You have heard the ads for low libido, commercials guaranteeing to boost your Testosterone. Low T Men's Clinics are business models, not primary care services. So what is it they are not telling you? To understand this one needs to review how the primary male hormone Testosterone is regulated in the body. Most men understand the source of Testosterone is from the testicles, which also are responsible for sperm production. But most people do not know that the regulation of Testosterone is under the influence of the pituitary gland in the brain. Much like a thermostat type of control, when Testosterone goes up the pituitary feedback will decrease testicular production.

So when the Men's Clinic gives you Testosterone replacement your pituitary gland will tell the testicles to stop making it. Would you rather have 280 of your own Testosterone or 300 artificial replacement?

Furthermore consider you are now dependent on a product because your testicles will shut down this natural production not only of Testosterone but also sperm. One can become infertile from Testosterone replacement. Sometimes a true low Testosterone patient (Hypogonadism) needs replacement therapy. But careful consideration and thoughtful consultation should go into "supplementing a low normal Testosterone" level, because it is not a supplement, it is a replacement of your normal hormone for the drug product. 

In the previous blog we discussed how the severe pain from a kidney stone attack is the body's way of telling us that our kidney is blocked. This causes one to seek help before the kidney suffers any permanent damage, which can happen when a kidney becomes obstructed. 

The obvious and first efforts to manage renal colic comes in the choice and dose of analgesics (pain medication) and antiemetic for the nausea and vomiting part of the illness. Often the patient can be supported with these measures and IV fluids while the stone passes. A group of medications called alpha blockers (Flomax is the best known) can help stones to pass.

If this strategy does not work or if the stone is obviously too large, Middle Tennessee Urology Specialists has a number of minimally invasive procedures such as Ureteroscopy and ESWL (Lithotripsy) to remove these stones. Such a remedy can often be employed within hours of the horrible first symptoms, curing the illness that day. 

Shock wave lithotripsy technology was truly a game changer. Even the doctors were skeptical that a device had been designed to break up stones without any incision or direct scope contact. But now we have over 30 years of success with ESWL and patients usually are home in a few hours after treatment.