• 06Mar

  About BioBalance Health

  Bioidentical Hormones No Comments

  Romondo Davis manages our Internet marketing and digital content.

  

  BioBalance Internet marketing specialist, Romondo Davis was Brett Newcomb’s guest on this week’s BioBalance Healthcast. Romondo summarized the show.

  I was honored to appear on Dr. Maupin’s podcast with Brett. I consider it a a great opportunity to present an Internet marketer’s view of her practice and the information she provides. I consider her to be unique among physicians in how she presents her own work and services.

  I was hired by Dr. Maupin almost ten years ago to support a public speaking appearance to a group of women. At the time her bioidentical hormone replacement practice was just getting started. Since then we’ve worked together closely to create a marketing system of websites, podcasts and social media that allows her to not only advance her practice, but provide comprehensive education to her patients.

  On this podcast I review the content I publish on behalf of Dr. Maupin, and describe the websites and social media platforms on which it is available. Our Facebook account—facebook.com/biobalanceheatlh—currently has over 370 Likes and is growing every day. The community there is active and offers up comments, questions and testimonials. We’re also on Twitter @drkathymaupin.

  Each week we record and post episodes of this BioBalance Healthcast series covering topics including testosterone deficiency, solutions for symptoms of aging and other health-related issues as well as topics of culture and relationships. The audio version is available at biobalance.libsyn.com and iTunes. The video version of the podcast is available on YouTube.com but we prefer you view it at DrKathyMaupin.com. We recommend you subscribe so you receive each episode as soon as it is published.

  We have four active websites:

  • BiobalanceHealth.com is our main site, dedicated to the practice of treating symptoms of aging. Features of the site include instructions for becoming a patient, a detailed explanation of Testosterone Deficiency Syndrome, sections dedicated to men’s and women’s hormones, frequently asked questions and patient testimonials.
  • BioBalanceSkin.com is dedicate to Dr. Maupin’s skin solutions including her unique line of spa-quality botanical skin products. Also available there is information about esthetic skin services she offers including laser skin treatments, JetPeel, i-Lipo and more.
  • DrKathyMaupin.com is the blog, primarily the home of this podcast. Category listings make it easy to find specific content, but I recommend using search feature to help find specific content more quickly.
  • TheSecretFemaleHormone.com is the Internet home for information about the book she wrote with Brett Newcomb. The site is very basic at this time, but as we get closer to the publishing date—November of this year—it will contain much more information about the book. You can subscribe to the book newsletter to receive updates on when the book will be released and where you can purchase a copy.

  I’ve enjoyed being a member of the team of professionals who are dedicated to improving the health of men and women. I am honored to work for a physician who sincerely cares for her patients, applying her knowledge and experience to treating the symptoms and conditions she has experienced and is experiencing in her own life. I take pride in helping her promote her practice and assisting her in educating her patients. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions about anything you’ve read or seen on her websites or through this podcast. Our email address is podcast@biobalanceheath.com.
• 27Feb

  Dating Mores Evolve

  Bioidentical Hormones No Comments

  Sex as a Part of the American Culture.

  

  This week my friend Brett and I are talking about the evolution of dating practices in the United States. We look at theories of evolution such as the Darwinian theory, and the theory of Socio-biology to see what they have to say about breeding strategies. One of the challenges presented here is that these theories maintain that men and women are different because of genetic imperatives for each sex that are different. According to these theories men are genetically programmed to be more promiscuous and women are programmed to nest and spend their energies raising their children. As a result there is a conflict of interest and societies have to find a way to maintain stability for multi-generational success. These are real challenges to the social foundation and the development of the culture around getting married, having sex, and having children.

  In our conversation we look at the development of the love marriage concept in our culture which came about as a consequence of the changes of the industrial revolution so that most people obtained and maintained their wealth through salaries rather than through agricultural production. These changes allowed us to develop mores around dating which evolved from ideas like bundling on the American frontier of the seventeen hundreds, to Match.com today.

  We further look at the dating and sexual behavior changes that have developed because of changes in birth control and from simply living longer. These changes lead us to a discussion of raising teen’s who are sexually capable of having children, but not socially mature enough to care for themselves, let alone having and raising their own babies. That requires a discussion of transmitting values and monitoring media exposure and being aware that there are both opportunities and risks out there for our children that no other generation ever had to deal with.

