I was at a loss finding a knowledgeable Dr. to treat me after I found this site and started to educate myself. Prior to finding this site I would have just went with what a Dr. said but the knowledge and information from here changed my view on the matter. I have fairly low T (low 200s) and just recently found this out after years of feeling horrible and not myself. On a whim I asked my Dr's PA to order a Testosterone and Thyroid panel. She ordered only total T and a basic thyroid test and that was it. That was the point I knew they lacked what I needed.
My Dr. is in his early 70s and his PA is near 80. They are both amazing people but obviously out of the loop for something as complex as treating T properly. Rather then refer to a specialist I made another appt. with my Dr. and this time went in armed with a print out of Dr. Crisler's "Testosterone: a recipe for success" and referenced it multiple times during our discussion. I then asked him if he would like to take it and read it so we could get the proper labs ordered and come up with a good game plan. He agreed and called me back today (3-6). He not only read the entire thing but made a copy of it for himself to keep. He was happy to have a starting map/plan as Dr. Crisler had laid out and was also very impressed with how Dr. Crisler explained a how and why for everything that he recommended. He also raved about Dr. Crisler's portion on "finding out why the T is low". It opened his mind to the matter and likely changed how he goes forward with this process for any of his patients from here on out.
He also wants me to leave my copy of Nelsons book with him the next time I go into his office so he can become more knowledgable on the subject. I know many guys wont have a PCP with as low of an ego as I do but for someone who really loves their PCP this option might end up being the best route. If your PCP is receptive and open minded as mine was and does not have a "know it all" mentality maybe you can give him/her the tools they need to better treat you. I know I am far more comfortable with my long time PCP than I would be a new Dr.
My Dr. is in his early 70s and his PA is near 80. They are both amazing people but obviously out of the loop for something as complex as treating T properly. Rather then refer to a specialist I made another appt. with my Dr. and this time went in armed with a print out of Dr. Crisler's "Testosterone: a recipe for success" and referenced it multiple times during our discussion. I then asked him if he would like to take it and read it so we could get the proper labs ordered and come up with a good game plan. He agreed and called me back today (3-6). He not only read the entire thing but made a copy of it for himself to keep. He was happy to have a starting map/plan as Dr. Crisler had laid out and was also very impressed with how Dr. Crisler explained a how and why for everything that he recommended. He also raved about Dr. Crisler's portion on "finding out why the T is low". It opened his mind to the matter and likely changed how he goes forward with this process for any of his patients from here on out.
He also wants me to leave my copy of Nelsons book with him the next time I go into his office so he can become more knowledgable on the subject. I know many guys wont have a PCP with as low of an ego as I do but for someone who really loves their PCP this option might end up being the best route. If your PCP is receptive and open minded as mine was and does not have a "know it all" mentality maybe you can give him/her the tools they need to better treat you. I know I am far more comfortable with my long time PCP than I would be a new Dr.