A Potentially Better Way to Increase Human Growth Hormone Levels

A Potentially Better Way to Increase Human Growth Hormone Levels

Scott Brandt, M.D. January 3, 2018 BHRT, Hormone Therapy for Men, Hormone Therapy for Women

Human growth hormone (HGH) is a naturally occurring hormone that is synthesized in the pituitary gland. It plays a vital role in cell regeneration, maintaining healthy tissue in muscle, the brain and vital organs. Human growth hormone supplementation has been used in hormone replacement protocols for a number of years to augment the long term fight against the diseases of aging and help maximize physical performance in the aging athlete. Share this post:Research to support these beneficial properties has dramatically increased in recent years. The benefits of human growth hormone ...

testosterone replacement therapy options

Understanding the Benefits of Testosterone Replacement Therapy

Scott Brandt, M.D. April 19, 2017 Hormone Therapy for Men, Testosterone Replacement

Testosterone therapy, administered correctly, has both a feel good effect as well as significant long-term health benefits. Most patients come to see me to combat fatigue, lean muscle loss, difficulty sleeping, and to improve their general sense of well-being. Share this post:The Benefits of Boosting Testosterone Many patients don’t realize the power of testosterone to decrease the incidence of many of the diseases of aging. Testosterone lowers cholesterol, reverses the LDL to HDL ratio, and decreases coronary plaque deposition. In addition, testosterone and its byproducts lower the incidence of osteoporosis, ...

Testosterone Pellets for Women

Scott Brandt, M.D. November 21, 2016 BHRT, Hormone Therapy for Women, Testosterone Replacement

Testosterone can be delivered in many formats for the treatment of female hormone replacement therapy. Delivery methods include topical creams, oral capsules, sublingual dissolvables, injections and implanted pellets, including testosterone pellets for women. I have always believed that the combination of proper dosing and good compliance can allow for excellent therapeutic levels with the use of any of these formats. Share this post:I have had a recent caveat to this belief. I have some women patients who despite strictly following directions, steady compliance, and regular dosing adjustments to maximize blood ...

Estrogen Therapy Saves Lives

Scott Brandt, M.D. December 1, 2015 BHRT, Estrogen Replacement, Hormone Therapy for Women

A recent article in the American Journal of Public Health has done an excellent job looking at the effects on American women stopping their hormone therapy following the media scare surrounding the publishing of The Women’s Health Initiative Study (WHI) in 1993. Prior to the study, nearly 600,000 women who underwent hysterectomies were being treated with estrogen containing hormone therapy. Within 18 months of the publishing of the WHI study nearly half of these women had discontinued the use of hormone treatment. Share this post:Lives Saved by Estrogen ReplacementThe hormone scare of the 1990’s has increased ...

Which Estrogen Is Right for Me?

Scott Brandt, M.D. December 19, 2014 BHRT, Estrogen Replacement, Hormone Therapy for Women

Benefits of Estrogen Replacement Therapy By far and away, the number one cause of female death is heart disease. Both topical and oral forms of estrogen help to diminish the risk of heart disease. I prefer to treat patients using oral bioidentical estrogen due to its added heart benefit which is a metabolic breakdown product produced in the liver. This metabolite, matrix metalloproteinase, helps to not only prevent plaque, but also to remove plaque that is already present in the coronary arteries. If estrogen replacement therapy is started within the …

Reported Risks of Testosterone Replacement Therapy

Scott Brandt, M.D. March 11, 2014 BHRT, Hormone Therapy for Men, Testosterone Replacement

The Studies Testosterone replacement studies that recently made news and received ample attention were published in PLOS One in January 2014, JAMA in November 2013, and the NEJM in July 2010. The studies reported an increase in cardiac risks and higher rate of heart attacks in patients undergoing testosterone replacement therapy. The PLOS One study is the most recent of the studies mentioned above and gained national coverage in the New York Times. After reading these recent studies, one might reconsider undergoing testosterone replacement therapy. Then why is testosterone replacement …

ThriveMD Vail, Colorado

4.7

Linda Gerrans

19:37 14 Dec 17

When I was told by an orthopedic doctor I needed double knee replacement I chose stem cell therapy instead. Stem cell therapy has helped me get through my days without the pain I was experiencing and enjoy the activities I was unable to because of the pain.

John Beeman

23:05 08 Jan 17

I just wanted to give an update regarding the stem cell procedure performed by Dr. Brandt at Thrive about 3 years ago. My range of motion continues to improve--remarkable at 64.I skied 150k in 5 days last week and never iced my knee once. I can't remember skiing that many feet w/out having to ice in the last 20 years. The knee treated has been without an acl since I was 18 and is pretty severely arthritic,but I am getting better performance now than I have in recent memory. Thank you, Dr. Brandt!!

Lisa Harris

15:59 02 Jan 17

After struggling with an Achilles injury for 1 1/2 years and trying everything to heal it - steroid, physical therapy, wearing a boot, no activity, stretching, etc - I decided to have stem cell therapy at Thrive.md. It was a short procedure and an afternoon of post op recovery, which after 6-8 weeks, resulted in a full recovery from my injury. This seemed to finally stimulate blood flow and healing to an injury I had resigned myself to having forever. I highly recommend this procedure for tendon injuries like this one.

