As we age, we begin to notice that our body and mind does not function as it did when we were in our early twenties.  It is more difficult to build or maintain muscle mass or you begin to notice a decrease in your muscle tone.  It seems impossible to lose weight no matter how hard you try!  You may notice that you don't have the same energy levels or sex drive that you did when you were younger.  You may have more difficulty concentrating on tasks or you may notice that your memory is not as good as it use to be!

Many of the "symptoms" that we notice with aging are actually due to declining hormone levels associated with aging.  It's inevitable!  As we age, our body produces less hormones and our hormone levels will drop!  Human Growth Hormone (hGH) and Testosterone are perfect examples of this.  Human growth hormone is measured by the amount of Insulin Growth Factor (IGF-1) in the blood.  On average, IGF-1 levels decline from 260 ng/ml at age 20 to 120 ng/ml at age 45.  That’s more than a 50% decline! The decline then continues to an IGF-1 level of 50 or less by age 85!  Testosterone levels begin to steadily decline 1-2% every year starting at the age of 30 and 2 out of every 10 men will develop symptoms associated with low testosterone levels!   

Hormone replacement therapy is the science of modulating hormone levels in order to maintain normal (physiological) levels.  This is achieved by obtaining a laboratory panel which will show the hormone levels that are deficient in the patient.  The physician then prescribes medication at a dosage necessary to bring the hormone levels back up into the normal (physiologic) range.  Hormones used for hormone replacement therapy include:  Human growth hormone, testosterone, thyroid, vitamin D, DHEA, melatonin, estrogen, and progesterone. 

Side effects are minimal to none because the hormone levels remain in the physiologic range.  This means that your younger body once produced this level of hormones and that your body is capable of utilizing hormones within this range.  Side effects begin to occur once the hormone levels exceed that of the normal range, which is prevented by careful monitoring by your physician.

Hormone replacement therapy has been proven to greatly enhance the quality of one’s life, while possibly lengthening one’s lifespan!  Patients on hormone replacement therapy truly feel like they have discovered the fountain of youth!