As individuals age, hormone levels reduce, ability to produce muscle reduces, ability to reduce fat reduces, and the ability to recuperate decreases. Anti-aging has become a very popular field of medicine as many doctors seek to capitalize on the aging population and the increased ability to treat some of these hormone deficiencies.
The process usually starts with a consultation to address symptoms and perceived deficiencies. Bloodwork is performed to assess hormone levels before starting a regimen. In addition, most physicians will go over all of the risks and benefits of these therapies, which still remains controversial among most medical professionals.
The two most popular treatments are testosterone or estrogen therapy and growth hormone therapy. In males, testosterone production decreases in the fourth decade of life and may require supplementation at this time. The goal is to return the levels to normal for that individual. However, many are treated with less than optimal results with transdermal options. Injection forms are far more effective but can be problematic for obvious reasons. Also, injection forms are much more readily abused.
Growth hormone injections are administered once daily 4 to 5 times a week for most patients. The goal is to reproduce the natural production of the hormone. Doses may range in most from 2 to 4 units per day. Growth hormone remains extremely expensive for most people on a budget.