Show Description

In this week's Foundations and Functions quick-tip episode, Dr. Amich dives into the essentials of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). They discuss the importance of proper lab timing—understanding peak versus trough levels—and how those numbers can impact symptoms and treatment outcomes. Whether you're currently on TRT or considering it, this brief overview offers practical insights to help you make more informed decisions about your hormone health.

Then, Dr. Amich shifts focus to an often-overlooked but critical topic: sleep health. In a passionate segment, he breaks down why snoring is never normal and how it often signals underlying issues like obstructive sleep apnea. He highlights the connection between poor sleep and chronic health problems like hypertension, weight gain, and even dementia—urging listeners to seek testing and treatment. It’s a powerful reminder that better sleep could be the foundation to better health.

Show Disclaimer

The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. The content is not a substitute for professional medical care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

If you would like more detailed medical information, please contact Integrative Medicine through their website at https://integrativemla.com/

Show Transcript

• 4 0:00

  Welcome to Foundations and Functions weekly podcast, where we return to when medicine actually made you better. Now, here's Dr. Jason Amick and Dr. C.J. Pabla.

• 1 0:16

  Welcome back to Foundations and Functions. This is gonna be your quick tip of the week. We wanna do a quick overview of testosterone therapy and just things to think about if you are either on a testosterone replacement therapy or if you're considering testosterone replacement therapy. So, Dr. Pabla, what's something, let's talk about testing and knowing what to look for

• 1 0:39

  or what to think about with testing with testosterone.

• 3 0:41

  Dr. Pabla Pabla So, testosterone comes in many forms that guys can take. There's the shot, there is the cream, there is implants, and then there's also ways to internally boost it via using a mechanism called GnRH agonists. But anyway, during the shot, when you test testosterone, you want to check free and total testosterone, it's important to know when to draw your labs based on the shot, okay?

• 3 1:13

  If you want to do what is called a peak level, when you do a testosterone shot, that usually peaks about 24 to 48 hours after. And so if you drew your labs then, you're going to get the highest value you probably will have, okay? And typically testosterone is injected every seven days. So your trough level is going to be essentially right before you inject again on day seven, right?

• 1 1:36

  Darrell Bock And that's going to be your lowest level.

• 3 1:37

  Dr. Peter Marks That's going to be your lowest level. So it's important to talk to your provider when they say, get your labs done, you need to, you know, kind of verify, because a lot of times that gets missed, is like, should I get a peak level or should I get a trough level? That's really important, because the peak level could get so high that maybe you could get some complications. If the trough level is too low, then you're going to become symptomatic again. So that's the kind of the quick and dirty. There's so much more to talk about testosterone and some of the internal ways we actually use in our office to help boost it.

• 3 2:11

  We can get into that in another podcast. So yeah, that's the quick tip of the day for the testosterone.

• 1 2:18

  Darrell Bock Sounds great. Thanks so much, everybody. We'll see you again on Foundations in Function. Hello and welcome back to Foundations in Functions. I wanted to jump on here and talk about sleep and sleep health. And frankly, really, I just wanted to fuss for a minute.

• 1 2:34

  So give me a minute to hear me fuss. And here's the number one thing that I think you should know about sleep health. First and foremost, snoring is not normal. Snoring is not normal. I'm going to say that one more time in case you're driving and you got distracted by the yellow light that you just blew through. Snoring is not normal. It is absolutely an indication of some form of airway obstruction. So, again, we can do a whole other podcast about what is obstructive sleep apnea versus

• 1 3:07

  central sleep apnea and what all those big terms mean and how that works. But if you suffer from fatigue, headaches, brain fog, hypertension, if you have cardiovascular disease history for yourself or your family, If you're unable to lose weight despite changing your diet, working out, any of those things, there's a good chance you may actually, and you snore, there's a really good chance that you may be suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. And I challenge patients all the time and say, listen, don't take my word for it.

• 1 3:40

  Go out and look. You can go Google this thing really quickly and easily and look at, you know, what are some conditions that are related to sleep apnea? And when you see that list show up, of all the research that's gone on for, gosh, 50 years maybe, right? A very long time. There's a lot of validated research that shows that patients with sleep apnea are at higher

• 1 4:00

  risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity. I mean, the list goes on and on and on. Alzheimer's, early dementia, again you can just go on with that. The key takeaway I want you to hear today in this really short quick tip is snoring is not normal.

• 1 4:20

  If you have symptoms along with that, then you need to have a sleep study done. They have home sleep studies now. They're very easy to do. We do them in our office quite a bit. And we can get you the help that you need so that you're sleeping better. And if you're sleeping better, you're feeling well rested in the morning, you have more

• 1 4:37

  energy, and we actually can get you healthy, safely, and feeling a lot better. So quick tip of the week, snoring is not normal. I hope you have a great day, and thanks for listening to Foundations and Functions.

• 2 4:53

  I'm Rachel, the patient coordinator, and I just wanted to thank you for tuning in to today's episode. If any part of today's conversation resonated with you, we'd love to hear from you. You can easily reach out to our office through our website

• 2 5:06

  or give us a call to schedule a consultation. And one more thing, this podcast is about staying informed together. If there's a study, article, or trending topic you'd like us to review on a future episode, let us know. We wanna make sure we're answering the questions

• 2 5:21

  that matter most to you. Thanks again for listening, and we look forward to connecting with you soon.

• 4 5:26

  The information provided in this podcast is for educational and information purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice. The content is not a substitute for professional medical care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider

• 4 5:42

  with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you would like more detailed information, please contact Dr. Amick or Dr. Pabla at Integrative Medicine through their website at Amick or Dr. Pabla at Integrative Medicine through their website at IntegrativeMLA.com