Your "Normal" Lab Values are not Optimal
Time and time again I hear patients tell me that they had their testosterone levels (or any hormone level) checked and their doctor told them they were “normal”. Despite the fact that the patient is symptomatic (decreased energy, sex drive and libido) they leave without treatment thinking that they are “just getting old” because that is what their doctors tell them.
The point of this blog is to let you know that “normal” is not optimal and that the majority of doctors miss this point. In addition, because the patients labs are “normal” they do not get treated. Let me explain. The normal reference range on labs is based on a patients age. What they do is take the average range for 1000 men or women the same age as you and come up with a reference range. So if you are 59 years old and have your testosterone levels checked they will reference 1000 other 59 year olds and compare yours to theirs. So “normal” is a relative term. No man wants the testosterone levels of a 59 year male because they are typically 40-50% of what the levels were when you were 20 years old. So “normal” for age on a lab reference range just means that your labs are just as average as every other 59 year old man with low energy and no libido. What men want is to feel like they did when they were 20 years old. A 20 year old has a completely different reference range for testosterone levels. They are much higher than the reference range for a 59 year old.
What I shoot for in my male patients is testosterone levels in the upper range of normal for a 20 year old, NOT a 59 year old. Only when we take this approach to patients do they feel great again. In my practice I use the reference range for a 20 year old when determining a treatment plan and adjust the dose accordingly to get the levels to that upper limit of normal.
Only 1% of physicians in the world who are trained in bio-identical hormone replacement take this approach to patient care. I happen to be one of them and get fantastic results in my patients.
If you would like to schedule a consult with Dr. Sean Breen simply give us a call at 877-721-0047 and visit us online at www.breencenter.com.