From Skeptic to Advocate: Craig Larsen’s Journey with Hormone Therapy

Introduction to Proactive Healthcare 0:00

And over my 18 years of watching patients, what I've observed is when I talk to the medical professionals, they say, well, you know, you need to be proactive with your health care. And the best proactive health care is three things, which is, diet, exercise, and if you can't get those results, then you should try hormones. The reality is that most people, their bodies have gone the wrong direction for so long, and I was a little bit that way. that I needed the hormones first, even though that's third on the list, to get the motivation and the energy to then work out, which was second on the list.

And what I should have done first out of the gate is eat better, but that was last because I needed the other two to happen before I ate better. This is Doctor Talks, real talk from real doctors on the issues that matter to you most. All right. Welcome to Proactive Healthcare. I'm Leif Warmwell and I am proud to introduce my business partner, Craig Larson. This is the gentleman that I learned even what HRT was from.

First Exposure to Hormone Replacement Therapy 1:12

So I'm super excited to have you here today, Craig. Yeah, thank you. So tell me, I mean, we've known each other for years, but what was your first exposure to hormone replacement therapy? How did you hear about it in the first place? so it's a little crazy I actually had allergies okay and my like sneezing that type of stuff yeah okay just seasonal allergies and I went to a new doctor for that and when he was Looking at me and, you know, we talked through the allergies. We got through that whole conversation.

He, you know, essentially, uh, gave me some medicine for that. And he goes, and he's really fit. This guy was really fitted. Okay. And, uh, hopefully still is. Possibly. I don't keep in touch with her. But in any event, he told me the first part about hormone replacement. He had done a lot of research on his own outside of his field of medicine because it was medical. And at that point, there really wasn't many people specializing in this. And he did a lot of research, and he was the one that said, you know, I should consider it.

He was a regular doctor. He was just a cardiologist. And I really didn't proceed with it at that point in time. I learned a lot about it. And then it... And at that point in time, I had the perception of testosterone being steroids and, you know, I didn't want to do any of that. So I didn't move forward with it. And then it was probably... Did he try and prescribe it for you? He said he could. And I decided not to. And then essentially, I had some symptoms of where I just lost some energy. I was running a furniture company at the time.

And my energy was down. We worked night and day. You had to be at the plant by seven in the morning. You'd go all the way till six at night. And then by time you get home, you just didn't have the energy I used to. And I was talking to folks about that.

Weekly Testosterone Injections and Early Protocols 3:34

And one guy's like, look, you gotta go talk to Dr. Amsi about hormone replacement. OK. Dr. Peter Fratinos. And so that's when I went in and I... So a friend of yours was already a client? Right. Got it right. And then tell me more, what happened? So what happened at that point is Dr. Vartinos walked me through why this was beneficial and why all my notions of it being just for bodybuilders and if you're doing testosterone, it can't be healthy for you. Yeah, I might look good, but I'm destroying my body.

And so he started walking through with me all the health benefits of it. And one of the things that I took from those early meetings with Dr. Fratinos is the providers that learn this medicine the right way They don't really do this because their patients are going to look better and feel better. I mean, that's certainly a big part of it, but they're doing it because it reduces the chances for you to get age related diseases. And so once that he started really, which is going to be about the contrary of what most people think.

I, I didn't believe it at the time. That wasn't my mindset either that it would be healthy for you. I thought the opposite. I thought, yeah, I'll gain some muscle and that'd be great. But, you know, I don't want to do that and destroy my body. And that whole idea was incorrect. So what made you think, okay, with this jet, with Dr. Fatinos, I'm going to go ahead as opposed to the first person who had spoken to you. It was his knowledge of it and the way in which he spoke about the health benefits of it.

And, you know, the other gentleman just did not have quite the in-depth knowledge that Dr. Fatino's had. So we'll probably talk a little bit later about how I went from being a patient to... But at that point, you know, it was the training, and I'll explain that. You and the guy with the raisins, wasn't it? You up it so much, you became a client or whatever. Unfortunately, a hair club guy. Yeah, that's it. I could have went either way. I could have owned a hair club. Probably have more hair than I do now.

