Mixed Feelings on Osteopath Treatment

Pharma TRT
1

I recently posted a question about my wife and testosterone. Like many in these forums, we have been to a number of doctors to try to figure out what the issue is. The T supplementation was somewhat helpful but things still arenâ??t right.

We were recently very pleased to find a local MD who was willing to dig into her issues. Although he is an MD, he now practices holistic medicine and only takes cash for payment. I wasn’t too concerned about this because I know this is how many hormone specialists operate. What does concern me is that all the non-script supplements he recommended come from labs that appear to compensate practitioners for prescribing them. I found this very interesting, as every product he recommended required us to give his name to the companies. Also, if I understand this correctly, he can be compensated by the labs that perform some of the saliva tests.

Working for a large pharmaceutical company, I know there is constant monitoring to try to ensure companies aren’t illegally incenting MDs to write certain drugs (there can be a whole debate about free samples and speaking fees for consultants but I’m more concerned about direct monetary profit from prescribing certain products). I am in no way saying this physician is doing something unethical, but the whole thing makes me feel a bit uneasy. Also, the fact he recommended a regimen that has her taking 15 pills/supplements a day makes me wonder if the compensation thing comes into play.

My wife and I have had numerous conversations about safety of “natural” products compared to pharma products that have been tested extensively in humans. Iâ??m concerned he might no truly know how a cocktail of untested products could impact a patient’s liver, kidneys and other organs.

In the end, the out of pocket cash isn’t a big deal, but my wife’s health is.

2

Is there a question in there?

What is the supplement regimen?

Sometimes its good to trust your gut

3

yes, I have the same concerns in those situations. Find out what he is “prescribing” and see if you can find a like product online like Amazon.

I don’t think doctors can be objective if their income source depends on NOT curing someone.

4

Not really a question, just putting it out there to see if others have the same concerns.

My wife was diagnosed with Celiacs 4 years ago. Even though she works very hard to eat a gluten free diet, she still has some gut issues. Her osteopath thinks she might also have some casein problems and overall gut inflammation issues that might be impacting her hormones, this includes adrenal issues. He has ordered a comprehensive metabolic panel, CBC with diff, ferritin, T3free, T4 free, TSH and vitamin D, TPO, reverse T3, IL-6, IGF-1 and insulin.

He also included a saliva hormone test for estradiol, estriol, estrone, T, proges, cortisol (4X), DHEA, and melatonin. Lastly, he included a comprehensive nutritional panel based on blood draw. This includes asparagine, biotin, calcium, carnitine, choline, chromium, copper, cysteine, folate, fructose sensitivity, glucose, glutamine, magnesium, oleic acid, inositol, and 11 individual vitamins.

He would like her to start taking Davinci Labs GI benefit and Mega Probiotic; Thorne Research’s R-Lipoic acid and Meriva SR for gut inflammation; Ortho Molecular’s OrthoBiotic, OrthoMega, DigestzymeV and and Adren-All. Those appear to be for the gut along with some adrenal support. Once all the labs come back, she’ll likely need to go on other things.

5

in my opinion, the more tests the better (up to a certain point) as long as you can get copies of all of the tests and are not held hostage by the doctor.

even though I am skeptical of any doctor with financial ties to supplement companies, that doesn’t mean that every doctor who does it is bad. who knows, you could have a great doctor who prescribes what he does because he is one of the few good ones who actually knows what he is doing.

there are a number of factors that have to be considered - costs, disposable income, convenience, other options, Quality of Life, actual impact of supplements, etc. etc. etc.

6

I agree. At this point, I will pay a good deal out of pocket to get her feeling more normal. I just want to make sure we’re not being taken advantage of in our search for help.

This MD does really seem to care and appears to know a good deal about Celiacs, a disese that many docs still write of as IBS. On a related note, he has given me input regarding my own HRT. At 38, he would rather see someone like me starting on Clomid instead of T. The fact that I appear to be having some E related interplay right now might make it a good time for me to set up an appt.