All About Low Testosterone: Dustin Fontenot, PA-C Discusses Signs/Symptoms and Finding the Right Treatment
Speaker 1:
Welcome back to the Armor Men’s Health Hour with Dr. Mistry and Donna Lee.
Dr. Mistry:
Welcome back to the Armor Men’s Health Hour. I’m Dr. Mistry. I’m joined today…
Donna Lee:
Board certified Dr. Mistry.
Dr. Mistry:
I’m joined today by my cohost, Donna Lee.
Donna Lee:
That’s right, board certified cohost.
Dr. Mistry:
How do you think our first Saturday show’s going?
Donna Lee:
I think it’s great, because we’re awesome!
Dr. Mistry:
I love it.
Donna Lee:
And it’s an award-winning show.
Dr. Mistry:
You know, I love this radio station. It’s exactly the kind of demographic that we’re looking for.
Donna Lee:
It is, with the 15 ED commercials that came on last hour. Yup. That’s exactly right.
Dustin :
ED or sleep apnea, 1 of the 2.
Donna Lee:
It is our job to distinguish between all of those to tell people why they should come to us.
Dr. Mistry:
That’s right. And you know what I’m really amazed by is how much patients will spend on therapies that are widely available in their own doctor’s office. But, it proves something to me. It’s that…
Donna Lee:
That people like their penises?
Dr. Mistry:
…No. When people feel like they’re in charge of their care, or they’re directing it, they’re willing to invest more of their time, money, and energy. So the same patient that was randomly referred to us for prostate cancer who has to come in for an appointment, they may complain about a 15 minute wait or not want to pay their copay or this, that, or the other.
Donna Lee:
Totally.
Dr. Mistry:
But the patient who hears about us from their friend who comes to us because they chose to come to us, are over the top and all of their compliments for the incredible comprehensive care that we provide. There is no particular topic more than low testosterone that really illustrates that.
Donna Lee:
Right. And we get a lot of people come in who are referred to Dustin Fontenot, who happens to be here.
Dr. Mistry:
And Dustin is our guest right now for this segment…
Dustin :
Hello.
Dr. Mistry:
And if you really wanted to be a manly man…
Donna Lee:
…like Dustin, grow a beard, first of all, how about that?
Dr. Mistry:
Never bring your wife in because she’ll be pasting his face right on your headboard. Because he’s a very attractive man.
Donna Lee:
And his body. He’s a big old giant dude with a big beard.
Dr. Mistry:
You know, he doesn’t take his shirt off around me anymore?
Donna Lee:
No? Well, we should change that. I am the HR director, I can make that happen. Dustin, take your shirt off!
Dr. Mistry:
I think you’re the worst HR director.
Donna Lee:
I really am.
Dr. Mistry:
Well, here at the…
Donna Lee:
I am not a board certified HR director.
Dr. Mistry:
…Yeah, that’s right. As a matter of fact, you might be. At our urology practice, NAU Urology Specialists, we have a specialized program. That’s where we got the name of our show from, “The Armor Men’s Health Program.” Dustin was the pioneer and founder of this. Dustin, why don’t you tell us a little bit about the program and then let’s just talk about testosterone in general.
Donna Lee:
And take your shirt off.
Dustin :
Right. So the, so our program is designed for, it was really born out of the idea that men need more comprehensive treatment than just coming in once a week and getting a testosterone shot. So we tried to put together an attractive way for guys to come in and feel like they’re getting taken care of and, but treating the whole system and not just their hormone levels. So what we do is a comprehensive evaluation where we look at not just your hormones, but also other things that could be contributing to your overall wellness and identifying those deficiencies and then putting a plan together to correct those and get guys living healthier and then periodically measuring how effective those treatments are and watching men improve in their overall health. So that’s really what kind of sets us apart when you’re dealing with testosterone, is that the idea is not, “You just need testosterone,” but there’s other aspects that have to be addressed as well.
Dr. Mistry:
I think what really motivated us to start this program was this idea that so many of the patients that came to see us for low testosterone just weren’t getting quote unquote “better” the way they thought, right? Maybe their erections weren’t getting better. Maybe their fatigue wasn’t getting better, maybe they weren’t losing the weight that they wanted to. And so what we wanted to do was create an environment that had that we’re going to get men better regardless of whether low T was their original problem or not. We’re going to fix their sleep apnea. We’re going to help them lose weight, we’re going to get them nutritional supplements, we’re going to help them understand their body. And I think that we’ve had amazing success.
Dustin :
Absolutely.
Donna Lee:
Yeah. For a really low fee per month.
Dustin :
We were able to get our costs down pretty low. So we charge $150 a month for sort of an all inclusive program that will include lab work, medication, visits. It’s essentially a concierge type program.
Donna Lee:
Right. And there’s no big contracts.
Dustin :
No.
Donna Lee:
You just kind of sign up for it, and if you like the program, which you probably will…
Dustin:
Keep coming.
Dr. Mistry:
And what’s nice about our program is that we allow you to choose what kind of testosterone you want, whether it be creams, whether it be injections, whether it be pellets, the cost is the same.
Dustin :
Absolutely. And you don’t have to come in every week if you choose to have injections and get a shot every week.
Dr. Mistry:
That’s right. And we will do a lot of our followup visits via telemedicine. And I think that a lot of men that we put on testosterone are somewhat surprised at why we have them come in to do labs.
