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Testosterone For Men – It’s Really Safe After All!

Written by Wellness Club on April 7, 2016 – 1:57 pm -

By Nurse Mark

 

Poor testosterone – it has been so misunderstood, maligned, and feared for so many years now that any attempt by a doctor to use testosterone therapy is met with regulation and resistance from the powers-that-be and most doctors just won’t bother. Who needs the hassle? It is easier and less trouble for a doctor to prescribe narcotic drugs like Oxycontin or even morphine than it is to prescribe testosterone…

And that’s a shame, since so many men can benefit from a little help to maintain normal, youthful testosterone levels…

You see, most men are well-supplied with testosterone in their youth, beginning at puberty. Testosterone is what turns a pre-pubescent boy with high voice and puppy-fat into a muscular, broad-shouldered, deeper-voiced, virile young man. Most men continue to enjoy good levels of testosterone into their 30’s – but then something changes: for most men there is a slow and steady decline in testosterone levels from then on.

This “slowing down” of testosterone production leads to a number of problems. Some guys may simply attribute these symptoms and problems as being “part of getting older” but it need not be that way.

Falling testosterone levels can result in:

• decreased libido
• erectile dysfunction
• depression
• Increased fatigue
• low energy
• decrease in muscle mass
• increase in abdominal fat
• decrease in bone density
• sleep problems
• mood and motivation problems
• and more, much more

Despite all this, testosterone therapy has been shunned by conventional medicine since the 1940’s when it was wrongly accused of “activating” prostate cancer based on the experience of one single patient at that time. This enduring myth has been terrifying doctors and legislators ever since.

More recently, fears were ginned up about cardiovascular risks with testosterone use. A flawed study by the VA claimed that testosterone therapy caused an increased risk of death from all causes, including heart attacks and strokes. I wrote about this and debunked the study and it’s conclusions back in 2013 in this article: Does Testosterone Therapy Increase Heart Attack And Stroke Risk?

But things are looking up for testosterone. The 2013 VA study was soon acknowledged by many conventional medical sources to be deeply flawed in many ways. Sadly, while the initial reports of danger made big headlines the corrections to the study, though published in JAMA, did not receive much attention at all.

Then, in 2015 a study was published that acknowledged that testosterone therapy used to normalize testosterone levels in otherwise generally healthy men does not increase the risk of heart attack or stroke. While the conclusions of the study fell short of acknowledging the many benefits of testosterone therapy it at least began the process of allowing doctors to feel a little more comfortable about considering testosterone therapy.

Now, on April 3rd of this year, the results of a study were presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 65th Annual Scientific Session in Chicago which shows that testosterone therapy helps men with low testosterone levels who already have coronary artery disease to reduce their risks of strokes, heart attacks, and death.

Here is a summary of the study and the results;

The research team studied 755 male patients between the ages of 58 and 78, divided into 3 groups, over a number of years. The men all had severe coronary artery disease.

Their conclusions:

• After one year, 64 of the men who were not taking testosterone supplements suffered major cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke), while only 12 who were taking medium doses of testosterone and only nine who were taking high doses did.
• After three years, 125 of the men not taking testosterone suffered major adverse cardiovascular events, while only 38 medium-dose and 22 high-dose men did.

In short: The men NOT receiving testosterone therapy were 80 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke.

WOW! Just Wow!

This could prove to be a game-changer! We can only hope now that the FDA will begin to take notice and remove some of the roadblocks to prescribing testosterone therapy that have made doctors so reluctant, even skittish about it up to now.

Until then, for those who might want to get a jump on it Dr. Myatt has been balancing male hormones (as well as female hormones) and prescribing testosterone for many years.

Men, if you want to avoid or correct symptoms of low testosterone that can include include night sweats, low libido (sex drive), weight gain, depression, anxiety, hot flashes, gynecomastia (enlarged male breasts aka “man-boobs” or “moobs”), fatigue, irritability, weight gain, erectile dysfunction, loss of stamina and lean muscle mass, cognitive decline and decreased bone mineral density check out Dr. Myatt’s BioIdentical Hormone Replacement Programs and book a Brief Telephone Consultation today.

 

References and Additional Reading:

Morgentaler A, Controversies and Advances With Testosterone Therapy: A 40-Year Perspective. Urology. 2016 Mar;89:27-32. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2015.11.034. Epub 2015 Dec 9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26683750

Abraham Morgentaler, MD. Defending Testosterone, Debunking the Myths. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/845705_5

Morgentaler A, Testosterone and prostate cancer: an historical perspective on a modern myth. Eur Urol. 2006 Nov;50(5):935-9. Epub 2006 Jul 27. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16875775

Intermountain Medical Center, November 9, 2015, Use of testosterone replacement therapy in healthy men does not increase risk of heart attack or stroke, new study finds. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151109160558.htm

Intermountain Medical Center, April 3, 2016, Testosterone supplementation reduces heart attack risk in men with heart disease. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160403195920.htm

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