Testosterone Therapy
Testosterone is FDA approved for treatment of hypogonadism, a condition related to erectile dysfunction and other issues. Many patients receiving testosterone therapy also report improvement in energy level, sex drive, and quality of erections. Testosterone also has been found to increase bone density, muscle mass, and improve insulin sensitivity in some. Patients also often report an improvement in mood and motivation from testosterone therapy. What specifically can you expect from testosterone treatment? It's impossible to predict exactly, because every person is genetically different. At CH medical you can get a free consultation with board certified physicians who can evaluate you as an individual and create a testosterone treatment plan for you personally.
Safety of our patients is our main objective, the principle of “ First do no harm” , Hippocrates. Monitoring your treatment response is important part of what we do at CH medical. Depending on your specific situation, genetics and overall health we will develop a monitoring schedule in order to provide safety and maximize effects of treatment. We will start by evaluating your baseline health through blood panels, a physical, and more. This will help us establish where you are health-wise before starting testosterone therapy. We use these initial numbers to keep track of your general health and testosterone levels.
Generally we start off by seeing you at least once every three months to evaluate effect of treatment and run some lab tests. We call these quarterly labs. This helps with treatment optimization and to determine if testosterone therapy is still safe and working well for you. After we optimize your treatment plan we may start doing those evaluations and tests less frequently.
Testosterone may have some side effects and interact with other medications. For example, testosterone may increase sensitivity to oral anticoagulants. Dosage of the anticoagulant may require reduction in order to maintain satisfactory therapeutic anticoagulation. Very small number of patients may develop a condition called gynecomastia – enlargement of breasts. In diabetic patients, the metabolic effects of testosterone may decrease blood glucose and, therefore, insulin requirements. We will be happy to discuss with you how specifically would testosterone affect your health and interact with the medications you use. Come see us for a free consultation .