Question: What do you think about hormone replacement (thyroid, testosterone, progesterone) therapy? Since turning 40, I have been on it and it seems to make me feel great.
Dr. Blaylock's Answer:
If you require hormone replacement at age 40, you have a significant deficiency. In general, replacement therapy is necessary only if a documented deficiency exists. This can be accomplished by laboratory testing. However, many doctors do incomplete testing. For example, they will get a TSH level rather than the full spectrum of thyroid hormones, including levels of T4, T3, etc. The same is true for reproductive hormones.
The endocrine system is very complex and must be studied in full. If you have low reproductive and thyroid hormones you might want to ask your doctor about getting a pituitary workup, since this can indicate malfunctioning of the pituitary gland, which controls most of the endocrine glands.
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