Helping couples regain their sex life has been a hugely rewarding experience for me, a United States-trained physician now also promoting alternative treatments.
In most cases, the wife’s hot flashes, insomnia and other painful signs of menopause are what initially bring a couple to me.
I next ask them about their sex life: When was the last time they had sex? More importantly, when did they have good sex? I assure them, “We can easily fix that if you want.”
I also address the husband, who may eventually disclose that he is suffering from occasional erectile dysfunction: “We can fix that, too. We can help the two of you feel better.”
They return a few weeks later and give me a hug. Both smile and look genuinely happy: “Doc, thank you so much. Our relationship has never been better.”
Waning sexual libido is often written off as part of the aging process in the Philippine setting. That disappoints me, because the condition can now be easily and safely remedied with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT).
This treatment utilizes a new generation of plant-based hormones that mimic those of the human body. Better yet, these hormones have no known side effects.
In most local clinics, men and women who complain about poor quality of sex life will be often given palliative treatments. Women who complain of discomfort resulting from thinning, drying and inflammation of the walls of the vagina from estrogen loss are given local treatments such as estrogen tablet or synthetic estrogen cream for the vagina.
Side effects
Men will be given Viagra, a medication whose active ingredient is sildenafil, which is used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED). It helps relax the smooth muscles of the blood vessels and improves blood flow to the penis to initiate or maintain an erection enough for vaginal penetration.
Unfortunately, it also has side effects such as flushing, blurring of vision, deafness, muscle aches, headaches, dizziness, insomnia, stuffiness, and prolonged and painful erection.
But what I consider the primary barrier to a fulfilling and happy sex life is not addressed by the aforementioned treatments.
I refer to a waning libido or lack of desire. Without sexual desire, everything about sex becomes difficult. Yet physical intimacy remains an essential part of a happy marriage.
Much evidence points to the fact that an active sex life keeps a couple together. It brings closeness that words can’t describe, and I enjoy seeing couples in their 70s and 80s enjoying this gift that comes with marriage.
After a few weeks on bioidentical hormones, including testosterone, progesterone and estrogen, a post-menopausal woman will usually be feeling better and will be more responsive to her husband’s sexual advances.
She is likely to notice other dramatic changes in her body, is sleeping soundly, and generally has a better disposition.
At Rapha Health, we begin the process of treatment with a blood exam to test for hormonal levels. Most biochemical processes in the body are regulated by hormones.
A decline in thyroid levels could lead to obesity, loss of energy and other symptoms. Very high estrogen levels and low progesterone could predispose one to breast and cervical cancer.
We then regulate those hormones through pills and creams compounded for the patient’s condition. Our goal is to bring them back to levels before menopause, and in the case of men, andropause.
A man with declining testosterone levels who undergoes BHRT will be dramatically freed from ego-deflating erectile dysfunction. In addition, bioidentical testosterone also effectively reduces the incidence of osteoporosis, heart attack and prostrate cancer, while decreasing body fats and improving muscle mass.
Unfortunately, BHRT is not part of the medical curriculum in most US-oriented medical schools like those in the Philippines. But it is well accepted in Europe.
Conventional doctors will check a man’s total testosterone levels, but usually fail to correlate this with the onset of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, depression, fatigue and erectile dysfunction. Physicians with training in longevity and antiaging medicine will do that.
Near-heart attack
I would have remained skeptical about bioidentical hormones and other alternative treatments, had a near-heart attack in the 1990s not changed my perspective.
I was then a cardiologist in Florida with a thriving practice. One morning I felt severe pain in my chest, and a coronary angiography confirmed I needed a bypass.
The procedure left me in so much pain and discomfort. Being a cardiologist trained at Baylor University Medical Center in Texas and the Boston University-affiliated Carney Hospital, I knew, however, that if I pursued traditional medicine I would be needing a second bypass in a few years.
That was when I decided to pursue alternative medicine, initially through intravenous therapy or chelation.
Chelation has been an alternative cure for heart disease since the ’50s. It makes use of an infusion of vitamins, minerals and a synthetic amino acid called EDTA to remove plaque from the arteries. I eventually supplemented that treatment with BHRT.
I am now 77, and have remained asymptomatic. I must have undergone over 500 chelation treatments by now, and regularly apply testosterone cream and take other supplements like CoQ10 to improve my energy level through the activation of the cellular mitochondria, and omega 3 to prevent inflammation, which is the culprit in heart attacks.
Many say I have the energy of someone 10 years my junior, although I feel like I am just 45 years old. I wouldn’t have it any other way. –CONTRIBUTED
Dr. Cris Enriquez is a distinguished fellow of the American Academy of Cardiology with medical training at Yale University School of Medicine, Baylor University Medical Center-Dallas, Carney Hospital-Boston and UERMMMC-Philippines.