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We would like to honor the memory of Les Barra who passed away September 5 after a long battle with cancer. Les served as a steering committee member and greeter at our meetings. Les always had a pleasant word for everyone. The September meeting will be a bit different without Les sitting at the table welcoming new people into our group. Like any organization, a new comer to Us TOO forms their impression by the first person they meet. Les always left a good impression on people as they visited our group. He will be greatly missed.
Dr. Joseph Banno addressed our group July 27 about the area of testosterone helping ones libido. He began his presentation emphasizing that testosterone replacement therapy is about so much more than libido. Low Testosterone (low T) can have an effect on the skin, liver, male sexual organ, bone, brain, muscle, and kidney and bone morrow. He mentioned that when he was in medical school many years ago, he was taught that testosterone was strictly for libido. As years have gone by, he found that it was a source of stimulating the kidney producer erythropoietin, which increases the red blood count. We know that it helps liver function, skin and hair growth.
Drugs like Viagra, Cialas and Levitra need testosterone to produce nitric oxide to accomplish their function.
Some 13 million men (and could be as high as 20 million) in the U.S. have low T. As a man ages, the level of testosterone lowers. 1 in 10 men in their 40’s-50’s, 1 in 5 men in their 60’s and 1 in 4 men in their 70’s will experience low T. 70% of people on chronic pain medications will have low T. Also 52% of obese people, 50% of diabetics, 50% of people with AIDS and 42% of people with hypertension will experience low T. One of the biggest reasons men over 60 experience low T is osteoporosis.
Some signs of low T are, incomplete sexual development, breast discomfort, enlarged breast, increased body fat, reduced muscle bulk and strength, low bone mineral density, loss of body hair in the public area, reduced shaving, low or zero sperm count, hot flashes and sweats.
Screening tools are an androgen deficiency tool and questionnaire. Ten questions to ask yourself to determine a possible problem with low T:
1.) Decreased sex drive. 2. Lack of energy. 3. Decrease in strength and endurance. 4. Loss of height. 5. Decreased enjoyment with life. 6. Sadness or grumpiness. 7. Less strong erections. 8. Recent deterioration to play sports. 9. Falling asleep after dinner. 10. Recent deterioration in work performance. If you checked 1 or 7 or any 3 other questions, you MAY have low T.
Treatment options: gels, injections and patches. Dr. Banno prefers the gels because a steady level can be achieved easier than injectables, which require a weekly injection. A man’s testosterone level should be in the 300 to 1200 range to be considered normal.
Dr. Banno donated 12 books to our group by Dr. Abraham Morgentaler entitled Testosterone for Life. Dr. Morgentaler is Associate Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School.
We hope you can attend the September 28th meeting to hear Dr.Bewsey.