78 Steps Health Journal

What Tests Should Be Done Before Starting Androgen Replacement

A digital rectal examination and a serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test should be performed by the physician to assess prostate abnormalities before a middle-aged or older patient is started on androgen treatment. If the serum PSA is elevated or nodules or irregularities are found, the patient should be referred for urological assessment. A complete blood count, liver function tests, and a lipid panel should be performed to ensure that the subject does not have an elevated hemoglobin or hematocrit, and to assess the baseline liver enzymes and serum total, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

Table 1 Androgen Therapy

Benefits

• Improves sexual function

• Maintains secondary sex characters

• T Bone mass, muscle mass, and strength

• Improves mood in hypogonadal men

• Cognitive function?

• Coronary vasodilation?

Risks

• Gynecomastia, decreased testis volume, and suppressed spermatogenesis

• Weight gain, fluid retention

• Prostate dysfunction (CAP, BPH)

• T Hematocrit/hemoglobin

HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; CAP, carcinoma of the prostate; BPH, benign prostate hyperplasia.

Eliminating Stress and Anxiety From Your Life

It seems like you hear it all the time from nearly every one you know I'm SO stressed out!? Pressures abound in this world today. Those pressures cause stress and anxiety, and often we are ill-equipped to deal with those stressors that trigger anxiety and other feelings that can make us sick. Literally, sick.

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