So you're doing pretty good today. So, so tell me what happened next. So you go, okay, great. So you start with Dr. Fettino's and you, what did he start you on? What was, what was, do you remember? The protocols then are a lot different than they are. Oh, I did not know that. There, there's two advancements now that has happened that has made life a lot easier for men. But back then it was a weekly, uh, testosterone, sippionate injection. And the needle, I recall it being that big. But it was...

Oh, gosh. And it... Well, you took it in your butt. Oh, and it took all your manhood every week to do it.

Daily Microdosing and Cream Advances 6:32

And I'd have to psych myself up. You know, like most people, I'm not crazy about needle like you're doing. But you put that... And you felt it. Like, you could feel that needle going in. And... So it was that and thyroid back then. And then the rest of the protocols were pretty similar. DHEA, melatonin helped me with sleep. Those were the four main ones that I was on. Low energy, difficulty focusing. It might not just be stress. It could be low testosterone. At MelXL, we specialize in personalized testosterone replacement therapy with daily dosing, progress monitoring, and a dedicated care team to ensure your plan stays effective.

Within six months, 96% of our patients report life-changing results. And with our 90-day Excel Advantage Guarantee, You've got nothing to lose. Feel stronger, healthier, and more energized with MelXL. So just everybody knows the protocol is the same, but now it's done with a daily micro. Do you want to hit on that quickly? Because there's actually a new medication that we've added as well. So the testosterone is the biggest change. One of them was from research, and one of the changes is from technology.

So back when I was doing the weekly big injection, there was the theory that, well, that's not the way in which your body produces testosterone. But they had thought you had to be intermuscular to get the testosterone. So nobody in their right mind is going to do that injection every day, a big old intramuscular injection. So they just stuck with, some protocols were twice a week, some was even once a month, some was every two weeks. So every provider was a little bit different. Dr. Fetinos was really on the cutting edge and was like, I really think it should be once a day.

And so I remember him starting at our clinic. I don't know if he read about it, but I remember him being ahead of everybody else. I think he was at the forefront, maybe the first guy to do it. He took a insulin needle, 31 gauge, which is the size of an eyelash. and he just would have me do the one-seventh of the normal dose and every day just essentially put it right in my thigh, into the skin layer. So it was not intermuscular, it's what's called sub-Q. And then he would check my levels and sure enough, it absorbed through my body.

And so that's when we changed protocols. So the protocols today at Malexcel are those for injection. And then can you feel, can you feel that now? You can't really feel it. Sometimes you'll get a little sting, but, um, for the most part, 95% of the men that do it don't even make sense. And it makes much more logical sense that way. Cause we don't produce by hormones once a week, you know, you. I'd say there's maybe about a 2% of the men that have a little bit of reaction to the base of the testosterone, cypionate.

So we use grape seed because that has the least amount of negative effects as far as people not having a little bit of infection to it. But if they do have that, then we switch the base to like a cotton seed. and then they're on their way. But the second advancement was the micronization of the testosterone molecule in a cream. So up until probably six years ago would be my best guess. The technology of your body absorbing hormones through your skin was not very good. You did not get very much absorption.

And so they came out with a micronize. The compound pharmacies ended up figuring out how to micronize it and then putting it with a gel.

Estrogen for Men and Why It Matters 10:48

Do you know about moons? Micronize? It's essentially taking the molecule and making it smaller so your body can absorb it. Okay. So when that came out, we were, you know, I'm sure Dr. Fatina has heard about it through the conferences or through the pharmacies. Um, and he switched the cream protocol. Well, we started the cream protocols essentially. And back then you put it on your inner thighs or under your arms. Okay. And, um, And so I did that as well. I switched over to that. The negative on that was you had to do it twice a day and you have, you know, it's a little messy.

The positive is you don't have to worry about an injection. You don't have to take the time to draw the injection. You just click a toppy click and put it right on. And did you measure your levels through all these different changes? Back then, he measured them every two months. And did you notice any difference? they kept going up. So now though, interestingly enough, you put it on your scrotum. And so when he switched, you kind of like put it, inner thigh didn't seem so weird. Putting it on your scrotum started to feel a little weird.

