Any doctors on VN right now??? I have a serious question

#51
#51
I’ll give you the short, and you can ask questions for me to dive deeper.

Testosterone clinics are basically a scam preying on insecure men as a cure all for their problems, when in reality whatever vague symptoms they are concerned about are likely other medical illnesses like depression, OSA, hypothyroidism, etc. True testosterone deficiency is quite rare. People will take their testosterone at 2 in the afternoon, when it’s naturally lower, and think they have low testosterone. A true test would require two separate readings at 8AM. This is hardly ever practiced. But when they get their “low reading” it makes them insecure, they feel the need to get testosterone to fix it. They get testosterone, they end up feeling better (Placebo + real physiological boosts), they’re happy customers. In reality, they never really needed testosterone, and their putting their body and bank account in harms way as chronic TRT can lead to infertility, male pattern baldness (if already prone), etc.

Like the vitamin industry, it’s basically a scam most of the time.
thats kinda what I was figuring, but figured it was worth the clarification. thank you.

to me most of the programs that have you take X for an indefinite amount of time seem like scams to me. at least without an Rx/actual diagnosis.

fwiw I have similar thoughts about caffeine. people using it far beyond how it "should" be, or the amount they should, and they make themselves dependent on it; which can lead to greater issues. I went down that rabbit hole as I was dealing with my depression.

if you have any thoughts on caffeine, agreeing or disagreeing with that take, I would welcome it.
 
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#52
#52
thats kinda what I was figuring, but figured it was worth the clarification. thank you.

to me most of the programs that have you take X for an indefinite amount of time seem like scams to me. at least without an Rx/actual diagnosis.

fwiw I have similar thoughts about caffeine. people using it far beyond how it "should" be, or the amount they should, and they make themselves dependent on it; which can lead to greater issues. I went down that rabbit hole as I was dealing with my depression.

if you have any thoughts on caffeine, agreeing or disagreeing with that take, I would welcome it.

Just to clarify, what exactly is your take on caffeine? As it relates to depression or something else?
 
#53
#53
Just to clarify, what exactly is your take on caffeine? As it relates to depression or something else?
just that over use creates a dependency. replacing or suppressing a lot of the natural chemicals in our brain that regulate a lot of bodily functions. the whole process our body is supposed to go thru when we wake up is replaced/suppressed by the use of caffeine. that can lead to a whole host of issues. the basis was that we have a whole battery of chemicals that go thru a process of regulating us throughout the day. caffeine and other stimulants disrupt that chemical process, and our body/mind never gets a chance to really "fix" itself to the extent it can.

I didn't get far enough into it to say if it was the caffeine itself that caused the issues or if its just the disruption of the process but some of the issues were:
1. bad sleep/disruption of the REM cycle
2. breaking the circadian rhythm, allegedly our body reacts to light differently under caffeine than without.
3. issues with weight/hunger
4. overall mental well being spanning into things like depression. again not that it causes any of them, but whatever problem we have is made worse because our system is disrupted.
 
#54
#54
just that over use creates a dependency. replacing or suppressing a lot of the natural chemicals in our brain that regulate a lot of bodily functions. the whole process our body is supposed to go thru when we wake up is replaced/suppressed by the use of caffeine. that can lead to a whole host of issues. the basis was that we have a whole battery of chemicals that go thru a process of regulating us throughout the day. caffeine and other stimulants disrupt that chemical process, and our body/mind never gets a chance to really "fix" itself to the extent it can.

I didn't get far enough into it to say if it was the caffeine itself that caused the issues or if its just the disruption of the process but some of the issues were:
1. bad sleep/disruption of the REM cycle
2. breaking the circadian rhythm, allegedly our body reacts to light differently under caffeine than without.
3. issues with weight/hunger
4. overall mental well being spanning into things like depression. again not that it causes any of them, but whatever problem we have is made worse because our system is disrupted.

I can’t really comment on the specifics of caffeine. It being good or bad for your in moderation is here or there. But excess caffeine (or most things really) isn’t ideal like you mentioned. But there hasn’t been any evidence at least discussed from medical school through residency that was worthwhile to mention in our teachings for me to know whether it really causes the issues you outlined. Caffeine does act like a stimulant, it can make you jittery in excess. But I can’t give you an honest answer. Not to say you aren’t correct, but I haven’t done a deep dive to know.
 
#56
#56
I can’t really comment on the specifics of caffeine. It being good or bad for your in moderation is here or there. But excess caffeine (or most things really) isn’t ideal like you mentioned. But there hasn’t been any evidence at least discussed from medical school through residency that was worthwhile to mention in our teachings for me to know whether it really causes the issues you outlined. Caffeine does act like a stimulant, it can make you jittery in excess. But I can’t give you an honest answer. Not to say you aren’t correct, but I haven’t done a deep dive to know.
it was a therapist that put me onto it. I don't think even they would claim a deep medical study on it.

Their major point was we recognize addiction with some things, but not others. and that some addictions are at least socially acceptable, and not really questioned; but while trying to heal and nothing is working, its worth at least exploring some of the unquestioned.
 
#59
#59
it was a therapist that put me onto it. I don't think even they would claim a deep medical study on it.

Their major point was we recognize addiction with some things, but not others. and that some addictions are at least socially acceptable, and not really questioned; but while trying to heal and nothing is working, its worth at least exploring some of the unquestioned.

That makes sense. They are the experts at addiction for the most part. Ultimately addiction is only addiction when it affects other facets of your life.
 
#74
#74
Honestly you really just have to know the traffic patterns, and base where you live logistically responsibly for where you work. There are certain no go routes I avoid altogether.
Thankfully, we're not through actual Atlanta much. We live just outside of Gainesville, and it's bad enough. We go to a dr in Cumming every werk, that's enough also 😆
 
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