Dustin:
Yeah, they are. And uh, you know, and the reason being for that is because there’s lots of different variables that can influence the treatment regimen and it’s not just, it’s not as simple as just taking a testosterone injection every week or twice a week. So there’s lots of other variables that man can, you know, if he goes from being very sedentary to very active or vice versa or loses quite a bit of body weight, then his treatment regimen may change. So, that’s why it’s necessary to periodically check in.
Dr. Mistry:
And I think that there’s a big difference between going to some, a place that’s concerned about your hormone wellness, like we are as opposed to going a place that’s really just a shot clinic or someone who’s just doing quote unquote “bioidentical testosterone.” There’s a difference in how you approach. If you are a shot clinic, that means you are making your money off patients coming in week after week to get their testosterone shots. Modifying that plan, finding out what’s best for particular patients, introducing subcue injections as an alternative, going every twice a week, you know, looking at exactly what’s wrong with you and your levels and making that better, that may not come up. Looking at people who get high red blood cell counts or high estrogen levels. If you’re going to a place that doesn’t do testosterone in a very comfortable way, they may not even be checking those things and you may not know why that medicine’s not working for you. And if you’re just going to a place that does pellets, then if you don’t have your $600 or $1000 every 3 or 6 months, then then taking care of your overall health may not be a huge priority of them. And I think that’s really the what sets us apart.
Dustin:
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
Dr. Mistry:
So when patients are coming to us for testosterone, help me separate myth from reality. What are they expecting to get, and what do you see the majority of our patients getting in terms of benefits?
Dustin:
That’s a great question. And a lot of men have very unrealistic expectations when they come in for testosterone therapy. They think it’s going to be the magic bullet that’s gonna fix all of their ailments. And one of the things I like to do is set them up right off the bat of what kind of realistic expectations that they can experience. And, you know, what they do get a lot of times depends on what their presenting symptoms are. So what did they come in for? Was it fatigue? Was it low energy? Was it decreased sex drive, erections, sleep, whatever. And so, you know, depending on that presenting symptom, you know, that’s what we see improvement on. So better sleep, better energy. If they’re active, they’ll notice improvements in the gym and in their workouts, you know, versus if they’re not active, then they won’t because they’re not doing that.
Donna Lee:
Will they notice that they sit better on the couch?
Dustin:
Right.
Donna Lee:
…and watch TV.
Dustin :
Yeah. And so, that’s kind of, and we also have a lot of guys that come in for testosterone thinking it’s going to help them lose weight, you know, and that right off the bat you tell them, you know, it’s not a weight loss…
Dr. Mistry:
It’s a growth hormone!
Dustin:
…it’s not a weight loss treatment.
Dustin :
So it’s an adjunctive therapy, right? So it may help you have more energy and sleep better, which will allow you to be more motivated…
Donna Lee:
…to go to the gym.
Dustin:
…and start making those changes. But without making those alternative changes, you’re not going to see any improvement. You don’t take an injection once a week and then all of a sudden pounds just start melting away.
Donna Lee:
Wouldn’t that be great, though?
Dustin:
Yeah. So, and that’s why we kind of have this multidisciplinary approach where we have, you know, Robert who’s been on the show, a registered dietician. We address any underlying sleep issues that could be getting in the way of getting improvement in the patient. So it’s gotta be attacked from multiple points in order to see the results that patient is looking for.
Dr. Mistry:
And most importantly, it’s really within the practice’s DNA to look at the whole person, look at exactly what you’re coming in for as your complaints, and doing our best to try to approach it. And a lot of men here at the beginning of the year, you know, they may have some idea of what they want in terms of their new year’s resolutions or how they’re going to get this year off to the right foot, but really they just want to feel better. Right?
Dustin:
That’s right. Yeah. They just want to feel better. And I think a lot of those guys are attracted to the low T clinics, simply because…
Dr. Mistry:
Quick fix.
Dustin:
Quick fix, they think all they needed to come in and get a shot every week.
Donna Lee:
It’s kind of pricey, at those little shot clinics.
Dustin:
It’s pricey.
Dr. Mistry:
Yeah. Well, and ironically you come to us, we’ll put you on shots that you do at your own house and we make it even more convenient for you, but you do have to go to a quote unquote “doctor’s office.”
Donna Lee:
Well, there’s that.
Dustin:
Sort of.
Dr. Mistry:
So if people want to come to us and they want to start, you know, really realizing a better life, a better them. Our motto around here, is “We put the you in urology.”
Donna Lee:
Oh, we have said that once before.
Dr. Mistry:
We have said that a couple of times. How do people get ahold of us? How do they make an appointment?
Donna Lee:
They can call us at (512) 238-0762. You can ask for a consultation with Dustin Fontenot. Our website is armormenshealth.com. I would like to say that we had all these jokes about Dustin and his fabulous beard and his topless self, but Dr. Mistry is showing a little leg today, so it’s a sexy clinic. Come on over and see us at armormenshealth.com. Send us any questions about Dr. Mistry’s sexy legs, or Dustin and to armormenshealth@gmail.com. That’s armormenshealth@gmail.com. Thank you so much for a wonderful first Saturday show. Happy 2020.
Dr. Mistry:
Very good. Happy 2020, everybody.
Donna Lee:
Bye, thanks Dustin.
Speaker 1:
The Armor Men’s Health Hour is brought to you by Urology Specialists of Austin. For questions or to schedule an appointment, please call (512) 238-0762 or online at armormenshealth.com.