OBCBSA

Finding an Anti-Aging Doctor

An antiaging doctor is a medical practitioner, who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions specifically related to the aging process.

WHY YOU NEED ONE

An antiaging practitioner would be superior to a more mainstream physician in dealing with aspects of aging because of their specialized training and focus, integrative approach, and belief in the appropriateness and effectiveness of antiaging strategies.

There are several compelling reasons why you should not undertake to treat yourself without medical supervision. First, only a doctor can prescribe growth hormone or growth hormone-releasing prescription drugs as well as some of the hormone replacements although you can still go for hgh secretagogues supplements which don’t require a prescription.

Second, you will need a doctor to monitor how well the Growth Hormone Enhancement Program is working by measuring the levels of IGF-1 as well as any other hormones you wish to replace.

Third, you may wish to follow the effect that growth hormone is having on your various risk factors for disease, such as heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis. These require sophisticated measurements that can only be done by a doctor and a reputable laboratory.

Fourth, there can be adverse or uncomfortable side effects with any treatment, including the nontoxic GH-releasers.

Finally, we are all of us different from one another with a unique set of genes, biochemistry, risk factors, and medical and familial history. Only a physician preferably specializing in anti-aging medicine in consultation with you, can determine which program works best for you.

Is your Anti-Aging Specialist Good?

Battling age can only be successful if you have an anti-aging specialist at your side. Make sure to choose the best – someone who has expert knowledge on preventive medicine to achieve the highest quality of life and longest possible functional life span. Ask him the following questions and you will see how he fares:

1. What is your concept of aging? Do you think we can delay it or prevent it from happening at all?

Unless your physician considers aging as a disease in itself and is certain he can help you battle with it, there is no point lingering in the clinic. While there is still some arguments as to what aging is, it is important for you to know that you are battling with someone who knows exactly what you are facing and what kinds of weapons you could use against it. Someone who is in the know of anti-aging treatments and regimens and someone who believes you can postpone or reverse the conditions that may come with age – cancer, diabetes, heart attack, and stroke among others – is someone to trust.

2. What do you do to achieve optimal health?

You need someone who actually walk the talk, someone who practice what they preach. Your anti-aging specialist must not look beyond his age and must be fully into anti-aging practices for you to believe that what he is going to prescribe you is something safe and effective – because he has tried it on himself. The vitamins, minerals, and supplements he takes will reflect that of his own research and that of others he believe in.

3. How many patients are you actively treating for aging?

A good way to find a good doctor is by testimonies or suggestions of friends and family. Once you are there, you might want to politely ask about how many patients is he giving anti-aging advices. That will give you a gauge whether he is actually a clinician who see anti-aging as merely a passing fad or someone who is actively practicing the regimens. Thirty or forty patients are good numbers to know that your physician is indeed reliable and credible enough to provide a program for optimal health.

4. How updated he is on the latest advances in anti-aging technology?

Medical knowledge is something that does not remain stagnant. Everyday, a new research or study or development occurs. For your physician to be trustworthy, he must be fully aware of the scientific articles that matter. He should subscribe to periodicals that gather the latest anti-aging advances, like the Journal of Longevity Research and Life Extension, published by the Life Extension Foundation. He should also be actively participating in scientific meetings and seminars like the annual meeting of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, the Gerontological Society of America, or the American Aging Association, where they can hear reports of cutting edge research and network with their colleagues.

5. How do you see your patient, an active partner or a passive patient?

While it is true that your doctor will play the key role in your anti-aging battle, it remains your battle and you must be actively into it. Your doctor must know and practice that. It matters a lot how much he will get you involved with what is behind your regimen. Battling age is not merely about taking a drug or being given a prescription. It is also about understanding what lies ahead and what you can do to prevent the bad from happening. With very little understanding, you will find it difficult to go out in the battle field but if fully armed, your opponents will have rare chances of surviving.

6. Do you believe in regular follow-up?

There must be a close relation between the doctor and the patient. It is not a matter of just a day of consultation and that’s it. It is crucial that you will see your doctor as often as needed after you were given prescriptions or advices about what you can do to postpone or reverse the effects of aging. You must be closely monitored for any sign of side effects as well as for your progress.

Hormonal Replacement Therapy- Is It for You?

Okay, so you have heard so much about growth hormone and hormonal replacement therapy. Do you want to know if you are a candidate for it? Is it actually for you? You will soon find out after taking this quiz and taking the aging tests. Scan the questions, think it over, compare your current self to yourself 10 years ago, and answer yes or no. For every YES answer, you get a corresponding plus/minus point.

