Making Sense of Testosterone and TRT, By Dr. Hillary Lampers

[Justin Crossley]

Dr. Hillary Lampers is a Naturopathic Physician in Bozeman, MT and Seattle, WA. She has over 25 years of experience in the field of structural cranial therapies, specializing in NCR, hormonal health, and anti-aging protocols such as PRP. She has a BS in Natural Health Sciences with a Major in Nutrition and a Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine, both from Bastyr University in Seattle. She is co-creator of the Hunt Harvest Health Podcast, the StHealthy Hunter brand, and owner of StHealthy Nutrition CBD with her husband Ryan Lampers.

Please give Dr. Hillary Lampers a warm Rokslide welcome and enjoy her article.

Making Sense of Testorerone and TRT

 

[grappling_hook]

Excellent article! It's not often an article addresses both the biological health related to TRT and other hormones as well as how it interacts with behavioral choices, individual past experiences, and sociological considerations related to mens' gender norms and societal change. Bravo!

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I've listened to their podcast since it started. Always interesting stuff,

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[Rokbar]

Good read guys. Do your best to stay in great health and pay attention to what your body is telling you!

 

[BuckHunter24]

Very readable article with a lot of information, thanks

 

[Bighorse]

Super sweet well written article from a truly skilled Dr! Thanks!

 

[7Bartman]

Soon as I started reading, I was like this is coming from some scam "Dr" or naturopath or something similar. While she makes some salient points, I've seen this type of article before. Just click the link and follow my page so I can sell you some "supplements".
Some will get mad a me for saying this, but the term "Dr" gets thrown around too frequently these days. Naturopaths aren't MDs, DOs, or PhDs for that matter.
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/naturopathic-edumacation-a-faq/

To be fair, Big Pharma has also made a mockery out of the pathophysiology of "low-T". As usual, follow the dollar. Caveat emptor.

 

[Theringworm]

I agree with 7Bartman... ”Hormone Replacemnet Therapy (HRT) is a multimillion/billion dollar BUSINESS. While you may find a handful of Medical doctors (M.D. & D.O.s) that actually know the pathophysiology of the endocrine system and have been trained to monitor and adjust supplemental hormones appropriately........ MANY do not. It’s very easy to say......“The symptoms you describe and the tests show you need HRT“ when in reality there are several other things that can be done prior to going down the rabbit whole of HRT. For many a clinician it’s simply a moneymaker for them. HRT is rarely covered by insurance and is almost always “out of network” so it’s a cash business. Like the good old days of Urine sampling/screens. Always out of network cash only.

The side effect profile is nothing to sneeze about. You have no idea how many surgeries I cancel on a monthly basis because the patient is taking HRT and their hematocrit levels are over 56 up into the 60s. What does that cause you ask? Same idea of not changing your oil for years and it turns to thick sludge and seizes everything up. High Hematocrits put you at increased risk for a cardiac and vascular events (I.e. heart attack or stroke) and blood clots. So....these patients now have to undergo phlebotomies every 3-4 months to thin their blood.

Other risk factors to name a few:
- worsens sleep apnea
- worsens BPH and increases risk of Prostate cancer growth
- testicular shrinkage

Statements made by the Mayo Clinic state:

- “ Testosterone therapy CAN help reverse the effects of hypogonadism, but it’s UNCLEAR whether therapy would benefit older men who are otherwise healthy”.

- There may be some placebo effect associated with its usage that causes men to report feeling “younger” and being more “vigorous” but there is little evidence to support this.

The American Collge of Physicians indicates the following:

- Testosterone therapy MIGHT improve sexual function somewhat in men, but there is LITTLE evidence that it improves other functions, such as vitality and energy.

I can relate to all of this. My mother is a “Naturpath”, with a Naturpath degree. I love my mom, but I know what little education went into obtaining this and that’s okay. She loves what she does but I do not support all of it. She does make valid points here and there and I am open to it and have accepted some of it. Naturpaths aren’t bad people. I am sure the lady that wrote this article is a really nice amazing person. I don’t discredit her, her career or the many she has helped. I do take issue with someone referring to themselves as a “Dr” when you are not an MD, DO or PhD. It simply is grossly misleading.

I have personally seen the effects of HRT use within my family as my 40 yo brother has taken it for about two years. His sleep apnea severely worsened. He gained a fair amount of weight on it. Any benefits from being on it are inconclusive per him and he has since stopped taking it.

There are situations where it is absolutely indicated and many people have safely used it without harm. It however is NOT to be considered as the “fountain of youth” that gets thrown around. It’s okay to age and slow down a bit as humans. That’s our natural progression. HRT does/can have serious side effects. It does/should require a frequent blood draw/laboratory monitoring to check hormone levels as well as other lab values to insure they are within adequate ranges. If that’s not being done find a physician that will.

If you are considering this or currently taking it, please do your own personal due diligence in educating yourself on it. Insure that adequate/appropriate monitoring is being done. Know the risks. Know the alternatives. Sadly....many in the medical profession will steer you this way if inquired as it is “a money-making treatment”.

simply my opinion/perspective.......... Education is power...you do the research!