  You will find this conversation interesting and challenging no matter where you are in terms of dating yourself or of being the parent of a teen who has to decide how to behave as they mature into adults.
• 18Feb

  Gender Specific Medicine

  Bioidentical Hormones No Comments

  The Difference Between the Way Men and Women Metabolize Drugs.

  

  This week Brett and I are talking about an article that was just published at the end of January 2013 in the New York Times. This article takes a look at the problems which are being identified by pharmacies and physicians around the idea that there need to be different dosage amounts for medicines taken by men and women. Men metabolize medicines differently than women, in part because of the size differences and in part because of the construction of our bodies. Women have more fat deposits than men do. Many medicines are fat soluable. Medicines rest in the fat tissue of the body until they can be metabolized. Since there are more fat deposits in a woman’s body it may be that women absorb more of a medicine than a man does and that will throw off the predictive values used to determine the proper dose.

  One of the reasons that this is now becoming a concern is that until 1993 women of child-bearing age were not allowed to be included in testing programs for developing new drugs and taking them to market. As a result we had drugs come to market that were put into general use. After they were put on the market it was determined that there were problems or adverse effects on women. These drugs were then pulled off the market. A recent government accountability study found that between 1997 and 2000 eight out of ten drugs which were pulled off the market were pulled because of adverse side effects on women. 80% of the pulled drugs were pulled because women were not included in the studies.

  We talk about several specific drugs, like Propecia, Androgel, and Flomax to point out the examples and differences. One point that gets made is that there are two doses for Propecia, a five mg dose for men and a one mg dose for women. This is really unusual and progressive. The problem however, is that the one mg dose cost about five times as much as the five mg dose. The best solution seems to be to prescribe the higher dose and then cutting the pill!

  We also discussed over the counter medicines and supplements and the reality that the active doses are much less than they are in prescribed medicines.

  One last focus of our discussion today is a report that the American Endocrine Society has come out in support of using hormone replacement treatments for women who are exhibiting symptoms due to the loss of hormones. They reinforce the message that the WHI study was incorrectly interpreted and encourage doctors and women to look at hormone replacement as a possible positive strategy.
• 11Feb

  What Doctors Need from Their Patients

  Bioidentical Hormones No Comments

  Changing Times in your Doctor’s Office.

  

  This week my friend Brett Newcomb and I are talking about changes in the way doctor’s offices work. When I first went into practice thirty years ago, I used to get calls at home at all hours of the night and on weekends. Sometimes these calls were for me, for the things I was treating patients for, and sometimes they were for things the other doctors a woman saw were supposed to treat. When I asked why they called me for those things, I was told “I did not want to wake him up!, so I called you”. My patients never thought about how that sentence would make me feel!

  Anyway I no longer get those calls because my practice has changed. It has changed both in the focus of my medical work, but it has also changed in ways that many if not most other medical offices have changed. Let me tell you about some of those changes.

  Most doctors who are private practitioners do not see their patients if the patient goes to the hospital or to the emergency room. Now there are specialists called hospitalists who see you in the hospital and then send you back to your personal physician when you get out. Doctors used to maintain an exchange for “call”. After regular office hours if a patient needed some information, a prescription, or directions about what to do, they would call their doctors office and their call would be routed to an exchange where a physician who was taking call for the office would take the call help the patient and then forward that information to the regular doctor.

  Medical offices are doing this less and less today. There are several reasons for this change. Some are driven by liability issues, some are driven by the expectation that a patient will just go to the emergency room for an emergency rather than call a doctor and say, “My son cut himself and is bleeding, what should we do?”Now most offices are using recorders which take messages. If you call during the day, you get the phone tree that says if you want to schedule an appointment, press 1, if you need a prescription refill, press 2, if you…….. ect. Etc., This makes the process so much more efficient for the patient and the physician, although it does frustrate some patients.
  If you call at night you will get one of two messages: call back during office hours or if this is a true medical emergency go right to the emergency room.

  When you do call during office hours and get your doctor on the phone, do not waste the opportunity. Be prepared and focused. Have information at hand that the doctor or you might need, such as your pharmacy phone number. Remember the doctor may not be looking at your chart. You may need to remind her of things you know, such as the fact that you are allergic to Tylenol or something. While you have them on the phone, do not think you are having a social conversation. Be focused, be quick, be gone. Tell the doctor what you are afraid of, what you are experiencing, what you want. Try to have no more than three focused points to discuss. When the doctor tells you what they want you to do, if you do not understand, ask specifically about what you do not understand. Then, follow the instructions. One of the biggest difficulties that happen is when non compliant patients deteriorate and get worse because they did not follow doctors orders.