Zvezdomir Zamfirov

03:55 14 Nov 16

I am a pain management physician myself. I am 52, and physically very active. I still play soccer competitively. Six months ago I suffered a hip injury with a labrum tear. Due to the pre-existing wear and tear, the only conventional treatment, which was offered to me was total hip replacement. I wanted to remain physically active and continue to play sports, so I decided that this is not the best option for me. I choose instead to try stem-cell therapy. Ten days ago I had my procedure done by Dr. Brandt, and since then I have nothing but positive things to say about him and his practice. Everyone in his office was extremely welcoming and put me at ease and comfort about my procedure. The procedure went very smooth. And I did not have ANY post procedure pain or discomfort. I had no need for any pain medication. I was back to work seeing patients on the 2nd day after the procedure. My hip already feels noticeably better. I have the second procedure scheduled in four weeks, and I am confident that in another 3-4 weeks I'll be back playing soccer again. Thank you, Dr. Brandt and team for taking such excellent care of me.

John Reilly

13:44 04 Nov 16

I saw Dr Brandt on 8/8/16 for a lower back stem cell injection. From the injection, I got a serious infection in my lower spine. As a result, I spent 2 days in the Vail hospital and have been on daily IV antibiotics for the past 8 weeks. A few weeks after the injection, I started feeling increased pain which was a different pain than before my injection. It was much sharper and a shooting pain. I communicated this information to Dr Brandt and his staff. There only response and treatment was stronger pain meds. oral and injected steroids (the worst thing to do when an infection is present). The pain became so intense and debilitating, I finally made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. Their team quickly discovered from listening to my symptoms and reviewing a new MRI that I had an infection. I also discovered from a search on DORA that over the past 13 years Dr Brandt's has a history of incidents with the DORA which regulates medical professionals. Over this time, his license was suspended for a period of time and is he currently practicing on probation through 2019. At one point, the AG said he was unfit to practice medicine.

Laurel Wilkerson

21:22 08 Aug 16

Great job by the Thrive MD team in Edwards. With a torn achilles tendon, I was really opposed to surgery. When I discovered Dr. Brandt and team, I was thrilled. They are most professional and explained every step of the process and procedure for treatment options. I am on the road to recovery, and I am so thankful to have discovered Thrive. Before you let an orthopedic doc operate, take the time to explore and discuss stem cell therapy. Thrive MD made the process easy and convenient. Thanks! One year later update - ankle is doing great. Skied 52 days in 2015-16. Hiking, biking and all are no problem. Great team of caring people who know their business.

Sunny Lucia

21:30 17 Jul 16

Until my consultation with Scott Brandt, MD., I was faced with two not very desirable options for my chronic lower back pain caused from a bulging disc and spondylolisthesis: continue RF neurotomy procedures every 6 months to burn nerves in my back for pain relief or spinal fusion surgery. The first was a band-aid, the second not an option I wanted. Dr. Brandt's diagnostic sophistication, attention to detail and patient-focus became very apparent during our phone consultations reviewing all of my x-rays and two MRI results.He gave me more information in 30 minutes than I'd had from three specialists in four years of treatment. I went through stem cell therapy treatment with him and since have not needed pain medication, am able to get out of bed in the morning without limping, and can perform my job without wearing braces or heat patches. My posture has improved remarkably because I'm not hunching in pain. I actually gave myself a pedicure two weeks ago - which was a crippling no-go activity previously. Four years ago I woke up 10-12 times a night with pain and a numb leg, and never imagined there could be hope for a return to health. Stem cell therapy with Dr. Brandt is one of the smartest moves I've ever made.

Steve Vance

21:42 06 Apr 16

I have had both ACL's replaced. The first 35 years ago and the second 25 years ago. Over the years I had a few other procedures including another surgery to clean up one of the knees. Nothing worked as well as the stem cell procedure that Dr. Brandt performed. With the slow deterioration of my knees it had become uncomfortable to ski. After having the stem cell procedure last spring, this season skiing is fun again. I never thought I would ski the bumps like that again!

Brad Jones

00:27 19 Feb 16

Dr. Brandt and his entire staff are amazing! Early in the ski season I had a partial tear in my ACL and thought I would be out until the next year for sure. However after consulting with Thrive MD they informed me that I was a good candidate for stem cell therapy. I went through the procedure and went from barely being able to walk with crutches to walking comfortably and normally within three weeks! I was back at work quickly and just got back on the mountain recently. My knee feels very solid and I have ZERO issues with it. Thank you Thrive MD for saving my ski season!

Karen Taylor

02:10 09 Dec 15

I am so happy to have found Thrive this past summer. After being told by 3 Dr's that I need a knee replacement I was feeling very discouraged. 2 1/2 years ago I had a very bad skiing accident and destroyed my tibial plateau. After surgery and physical therapy I was no where near where I wanted to be functioning physically. I couldn't hike, ski, or basically do anything active without constant pain. I went to Thrive and got my hormones balanced, got my energy level back up to where I like it to be and had several stem cell treatments on my knee. It was not an instant fix, but over the past 6 months it has continually started to feel better. I just skied 3 hard days in a row in Beaver Creek, with no swelling and very little pain! I am back to functioning at about 80% of my capacity. I'm thrilled with the progress and hope to continue to improve as I continue to be active this winter. I am so happy not to have a knee replacement and to be able to keep my own knee. Thank you Dr. Brandt.

Sylvia Baldwin

00:00 26 Apr 15

Dr. Brandt is the best! I've been seeing him altogether for around 15 years now for corticosteroid injections for pain and would never want to see anyone else. He is very skilled with the needle and getting the injections done in exactly the right places. In addition, I've found Dr. Brandt to be a very concerned and caring individual; he's a great listener who clearly gives a lot of thought to what the best approach is going to be in dealing with the situation the patient describes. I've found that he always takes as much time as necessary to assess the situation; dealing with Dr. Brandt is such an entirely different experience than virtually every other meeting I've had with various surgeons and other M.D.'s. His staff is also very friendly, helpful and kind--as I said, he's the best...and well worth the drive to Edwards!

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