Death came calling when I suffered a minor arrhythmia. My damaged youth started when my close friends pushed me aside and sometimes retorted with irritating comments. I hadn’t realized how negative I had become and its unwelcome effects upon my friends. My neurosurgeon colleague diagnosed me with Asperger’s syndrome (a form of autism), but he had only partial remedies to offer. He suggested that I talk less and try to better read people’s facial expressions. These methods did work somewhat, but I was still depressed about having lost my connection with close friends.
I had become a grumpy man who grumbled about the most mundane of matters. In addition, I lost a good deal of sex drive between age 40 and 50, much to the chagrin of my ex-wife and girlfriends. “What was happening to me?” I mused many times. After an ultrasound exam detected plaque on my femoral artery, I soon began hormone and peptide corrective therapy.
When I was in my early 50s, I had a strange experience: I accidentally overdosed on hormones and peptides. I was unbalanced to say the least. I was shocked how my mindset changed dramatically. Suddenly, my grumpy self became very articulate and wanted everyone to be my friend. I felt a strong urge to share my feelings with anyone who would listen. My mind seemed to gain greater connectivity; the spherical halves of my brain communicated with each other better regarding imagination and logical thinking. Mentally, I felt as youthful as many of the younger people I met, and I was amazed and fascinated by the power of hormones and peptides.
Later, I learned that hormones and peptides are at least 5 to 10 times more powerful than any patented drug! Also, hormones and peptides solve a wide variety of medical problems and not just one as in the case of patented drugs. In other words, hormone and peptide remedies are not one-trick-ponies.
I felt it essential to rebalance myself. I didn’t want to feel ‘strange’ and overly chummy with people. In some respects, I wanted my old self back. First, because I had overdosed on the bonding hormone oxytocin, I quickly reduced my dose to only 10 units daily. Second, I stopped my daily dose of estradiol, for it really is mostly a woman’s hormone. Unfortunately, its long-term effects in men are enlarged breasts (gyno) and prostate gland (BPH, or benign prostate hyperplasia); although men do require tiny amounts of it for optimal brain function (1).
Then, I met senior medical doctors who had been suffering from similar problems—they, too, wanted to improve their spirits and return to younger years. They offered to help me regain my health, manliness, and youth and avoid the grim reaper. These senior physicians diagnosed me with age-related severe loss of multiple hormones. In other words, testosterone correction alone was not the only answer to my problems.
I discovered that after most people reach age 40 or 50, their hormone production slows considerably; consequently, their moods, personalities, and lives may change greatly. I also noticed that 20- and 30-somethings seemed to be much more positive and dynamic in their relationships than what my fellow 50-something cohorts and I were experiencing.
The worst of many hormone deficiencies are caused by dysfunctional adrenal glands that produce vital hormones such as cortisol and DHEA. Interestingly, in 1957, Senator John F. Kennedy was finally diagnosed with Addison’s disease, and he began treatment. Before that critical diagnosis, a Catholic priest was twice called to administer last rites to a very sick Kennedy (2). Eventually, daily hydrocortisone treatment allowed him to gain weight, vigor, and health. Subsequently, in 1960, he became physically able to run for the presidency.
My second deficiency was a lack of thyroid hormones, which caused me to become lethargic, especially in the early mornings. Furthermore, this resulted in my development of hanging jowls, severe weight gain, and hair loss from my eyebrows. This is a common problem especially in women who arrive at middle age, and their weight increases and their energy decreases. Still another problem was a declining sex drive, with symptoms such as decreased libido and flaccid erections. And those three black rock stars, Levitra®, Viagra® and Cialis® helped only temporarily.
In summary, as postulated by many doctors knowledgeable in anti-aging medicine, I was gradually falling apart due to hormone, peptide and nutrient imbalances. I had lost my meaningful life as a vital human being. At first, I thought my problems were due to shrinking gray matter in my brain; however, later my experiences forced me to look differently at how people think. With the help of knowledgeable doctors, I reshaped my personality by consuming micro-dose amounts of hormones and peptides.
My personal journey with hormone and peptide correction began by fixing a few basics. I noticed that everyone else focused only on testosterone and estradiol therapies because of heavy media advertising. But these two therapies are merely a small part of what is really needed to stay alive and return to the world of healthy and vibrant 20- or 30-year-olds.
For example, consider the hormone cortisol. After age 45 or 50, my body makes only tiny amounts of it despite that fact that it is critical for the health of my immune system and my basic level of energy, (think JFK)- you can only live a few days without cortisol. Indeed, with very low levels of it, the immune system becomes so compromised that you might not recover from a bad winter flu virus or other viruses. (In 1918 many millions of people died in a worldwide pandemic because of compromised immune systems overwhelmed by a bird flu virus)
I needed to make a clear and comprehensive road map where none existed. Plus, I found that the blood levels of people with hormone and nutrient deficiencies are often incomplete and confusing. Depending upon our age, the blood values of various hormones and nutrients are often inconsistent or incorrect. Indeed, the so-called ‘normal reference range’ of hormones and peptides was calculated from a group of patients 70% of which were either sick or elderly or both!
Then, I had an epiphany. My only sensible course of action was to choose the normal blood levels of typical healthy 20 – 30-somethings. If I wanted to remain antisocial and grumpy, I would definitely not choose the blood levels of those over 50.
Consequently, I implemented a systematic review of the endocrinology literature. This revealed that many people over the age of 30 have minor to severe deficiencies in thyroid hormones, and this deficiency alone causes a 43% increase in the chance of dying! (1) Also, some people in their 40s and 50s began to lose their production of the peptides oxytocin, vasopressin, and melatonin 2 (MSH-II), and the health problems of aging started.
What was the correct dose for each of these natural substances that made me ‘me’? How was I to determine what I needed without years of personal experimentation?