So I'm like, well, what's the deal, doc? Why am I putting it on my scrotum now? And he's like, well, actually there's more research that's come out. The reason we did it on your inner thigh and under your arm is because that's your thinnest skin layer. You can absorb it. You have a very thin skin layer on your scrotum. But more importantly, that's where your body's going to produce testosterone anyway. So the theory of doing testosterone replacement is we're trying to mimic what your body is no longer producing.

So it made total sense to me that you would apply it at the same location that you produce it. That makes total sense. So those are the two advancements in the testosterone. And then the new advancement that I would say that Dr. Fratinos' protocols do, and I guarantee very few, if any, clinics in the nation would be doing this, and that is estrogen for men. Oh, fascinating. And when you learn about estrogen in men, what most guys think is, well... Block it. Yeah. Well, they think, well, my wife has all the estrogen.

I don't have the estrogen. But the difference is that your wife and you have approximately the same amount of estrogen. You just have way more testosterone. And so testosterone is going to Adjust your estrogen levels up and so majority of the time you don't have to supplement your estrogen because when he raises your testosterone your estrogen levels go right up and estrogen helps prevent other diseases as well. I know cancer is one of the ones that it helps fight against. So he is always looking to get your estrogen in that optimal range.

So occasionally if a man does not get his levels up high enough, he'll supplement it with estrogen. I know I'm on it. I believe you know a guy too. I do. I mean, it's fantastic. I think my wife's a big fan of estrogen. But it's contrary to everything that you would think, because I remember going, what? And when I do get exposure to other people and other clinics, I hear all the time that they try and block estrogen. Do you know where does that come from? Do you know? So I've been involved with this industry for quite a long time, close to 18 years now.

And, um, That was the protocols still to this day by a lot of hormone clicks and where that stemmed from is the whole bodybuilder mentality is the bodybuilders were probably the first ones writing protocols of hormone replacement. And a lot of stuff they got right, which it's really interesting because they were really the pioneers in this industry, but a lot of stuff they got wrong. And the stuff that they got wrong was really, you got to look at what they're motivated to do.

Personal Results and Health Improvements 15:00

They weren't motivated to have a healthy body. They were motivated to have muscles and to be shredded and cut. And so it's usually those things that were like shredding and cutting yourself up. that would, you know, be the protocols that went in the wrong direction, that those research would say, well, you're damaging your body. And suppressing estrogen is one of those that you would damage your body. So just like I mentioned earlier, if estrogen's known to help your body fight off cancers and other age-related diseases, why would you want to suppress that?

Yeah, of course. And it's, it's one of the major sex hormones in men, which I was fascinated to learn. Like that's complete opposite of anything I would have thought of before I knew anything about that. I may see if I can double my estrogen. Yeah, exactly. I want to text them right now. So, so now tell me when you first started, what, what, I've known you for a long time and you've always been in great shape as long as I've known you. He's 103 and he looks 15, but kidding, but you've always been in great shape.

What, was that always the way? Like, no. Um, so. I started when I was, I'm 60 now. I started when I was in my thirties. It's the kind of late thirties. And prior to starting, I had started to lift weights again. You know, I lifted weights in college and then you start work and you just get busy. So I had already been lifting weights and been active. I've always done a lot of sports, basketball or tennis back then. And then when I started the program, then the results I was getting in the gym was just times four or five.

It just started to take off. So you'd already started the path towards that? Yeah. If I remember properly, I was always hovering around 155 to 160. I could never really break that. And then after I started, I put on, you get 10 pounds of muscle and I've got that on ever since. So it's stayed on for years. And what else did you notice? Well, the first thing I noticed was S my, uh, energy came back. My energy just went through the roof. So when I was explaining earlier, you know, I was working long days and I'd get home and I really didn't have a lot of energy to, you know, play with the kids and do that.

And then, or work out. So usually it would be one or the other, not both. And then as soon as I started, as soon as it kicked in and I felt it, which I'd say was probably one to three months is when I'd started feeling it, my energy came back. Oh, that was the very first thing I noticed. Got it. And then keep going through the store. You know, so you, you started getting in shape. You started it. You've noticed a month later, your energy's back. Right. And then what about, you know, you, you've always been muscular.

