5 Signs of Low Testosterone and What You Can Do to Relieve Symptoms: Arlington Family Practice: Family Practice
Symptoms of Low Testosterone After 40: Urology Associates Medical Group: Urologists
According to the American Urological Association (AUA), 4 in 10 males ages 45 years and older have low testosterone. Everyone can benefit from an unbiased, listening ear now and then. I’ve referred many patients to see a therapist whose concerns resolve without testosterone therapy. The American Urology Association reports that low testosterone affects around 2 in every 100 men.
Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is a treatment option for men with low testosterone levels. TRT involves taking testosterone in a variety of forms, including patches, gels, injections, and pellets. TRT can help to improve symptoms of low testosterone, such as decreased sex drive, fatigue, and depression. Testosterone plays a vital role throughout a male’s entire lifetime. This hormone develops male sex organs before birth and specific characteristics at puberty like voice deepening, increased penis and testes size, and facial hair growth.
If you are concerned about low-T symptoms, or if you’ve tried therapies that didn’t work, talk with your primary care doctor or urologist. Feeling better starts with a conversation about your needs, goals, and lifestyle. Personalized care from a board-certified urologist or male fertility expert is the healthiest way to get there. Men who are no longer interested in conceiving may benefit from safe, monitored testosterone replacement therapy. Some patients with genetic issues that cause subfertility, such as Klinefelter’s syndrome, may also benefit. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which means you can’t verify what they’re made with or whether they’re safe, even if they come with a celebrity endorsement.
You should discuss the risks of each treatment method with your healthcare provider before deciding. Many well-respected medical societies and healthcare experts advise against treating low testosterone in women unless specific criteria are met. Candidates should be carefully counseled that excessive use of androgens has many potentially harmful effects and can permanently affect fertility. Patients who wish to actively pursue fertility should consider alternative treatments to testosterone supplementation, such as clomiphene or hCG therapy. Ninety-five percent of the total testosterone in males is synthesized in the Leydig cells of the testes. Defects that interfere with interactions in the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis can cause male hypogonadism as well as primary testicular disorders.
Your doctor may want to run this test a second time before diagnosing low testosterone. Some men have subtle problems like mood changes, poor concentration, and less energy. These symptoms can easily be caused by other health problems though, like anemia, depression, sleep troubles, or a chronic illness. Either type of hypogonadism can be caused by an inherited (congenital) trait or something that happens later in life (acquired), such as an injury or an infection. Fluid from the seminal vesicles and prostate gland combine with sperm to make semen. Testosterone replacement therapy may contribute to or cause sleep apnea.
That’s why it’s so important to have regular follow-up visits with a health care professional, who will monitor the testosterone levels in your blood. Your provider will test your blood level of testosterone if you have signs or symptoms of hypogonadism. Because testosterone levels vary and are generally highest in the morning, blood testing is usually done early in the day, before 10 a.m., possibly on more than one day. Your health care provider will conduct a physical exam and note whether your sexual development, such as your pubic hair, muscle mass and size of your testes, is consistent with your age. Sometimes in primary hypogonadism testosterone levels are within the normal range and gonadotropins are high. Your specialist will help you understand if you need treatment, even with normal testosterone levels. low testosterone diabetes (by rm.com.pt) testosterone (male hypogonadism) is a condition in which your testicles don’t produce enough testosterone (the male sex hormone).
Causes of primary and secondary hypogonadism are also divided into either congenital (at birth) or acquired (developed later in childhood or adulthood). If you do not notice any change in symptoms after treatment for 3 months, it is less likely that TRT treatment will benefit you. Balance is key to living a healthy life free from worrisome symptoms. While it can affect anyone, this condition is especially prevalent among older men.
Testosterone can affect many aspects of life, including appearance, sexual development and sex drive (libido). A small amount of testosterone is also produced in people assigned female at birth, however this article focuses on low testosterone in males. Low testosterone levels not only affects your sexual life but can also have a negative impact on your overall physical and mental health. Various clinical studies have linked hypogonadism to an increased risk of developing diabetes type2, hypertension, and high cholesterol levels in the men (2).
Males may experience specific symptoms of low testosterone levels. Many people experience hair loss as a natural part of aging, and age-related hair loss can also affect anyone. Low testosterone can lead to reduced levels of energy and fatigue. Testosterone therapy is not recommended for those who have experienced or are at a high risk of prostate cancer. Regardless of the reason you’re experiencing low testosterone, treatment options are available to increase testosterone or reduce unwanted side effects. For each year over age 30, the level of testosterone in men starts to slowly dip at a rate of around 1 percent per year. If a pituitary problem is the cause, pituitary hormones can be given to help the body make more sperm and restore fertility.
The mortality of men with testosterone deficiency is significantly higher than among men with normal testosterone levels. But, it is unclear whether replacing testosterone to a normal level reduces that increased mortality. Treatment is largely focused on the treatment of symptoms, not the specific testosterone level. If you suspect your testosterone levels are off, TRT specialist Gordon Hart can perform a simple blood test to determine your levels. At Balance Hormone Center in Norman, Oklahoma, Hart treats men with hormonal imbalances using bioidentical hormones that mimic the ones your body produces. Many men report feeling better within weeks of initiating treatment.
