a wonderful series of mp3 audio that’s my gift to you. How to get hard, stay hard, last as long as she wants you to, and trigger her vaginal orgasms from penetration. The holy grail of sex for so many.
I’m Susan Bratton, your trusted hot sex advisor. I’m with Dr. Amy B. Killen, and we thank you for your time.