  There have been many changes in our culture. Our doctors offices have changed as well. Brett and I discuss how you can get the most out of your interaction with your doctor. These ideas are in service of getting the most efficient results and the best help. Please listen and give them your attention. See if it won’t help you be a better consumer of medical help.
• 05Feb

  Treatments for Erectile Dysfunction

  Bioidentical Hormones No Comments

  Third of a Thee Part Series on ED.

  

  This week, Brett and I finish our discussion of erectile dysfunction in men. We have spent two weeks talking about what it is and how it works (or does not) and this week we will talk about treatments or interventions for ED.

  First let me reassure you that almost all men at times find that they are not getting the erections they want. Either they are unable to get one, or they do not feel that it is rigid enough to satisfy either themselves or their partners. This is not uncommon at all. For most men, it appears to be situational. If it becomes a problem at least 25% of the time, they should seek treatment.

  We have spent time talking about the various treatments for dealing with the problems of ED. We have talked about testosterone and other pharmaceutical treatments. The most common pharmaceutical treatments are drugs like Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra. They generally help men obtain erections. Sometimes there are side effects such as headaches and lower back pain. Strokes and fainting are possible side effects. One other pharmaceutical treatment is a drug called Muse. It is technically alprostadil, a postglandin ge1. It is administered in two ways, the first is a pellet the size of a grain of rice is inserted in the urethra. One of the side effects that tends to make men not want to use it is a burning sensation. If you don’t insert it, you can take it as a shot, which is administered at the base of the penis. This drug works 30-40% of the time.

  If you don’t want to take the drugs, or they don’t work, then there are still options for you to think about. The next level of intervention is surgery. You can have a pump with a self- contained reservoir of saline installed. A pump button is hidden in the scrotum and you press it to make it fill and press it again to drain it. It works every time, and the erection remains for as long as you want. Depending on insurance, it can be pretty expensive. Also, once you have this procedure you will never have a natural erection again.

  Another type of surgery involves placing two semi rigid rods in the penis that have to be connected together in order to create an erection and then twisted apart to end the erection. The penis stays semi rigid as long as the the rods are connected.

  Some men prefer to use an external pump. It is a plastic tube placed over the penis with a pump mechanism attached. You pump the air out of the tube and the vacuum causes the blood to flow into the penis. You then place a tourniquet around the base of the penis and leave it there until you no longer desire the erection. When you remove this, the blood drains back out and the erection goes away.

  This is an interesting and important topic for education and discussion. We really hope that you have found all three of our podcasts to be helpful. Again, thank you for listening.
• 30Jan

  Erectile Dysfunction from a Psychological Perspective

  Bioidentical Hormones No Comments

  Second of a Thee Part Series on ED.

  

  This week Brett and I continue our discussion of ED and men. We are focusing not on the mechanical or physical causes and problems that lead to loss of erections in men, we are focusing instead on the emotional and psychological contributors.

  Brett talks about his thirty years as a therapist, seeing hundreds of men and women work on their relationship problems. Often these problems are caused by or exacerbated by what is happening in their sex lives. When we are young and fall in lust and then work on falling in love, arousal is not often a problem. When you first meet someone and are attracted to them, wanting them sexually is a natural and frequent response. Married couples, or long term couples, become habituated to one another, they get saturated by the amount of contact they have, and life begins to intrude. Children come along, job stress and money stress is involved, and habits begin to assert themselves. Often sex becomes a scheduled chore rather than a spontaneous and joyous encounter with someone you find to be fun and exciting.

  Even if you are not “bored” or habituated with your partner, life intrudes and problems often occur. If men feel performance anxiety because their wife is perceived by them to be demanding or critical of their performance both sexually and in life, then these feelings will reduce their sexual responsiveness. One way this manifests is with ED.

  Sometimes depression and stress are causes of ED. This is a Catch 22. If you take many of the anti depressant medicines that are out there, they inhibit sexual functioning. So you may be less depressed because you take the meds, but you won’t want to have sex.