I began to try different doses and I was amazed that minute amounts (namely, micrograms) of hormones and peptides shifted my attitude about others and made me a ‘mensch’ again. More than a century ago, the famous impressionist painter Paul Gauguin questioned in his writings and art “Who am I?” and “What is my purpose on this planet?”
I concluded several scientific studies and put my personal life in order. Yet it took a year to mold a ‘better’ me. During that year, peptides and hormones changed me dramatically. They sensitized me to the health problems of others and compelled me to help them.
My quest to defeat some aspects of the aging process was not easy. Finding the right doctors knowledgeable in anti-aging medicine was also no piece of cake. Eventually, I found the right doctors by attending A4M meetings and calling my local compounding pharmacies for physician referrals. Before finding these resources, many doctors told me that my symptoms of aging were all in my head and I should accept the inevitable as ‘healthy aging.’
Other doctors told me that hormone and peptide replacement or correction was too expensive and that I shouldn’t waste my money on such hocus pocus. They were dead wrong. My cholesterol and glucose levels had gone through the roof and I fell several times because of severe hormone deficiencies. During a 3-month period, I couldn’t drive to work or properly walk without severe pain, and I was only 54 years old! I obstinately took sponge baths and ate only junk food. I felt like I would soon end my days in a senior care facility with 80- and 90-year-olds. I was not ‘fine’ about ‘healthy aging’ as postulated by some doctors.
My life changed when I finally found a doctor through a compounding pharmacy who would work with me to fine tune all my much-needed hormones and vital nutrients. This physician brought me back to life, so to speak, and I lost 45 pounds without special diets or exercise (3). I could walk again, and my return to the living inspired me in later years to write my biography and medical experiences in my book titled Stay 40 Without Diet or Exercise. My jet lag was greatly improved. My glucose returned to ‘normal’ of approximately 90 due to 1.5 grams daily of time-release Metformin. I began to imagine that I was a clever fellow again and my dating life took off.
I realized that I was rather fortunate to find the right doctor to help me. Most conventional endocrinologists basically treat only diabetes, given the epidemic in modern-day USA of type-II diabetes. Endocrinologists have the formal, theoretical training to treat all hormone deficiencies, but they sparsely use that training after medical school. This is a great pity for everyone. The best solution is to find an antiaging physician. I have often wondered how many patients continue to suffer because they have not found proper hormone, peptide and nutrient help.
Through my physician, I found a multitude of medical articles demonstrating that small, microgram amounts of hormones and peptides help alleviate many of the problems of aging(1). Typically, a patient over the age of 50 needs to correct between 6 and 10 hormones and/or peptides to achieve a more youthful lifestyle enjoyed by most 20 – 30-somethings. A lack of hormones and peptides is probably the main reasons why most Americans only live to their seventies while experiencing reduced health and quality of life. Every year, new hormones and neuropeptides are being discovered and sold to help us further our health goals as we advance toward old age.
Interestingly, I have come to realize that if you choose to replace only one hormone, such as testosterone or estradiol, your symptoms may worsen. This is because all hormones work in symphony with one another and correcting only one hormone further unbalances that symphony. In other words, don’t believe all those glib TV ads for testosterone creams claiming to be the only answer to improved health.
Access to these hormones and peptides should not be hindered. As it stands today, some substances that I need to function as a human being are being blocked by the government or by doctors ignorant of their patients’ needs. These bureaucrats or people restrict preventative medicine when they should be promoting it!
I used to fight for my daily needs until I met the British pharmacists at IAS; they have supplied many hormones and peptides that are unavailable or restricted elsewhere.
Unfortunately, you will experience problems with pharmacies and ignorant doctors who may limit your supply of essential hormones and peptides. Such is the overwhelming bureaucracy of America today that exists even outside the political gridlock of Washington, DC. Also, private insurance companies’ further gum-up the works with their Kafkaesque tangle of needing approval upon approval and spitting out rejections upon rejections, thus tying everything up in red tape. Without the generous help of IAS, I would be spending hours each month wrangling with people over my supply of life-supporting substances. Life should offer more.
Although I strive to keep my body and mind youthful, the simple fact is that part of my body has deteriorated and will probably never return. Everyone needs to return to the sunlight of hormonal bliss. Everyone needs to treat themselves with more than a dozen nutrients, peptides, and hormones daily—or the grim reaper may come knocking.
A short list of the essentials I require daily are Armour® thyroid, aldosterone (or fludrocortisone), oxytocin, DHEA, vasopressin, melatonin, zinc, CoQ10, vitamin D3, Releasing-Pro™, testosterone cream, growth hormone, IGF-1 and melanotan 2 (These last three are called ‘The Hertoghe Cocktail’ [1]). Other alternatives to this cocktail are the Russian peptide mixtures Cerluten®, Chelohart®, Chitomur®, Endoluten®, Glandokort®, Libidon®, Pielotaks®, Sigumir®, Stamacort®, Suprefort®, Svetinorm®, Testoluten®, Thyreogen, Ventfort, Visoluten®, Vladonix®, and Zhenoluten®. (See further details on this website)
These wonderful remedies were tested on 15 million Russians during their Soviet era. Many of them were Soviet state secrets until the fall of the Soviet Empire more than 20 years ago.
In short, I wish for a more just and libertarian freedom to obtain all substances my body and mind need for my continued health and existence. Only the good people at IAS seem to be supportive and as like-minded.
References
1. Hertoghe, T. (2010) The Hormone Handbook Part II, International Medical Books, Windhof, Luxembourg.
2. Matthews, C. (2012) Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero, Simon & Schuster, New York, London.
3. Lippman, R. (2009) Stay 40, Outskirts Press, Denver, Colorado.
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