What does “Normal” really mean when looking at you blood test results?
We often speak in terms of something being normal for men of our ages. Lab tests return results in terms of a comparison to “Normal”. What does this talk of normal mean? Dr. Maupin explains in this week’s Healthcast that she is comparing a man to what normal was for when he was a young healthy man. This is a symptom focused look at what a man needs. When we were younger, our general condition was healthier, our skin was more supple and smooth, we had more energy, our belly fat was less intrusive and extensive. Replacing testosterone restores many of those conditions to the levels that you experienced when you were younger and healthier.
This is true for both men and women. Their conditions have been restored to what were young healthy levels. A particular example is one of bone density. When they are young, men have thicker bones than women do. As long as they keep testosterone, their bones remain strong and thick. When they begin to lose their testosterone, it is likely that their bones become more brittle and more susceptible to breaks. When women experience this, since their bones are thinner to begin with, they are more likely to suffer breaks than men. This is a particular risk for women as they age because falling is a risk of the elderly and if their bones are brittle this leads to breaks among elderly women in particular. Often, medical specialists will tell you that if you fall and break a bone above the age of 70, it can predict that you may die within the next six months.
Restoration of testosterone among men can restore their hormones to young normal levels, this will benefit them in terms of emotional reactivity, fighting off depression and anxiety, and help them not be reactive to ephemeral swings of mood that are triggered by situational events.
Normal levels of testosterone will help your brain manage emotional swings and allow you to cope with events in your life from a stronger and more stable position. We know this because of reportage of symptom relief, not because there is a specific measurable blood level that gives us a standard to compare against.
We decided to do this Healthcast because of a recent article published by Dr. Keith Roach explaining that “normal” levels of blood tests were not the end all and be all of being able to tell whether or not testosterone replacement was helping fight off all your symptoms of aging. The point of his article was that there are general gains (not specifically identified biochemical markers, but rather quality of life and quality of capacity conditions). Men generally experience a restoration of these conditions and abilities when they replace their lost testosterone. Women, as well, will share that they feel more alert, less anxious, more capable of reaching goals and objectives when their testosterone levels are restored to young healthy levels.
We also discuss delivery methods of replacing testosterone, and why it is that pellets placed under your skin are the best method for replacing lost testosterone and raising your hormone levels.
At the end of the day it is important not to just focus on or get distracted by specifically limited symptoms and to also look at overall or global benefits reported by quality of life and capacity for functioning which can be anecdotally experienced by the individual in order to measure whether or not the decision to replace your lost hormones is a good decision for you medically and in terms of the global quality of life you will have.
This Health cast was written and presented by Dr. Kathy Maupin, M.D., Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Expert and Author, with Brett Newcomb, MA., LPC., Family Counselor, Presenter and Author. www.BioBalanceHealth.com.