  One last topic that we touch on this week as we talk about intimacy, sex, and ED is the important topic of talking. Communication, particularly about sexual matters is a critical relationship skill. Many people are resistant to talking about their fantasies, about their desires and likes and dislikes because of religious, cultural, or other reasons. Brett says it is very important to challenge this resistance and try to be able to talk with each other about what you like and want. It can help avoid and it can help overcome problems with ED.

  Please come back next week and listen to the third in our series, as we talk about treatments and interventions for fighting the problems of ED.
• 23Jan

  Erectile Dysfunction from a Medical Perspective

  Andropause, Bioidentical Hormones, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), Medical Care, Relationships, Research, Sexuality, Symptoms, Testosterone 1 Comment

  What causes Erectile Dysfunction in men? The first of a three part series.

  

  Today is the first of a three part series that Brett and I are doing on the topic of ED in men. Erectile Dysfunction is very common. Most men at some point in their lives experience problems with getting or maintaining a satisfactory erection. Generally it is thought that if this is happening at least 25% of the time, then you have a problem and need to seek treatment.

  Brett and I talk about what causes Ed, and the physical symptoms and manifestations of various problems that lead to the inability to have or maintain an erection strong enough for a fulfilling sexual encounter. Erections are made possible by blood flow to the penis. When there is restriction of blood flow in the pelvic girdle, it becomes difficult to impossible for men to get erections. This restriction can be caused by many things. The most immediate causes are inflammation and cholesterol. The problem does not really start there, it starts for most men when they begin to loose their testosterone. If they replace their lost testosterone with a bio identical replacement (shots or pellets) then it will help by not only improving the blood flow to the penis, but also by increasing the oxytocin. This helps with arousal and emotional focusing on sexual matters as well as by helping the mechanics of the erection work better.

  If the problem is not solved with testosterone then we have to look more at other interventions. The next issue we consider is plaque build up in the vessels of the pelvic area, and that comes from high blood pressure and cholesterol. When there is plaque in the vessels the blood cannot flow properly and there will not be enough volume to maintain an erection.

  Brett and I talk about things that men do that lead to these problems. The first of course, is that by aging they lose their testosterone. But beyond that, they smoke, gain weight, eat poorly (beef, saturated fats, animal fats, etc.) and they don’t exercise. All of these are contributors to the problem of ED.

  One of the interesting things that we hit on is that men often are told that they will have heart attacks and die sooner if they live this way, and they laugh it off. If they are told that they will loose their erectile function and not have sex, they get serious and promise to do anything to be better!

  Finally, we discuss the mechanics of erectile functioning and how procedures like a fem-pop surgery might help, or medicines like beta blockers such as Benicar rather than linisopril, or the use of drugs such as Viagra. We even discuss the issue of dehydration and its impact on erections and sex. Diabetes, which is becoming an epidemic among the aging population of the United States is also a major contributor to ED problems in men.

  If you are a male, and you are having concerns about ED, you will find this podcast of interest and importance. Please listen to it, and come back for the next two weeks as we discuss more about how to treat or deal with ED problems.
• 15Jan

  Diet Soda is Bad For You

  Anti-aging, Medical Care, Research No Comments

  Consider drinking less soda!

  

  Today Brett and I are talking about the shocking statistic that the average American drinks two diet sodas a day! Drinking diet soda increases your chance of being obese. It increases your chance of having kidney disease. It also contributes to being diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, and depending on their storage and delivery method, it may contribute to heavy metal poisoning.

  We were looking at an article that summarized medical research being done at Universities from Minnesota to Texas, from Massachusetts to England. These various Universities were publishing data that identified a 34% risk of kidney disease if you drink the average American consumption amount of diet soda (2 a day). There are other studies that say if you drink 2 or more diet sodas a day you have a 500% higher risk of being obese.

  Research shows that you should not drink alcohol and diet soda together. The sugar used in regular soda feeds the cells and lessens the absorption of alcohol by your body. If you drink diet soda, you will hot have the alcohol blocked by the absorption of the sugar because the artificial sweetener is not sugar and does not feed the cell. Therefore you will consume larger quantities of alcohol than you think and get drunker faster and with more risks.

  Sometimes physicians will recommend that someone drink a diet soda. We do this because in limited amounts a diet soda can reduce nausea and decrease the impact of an acidic stomach. Doctors will suggest diet sodas as a treatment and will expect that you keep consumption secluded as part of your treatment.

  Other risk factors in diet soda are the preservatives. There are preservatives used in diet sodas that are not used in sugared or regular sodas. These preservatives themselves can cause damage to your cells.

