Author: Katy Farr

Low testosterone (hypogonadism) in men
Posted on by Katy Farr

What is testosterone?

Testosterone is the most important androgen (male hormone) that men make. It helps regulate muscle mass and strength, it can effect sex drive and sexual function, and it helps maintain bone strength.

What is “low T”?

Low testosterone is when the body does not produce sufficient testosterone. With age, it is normal for levels of testosterone to get a bit lower. When the levels of testosterone get too low, men can have symptoms.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms may change from person to person.
If someone has had low testosterone for a relatively short period of time, he may experience: fatigue, low libido (little or no interest in sex), or he may feel sad or depressed
If low T goes unnoticed for a long time, some people experience loss of bone and / or muscle mass, loss of facial or body hair, increase in breast size (gynecomastia)

What are the causes?

  • Normal aging
  • Diseases affecting the testicles (which produce testosterone in men)
  • Certain treatments for cancer, including radiation, chemotherapy or certain types of hormone therapy
  • Disorders that affect the pituitary gland, a gland at the base of the brain that regulates all other hormones in the body

Other medical problems: liver and kidney disease, obesity, diabetes, AIDS, and some relatively rare hereditary conditions

Why should you see us for this?

There are many things that can cause these symptoms. Your provider can try to find out what might be causing them. A blood test can show whether you have low T, but you might not need that test if something else is causing your symptoms. Also finding the cause of low T is important, since treatment may change depending on the cause.

What is the treatment?

Low testosterone can be treated with testosterone replacement, which comes in patches, gels, injections, and other options. It is very important to pick the treatment that will work best for you and to monitor your testosterone levels to optimize the results. The providers at Texas Diabetes & Endocrinology are experts in low testosterone management and can help you achieve personalized results!

Why you should contact TD&E

  • It is very important to evaluate and understand the specific cause of low T before starting treatment for it. Treatment depends on the cause, and sometimes starting treatment before detailed evaluation can make it harder to understand the underlying cause
  • Getting your testosterone levels to optimal has health benefits including improved muscle mass, increased bone density, better energy levels, and improved sexual function.
  • The providers at Texas Diabetes & Endocrinology are experts in low testosterone management and can help you achieve personalized results!

 

What you need to know about Osteoporosis
Posted on by Katy Farr

Osteoporosis is a growing public health concern. It is characterized by low bone mass and decreased bone strength which results in an increased risk for fracture. This disease can affect both men and women. Current estimates are that 5.1% of men and 24.5% of women age 65 years and older have osteoporosis of the hip or spine.

Osteoporosis can be diagnosed with a BMD (bone mineral density) assessment.

Most experts recommend a BMD assessment in all postmenopausal women 65 years and older.

Many experts also recommend a BMD assessment in women younger than 65 who are at increased risk for osteoporosis.

Some experts recommend a BMD assessment for men over the age of 70.

Osteoporosis is a silent disease. As such, there are no clinical manifestations until the affected individual suffers a fracture. This is why early diagnosis is important -we have therapies that can slow or even reverse the progression of osteoporosis so that fracture risk is reduced. One of our goals at Texas Diabetes and Endocrinology is to deliver interventional therapies that will maintain quality of life for an aging population. If you have osteoporosis, we can perform a thorough evaluation and offer an individualized treatment plan.

Here are things you can do on your own to preserve bone mass:

  • Limit alcohol consumption to <2 drinks daily
  • Avoid smoking
  • Take a daily walk for at least 30-45 minutes
  • Consume foods containing vitamin D (dairy and fish from the ocean) and/or take a supplement
  • Consume foods containing calcium (dairy, green leafy vegetables) and/or take a supplement.

Links for more information:
nia.nih.gov/health/osteoporosis
nof.org/patients
rheumatology.org/I-Am-A/Patient-Caregiver/Diseases-Conditions/Osteoporosis

a doctor examines a patients thyroid
Hashimoto’s…What the heck is that?
Posted on by Katy Farr

Looking online about a medical diagnosis can be overwhelming. A quick Google search about your thyroid condition might lead you down a rabbit hole where things get pretty grim, pretty fast. So what is this mystery diagnosis of Hashimoto’s? Simply put, it’s the name of the condition where your immune system turns against you and attacks your thyroid. It is the most common cause for someone to need to take a thyroid supplement – hypothyroidism.
Your immune system normally does a fantastic job of keeping your body safe from foreign “attacks” like bacterias and viruses. In some individuals, their immune system is tricked into attacking their own body. As a result, the target organ can be destroyed to the point that it no longer works properly. There are a number of conditions that follow this pattern but seem different because different organs are attacked. For instance, if the immune system targets your joints, you get rheumatoid arthritis, your pancreas – type 1 diabetes. All of these “autoimmune diseases” are interrelated and often times hereditary. This is why various members of the same family can present with a variety of autoimmune diseases. Experts do not know why or how the immune system gets activated but the gradual and eventual destruction of the thyroid can lead to devastating consequences for the patient.
The thyroid gland sits in the lower, front part of your neck and its purpose is to make thyroid hormone. This hormone serves to control the metabolic rate of almost all of the organs in your body. It controls processes as diverse as the rate at which the heart beats, the stomach digests food, the brain processes memories and learning, to the condition of your skin, hair and nails. When the thyroid is partially or completely destroyed, the lack of thyroid hormone will make an individual feel tired, constipated, forgetful, have dry skin or brittle nails. Each individual will present in their own unique way. The symptoms can be subtle or get worse gradually. This makes the diagnosis difficult to come by at times.
Your doctor at Texas Diabetes and Endocrinology can run a series of blood tests to see the status of your thyroid levels. At times, we can determine if your immune system is making antibodies that are attacking your thyroid. Lastly, an ultrasound of your thyroid can sometimes be useful to see if your thyroid is healthy or if there is a problem.
Sometimes, Hashimoto’s can flare up and seemingly get worse. When this occurs, patients can experience the fatigue and other symptoms that first alerted them to the condition. Your doctor might need to increase or adjust your medication so that you can return to feeling back to normal again.

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