Men's Hormone Replacement Therapy (TRT)
Do you feel like you have a decrease in your energy level? Sex drive? Concentration? Are you noticing a loss in muscle mass?
These are all symptoms that you may start to notice if you have a decrease in your testosterone levels. A decrease in testosterone can occur because of our age, our lifestyle or the environment. You could have a decrease in testosterone because of damage or a possible malfunction of the testicles, pituitary gland or the hypothalamus which is known as hypogonadism.
Testosterone helps to regulate your sexual drive, muscle mass, strength, and bone mass. The goal of replacing testosterone is to restore the levels to alleviate the symptoms being experienced.
Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) requires regular follow-up visits and labs to make needed adjustments to dose and to manage symptoms. Some minor side effects that could be experienced include fluid retention, acne, or injection site irritation. Some more severe side effects include Gynecomastia (breast enlargement), decreased sperm count, and increase in red blood cell count that can lead to blood clots.
Benefits of TRT are lean body mass, improvement of sexual function, increase in bone density and energy levels, and an overall better mood and well-being.
TRT may take up to 3 months before full results are noticed but some effects may be noticed after 6 weeks.
Weight Loss Treatment
Tirzepatide is used o-label for weight loss. Tirzepatide is a dual agonist for the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors that results in significant improved glycemic control and weight reduction by reduction of the person’s appetite. Tirzepatide is comprised of 39 amino acids and is an analog of gastric inhibitor polypeptide. Tirzepatide causes stimulation of insulin release from the pancreas and causes reduction of hyperglycemia. Tirzepatide reaches peak serum levels between 8 to 72 hours from injection. Tirzepatide has a 5-day half-life and is cleared from the body in urine and feces as metabolites.
The most common reported adverse effects with Tirzepatide are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Other adverse effects that may occur with Tirzepatide use include sinus tachycardia, acute kidney injury secondary to dehydration, hypersensitivity at injection site, acute pancreatitis, cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, and small risk for hypoglycemia. When taken with oral hormonal contraceptives there is a decrease in the efficacy of the contraceptive and the individual may need to switch to a non-oral version. Oral medications that are dependent on threshold concentrations or that have a narrow therapeutic index should be cautioned with Tirzepatide as it slows gastric emptying.
Contraindications: Patients with medullary thyroid cancer, Multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN-2), Hypersensitivity to Tirezepatide.