 

[Ryan Avery]

I can only give my account of low T and Doc Hillary. I've had lots of concussions, so many in high school that I didn't take a football scholarship because of them. I got one so bad in the Army I couldn't see out of my left eye for two weeks. A few years later, I noticed I had lots of weird things going on, the biggest being zero energy, migraines, and weakness/numbness in my left arm. I would bet I had well over 250,000 dollars in medical tests by the VA from every "Dr." Then I went out and spent a boatload of my money with the so-called "Doctors" mentioned above. They did find and treat my Testoreone issue, which did make a big difference in energy and libido. But they did not find anything for the Migraine and left side weakness. They labeled it post-concussion syndrome and that I would have to live with it.

Fast forward to last December. I was talking to someone about my migraines, which have got worse as I age. They put me down multiple times a month. They told me about NeuroCranial Restructuring and Dr. Lampers. I did my research about NCR, and I was like WTF!! But if you have debilitating migraines, you would do just about anything to make them stop. I call Hillary and made an appointment. After all the testing and Dr visits, I wasn't expecting much, but what the hell.

The NCR treatment takes a couple of treatments over a couple of days. But after the first treatment, I knew this was different. I got instant relief from the tension in the back of my head. Over the next few days, my head went from feeling like it was in a vise to the best its felt in twenty years. My migraines are always aura migraines, so its very simple to know if I have one. After seeing Doc Hillary, I went from having four to six migraines a month to one in the last nine months. Oh, and my left arm weakness/numbness went away.

So she fixed what a shit ton of "real" Doctors and MONEY couldn't fix.

I would highly recommend anyone with chronic migraines to reach out to her.

 

[robby denning]

I work in a gym with a pile of older guys who've tried TRT. Most are glad they did. If you feel like crap, what's living another 5 years gonna do?

To @Theringworm thanks for sharing, especially your last paragraph. Reading Doc Hillary's article, it seemed she'd agree.

 

[jboy047]

Good info!

 

[Hensatc]

Well... if there is a more eagerly anticipated and poorly understood topic in most men’s health discussions I can’t think of one... YMMV IANAL etc, just one mans thoughts but:

[mention]Theringworm [/mention] is right on all counts.

There is a well established and accepted diagnostic rubric prior to starting HRT (for anyone but let’s stick with adult men here) and is essentially boils down to primary LowT is a Dx of exclusion (ie rule out several bad things and mundane things that could cause your symptoms). But more than that continual and appropriate follow up is *critical* to health and safety and effectiveness... an open and honest two way dialogue with your physician (DO/MD) can make sure that you are treating the cause of your symptoms appropriately and not just changing an unrelated and incidentally found lab value.

If you aren’t comfortable with or able to freely discuss all your questions with your primary care doctor... even questions you feel are silky, awkward, painful, or stupid ... you need to change docs so you can have a productive open therapeutic relationship ... full stop

Anyway ... be well, be safe, and always be a critical consumer of information!


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[JohnnyFuego]

Interesting article.

 

[Tom Grates]

Good read. I am 53, and consider myself in great shape now. I started "T" therapy through a Dr about 1.5 years ago. I urge everyone to try it if in fact you need it. It motivated me to get into a good exercise regiment and also to eat way better. Results? Yeah, I feel way better, and my looks, well, judge for yourself.

 

[sb7000]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[aRandySavage]

interesting read

 

[Trevor73402]

I’m certainly not a doctor and I’m not going to Internet argue with someone who is. However, you will find VERY FEW men who didn’t see a huge improvement in most aspects of life after properly starting TRT. Just at the place I work, I’ve been able to get numerous men that are 40+Yrs old to get their T levels checked. Many have found that their levels are less than 100ng/dL3. After beginning proper TRT, all will say they feel/function better than they have in many many years. Most say it was life changing.

I agree that you need to have frequent labs drawn to monitor your blood levels while on TRT. Having high Hematocrit (levels below 100, but above 50) are easily solved by donating blood 2-3 times a year. Just like anyone with hemochromatosis is told to do.

There are doctors out there that are clearly against TRT. There are those that are very much for it. You’ll find that those that are against it, usually are the least educated on the subject. Most (patients) will never know this because the average Joe that walks into their office won’t have the appropriate level of knowledge to question them on anything they say. However......when you do, the look on their faces can be priceless.

If you are a male over 35yrs of age, do yourself (and your family) a favor and get your T-levels checked. If you (your levels) are below 300ng/dL3, atleast look into TRT with a well qualified doctor. Many insurances these days will cover testosterone injections (as well as your labs) but they will not cover pellets (which you don’t want anyway). Even if they don’t cover it, it’s relatively inexpensive if you go to an actual doctor and not a “clinic”.

Again, I am not a doctor. However I do have 20+ years of experience with testosterone, labs, blood work, and overall health & fitness.

 

[Power]

thanks for sharing!

 

[PNWkid]

^^^^^^Seriously. Lots of information in this thread.

 

[Trial153]

I am boarder line on my last three tests. Seriously considering pursuing some options at this point.
Appreciate all the info and experiences