Longevity Therapeutics: Dr. David M. Odom, M.D.

Dr. David Odom M.D. in his office in Palm Springs.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ETHAN KAMINSKY

While there’s no escaping the aging process and its inevitable challenges, fortunately there are effective ways to meet those challenges head on. At his Longevity Therapeutics practice in Palm Springs, anti-aging physician David Odom, M.D. devotes considerable time and energy to helping patients address such issues as lethargy, weight gain and decreased sexual function.

Hypothyroidism — or low thyroid function — often lies at the root of many of the problems people experience. Lacking sufficient thyroid hormone, human metabolism becomes sluggish and body processes slow down. “The problem is a lot of people don’t recognize thyroid as a hormone so they don’t think hormone replacement therapy can help them,” Dr. Hormone explains. In fact, this assumption could not be further from the truth.

Dr. David Odom M.D.

A key element of Dr. Odom’s practice is bio-identical hormone replacement therapy which seeks to restore hormone levels to those seen in youth. It is his habit to prescribe the active form of the thyroid hormone to treat hypothyroidism. This tends to contradict more conventional therapies which prescribe the inactive hormone.

“People think they’re taking thyroid, when in fact they’re actually not. They’re taking Levothyroxine which is an inactive form of the hormone. It has to be converted into the active form before it can actually dive into the cell and do what thyroid does — which is raise the metabolic rate,” Dr. Odom explains.

Addressing hormone imbalance can make a world of difference during the aging process not to mention other periods of life. For instance, women may experience a sudden loss of thyroid function following childbirth. When menopause in women and andropause in men occurs shortly after age 50, many people are confounded to find themselves struggling with weight gain. Furthermore, if a person has low thyroid function, menopause or andropause is likely to occur early at approximately age 48.

For his part, Dr. Odom has encountered cases of hypothyroidism in patients who are being treated for something else entirely. “I’ll uncover low thyroid function in a patient who comes to me for treatment of fatigue and they didn’t even realize they had it. Or another doctor ruled it out. My interpretation of tests is different than conventional medicine,” he added.

With an accurate diagnosis and the potential of bio-identical replacement therapy to treat what ails them, patients don’t have to succumb to the pitfalls of aging. In particular, achieving and maintaining a healthy weight can help people not only look and feel better but it’s instrumental in preventing the disease states associated with obesity — namely, heart disease, diabetes and the destruction of joints. Dr. Odom also offers three basic weight loss programs to combat the issue of creeping poundage.