About a year ago I was having a conversation with my masseuse when we got on the topics of weight loss, working out, and sleeping. I was frustrated because the sleeping pills that I had been taking for years were suddenly not working and I was exhausted. I have always had a hard time sleeping. In addition, I was working out like a fiend and not seeing any weight loss for my efforts. I had been stuck at this same weight for so long and no matter what I tried, I could not get the scale to budge.
She gave me the name of a doctor she had been seeing who was helping her with hormone therapy. More specifically, bio-identical hormone therapy. Bio-identical hormones are tailored to a person’s specific needs. Instead of a wide-spectrum hormone that gives you an average range of hormones, these are made just for me. They are also natural hormones, not synthetic. I made an appointment with this doctor and went in for a consultation.
The first thing the nurse had me do was take an inventory of my symptoms. I was handed a sheet with three columns on it, full of symptoms. I checked almost every one. Then after the nurse took down my blood pressure and my weight and height, I was able to sit down with the doctor. She talked to me about what symptoms I was having and ordered some blood to be drawn. After she got the results we would meet again and go over what her prescribed course of action would be.
When we next met the results of my tests were reviewed. Basically, my serotonin levels we really low, cholesterol high, and my body didn’t know whether it was a man or a woman. She was not at all surprised that I was checking almost all the boxes on the symptom sheet. The doctor prescribed two hormones along with 5-HTP for my serotonin levels and a few supplements for my cholesterol.
At my next visit six weeks later my numbers had made good progress in correcting both my levels of hormones and serotonin. I had already weaned myself off of my sleep medication and was getting much better sleep. I wasn’t completely where I wanted to be so my doctor made one correction. I followed up with her three months later.
At this next visit, my doctor congratulated me and told me I was once again a woman! My hormone levels had corrected themselves and I was no longer androgynous. I still wasn’t sleeping through the night, however, so she just increased the dose of one of the hormones.
Now, three months later, I can say that I am sleeping like a baby, feel like a million bucks, have greater muscle tone (are those abs under there?!?), and have actually lost a few pounds. Everyone I see asks me if I’ve lost weight. I haven’t really lost that much but my clothes are fitting much looser.
The biggest difference since starting these treatments: I’m happy. My girlfriend and I used to call that the “H” word; like it was something we could never attain. I never, EVER, could have made it through the last year without being on hormones. I would have been a mess and probably would have killed someone by now! Plus all my “systems” are working better, you know what I mean? My digestive tract is functioning again, my brain works better, I have lots of energy, my skin is not as dry, and my singing voice is better than it’s ever been.
Now, I’m not a doctor so I can’t tell you what’s right for you. But if you’re frustrated with your doctors because you tell them about all these symptoms and they say to you, “Well, you know, you are getting older,” tell them to stick-it-where-the-sun-don’t-shine and go see someone who can evaluate your hormones. Men too. They are discovering quite a lot about men’s hormone problems too.
Think about it. People only used to live until they were 40. They didn’t have to deal with getting older and fading hormone levels, or even menopause because people just didn’t live long enough to go through it! There’s no reason why you should have to suffer, as I was, any longer.
Sing with me ladies: “I am woooooooooo-man! Double-you oooooohhhhhh M-A-N!
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