Dr. Gary Joseph Discusses Bioidentical Hormones on WKYC's Good Company

As we age, our hormones begin to naturally decline. When this happens, many of us find ourselves dealing with a wide variety of symptoms commonly associated with hormonal imbalance such as hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, low libido, weight gain and fatigue. Dr. Gary Joseph of BodyLogicMD was recently featured on a segment of WKYC's Good Company with host, Michael Cardamone, discussing what women and men can do to keep their hormone and bodies in check with bioidentical hormone therapy.

TRANSCRIPT:

Host: It's only natural that your hormones decline as you age, and in that decline, in your hormones, bodily functions also decline. Well, there's a way to get your body back on track and its call bioidentical hormone therapy. Here to tell us all about that from BodyLogicMD is Dr. Gary Joseph. Thank you so much for coming on the show, doc.

Dr. Joseph: Thanks for having me.

Host: Alright, first off, can you explain what is BodyLogicMD and what does it specialize in?

Dr. Joseph: Well I like your intro because hormones and aging actually do have a lot to do with each other. So what we know basically is if you maintain your hormone levels, at optimal levels, you can maintain your metabolism and pretty much slow the aging process. And for people who actually also have lost their hormones, if you bring them back to optimal levels, you can again restore vitality, health, and their normal state of joy. BodyLogicMD is a national practice of physicians that specializes in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.

Host: Is this a new therapy?

Dr. Joseph: No, actually, bioidentical has been around for decades. It's gotten a lot more acclaim recently because of Oprah and Suzanne Summers and Dr. Phil, but it's been around. A big change happened in 2002. 2002, basically there was a big study called the women's health initiative that said you can no longer take synthetic oral estrogens and synthetic oral progesterone called progestins because it increases your risk for heart attack, of stroke, and of breast cancer. So, we had 40 million women on these, and all of a sudden, they were thrown into a problem.

Host: Now, when you talk about hormone therapy and the decline of hormones, you people out there probably naturally think it's just women going through menopause. Is that the case or is it across the board?

Dr. Joseph: Well, we do see, the lion's share of people that I see are women going through menopause or premenopausal women. But, I also see men who lose their testosterone. We'll lose our testosterone, so when we do, we go through a male menopause called andropause. A lot of thyroid dysfunction, a lot of adrenal dysfunction as well.

Host: What are the symptoms, whether it's men or women, what are the symptoms that you most commonly see in people that make them say "OK, there's something wrong."?

Dr. Joseph: There's a myriad of symptoms.

Host: Top three?

Dr. Joseph: Of course in women you'll see hot flashes, memory disturbances, sleep disturbances, mood irritability, weight gain is incredible, people are living as well as they can and they can't get ahead. It's because their hormones are out of balance. Men - sexual dysfunction, loss of libido. Women - loss of libido, I see a lot of that as well. So, we're seeing just an incredible amount of ?

Host: So it really is a wide variety. Now, let's talk about the age range. From the youngest to the oldest, who have you treated in your practice?

Dr. Joseph: I've treated people from 18 to 80. Maybe a little bit earlier. But it depends on what the abnormality is. I would say the majority of people are over 35 years old all the way up to elderly.

Host: OK, we have about 30 seconds. But, you do give free seminars out there. It's very important for people to know this because this is a pretty complex issue. Why do you do this?

Dr. Joseph: Because people need education. The other thing is this; we have a very educated population out there, but physicians.. I wasn't trained originally in bioidenticals. There's a lot of questions about this. This is a forum that people can come in and ask if their depression or other symptoms are related to their hormones.

Host: Well, doctor, you've been kind enough to actually give something that has a $400 value: it's a free assessment and he's kind enough to give it. So, right now, you can win a free assessment and consultation. 216-578-0707. The third caller wins this free assessment. Thank you so much for coming on the show.

Dr. Joseph: Thanks, Pat.

Host: If you want to contact Dr. Gary Joseph at BodyLogicMD of Cleveland, Dr. Gary Joseph, 866-972-5265, or go to www.BodyLogicMD.com for more information. Thank you so much for coming on the show.