1st visit coming up. Do I mention AAS use?

Agree on tell.

HRT takes time. You want to build a relationship with your doc. IMHO It's not about getting a prescription or two.

Mark
 
I just got back from my first visit.

First he asked me many questions about my symptoms, history, diet, exercise, relationships, etc.

Then he did a physical and took all my vitals.

Then he took blood, urine, and stool samples (he gave me a take-home kit for that one).

He explained that he was going to test a lot of things, including the following:


Hormones:
Total Testosterone
Free Testosterone
Bound Testosterone
FSH
LH
DHEA
Estradiol
Growth Hormone
Thyroid Hormones

Neurotransmitters:
Serotonin
Dopamine
Norepinephrine
Melatonin

Nutrition panel

GI health panel

Complete Blood Count


I did not mention my past AAS use but I may do so at the next visit.

Anyway, the tests take about 3 weeks to all come back. When they do, I'll go in for another visit and I'll give you guys an update. The doc was very friendly and did not mind at all that I was asking a lot of questions. We'll see how it goes....
 
cftcft,
Glad to hear it went well, hope you obtain what your looking for in the comming weeks.

i was also wondering if this doc accepted insurance or if it was cash only?
 
colkurtz_spf said:
Hormone modulation is not a cookie cutter strategy. I would disclose everything to your doctor, and hope it was the cycle that did you wrong. Otherwise you'll be on some form of HRT for life.
Click to expand...

Col, are you one of Dr. John's lucky pts? It sounds like your doc is on top of things. But realistically, how many docs even offer HCG to their patients? Most are gonna write an Rx for Androgel and when it aromatizes, you're gonna feel worse.

As far as disclosing AAS usage, I would tell a good doc this in a minute. But my problem is a lack of faith in current common medical therapies for these problems. I wouldn't put it past a lot of docs to consider that all your hormonal problems were caused by that cycle you did in college and since it's your fault, you can just suffer the consequences.
 
j2048b said:
cftcft,
Glad to hear it went well, hope you obtain what your looking for in the comming weeks.

i was also wondering if this doc accepted insurance or if it was cash only?
Click to expand...

No, he did not accept insurance. Cash, check, or credit card. However I was able to use my insurance for the testing so I only had to pay a small co-pay.

Even though he didn't accept insurance, he gave me a bill so I can give it to my insurance company and try to negotiate something.
 
Awesome man, yeah i heard you could itemize each charge and try to get insurance to cover certain things.

I know anti-aging docs are usually pretty expensive, but it may just be the first couple visits that could run you in the $$
 
Yeah, I can't wait to get the results. Actually, I don't know what would be worse: if my results come back abnormal, then I'll be able to be treated but I'll have to be on hormones the rest of my life. If my results come back normal, then I have to figure out why I'm suffering these symptoms and I'll need to go see a mental health professional.

Either way, it sucks.
 
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