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To Your Health: LifeBoost

Life-Boost_CopyLifeBoost (7035 Beracasa Way, Suite 102, Boca Raton) is one of the leading age management medical practices in south Florida. At this practice, the staff, headed by Dr. Bruce J. Stratt, specializes in a number of fields, with perhaps the most important being hormone replacement therapy. They are also well-versed in offering sexual health supplements, platelet rich plasma (PRP) procedures (such as hair regrowth and facial rejuvenation), and weight loss management techniques. Speaking of the latter offering, they have pioneered the use of slow-release phentermine in a weight loss tactic they call “The Lollipop Diet.”

In between seeing patients, Dr. Stratt and Jose Torres took time to speak with me for this interview.

Tell me a little bit about the staff at LifeBoost.

Jose Torres: Everyone here comes from an age management background. Dr. Stratt has been practicing age management for over 20 years. Then I am one of the patient care coordinators here and also a medical assistant. I’ve been in this industry for six years. We have Adrienne, and she is a patient care coordinator who has been in the industry for three years. She’s also our weight loss coach. We also have Janet, the doctor’s wife. She takes care of our business development; she handles our relationships with salons, spas, country clubs, and the local chamber of commerce.

Has the staff at LifeBoost been recognized favorably for their work?

JT: Dr. Stratt is Fellowship-trained by the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine and he is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.

Dr. Stratt, where did you go to school?

Dr. Bruce J. Stratt: I went to school at Penn State University and at Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Please describe your weight loss programs.

JT: Our weight loss programs range from all-natural…if we have a patient that wants to go the all-natural route, Dr. Stratt will customize a nutrition program for them, where they buy their own food under our guidance. We also offer a variety of medical foods that are meant to be meal replacements, if a patient wants to go that route.

Then we have standalone weight loss programs, ranging from natural approaches to medically-supervised appetite suppressant medication, like “The Lollipop Diet.” That’s a combination of Dr. Stratt’s customized nutrition advice based on the patient’s age and weight, with a lollipop medicated with phentermine, which is an appetite suppressant. Phentermine also exists in the form of a pill, but many patients don’t like the side effects. They complain that it makes them jittery. So in the lollipop form, patients can suck on it over the course of two days, and they get the appetite suppressant without the big spike that usually comes from stimulants. This gives patients something to do to occupy their time; it gives them something to do with their hands and satisifes the oral fixation, which stops people from grazing and snacking. This approach is unique to our practice.

Tell us a bit about testosterone therapy. How would a prospective patient know if testosterone therapy is right for them?

JT: After 30, men’s testosterone levels start to decline. When they’re in their 40s and 50s, most men’s testosterone is low. Some of the symptoms of low testosterone include having a low level of energy, lack of libido or sex drive, difficulty losing weight, more soreness after workouts, stiff joints, and more difficulty in building muscle. There’s also memory loss for these men to deal with, a “mental fog,” and an all-around feeling that they’re “losing their edge.”

Life-Boost_Copy2The first thing we would do if someone was dealing with these symptoms would be to have a comprehensive bloodwork study done. We would look at fifteen different hormones, so we’re not just looking at testosterone levels; we’re also looking at things like estrogen, growth hormone levels, and cortisol, which is released when you’re dealing with a lot of stress. Cortisol is a corrosive hormone; it can do a lot of damage to your body by storing excess fat. We also look at cholesterol, blood sugar, and the overall blood chemistry…your red blood cells, your white blood cells, factors like that. With testosterone therapy and a nutrition plan recommended by Dr. Stratt, cholesterol and blood sugar levels can be significantly lowered.

We have all different types of options. We have injections that can be done once a week, we have creams that can be applied to the skin like a moisturizer, and we also have implant therapy. If a patient doesn’t want to do the shot or the cream, we can implant a testosterone pellet into the buttocks, right under the skin. That lasts for three to four months, and that disperses over time; the patient doesn’t need to do anything else during this time. All of our hormone therapy is bioidentical. We don’t use any synthetic hormones.

I also read that you offer what’s known as “the P shot.” I imagine this might be scary to some men! What are the shot’s benefits and how would you assuage a patient’s fears about this procedure?

JT: You’re talking to someone who had the procedure done. When Dr. Stratt was certified, he had the procedure done by the doctor who perfected it. When he started offering it in his practice, he insisted that the entire staff get the procedure done, since we’d be talking about it, and we’d be able to tell people first-hand what the procedure is like.

I can tell you that it does involve an injection of the patient’s platelet rich plasma. The doctor will determine where the injection will take place, and if more than one injection is needed. We numb the area with the highest-strength anesthetic and then we ice the injection site before it happens. I thought it was going to be a lot more painful than what it was, and I was scared, but it was more mental than anything else. On the pain scale of 1 to 10, it was around a 2 or 3. It wasn’t even pain so much as a different feeling…I guess the best word would be “discomfort.” No pain really at all.

After having the procedure, you will notice that there is a lot more girth than normal, but that’s because the PRP has been injected into the penis. A lot of that gets utilized by the body over the next thirty days. Over the course of the next three months, there is going to be tissue growth which will facilitate more blood flow and will also regrow nerve endings. So not only will there be a thicker and firmer erection, there will be more sensitivity, allowing for a greater sexual experience. On average, the thickness of the penis will grow by one or two inches with this procedure. Not everyone will notice a lengthening of the penis, so some patients will notice no change there, while others might notice a growth of up to two inches.

I’ve heard of the “vampire facelift”; that was popularized in the media by Kim Kardashian. Can you explain to us what that is and how it would benefit men or women who want a more youthful look?

JT: It all goes back to the PRP. In the vampire facelift, we’re focusing on the problem areas in the face. We usually focus on underneath the eyes; we look to reduce the dark circles around the eyes, the puffiness, and in most cases, the fine lines. We do the nasolabial fold, which are those lines that come from the nose down to the corners of the mouth. We fill those out, and over the course of the next three months, tissue regrowth under those areas in most cases fills those lines out for a great result. At the end of the procedure, we do a micro needling of the entire face. We take the PRP that we didn’t use and we rub it topically over the face. If the patient requests a smoother neck, we can also rub it over the neck. Then we go over with something called a Dermapen, which is similar to a tattoo gun, and with this tool we can take care of many areas that we didn’t get with the original injections.

Are any of these procedures covered by insurance?

JT: All of these procedures would be considered elective, so they are not covered by insurance. With that said, we do provide in-house financing as long as we can verify your employment status. We can offer payment plans to these patients.

What are some of the compliments you’ve received from satisfied customers?

JT: We get a lot of compliments. The one we like to hear the most is when our patients are asked by their friends, “What did you do?” That’s our goal; we don’t want our work to look like invasive plastic surgery or a facelift. We want our patients to have a refreshed look. When our patients tell us that their friends are asking, “What did you do?” and they can’t figure it out, then we’ve done our job.

LifeBoost’s hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The staff at LifeBoost believe very sincerely in educating prospective patients before any procedure is done. They welcome any and all questions. To schedule a complimentary consultation, visit lifeboostmd.com or call (561) 922-9967.