The (Physician) Hormone Handbook by Thierry Hertoghe – “The long awaited basic guide for physicians specializing in anti-aging hormone therapies”

In addition to “The Patient Hormone Handbook”, Dr Thierry Hertoghe has also published “The Hormone Handbook”. The Hormone Handbook is an expanded version of the Patient Hormone Handbook that is specifically designed to be used by medical practitioners seeking to extend their knowledge of hormone therapies and how best to incorporate them into their practices.

The Hormone Handbook aims to teach physicians how to successfully correct their patients’ hormone deficiencies whether they are mild, partial or severe and complete. It provides physicians with the information that they need in order to identify problems that may occur during treatment and supplies appropriate solutions, making The Hormone Handbook an invaluable quick guide to the practical use of hormone therapies.

Like the Patient Hormone Handbook, The Hormone Handbook covers a range of essential topics including:-

Hormone treatments discussed range from the more usual ones such as thyroid, estrogen and progesterone, testosterone for men and calcitonin therapies through to the newer, but just as important, ones including growth hormone, melatonin, DHEA, androstenedione, cortisol, aldosterone, pregnenolone, testosterone for women and progesterone for men.

To assist physicians in expanding their knowledge base, The Hormone Handbook also contains an invaluable list of scientific references from peer reviewed journals. However, as noted with the Patient Handbook, as medical and scientific research and experience is continually evolving, it is inevitable that some of the information contained within the Handbook will be replaced by newer, more accurate data. This means that the information contained within The Hormone Handbook should not be considered definitive.

Although specifically designed for physician use, The Hormone Handbook is written in such a way that the information contained within it is also accessible to patients, enabling them to understand the therapy that they are receiving and to become involved in their treatment. This approach inevitably leads to a more positive outcome for the patient. If patients are informed, not only do they become more motivated and are more likely to adhere to any treatment regime, but they are also more able to understand their reactions to any therapies and to recognise more quickly should something go wrong.

By educating the patient, the two way flow of information and co-operation between patient and doctor is enhanced immeasurably and ultimately this reveals itself in the goal of the patient achieving a more positive outcome.

The Hormone Handbook - The best gift a patient can give to his doctor!

The optimal and deficient values presented within The Hormone Handbook are based on the subjective personal experience of the author and his colleagues. These values are included in order to help the physician detect and treat hormone deficiencies. However, they do not necessarily correspond to the reference values used by testing laboratories.

The values given in the Handbook should not, therefore, be relied upon to be the sole basis for determining a patient’s condition and the course of treatment to be applied. Laboratory test results should be seen as only one aspect of the patient’s history. Clinical signs and symptoms and possibly other test results should all be considered before deciding upon a treatment regime.

The Patient Hormone Handbook by Thierry Hertoghe - “The keys to safe hormone replacement therapies”

As we age the hormone levels in our bodies change and increasingly hormone deficiencies become apparent. Many of us accept the symptoms that we develop are as a result of these hormone deficiencies. They are viewed as simply being the inevitable signs of getting older and believe that there is little we can do to stop the ravages of time and the effects that it has on our bodies. But it is now recognized that correcting these hormone deficiencies plays a critical role in the fight against aging and could result in us being able to live a healthier life for longer.

But how do we go about recognizing the symptoms of particular hormone deficiencies and what do we do to correct them?

Fortunately for us, internationally recognized leading expert in anti-aging hormone therapies, Dr Thierry Hertoghe, has produced the “The Patient Hormone Handbook” which provides the reader with a clear, concise guide to our body’s hormones and the changes that they undergo.

The book itself is based on the personal experience of the author and his colleagues as well as an extensive scientific database. It is designed to be a practical guide to enable patients to gain a fuller understanding of their hormone deficiencies and their treatment regimes.

By teaching patients what they need to know about their hormone deficiencies, laboratory tests, treatments, possible problems and ways to improve their diet and lifestyle, patients will find that they can become more involved in their treatment and are able to work more effectively with their doctors to reach their goals. The result is (a) a more motivated patient and (b) the safety and efficacy of their treatment regime is improved.

Topics covered within the book include:

The hormone treatments discussed include the more established therapies such as thyroid, estrogen and progesterone and testosterone for men through to the newer, but equally important ones, such as growth hormone, melatonin, DHEA, androstenedione, cortisol, aldosterone, pregnenolone, progesterone for men and testosterone for women.

The author of this astonishingly practical handbook, Dr Thierry Hertoghe, was born in 1957 into a family of doctors specializing in hormone treatments. Indeed, Dr Hertoghe and his sister, Dr Thérèse Hertoghe, are the fourth generation of the Hertoghe family to specialise in such treatments, going back as far as Dr Eugène Hertoghe in 1882 who practised right at the very start of modern endocrinology. Originally a general practitioner, Thierry Hertoghe began to focus on the use of hormones and has now established himself as one of the world’s leading experts in anti-aging hormone therapies. He has taught several thousands of doctors to use hormone therapies in their practices.

Dr Hertoghe is now the President of the World Society of Anti-Aging Medicine (WOSAAM), President of the European Academy of Quality of Life and Longevity medicine (Eaquall), co-founder of the International Hormone Society, board member of the European Organization of Scientific Anti-Aging Medicine, Scientific coordinator of the International English-speaking and national French-speaking Anti-Aging Medicine Specialization linked to the European Institute of Scientific Anti-Aging Medicine, and scientific advisor to a number of national societies including the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine based in Chicago. He is on the scientific board of directors for both the Anti-Aging Medicine World Congress and the European Congress of Anti-Aging Medicine.

In addition, Dr Hertoghe has written a number of books on the subject of hormone therapy including the Hormone Handbook (International Medical Books) and the Hormone Solution (Harmony books). His books have been translated into several languages.

By learning about hormone replacement therapies, patients can gain a better understanding of their condition, the therapy that they are receiving and their reaction to that therapy. And there can be little doubt that an educated patient invariably leads to a better outcome.

Note of caution

The advice in “The Patient Hormone Handbook” is not intended to replace the advice of the patient’s physician. Likewise all of the treatments described, apart from lifestyle management, are meant to be supervised by a physician. Furthermore, given the complexities of the human body and the fact that individuals may react differently to various treatments, each treatment must be individualized to the patient. Therefore, patients should be guided and monitored by their physicians.

Due to continual research and the ever expanding knowledge base of medical science and experience, some of the information in “The Patient Hormone Handbook” will undoubtedly be replaced with more accurate data. Therefore, the content of the book should not be considered to be definitive or infallible.