When Ron DeRosa turned 40, what should have been a pleasant milestone arrived trailing a host of problems.
“I had my first child,” DeRosa recalled. “I remember holding my son, looking in the mirror and thinking, ‘I don’t know who this guy is any more.’ And I thought I was depressed. I went to my primary-care doctor and we discussed options—and [being on antidepressants] was scary for me. It takes a while to titrate to where you need to be, there are pros and cons, and you have to decide if you’re on the wrong one.
“But at the end of the day, I discovered I wasn’t actually depressed. It was low testosterone. And, looking back, my testosterone levels were under 200, which is the level of a 70-to-80-year-old man.”
The discovery led DeRosa (who happens to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community) to found Alpha Refinery Executive Men’s Health Clinic, which aims to help men by offering testosterone therapy, peptide therapy and Shockwave therapy for erectile dysfunction, usually through 90-day plans. (He added that, currently, the services are only for cis men.) As for the business’s name, DeRosa shared, “There are a lot of testosterone clinics. By itself, that just screams ‘Alpha.’ When I see the content that they put out, it seems too aggressive. Our whole approach is a refined [one]; it’s just naturally restoring what has been depleted. Aging today is not what it used to be.”
According to DeRosa, “The American Neurological Association states that 40% of men over the age of 40 have low testosterone. And, for me, low testosterone symptoms mirror and mimic depression—and I know this first-hand.”
DeRosa described Alpha Refinery, based in Hinsdale, as “a men’s health performance lab and lounge. We specialize in hormone specialization and longevity medicine. The bread and butter here is hormone specialization because that’s your baseline; you have to get your levels balanced. When your hormones are off, things start to happen, like gaining weight—belly fat, specifically.”
DeRosa said that Alpha Refinery works with peptides “such as NAD+, PPC157 and TB500.” (Peptides are strings of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins.) “We’ve all heard of the GLP-1s, right? They’re peptides. As we get older, we just don’t have as many [peptides] as we used to, or they’re aging. When our clinical team talks with our patients, [the clinicians] like to say, ‘Consider your body is a company, and the testosterone is the CEO of that company. We want to make sure that your CEO is fully operational. The worker bees are the short chains of peptides; as we get older, there aren’t as many workers so there aren’t as many helping to burn fat or for collagen production. Incorporating peptides is like hiring specialized agents.
In addition, DeRosa said that Alpha Refinery also offers other treatments, such as IV work, “from [the nutrient/vitamin therapy known as] a Myers drip to helping hangovers to an NAD+ infusion.” PRP (platelet-rich plasma) treatments are also offered “for hair restoration,” he added. “A lot of people just say that losing hair is just genetics. Because I worked in the medtech space for over 10 years, I vetted a PRP company that we chose to use that has the highest concentration of your own platelets that we use. We spin your blood and get the ‘liquid gold,’ and you receive injections in your scalp. Over a series of injections, your body stimulates those dormant follicles and you get more luxurious hair—but it takes months.”
Shockwave is used frequently in the men’s health space for ED, he said, adding, “Some people take the blue pill and it works—until it doesn’t. And a lot of guys have exhausted the blue pill, so Shockwave uses acoustic waves to help regenerate. We like telling a story so we say the waves are like tiny jackhammers that are helping blood to flow.”
Because this is a matter of health, DeRosa emphasized the necessity of exercising caution when deciding where to go. “You have to make sure you go to a credible center with experts in this,” he said. “It’s all about making sure you’re followed by a provider that has the experience in doing this as well as the right protocols.
“For example, peptides—that’s a huge trigger word,” he added. “People can buy them online, which blows my mind. Some people buy research-grade peptides, which are not FDA-regulated, because they’re cheaper—but you don’t know what you’re putting into your body.”
“A lot of guys just chalk up medical results to their lifestyles and natural aging,” DeRosa said. “I challenge everyone to not settle for that. At least come in for an energy and performance assessment. We run a full hormone lab panel on-site. We’re a one-stop shop for guys where you get results on the spot. Sometimes, things are just as simple as replacing testosterone.”
DeRosa said his own health journey was “life-changing” and urged for every man to have their testosterone checked.
“If things seem pretty heavy and there seems to be nowhere to turn, it could be a starting point because data is powerful,” he added. “I now show up as a better husband and father.”
Note: Alpha Refinery—which conducts some virtual consultations, although an initial in-person visit is encouraged—does not accept insurance but allows health savings account (HSA) and flexible spending account (FSA) payments, offering customized treatment plans. Services usually are $200-$900/month, varying on the individual.
Find out more about Alpha Refinery here.