  Diet sodas increase your risk of developing what is called metabolic syndrome, a cluster of issues ranging from high blood pressure to obesity to insulin resistance and heart disease. I really do not find any redeeming qualities of diet sodas in volume and strongly encourage you not to drink them. Before you say “Doctor you don’t understand” please listen to today’s podcast. Then make up your own mind.
• 07Jan

  What a Woman Needs from Her Doctor

  Anti-aging, Medical Care, Treatment No Comments

  Tips for Choosing a Doctor

  

  Today’s conversation is an outgrowth of a paper I wrote for a Medical Journal. I was attempting to explain to my colleagues how women pick physicians and other providers of services in their lives. I wanted doctors to know that women talk to each other and pass the word around about whom to call among all their feminine networks. There are many ingredients that go into those female networks; they talk about how the office is decorated, how the staff is helpful, friendly, or receptive, they talk about the doctor and whether or not she listens to them and or talks down to them. Does the doctor take time with you to hear you and get to know you or do they just do clinical symptom management like a laboratory scientist?

  Doctors are not traditionally chosen because they have empathy and compassion and good people skills, they are chosen for medical school because they score well on tests and have good grades. We want our doctors to be smart, and educated, but we also want them to be people oriented and have the interest, the commitment and the skill for listening to the patient and seeing the whole picture.

  Of course, I also talk to my women friends and explain to them that they have some responsibility for making a visit with their doctor, to be productive and get well. I tell them to make a list in advance of the three things they particularly want their doctor to know about what concerns them on this visit. Prioritize that list and make sure that you don’t just wander around in a conversation that does not go anywhere and that you do not just answer the check list questions the doctor will ask. When the visit is finished, you should have a clear sense of what the doctor is going to do and what he/she wants you to do. You should have a clear picture of what will be the progression of your treatment and what outcomes or results the doctor expects if you do what they tell you.

  Many patients have trouble being treated. If they are not able to follow the doctor’s instructions then they are less likely to get better. The outcomes may not be a direct result of the doctor’s choices and behaviors. They may be a result of the patients.

  Brett and I also spend time today talking about the differences between men and women in how they approach medical situations. What do they know? How do they behave? What do they want? How are men and women different? I wanted to tell my doctor friends this information as well in my article. I wanted them to think about the differences in communicating with and treating men as opposed to women. It is worth the time and effort to understand and take advantage of these differences, but in order to do that you have to know what they are.

  In this podcast you will hear my friend Brett tell me:
  “Kathy I have known you for years and I know many of your patients and they have said to me over and over again that they love their visits with you because you give them a reason and an explanation for every symptom they have and every treatment you offer and a clear path to evaluate if they are getting better. There are specific markers and hooks that you identify and share with them that they feel so grounded by because they have that information. You are not just saying ‘I am the doctor, take two of these and call me in the morning or come back in two weeks and we will see.’

  He says this because he has heard from his female clients that this is how they have experienced their visits with me. It is validation for me because it is what I am preaching to other doctors about the way women work.
• 31Dec

  Writing Testosterone, the Secret Female Hormone

  Bioidentical Hormones No Comments

  Details about how we wrote the book—to be published in 2013

  

  Brett and I have spent much of the last two years writing a book on Testosterone as a female hormone. In today’s podcast we spend time talking about the experience of writing this book. How did the idea that I had for writing a book actually come to reality? What were we doing and how did we do it?

  Part of what we discovered as we attempted to write this book is that we needed to know what we wanted to say. How much raw material would or should need to be included, was a major concern. Data in a book is a snapshot in time. Our goal was to provide basic information that a lay- person would need to have, that would stand the test of time. In addition to providing the basic information, we wanted to tell an interesting and hopefully entertaining “read” that would inform our readers and motivate them to have conversations with their physicians about their own health and their hormone systems and its needs.

  So for today’s podcast we are remembering the process of writing and creating. We talk about how we came together as a team, learned to work together, and combine our separate strengths and our separate knowledge basis into a readable and informative book that most readers would enjoy and would be informed by. We think we have done that, and can’t wait for the publisher to have the book ready for release.

  Our hope is that when you listen to this podcast you will be motivated to watch for our book and acquire it when it becomes available. For those of you who have an interest in writing, especially collaborative writing, we hope this podcast will help you with our discussion of the process we used to make it happen.

  As always, thank you for listening.

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