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TAMPA, FL--(Marketwire - January 7, 2010) - Grant Mansell was 46 and frustrated with his 300
pound physique, ensuing back pain, rising cholesterol, dependency on blood
pressure medicine but most of all not enjoying life with his wife and
children.
"It was extremely frustrating," says Mansell. "I've been involved with
sports my entire life but when I hit 40-something everything changed. My
recovery time from the gym took days and dieting on my own was getting me
nowhere."
But it was a personal conversation with a former pro-football player that
changed Mansell's 40-something dread into a 30-something life.
"He told me he had been seeing Dr. Stephanie Bien about similar issues and
had great success so I had to check it out," says Mansell.
The 120-mile drive from Punta Gorda did not stop Mansell from becoming a
regular patient of Dr. Bien's at her Wesley Chapel practice once she
diagnosed him with andropause, known as the male form of menopause, and
started treatments that eventually led to his 120-pound weight loss and
restored his cholesterol and blood pressure to normal, taking him out of
the diabetes risk category.
"Grant's situation is not uncommon," says Dr. Bien, whose Age Management
Medicine practice focuses on men's health issues. "Every decade we age, our
bodies produce fewer hormones whether we are a woman or a man, but
unfortunately for men this condition is not taken as seriously as it is for
women."
However, that hasn't stopped millions of men in search of answers to feel
better. Sales of male hormone products hit $809 million last year and keep
rising especially in Florida, which is considered the No. 1 state for these
types of therapies. Hormone replacement therapy for men is such a hot
issue that the U.S. government recently announced funding a national study
called "T Trial" to see if older men with low testosterone benefit from
boosting it.
"Hormone replacement therapy invites controversy," says Dr. Bien. "However
we shouldn't be looking at replacing hormones but optimizing them with
careful testing and monitoring to restore levels that can bring men relief,
allowing them to focus at work and relax at home."
Dr. Bien says good testosterone levels are in the upper 25 percent of
normal range, but many men over age 40 experience lower levels and
increased disease risk. Unlike menopause, the hormone change with
andropause is gradual and medical experts say all men experience the change
starting in their 40s but most are unaware.
Warning signs include low libido, irritability, short-term memory loss,
mid-section weight gain, depression and low energy. Depending on the
patient's medical history, Dr. Bien says a combination of exercise, proper
nutrition, supplementation and conservative hormone optimization on a
case-by-case basis is an approach that can make a huge impact on quality of
life issues. For more information visit: www.agewellmed.com.
