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There may not be a safe off-ramp for some taking GLP-1 drugs, study suggests

arstechnica.com

101–106 of 106 posts

Re: There may not be a safe off-ramp for some taking GLP-1 drugs, study suggests

#101
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>The trick the clinics are using now is “diagnosing by symptoms”. You can't really diagnose by levels, though, unless you knew what that person's previous levels were. Setting an average across a population is not really realistic - you can't say Shaq should work to the same levels as, say, Emo Phillips. TRT is normally used due to aging, though, so you are unlikely to have your testosterone levels spontaneously rec…

If someone shows up with a testosterone level of 700 you can (and should) explain that low testosterone is not the explanation for whatever they’re suffering from. The TRT clinics are ignoring levels or even not testing at all. They’ll find an excuse to prescribe to someone even who has clinically high levels because they want the monthly recurring revenue from keeping that customer for life.

What if the person complaining had spent all their life at a base level of 1000? Diagnosing off population base levels is a very blunt tool.

I don't disagree that there are some bad actors out there - the bar to getting it under 40 or 50 should be very high. But honestly, I think everyone's levels should be checked before being put on an SSRI for depression.

HRT is also a life-long treatment, no?

Re: There may not be a safe off-ramp for some taking GLP-1 drugs, study suggests

#102
post #71
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>The trick the clinics are using now is “diagnosing by symptoms”. You can't really diagnose by levels, though, unless you knew what that person's previous levels were. Setting an average across a population is not really realistic - you can't say Shaq should work to the same levels as, say, Emo Phillips. TRT is normally used due to aging, though, so you are unlikely to have your testosterone levels spontaneously rec…

>You can't really diagnose by levels, though, unless you knew what that person's previous levels were. Exactly. Before suggesting it. my doctor had more than a year's worth of data. (I have some blood tests done quarterly; so, he added one for testosterone.) Even then, he sent the results to my urologist.

But also - say over your 55th year your levels were 800, but when you felt your best and most confident at 35, your levels were 1000. What is the correct level for you?

Re: There may not be a safe off-ramp for some taking GLP-1 drugs, study suggests

#103
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see. I got curious because of the correct usage of ’ (instead of the common ')

Argh. It’s so strange to be ridiculed and have your ideas devalued just because you know how to use punctuation marks. I have 20 year old blog posts with hundreds of comments accusing me of using AI. I understand people being suspicious, but it’s beyond annoying when it becomes an entire personality online, as it has for many persons. How about we go back to valuing ideas, regardless of their origins, if they deliver…

I hope you are not writing this in reference to my question, because this does not in any way capture the feelings or thoughts I had while asking. Just some mild curiosity living in a strange new world.

In case this is not obvious: I am aware that you could just not answer honestly. If I thought this was a critical issue and that you were likely to be dishonest about it, I would not have asked to begin with.

Re: There may not be a safe off-ramp for some taking GLP-1 drugs, study suggests

#104
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>You can't really diagnose by levels, though, unless you knew what that person's previous levels were. Exactly. Before suggesting it. my doctor had more than a year's worth of data. (I have some blood tests done quarterly; so, he added one for testosterone.) Even then, he sent the results to my urologist.

But also - say over your 55th year your levels were 800, but when you felt your best and most confident at 35, your levels were 1000. What is the correct level for you?

TBD. I was told you start TRT and then check the level in three months. Based on the new level and symptoms, the dosage gets adjusted. That's the difference between doing actually in consultation with a doctor, as opposed to a one-time phone/internet "consult."

Re: There may not be a safe off-ramp for some taking GLP-1 drugs, study suggests

#105
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Argh. It’s so strange to be ridiculed and have your ideas devalued just because you know how to use punctuation marks. I have 20 year old blog posts with hundreds of comments accusing me of using AI. I understand people being suspicious, but it’s beyond annoying when it becomes an entire personality online, as it has for many persons. How about we go back to valuing ideas, regardless of their origins, if they deliver…

I hope you are not writing this in reference to my question, because this does not in any way capture the feelings or thoughts I had while asking. Just some mild curiosity living in a strange new world. In case this is not obvious: I am aware that you could just not answer honestly. If I thought this was a critical issue and that you were likely to be dishonest about it, I would not have asked to begin with.

I think I read things into your comment you did not intend, and for that I apologize. I confess I have been pretty sensitized from the barrage of accusations I recieve—mostly from em dashes and using “ai words” whatever that means lol. It wouldn’t be so bad if AI wrote better prose, but I really hope that my own writing doesn’t come off with that singularly droll countenance that AI tends to present.

Re: There may not be a safe off-ramp for some taking GLP-1 drugs, study suggests

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s true. You can even go on Reddit and find anecdotes and guides about which clinics to call and what to say to get prescribed with minimal hassle. Some of the clinics were even prescribing anabolic steroids intended for terminal cancer patients. If you want to read about something even crazier, look up the services that were started during COVID to be prescription mills for Adderall or Xanax. The relaxed COVID pre…

Did you use a LLM to write these comments?

certainly reads like it
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