Were you already, you said you gained that. I was, I had a little pot belly back then. Okay. Now I couldn't burn that off. So that started to come down and really one of the main reasons that started to reduce is when I started building muscle, muscle burns fat. That makes sense. The more muscle I had, the more fat I burned and the more energy I had, the more I would work out. So it, and then, and then when you're eating or then when you're working out and you got all this energy, you start saying to yourself, well, why am I eating like I am?

Absolutely. Let me eat a little better. So it was just kind of a domino effect of all those things that transform me. And it wasn't, it really wasn't that I put any effort into it. It just all started happening. But it reminded me more of when you're, you know, when you're in college, you know, you're active, you're studying and you're up all night, but you had energy and you wanted to do it. So the energy really was the key because it, it created a motivation to start doing all those things. So it was the beginning of a compound effect in the right direction.

I believe so. And over my levels are normal. It's just aging. They know it's not the same. And so when they come to our clinic and then we start balancing their hormones, magic starts to happen. They start feeling themselves again.

How to Research HRT and Set Expectations 19:36

They really are appreciative because we listened and we got them the medication that they needed, what they needed to feel better. And really I almost hate calling this medication because to me it's more like just Providing your body a supplement of what it's no longer producing. Yeah, you know if you look at melatonin, which is a hormone Your body over time stops producing melatonin so you don't sleep as good So we take melatonin as supplement while your body is not producing it as well. You would never give You know a teenager melatonin they already sleep till 1 o'clock So we wouldn't be giving melatonin to teenagers, but when you're older, you need it.

It's just like the other hormones, the same thing. And they're bioidentical, so you guys have probably talked about on the show before how it's the same. But yeah, tell me quickly what that means. So it's the same molecular structure as your body, so the side effects are virtually none. the side effects are more similar to when your body started producing a lot of testosterone. You might get some acne or your genitals will shrink up a little bit. So those are the side effects, which are almost the same as when you're younger.

Yeah, exactly. So let me ask you, it feels like we just started, we've nearly used our whole show 30 minutes, but If you're someone out there, you're a normal man or a woman, you're just not feeling right. What would you recommend they do? What should they research? How should they find out if this is right for them? Well, I like how you put it because I've been doing this long enough. I think that's the most important part is do your research. Because if you have any doubt or you think that this isn't right for you, then just wait until you feel comfortable.

Because at the end of the day, we don't know, are things gonna kick in for you in one month or are they gonna kick in in five months? And you don't wanna have the mentality that, You know, this is going to be a silver bullet. It took you 40 years, 50 years, however old you're going to start. It took you 40, 50 years to get you this spot. Don't expect it to work overnight. To do it the right way, our providers are going to gradually take you up until they figure out your optimal levels through your symptoms primarily, but also through blood work.

And so the most important part is to just do your research, make sure you're comfortable with all the logic of it's supplementing your hormones, it's safe, and it prevents age-related diseases. Like everybody should be doing it for the health benefit of that alone, irregardless of the fact that it helps you feel great, more energy, build muscle. Those are all kind of side effects to the main reason. I think he said a great one is the three legged stool. So this is one of the legs. If you don't eat right, you don't move.

You'll have some results. Yeah, but you won't be. You won't go, why don't I look like Leif, the guy on the website? That comes with eating right and exercise. And so the goal then would be this is the tipping point to start the dominoes, the compounds in the right direction. For me, I would set expectation for people. Guys, my expectation would be expect to get your energy first and then let the providers do their thing and get you to the levels you need them to be at. And then you're going to see some amazing benefits.

For women, one of the beauties is they'll start sleeping better than they have in a long time. Wow. First thing they're going to notice is they're going to start sleeping better and then let that kick in. Your body's going to feel better because you're getting a good night's sleep. and then you get these dominoes of all the other hormones starting to kick in. I think that's got to be the best part of what we do. It is awesome. Great. So thank you so much for listening, guys, and have a great day.

Thank you for tuning in to Doctor Talks. We hope today's episode has enlightened and inspired you on your path to optimal health. Each day is a new opportunity to make choices that empower your well-being. For more insights and strategies, subscribe to our podcast and visit our website, www.doctortalks.com. Stay connected, stay healthy, and join us next time on Doctor Talks, real talks from real doctors on the issues that matter to you most.