Is It Low-Testosterone, or Is It Time To Fire My Doctor?

Sitting in a sparse room, I felt like time had slowed and my stress level had risen, with two questions circling through my mind: Is it low-Testosterone, or time to fire my doctor?

My Story And Why I Fired My Doctor

So time to get a bit personal. I’ve been struggling, and if you’ve followed this site for a while you most likely noticed.

My post frequency has tanked. My email correspondence with the fitness crew has been infrequent, at best. My projects have all stalled.

I had hit a wall. And not just another wall like the 8’ walls on the Tough Mudder. This wall zapped my energy, my brain power, and my ambition for just about everything.

Something was wrong.

I started digging and confirmed my suspicions that I had been living with way too much stress and was suffering from adrenal fatigue.

Armed with my symptoms and concerns I went to my doctor. I had a list of tests that I wanted performed. Some he approved, others he said were worthless.

He wasn’t particularly concerned about my interest in adrenal fatigue. He said there was no good way to test for it. He felt like the other tests we were performing would be enough.

That was back in January, when I was feeling blue.

My tests came back and he gladly took out his prescription pad.

The tests revealed low testosterone. He immediately suggested that I start on hormone replacement therapy using AndroGel.

I hadn’t researched HRT, and was fed up with feeling completely drained. So I accepted the prescription. In some ways I wanted to trust the doctor, I wanted to believe there was someone else interested in my well-being.

The problem was that something didn’t match. Again I started researching hormone replacement therapy to learn some shocking information:

• Hormone Replacement Therapy, like AdroGel, will destroy my body’s ability to product testosterone.
• Hormone Replacement Therapy is a life-long decision once started.
• Hormone Replacement Therapy increases risk of prostate cancer.

I was shocked.

While I had started to feel a little better, my body also started to react. My right shoulder broke out in a rash. Initially I just noticed what looked and felt like tiny pimples, but they soon became open sores.

That skin reaction made me quit taking AndroGel.

But I kept digging deeper. None of what I found was new. In fact the more detailed guidelines published by the American Association Of Clinical Endocrinologists was updated in 2002, over 11 years ago.

American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists – Hypogonadism

When the experts say to never trust a single blood test for prescribing hormone replacement therapy for low testosterone I took notice.

It was time to fire my doctor

But the process of finding a new doctor has never been fun. Just what I needed … another source of stress.

The Saga of Finding A New Doctor

When I arrived 15 minutes early to the appointment I was given a stack of papers to complete. The forms asked for my personal contact information, a spotty glimpse into my health history, and a series of signatures.

Really? Do I need to fill all of this out when I have never even met the doctor?

Oh sure, the clinic has a web site with smiling faces and interesting graphics.

Oh sure, the staff have abbreviations after their names. Supposedly proof that they can help me.

But this just isn’t right.

How come I feel like they get to interview me to see if they will accept me as a client?

I needed a different perspective. There was no way I wanted to relive that process in my quest to find a new doctor.

Perspective: Health Providers Work For You

Too often I feel like I’m stuck trying to find health providers to take care of my family and myself. In that process somehow the perspective gets flipped so it feels like I work for the health providers.

Think about it this way. As patients we can find ourselves as either the customer or the patient.

Customer	Patient
Choose where to buy?	Sent to see specific providers
Evaluate and compare options	Pay for first visit
Interaction, then payment	Pay first, then limited interaction

The more I think about the health care system, the more backwards the system feels. But maybe that’s just because my perspective is off.

Exercise: Pick Up The Phone

Here’s a challenge. Any professional you hire, will respond to your phone calls. So apply this to your healthcare provider.

Grab the phone, call the office, and ask to speak to *your doctor*.

If you try this exercise, please leave a comment on the response you get. I have played phone tag with several offices and only had one doctor call me back.

My New Approach To Find A Doctor

Keep the perspective that doctors work for me, just like any other professional I might hire. They should offer some level of interaction prior to my first visit.

That’s right. I started searching for a doctor based on the assumption that I would only visit doctors who would interact with me prior to my first visit.

Sounds bold. Sounds brash.

But it shouldn’t be. Doctor’s that truly are interested in my health would want to know if I fit their clinic’s model of an ideal customer, right?

Finding a doctor should be a two-way interaction, where both parties can be assured that they will benefit.

I Found One

Armed with my new expectation I started searching for a new doctor. I searched online, and I searched through the physical network of friends, family, and coworkers. I scoured, looking for a health care professional willing and interested in having me as a client (not just another patient).

Seeking interaction shouldn’t be that difficult, but it was. It filtered out the majority of the doctors in the area.

But there were exceptions. I found a few doctors willing to interact.

I found a doctor who held regular office hours on the phone. He answered the phone directly during the scheduled hours. He asked questions, and offered suggestions.

I found doctors who actually responded to email.

Interaction. I had found doctors willing to interact.

Stay Tuned

The saga is far from over. Thankfully, whatever I’m struggling with is not life-threatening, just downright annoying.

I want my brain back!

I am impressed with this new doctor. During my first visit to his clinic I was able to spend nearly 2 hours of direct face-to-face time with him. He asked lots of questions, took notes, and even gave me some homework.

This will undoubtedly be very different from any of my prior doctors.

He has been hired.

So … flip your perspective if you’re being treated like a patient. Expect professional service from your healthcare professionals.

Stay tuned. It may take some time to get back on a regular posting schedule, but I’m still here. I’m still here to help you in any way I can to get and stay in shape, because we need to remember … there’s life outside the box.

Images

• Question Mark by alexanderdrachmann
• Doctors Office by helloitserica
• Old Phone by MoShotz
• Reach For the Sky by mtsofan