A Comprehensive Guide to Hormone Replacement Therapy for Men: What You Need to Know
Hey, before we start, let me ask you something. Do you know what is the single most important thing that connects all the distant corners of our body and tunes them all in unison so that the whole body can act as one? Before you say “Nerves”, I’d say, wait. I have a little something to share with you.
Think about a patient diagnosed with low thyroid levels, aka hypothyroidism. Their life will be a total mess soon. Fatigue, lethargy, weight gain, and growth retardation (in adolescents and children) will follow soon. How can this patient be saved? Not by surgery, certainly. And this is not a disease caused by bacteria, viruses, or other pathogens. So, no antibiotic drugs will suffice too. And drugs that boost metabolism are not that effective in the long term. Then what? Is this patient awaiting lifelong suffering?
What about that man or woman trying to have a child but can’t because one or both have some abnormalities in their genital organs? Simply, their genitalia don’t work like they’re supposed to. No surgery can give you fresh new testes, ovaries, or uterus! What to do? Does it mean this infertility will remain a lifelong curse?
Well, the answer is no.
Modern medicine is smart. And now, we have learned to treat the deficiencies with exactly the thing that fell short, which in this case are various chemical regulators called hormones. And simply treat them to provide complete relief by administering that hormone. Infertile couples finally get pregnant nowadays when treated right.
This is the magic of Hormonal Replacement Therapy for men.
Reading this means either you or someone you know is in need of an HRT for men. The hormone is a substance many of us have heard about, but just the name. We know a lot about over-the-counter drugs but are completely unaware of our bodily chemical wonders.
In public notions, hormonal therapy is as obscure and terrifying as a cancer treatment. Is that so? Okay, we will explore. I know you’ve loads of doubts regarding this. That’s okay. Just follow me, okay?
What is HRT for men?
Hormones are the chemical messengers of our body that connect all the organs and organ systems through an intricate network governed by complex signalling and feedback. Now hormones control most of our metabolic and physiological activities, aka normal bodily functions. When the production of any hormone goes down, or maybe it doesn’t match the level of demand, or sometimes, the sensitivity to that hormone decreases. Those bodily functions are severely affected as well. This is dangerous and causes many serious diseases, like ones we all know (diabetes, hyperthyroidism, etc.) to rare syndromes that are mostly unheard of (Hashimoto disease, lupus, sarcoidosis, Cushing syndrome, Addison syndrome, etc.). The range is quite terrific.
This is where HRT, aka hormonal replacement therapy, comes into play that artificially and externally supplies necessary amounts of that deficit hormone to the body.
HRT for men is specially designed for masculine physiology. These are usually a combination of male sex hormones (androgens like testosterone, Interstitial cell stimulating hormones), the Stress hormone (cortisol), growth hormones, and thyroid hormones.
Who exactly needs this HRT for men?
Hormone replacement therapy for men doesn’t skyrocket your testosterone levels, nor make you a superhuman. Researchers say these therapies are mainly for persons with some disease affecting their natural hormone levels. But supplemental hormones have no proven efficacy in increasing functions in the normal human body nor in preventing a natural decrease in levels due to old age.
The most common and popular HRT for men is Testosterone therapy. It is given to men with congenital hypogonadism, i.e., underdeveloped genitalia that fails to produce sufficient hormones. Similarly, other uses are in people who suffer from :
- Dwarfism (growth hormone deficiency)
- Metabolic disorders due to hypothyroidism ( remember that story I told you in the beginning?)
- Low-stress tolerance (Cortisol deficiency)
- Infertility
- Immature gonads
- Abnormal estrogen levels in the male body
- In some severe cases of aneamia
Is HRT for men safe?
Yes, it is. But you should know a few more things.
Generally, external doses of hormones are associated with many side effects as these certainly interfere with normal body physiology. Thus the dynamic balance among all the systems that persist in our body gets disturbed. Some erratic changes follow, like a disturbance in the bowel, loss of appetite, sleep cycle, fatigue, unexplained pains, and psychological issues such as anxiety, depression, etc. But when you’re under the supervision of an experienced endocrinologist, then nothing like this happens because your doctor will regulate and monitor the dose round the clock as per your requirement and tolerance levels. This is why getting this treatment from a certified, trusted establishment is utterly necessary. In the wrong hands, HRT can jeopardize your health and well-being, which might need lengthy treatments for recovery.
This is why you shouldn’t think much and choose any renowned medical centr ethat specializes in HRT for men, like Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, or Swole Alternate Medicine Centre Hormonal Replacement Therapy in Los Angeles.
That’s all. And hope this helped. If you’re still in doubt, contact us anytime without hesitation.
Book your appointment today! We’re happy to help you.
