Telemedicine: What is it & why it’s worth a try

Telemedicine, california, redding, sacramento, berkeley, bay area, San Francisco, naturopathic doctor, testosterone, hormone, thyroid,  

Telemedicine is a video consult with your doctor on a HIPPA compliant platform. Dr. Escobedo uses doxy.me because it’s simple and easy. She can see anyone anywhere in California, including the busy Bay Area, Sacramento, Redding, Oakland, Nevada City, Grass Valley, Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, San Francisco, Marin, San Rafael and more. 

     

Why it’s Worth a Try

  1. Accessible: no traffic, no travel costs of gas, parking, parking tickets!  Your meetings are on your computer, tablet, or phone from home or work. Dr. Escobedo can see anyone in the state of California.  Great for rural communities with limited access to doctors.
  2. No need to take time off work: it’s easy to schedule a visit during a break or on your lunch hour. The call can be taken from a conference room or anywhere that offers sufficient privacy. 
  3. Easier for those caring for children and elderly: less time away, and being at home eliminates the expense of finding alternative care.  
  4. Avoid waiting rooms: less exposure to other sick people in waiting rooms, no need to sit around and wait at all. Your doctor is at the click of a button. 
  5. Better options: you’re no longer limited to the doctors in your local area, find the right match for your health and get the best quality care. Great for rural communities and traffic dense areas. 
  6. Cost effective: Save money and time by avoiding travel time, taking time off work, and paying for childcare. 
  7. On-Demand Options: find your labs, treatment protocols, lab orders and refill request all at the tips of your fingers in your patient portal. Easily ask for refills, email the doctor, view your labs, recipes, treatment programs and book appointments any time, any where.
  8. Less Stress: you don’t have to worry about being late from traffic, transit delays, getting lost or lack of parking availability. In two clicks your signed in and ready to go. Easily message the doctor if your running behind. 

How it Works

  1. After booking your appointment you receive an email with all the instructions you need to access your appointment online. You follow the link, sign in, and Dr. Escobedo starts the appointment when she sees you pop into the virtual waiting room. 
  2. Dr. Escobedo often reviews labs, prescribes supplements, and offers handouts during her consults. You can view all your lab results, treatment protocols and documents in the patient portal during the call. 
  3. When Dr. Escobedo orders labs for you, we utilize saliva, urine and blood testing, our testing is complex but we make it simple for you!
    • Take the test at home:  urine and salivary test kits are mailed directly to you for home collection. The kit includes complete instructions & has a pre-paid label for easy return via mail. It’s as simple as – collect and ship. 
    • Blood Draws: we add all the paperwork to your patient portal for you to download and take into LabCorp or Quest or give to the mobile phlebotomist.  You can have a blood draw specialists come to your work or home to draw your blood at your convenience.
    • Dr. Escobedo will contact you once she receives all your results to review them together. 
  1. Any physical exams that need to be performed will be referred out to your general physician. 
  2. Not tech savoy? Don’t worry we have excellent tech support that will walk you through each step. 
  3. You will need a mobile phone, iPad, or computer with a video and microphone (most are build in, and work great). If not, it all good, we can always do an old fashion phone consult!

Want to give it a try: book your free 15 minute video consult with Dr. Escobedo here. 

Men’s Health

Feel the power of balanced testosterone.

If you are looking for a knowledgeable, wholistic, experienced doctor to help you restore your testosterone, growth hormone, or other hormones safely and effectivly Dr.E can help!

Are you experiencing:

  • Muscle loss
  • Weight gain-increased body fat especially around the mid-section
  • Loss of interest in sex
  • Depression or low mood
  • Erectile dysfunction
  • Low energy
  • Increased risk for cardiovascular disease
  • Poor sleep
  • Lack of confidence
  • Feeling complacent

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms you may have low testosterone, read on to learn how to boost testosterone naturally, how to get tested, and why having the right doctor is important.

