How to Find a Good Physician for Testosterone Replacement Therapy

Many  primary care doctors in the United States feel comfortable prescribing testosterone in 2010.  Unfortunately, there are many doctors who still do not know much about the proper management of testosterone replacement or are afraid to prescribe it.

Here are several resources that can help you if you need to search for one:

The Hormone Foundation: The Hormone Foundation, the public education affiliate of The Endocrine Society, is a leading source of hormone-related health information for the public, physicians, allied health professionals and the media. Their mission is to serve as a resource for the public by promoting the prevention, treatment and cure of hormone-related conditions through outreach and education.

The Hormone Foundation’s physician referral directory is comprised of over 3,000 members of The Endocrine Society, the largest and most influential organization of endocrinologists in the world. The referral is updated weekly with physicians who are accepting new patients. To find a specialist near you, please use the search tools below. You can search by ZIP code, state/province, or area of specialty (e.g., diabetes, thyroid, etc.) within the United States and abroad.

http://www.hormone.org/FindAnEndo/index.cfm

Life Extension Foundation, List of Innovative Doctors:

http:www.lef.org/Health-Wellness/InnovativeDoctors/

There is an AACE doctor search page at http://www.aace.com/resources/memsearch.php

In theory they would use the AACE hypogonadism guidelines, but do not assume that all endocrinologists are testosterone friendly.

Women’s International Pharmacy: They refer doctors here http://www.womensinternational.com/request_referral.html

College Pharmacy (Colorado Springs, CO): http://www.collegepharmacy.com/

Click “Find a Health Care Provider.” There is a form to fill out. Submit the form and they will e-mail a list of doctors nearest you who use their compounding services.

Medibolics.com, a HIV-related web site:

Doctors in this list also treat people who are not HIV positive: http://www.medibolics.com/physic2.htm

Directory of “anti-aging” worldwide doctors: http://www.worldhealth.net/pages/directory/?

You can also google “compounding pharmacy YOUR CITY” to find out which compounding pharmacies are in your area. You can call them to find out if they can refer you to a doctor who uses their services.

After you find a potential doctor, ask some basic questions to determine their level of knowledge about testosterone.  Some may feel insulted to be asked questions like these, but if they are it’s probably not going to be a good match for you (of course, be nice and diplomatic when asking questions!)

1. How many men does he/she treat for hypogonadism?
2. Does he/she offer HCG therapy, in addition to testosterone for testicular atrophy? (Many doctors do not know how to use HCG.)
3. Does he/she use Arimidex or tamoxifen to keep estrogen down in case of gynecomastia (enlarged breasts)?
4. Does he/she check for primary or secondary hypogonadism?
5. Does he/she allow patients to self-inject at home?
6. Does he/she work with any compounding pharmacies to access cheaper and customized hormonal products? (Some doctors worry com­pounding pharmacies have poor quality control)
7. What does he/she think of AACE hypogonadism guidelines? (American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Medical Guidelines for Clini­cal Practice for the Evaluation and Treatment of Hypogonadism). These guidelines are very clear and doctors who have not read them should not be prescribing testosterone and managing sexual dysfunction. You can read them at link 12 and 13 of www.aace.com/pub/guidelines/hypogonadism.pdf They are great guidelines, although  they really do not address the use of HCG, Arimidex (anastrazole), tamoxifen, clomid, or any other medication that may help with side effect management.

I hope this helps you empower yourself to find the right doctor!

Nelson Vergel

www.testosteronewisdom.com

About the author

Nelson Vergel

Pharmaceutical consultant at Program for Wellness Restoration | Website

Nelson Vergel is the author of "Testosterone: A Man's Guide- Second Edition" and co-author of the book "Built to Survive: A Comprehensive Guide to the Medical Use of Anabolic Therapies, Nutrition and Exercise for HIV (+) men and women", the founder of the Body Positive Wellness Clinic in Houston, and an expert speaker on exercise, nutrition, testosterone replacement, metabolism , sexual function and therapies to increase lean body mass and decrease fat.