1. Are you always feeling tired? (+1)
2. Are you happy most of the time? (-2)
3. Are you often on mood swings? (+2)
4. Go you get angry more easily? (+2)
5. Are you often depressed? (+1)
6. Are you feeling anxious or stressed out most of the time? (+1)
7. Are you getting tired about working your butts off? (+2)
8. Do you look forward to retirement because you want to rest and not pursue any more activity? (+2)
9. Are you keeping a close relation to your friends? (-1)
10. Do you keep an interest in sex? (-1)
11. Is your sex life less exciting? (+2)
12. Do you have sleep problems, trouble falling or staying asleep? (+2)
13. Do you feel well rested as you wake up from sleep? (-1)
14. Are you forgetting things too often? (+2)
15. Are you finding it harder to think clearly and quickly? (+2)
16. Can you see a need for memory aids such as lists, reminders, etc? (+2)
17. Are you having problems concentrating? (+2)
18. Do you think you are in poor physical shape? (+2)
19. Are you at least more than 20 percent above your ideal weight? (+2)
20. Do you find it difficult to lose weight? (+1)
21. Can you see a spare tire or love handles sprouting from your body? (+1)
22. Does your muscle structure look youthful? (-2)
23. Do you think you have good health overall? (-2)
24. Do you feel sick or get colds too often? (+2)
25. Do you often suffer from aches and pains? (+1)
26. Is your blood cholesterol more than 200? (+1)
27. Is your blood cholesterol more than 240? (+2)
28. For men, is your HDL less than 45; For women, is your HDL less than 55? (+2)
29. Is your blood pressure normal? (-2)
30. Has your vision considerably deteriorated? (+1)
31. Do you experience frequent urination? (+1)
32. Do you experience problems with digestion? (+1)
33. Does the skin on your face, neck, upper arms, and abdomen look like they are hanging? (+2)
34. Do you think you look older for your age or than your peers? (+1)
35. Do you have cellulite on your thighs? (+1)
36. Do you feel you seldom need haircuts? (+1)
37. Does it seem to take longer for your cuts and bruises to heal and for your wounds to close? (+1)
38. Do you find it harder to exercise? (+2)
39. Do you seem to have less strength for gripping or lifting? (+2)
40. Do you find your endurance less? (+2)
41. Do you experience breathing difficulty when you exercise hard? (+3)
42. Do you find that the longer you live, the better you feel about life? (-2)
43. Ages 45 to 54 (+1); Ages 55 to 64 (+2); Ages 65 and above (+3)

The Meaning of your Score

14 and Below: Do not panic. Your complaints are well within the normal range of daily living.

15-22: You can seek refuge from the hormone replacement therapy to solve some of your concerns regarding aging.

23-30: It is advisable that you have your IGF levels checked so your doctor can assess what kind of hormonal replacement program you should get into.

31 and above: Hurry up! Your anti-aging physician will help cure your problems about growth hormone deficiency and the conditions that come with it.

The Aging Tests – Four Tests to Secure Aging Gracefully

Below are four tests adapted from Dr. Roy Walford’s The 120-Year Diet: How to Double Your Vital Years:

1. Skin Elasticity Test

Loss of skin elasticity is a sure sign of aging. Naturally, drying out of your skin starts to appear significantly at around age 45. It is a result of an underlying deterioration beneath the skin’s surface, at the connective tissues such as collagen and elastin. Aside from dry skin, loss of skin elasticity can also be associated with wrinkles and loose skin around the jowls and neck.

To do the test, you simply have to pinch the back of your hand between the thumb and forefinger for five seconds. Time how long it takes for your skin to flatten out completely.

The average rates according to age are the following:
45-50 years: 5 seconds
60: 10-15 seconds
70: 35-55 seconds

Results per individual vary largely so it is advisable for you not to take this test too seriously. Use it to see just how you fare.

2. Falling Ruler Test

This test is created to test your reaction time, which usually falls off sharply as you age. Slow reaction time is responsible for killing old people in city streets when they fail to step out of the way of a quickly turning car.

To do the test, you need an 18-inch wooden ruler. Ask someone to suspend the ruler by holding it at the top between your fingers. Make sure that the large numbers are at the bottom. The thumb and the middle finger of your right hand (left hand if you are left-handed) should be three and a half inches apart, halfway through the 18-inch mark on the ruler. Instruct the person holding the ruler to let go without warning, at least three times. You must catch the ruler between your fingers as quickly as possible. Your score depends on what part of the ruler you made the catch. If you caught it at the 5-inch mark the first time, then the 7-inch mark the second time, and the 3-inch mark the third time, your score would be 5+7+3/3 = 5.

The average score of an individual at age 20 is the 11-inch mark, descending to the 6-inch mark at age 60.

3. Static Balance Test

This test seeks to measure the time period you can stand on one leg with your eyes closed before falling over. This is the best of the DIY biomarker measurements. There has been found a hundred percent decline on the average from age 20 to age 80. That means, if you can stand for 50 second on such a posture at age 20, you will likely find it hard to stay for a few seconds when you are 75 and beyond.

To do the test, you must find a flat, hard surface. You must also be either barefooted or wearing an ordinary low-heeled shoe. You must also ask a friend to be on stand-by in case you fall over. Then, stand on a hard surface with both feet together. Slowly close your eyes and lift your foot (left foot if you are right-handed and right foot if you are left-handed) at six inches off the ground with your knee at the 45-degree angle. Stand on your other foot firmly, careful not to move or jiggle it. Ask your friend to time how long you can stay in this posture without opening your eyes or moving your foot or falling over. Do the routine three times and average your scores.

4. Visual Accommodation Test

With age, the lens of the eye becomes less elastic, which results in nearsightedness. That is the reason people who are 45 and above are usually found reaching for their half glasses or bifocals. While this test is not as accurate as the test your eye doctor can do, this is a good measurement on how your vision is impaired with age.

To do the test, you must slowly bring a newspaper close to your eyes until the regular letters imprinted in them start to blur. Ask a friend to measure the distance between your eyes and the newspaper using a ruler. At age 20, the distance will be within four inches; at 30, the distance will be within five and a half inches; at 40, the distance will be within nine inches; at 50, the distance will be within 15 inches; at 60; the distance will be within 39 inches. It does not matter if you do this test with glasses on or not. Remember it is not how well you can read the print but at what distance the letter starts to become a blur.