On your way to pick up some takeout from your favorite Thai restaurant, you may have noticed a sign for a “Low T Center”. While enjoying your Pad Thai you did a search on “low T centers” and realized that they might be able to help you with your:
- Decreased energy,
- Expanding waistline (for the record, the Pad Thai isn’t helping either), and
- Decreased performance in the bedroom
Sounds great!
Before you jump in, let’s learn more about low T centers. In fact, let’s see how low T centers compare to a urology practice specializing in the treatment of low T so you can choose the one that’s right for you.
Low T Center = Big Business
A low T center is a group medical practice specializing in the treatment of low testosterone. With many locations in almost all 50 states, low T centers are seemingly everywhere. Each location, like a McDonald’s franchise, follows the protocols of the parent organization with a cookie cutter approach to healthcare.
In other words, low T centers are first and foremost a BUSINESS.
Their job is to grab your attention and get you inside. That’s not to say that they don’t help people, but don’t forget their primary objective.
By contrast, a urology practice is a highly specialized medical practice. Although the practice structure can take many different forms, the urologists are free to practice medicine however they decide is best for their patients.
Obviously, medicine is a business, so the idea of a completely altruistic doctor who provides free, specialized healthcare is not realistic. However, most of us who are board-certified physicians entered medicine with the primary goal of helping patients, regardless of the financial rewards.
The primary objective of most urologists is to provide specialized, high-quality, patient care. If making boat loads of money were our goal, we would have been better off financially with a MBA or law degree. Or, we could offer lucrative cosmetic services like laser hair removal and facial Botox injections.
Instead, it’s best for patients if we stick to what we know . . . keeping your main man working in the bedroom.
Low T Center = Employees, not Specialists
Most low T centers are staffed by nurse practitioners/physician assistants (also known as advanced practice providers or APPs). They are trained in the protocols of the low T center and act as the primary care providers for patients.
Even the “medical directors” of these low T centers are often not physicians.
But wait a minute . . . I thought nurse practitioners and physician assistants require physician supervision and oversight? As long as a doctor holds a medical license in the particular state, they can “supervise” and have a “collaboration agreement” with multiple APPs at a low T center. Sometimes the doctor is not even living in the same state as the low T center employees.
That doesn’t sound like supervision to me.
When you see a board-certified urologist with expertise in low T treatment, you are seeing an expert. More importantly, treating low T isn’t just about addressing hormone levels. Many men with low T will need the following issues addressed:
- Erectile dysfunction
- BPH or difficulties urinating
- PSA blood test monitoring for prostate cancer screening
Urologists are trained in the diagnosis and treatment of all of these conditions. Wouldn’t it be more convenient and better care to go straight to the expert?
Low T Center = Same Treatment for Every Patient
Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is available in several forms:
- Injections
- Topical (patches, ointments, gels)
- Pellet insertions
Testosterone is also available in synthetic and bio-identical formulations.
At a low T center, you often have ONE CHOICE: synthetic injection therapy.
There are several options for TRT, each with unique pros and cons. No one therapy is right for every patient. So why would you want to go somewhere with only one choice?
Why would a low T center only offer synthetic injections? Because it’s easy. It follows a cookie cutter algorithm that is reproducible and easily taught to new providers with little to no background in hormone optimization. It also keeps patients coming back for frequent lab testing and visits which lead to . . . PROFIT.
In comparison to a low T center, a urologist specializing in hormone optimization will offer all available TRT options. We can guide patients through the different choices so you can choose the best therapy for you.
Most specialists with experience in treating low T would agree that treatment with bio-identical hormone pellets is the preferred therapy because it is:
- Safe: bio-identical means that you’ll receive the exact hormone your body produces. Pellets are also less likely to affect your liver function and red blood cell levels. A common side effect of injections.
- Consistent: pellets keep your hormone levels stable so you feel good for months at a time. Injections leave you on a roller coaster as your levels go up quickly and then go down quickly.
- Effective: consistent levels in a high-normal range means you’ll feel better.
That being said, there are some patients that do very well with injections or topical therapies. What’s important is that you pick the therapy that best for you.
Closing Thoughts
Don’t get me wrong, low testosterone is an under-diagnosed medical condition that negatively impacts the lives of millions of men. As a medical community, we need to do a better job of properly screening men for low T and getting them the treatment they deserve.
I’m certain there are many men who are quite happy that they found a low T center. If you suffer with low T, any replacement therapy is likely to help to a degree.
However, don’t you deserve to know all your options? Don’t you deserve expert, comprehensive care? Shouldn’t the practice of medicine be individualized instead of a “one size fits all” approach?
At Pazona MD, we offer care from a board-certified urologist who will guide you through your testosterone replacement therapy options. If you’d like to learn more send us an email at:
We’d be happy to schedule a consultation and help you pick the therapy that’s right for you.
And if you don’t mind, could you pick up some red curry with pork, medium spice? We’ll pay you back.
Talk soon!
Dr. P
