Increased demand
Men with low testosterone levels have a decreased sex drive and low energy levels, and it seems more men are talking to their doctor about these symptoms. It’s become the hottest men’s health craze since Viagra.
The demand for testosterone, has climbed so sharply that an increasing number of “low-T” clinics have popped up across the country. Some doctors fear these clinics aren’t looking into alternative causes for low sex drive, like depression and heart disease.
“Any man who presents, especially in his 40s and 50s, with new onset erectile dysfunction is at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and even heart attack or myocardial infarction,” a board certified urologist and the medical director of the at El Camino Hospital in California, Dr. Edward Karpman tells NPR.
Many want more scrutiny over testosterone prescriptions, but not everyone is convinced that the clinics are working below board.
Scrutiny in the field
Dr. Bill Reilly, who runs one of the largest chains of low-T clinics in Texas, says at his clinics a prescription isn’t written unless the patient has a diagnosed medical condition.
“Our No. 1 complaint at Low T is, ‘Why won’t you treat me?’ We just don’t see a patient, ‘Hey, here you go. Here’s some testosterone,’ ” Reilly says. “They go through a complete history, physical, thorough evaluation. We go through their symptoms.”
Reilly says specific training in the testosterone field isn’t necessary and says his clinics are treating patients that many other doctors are turning away.
“You don’t need to be an endocrinologist. You don’t need to be a urologist,” says Reilly. “We’re all doctors. And we study more about testosterone than they do. We basically follow the national endocrinology guidelines.”
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