Andropause

Ever wonder why you don’t feel as good in your 40 & 50s as you did in your 20s? It’s because your hormones are dropping rapidly as you hit adropause.

  • Men produce 10x more testosterone than women in their youth
  • Testosterone declines with age, about midlife levels can plumet, this is called Andropause!
  • Testosterone level start to decline significantly, muscle mass reduces, the beer belly makes an appearance, and the libido and erections aren’t what they used to be.
  • In fact as testosterone decreases, fat store increase along with the production of estrogen.
  • By retirement age men can be producing more estrogen than women of the same age.

How do you know if your testosterone or other hormones are low?

Get tested!

The first step is to get to the bottom of how you are feeling, is it low testosterone, low thyroid, poor growth hormone production, nutrient depletion or what?! Here are the tests Dr. E recommends every man should check included in brackets are the HEALTHY ranges (don’t settle when your regular doctor tells you your testosterone levels are “normal”!).

  • Total testosterone (600-1000)
  • Free testosterone (20-30)
  • SHBG (20-35)
  • PSA (<1.0)
  • TSH (1.00-1.50)
  • Free T3 (3.0-3.4)
  • Free T4 (1.1-1.4)
  • B12 (700-1000)
  • Folate (> 18)
  • Vitamin D (50-90)
  • IGF-1  (measure of growth hormone production)
  • Estradiol, sensitive (20-30)
  • CBC w Diff (Hb 13-16.5)
  • AST & ALT (10-26)
  • hs-CRP (<1.00)

Dr. Escobedo orders these test for all her male patients to ensure optimal health, most of which should be covered by your insurance if you have a PPO. If you want to get tested book a free 15 minute phone consult with Dr.E and ask to have her order your labs today!

Why Choose Dr. Escobedo?

Dr.Escobedo has extensive experience working with men to balance, replace and restore healthy hormones including testosterone. She is successfully prescribing, managing and safely monitoring hundreds of men on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), using well rounded programs including testosterone injections, topical bio-identical testosterone cream, hCG, clomid, sermorelin, growth hormone boosters and estrogen blockers such as anastrozole. Moreover, she utilizes supplements, diet, exercise and herbs to help restore the bodies natural hormone levels. Restoring adrenal health, reducing toxic exposure, and increasing building blocks for hormone production all support healthy hormone production and utilization. Maximizing your bodies health and efficiency.

Please don’t try to do it on your own! Did you know if  you’re on testosterone injections your blood gets thicker and increases your risk for a clot! Dr. E always monitors your hemoglobin levels regularly to eliminate this risk. Taking high doses of testosterone can also cause estrogen to sky rocket making you moody, irritable, cause gynocomastia (aka man boobs) and cause your testies to shrink! Managing your estrogen is a crucial part of safe effective hormone replacement therapy. 

Want to Fight Back!! Boost Your Testosterone Naturally Here’s some tips:

Exercise:

Studies have shown these types of exercises increase testosterone when combined in a dynamic workout.

Interval Training

  • 20 minutes total
  • 5 minutes warm up + 5 minutes cool down
  • 10 minutes intervals: 1 minute intense running or biking 1 minute walking X 5 times =10 minutes
  • Weights:
    • 3 sets compound movements
    • Heavy enough for 8-12 reps
    • Focus on large muscle groups

Get your Key Nutrients:

  • Good Fats: Fish oil, olive oil, coconut butter, omega-3s, your body uses them to build sex hormones
  • Protein: Whey Protein concentrate, best taken just before a weight lifting workout
  • Bio-available minerals: Zinc, magnesium, calcium and chromium
  • Lycopene, from tomatoes and is high in tomato past, helps to prevent prostate cancer!
  • Maca to support erectile health and sexual performance
  • B-vitamins to support energy and adrenal health

There are lots of Test booster supplements on the market, most are filled with junk and don’t do much or have fillers that are bad for you and others work really well. For the best results ask Dr. E she has seen most of them and knows what works.