Half of the patients at a local physician’s new anti-aging practice are men seeking relief from mid-life malaise
As Seen in the Savannah Morning News, December 15, 2009
Jerry Hawkins works out, eats healthy, takes all-natural vitamins and reads books and Web sites on the latest trends in maintaining good health. So, shortly after turning 40, the Savannah businessman sought ways to hold on to his peak years.
“There were no major issues,” Hawkins said. “I just knew I was at the age where I should take a look at things.”
Dr. Mary Kay Ross says she is seeing more proactive, health-minded men like Hawkins in her new practice in Savannah. Many are experiencing what some health care professionals call andropause, the male equivalent of menopause. Unlike the dramatic hot flashes, mood swings and discomfort characterized by menopause, men’s mid-life hormonal changes come more gradually with more subtle symptoms.
Testosterone levels tend to decline as men age, sometimes causing weight gain, fatigue, weakness, depression and sexual problems.
It’s not something most men talk about freely, she said.
“When you sit down with a man one-on-one and he’s filled out your form, he’s put down there that he’s lost his zest for life, that he doesn’t feel happy any longer, that he’s gained weight, that he’s lost his libido,” she said. “These are things that are important.”
New alternatives
Since 2008 when Ross opened LiveWellMD, roughly half of the patients coming to her for care are men.
Many seek a specialized treatment she offers called bio-identical hormone replacement therapy or BHRT.
At LiveWellMD, Ross’ treatment starts with a complete physical including blood and saliva testing.
Using lab results, Ross determines the patient’s hormone levels and prescribes a medication that is then custom-compounded for that patient’s needs by a Florida-based pharmacist.
BHRT proponents say the customized drugs serve as a natural, safer alternative to hormone replacement drugs, which have been proven to increase cancer risks in some patients.
Ross said she takes BHRT herself, as well as her husband. Both described better mental clarity, improved energy and overall feeling of wellbeing.
Critics such as the North American Menopause Society and the Endocrine Society warn consumers that too little testing has been done on the effects of BHRT, good or bad.
The group says that salivary and blood testing used by custom compounders is meaningless for mid-life women whose hormone levels can vary dramatically throughout the day.
Still, celebrities such as Suzanne Somers and Oprah Winfrey have praised BHRT for alleviating menopausal symptoms without the negative risks.
“After one day on bioidentical estrogen, I felt the veil lift,” Winfrey wrote in a recent issue of O Magazine. “After three days, the sky was bluer, my brain was no longer fuzzy, my memory was sharper. I was literally singing and had a skip in my step.”
Hormone health
Ross asserts that regulating hormone levels is about more than just feeling better now.
In addition to exercise, sleep and a healthy diet, getting hormones in check can help prevent or delay problems later such as heart disease or diabetes, she said.
Ross said most of her patients have read about BHRT before coming to her, and know that it is not approved by the FDA. And they don’t mind.
Savannah hairdresser Seth McSwain discovered BHRT on the Internet after searching for solutions for the malaise and anxiety he had developed his late 30s.
A general practitioner prescribed antidepressants and cholesterol-lowering drugs and suggested McSwain get his testosterone checked.
Tests showed his testosterone was low.
McSwain found a Jacksonville physician who treated him using BHRT and later recommend he receive treatment closer to home through Ross.
“I’m off everything now, all because of BHRT,” he said. “It’s improved the clarity in my head, energy level, everything.”
Jerry Hawkins works out, eats healthy, takes all-natural vitamins and reads books and Web sites on the latest trends in maintaining good health.
So, shortly after turning 40, the Savannah businessman sought ways to hold on to his peak years.
“There were no major issues,” Hawkins said. “I just knew I was at the age where I should take a look at things.”
Dr. Mary Kay Ross says she is seeing more proactive, health-minded men like Hawkins in her new practice in Savannah.
Many are experiencing what some health care professionals call andropause, the male equivalent of menopause.
Unlike the dramatic hot flashes, mood swings and discomfort characterized by menopause, men’s mid-life hormonal changes come more gradually with more subtle symptoms.
Testosterone levels tend to decline as men age, sometimes causing weight gain, fatigue, weakness, depression and sexual problems.
It’s not something most men talk about freely, she said.
“When you sit down with a man one-on-one and he’s filled out your form, he’s put down there that he’s lost his zest for life, that he doesn’t feel happy any longer, that he’s gained weight, that he’s lost his libido,” she said.
“These are things that are important.”
New alternatives
Since 2008 when Ross opened LiveWellMD, roughly half of the patients coming to her for care are men.
Many seek a specialized treatment she offers called bio-identical hormone replacement therapy or BHRT.
At LiveWellMD, Ross’ treatment starts with a complete physical including blood and saliva testing.
Using lab results, Ross determines the patient’s hormone levels and prescribes a medication that is then custom-compounded for that patient’s needs by a Florida-based pharmacist.
BHRT proponents say the customized drugs serve as a natural, safer alternative to hormone replacement drugs, which have been proven to increase cancer risks in some patients.
Ross said she takes BHRT herself, as well as her husband. Both described better mental clarity, improved energy and overall feeling of wellbeing.
Critics such as the North American Menopause Society and the Endocrine Society warn consumers that too little testing has been done on the effects of BHRT, good or bad.
The group says that salivary and blood testing used by custom compounders is meaningless for mid-life women whose hormone levels can vary dramatically throughout the day.
Still, celebrities such as Suzanne Somers and Oprah Winfrey have praised BHRT for alleviating menopausal symptoms without the negative risks.
“After one day on bioidentical estrogen, I felt the veil lift,” Winfrey wrote in a recent issue of O Magazine. “After three days, the sky was bluer, my brain was no longer fuzzy, my memory was sharper. I was literally singing and had a skip in my step.”
Hormone health
Ross asserts that regulating hormone levels is about more than just feeling better now.
In addition to exercise, sleep and a healthy diet, getting hormones in check can help prevent or delay problems later such as heart disease or diabetes, she said.
Ross said most of her patients have read about BHRT before coming to her, and know that it is not approved by the FDA. And they don’t mind.
Savannah hairdresser Seth McSwain discovered BHRT on the Internet after searching for solutions for the malaise and anxiety he had developed his late 30s.
A general practitioner prescribed antidepressants and cholesterol-lowering drugs and suggested McSwain get his testosterone checked.
Tests showed his testosterone was low.
McSwain found a Jacksonville physician who treated him using BHRT and later recommend he receive treatment closer to home through Ross.
“I’m off everything now, all because of BHRT,” he said. “It’s improved the clarity in my head, energy level, everything.”