What is Menopause?
When a woman has gone 12 months without a period – that’s the textbook definition of menopause. When I talk to women (lots of women!), it’s NEVER that simple… The hormonal changes of menopause sure don’t happen “12 months after the last period” – Perimenopausal women complain of sleepless nights, mood swings, irregular bleeding, night…
Continue ReadingTrending: Feminine Rejuvenation
What exactly is it? In polite language, vague terms like “feminine rejuvenation” really just mean improving or reversing pelvic problems that occur with women throughout life. The medical reality is that difficulties with vaginal function, sexual health, and bladder control affect almost all women at some point. Really? Almost all women? Absolutely. Any woman who’s…
Continue ReadingPercentage of Women with Vaginal Dryness
Vaginal dryness is surprisingly common at all ages. About 20% of women over 18 have dryness, about 30% suffer through it during the perimenopausal years and most women have dryness after menopause. And it’s not just during intercourse – it can be uncomfortable – irritated, dry, painful all the time like arthritis or other aging…
Continue ReadingThe Growing Popularity of Vaginal Rejuvenation
Over 50% of women have either vaginal dryness or bladder control issues and many women have both after menopause. The treatments for vaginal dryness and bladder control are neck in neck in terms of what brings people into our regenerative medical centers in northern Michigan. And fortunately there’s a lot of overlap in treatments –…
Continue ReadingWhy Aren’t All Menopausal Women Getting Bioidentical Hormonal Treatment? – A Q&A with Dr. Gustav Lo, MD
Q: If bioidentical hormones are now known to be SAFE, plus prevent all these dangerous diseases AND make menopausal women feel so much better, why isn’t EVERYONE getting them? [For background, read my previous blog post “The Tragedy of Women’s Hormone Replacement” to find out how hormone treatment got such an undeserved bad name 20…
Continue ReadingTestosterone Replacement for Men
Tiredness. More naps. Lower libido. Less “get up and go.” These are men’s most typical complaints of aging. The funny thing is, they aren’t necessarily from getting older – many are due to declining testosterone or “low T”. It’s not just low testosterone that causes men to feel lousy. DHEA, pregnenalone, and reduced thyroid function…
Continue ReadingThe Tragedy of Women’s Hormone Replacement – A Q&A with Dr. Gustav Lo, MD
Q: Why aren’t more women treated with hormone replacement for menopause? A: I’ll tell you exactly why, because I watched it happen. I attended a very progressive med school in the 80s – more than 50% of my class were women, and women’s health was an area of intense research and interest. Treating menopause misery…
Continue ReadingThe most common problem you’ve never heard of: GSM
GSM (genitourinary syndrome of menopause) affects women after menopause as the pelvic structures weaken with lost estrogen. Estrogen maintains healthy vaginal membranes, pelvic floors, and bladders. With estrogen gone, those tissues weaken and lose their normal function, leading to dryness, irritation, difficult or painful sex, and low sex drive. Vaginal problems plus weakening of the…
Continue ReadingAdvancements in Treatments for Arthritic Pain
PRF (platelet-rich fibrin) injections relieve pain in weeks and last about a year. According to the American Arthritis Foundation, more than 50% of us over 65 have arthritis. As a doctor, I can tell you that’s just silly – 100% of people over 65 have arthritis somewhere (how much they complain about it varies, but…
Continue ReadingIntroducing RegenCen – The Growth of Regenerative Treatments in Traverse City and Petoskey
When Dr. Gustav Lo, MD left his primary care/urgent care practice of 30 years, he didn’t wonder what to do next. “We had just transitioned the clinics to McLaren, but I was still eager to continue practicing medicine,” he recalls. “We immediately got to work on our RegenCen plan.” RegenCen isn’t primary care. It’s a…
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