Low Testosterone: Causes, Diagnosis & Treatment

Hypogonadism Wikipedia

Some people have trouble with memory and concentration and experience lowered motivation and self-confidence. On the other hand, changes in the body that occur as a result of sleep apnea can lead to low testosterone levels. Low testosterone may affect different body systems, resulting in symptoms that affect memory, mood, bone, muscle, sex drive, and the ability to get or maintain an erection. Males may experience low testosterone as they get older or due to some health conditions. Symptoms can be subtle, but treatment may help if the symptoms affect your lifestyle. Studies show that low testosterone levels in males have an association with type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes. Weight loss and exercise can often increase testosterone levels naturally.

Defects that interfere with interactions in the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis can cause male hypogonadism as well as primary testicular disorders. Lab results provided by our on-site lab allows our primary care team to monitor chronic medical conditions like thyroid dysfunction, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. 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.

SHBG is a protein that helps deliver testosterone to the body’s tissues. For example, testicular atrophy can cause infertility and also reduce a person’s testosterone levels. In this instance, the low testosterone levels are a symptom of an underlying condition, not a cause of infertility. An older 2006 study found that women over 65 with low testosterone levels tended to have lower hemoglobin levels, putting them at greater risk for anemia.

It starts the development of a man’s external and internal reproductive organs when he is still in the womb, and it is necessary for the production of sperm when he is an adult. Hone is an online clinic that helps men and women manage their health. As part of your subscription and as medically indicated, physicians prescribe medications, and recommend supplements that are delivered to you from the comfort of your home. Without enough circulating testosterone, those brain benefits may not happen. “In simple terms, if you have more circulating testosterone, your muscle cells are more active and they grow,” says Calvert. Low testosterone is easily treated and our expert urologists, Dr. Philip Cheng and Dr. James Hotaling can design a personalized plan that fits your lifestyle.

Females may also experience specific low testosterone symptoms, such as the following. Testosterone stimulates the penile tissues to produce nitric oxide, which starts several reactions that result in an erection. If levels of the hormone are too low, a man may not be able to get an erection. People with low testosterone often experience a reduction in sex drive.

But if you experience a precipitous drop that’s very much out of the ordinary, low T may be at play. Beginning around the age of 30, testosterone levels in men drop by as much as 2% every year. In women, testosterone levels peak in their 20s, and then slowly but consistently decline. By the time a woman reaches menopause, her testosterone level is at half of its peak amount. Making these lifestyle changes, in conjunction with hormone replacement therapy through testosterone supplements, can raise a man’s testosterone levels. If your doctor suggests testosterone supplements, your levels will be monitored regularly to measure the outcomes and monitor your health. When considering treatments for TD, we first consider the cause.

With your support, the American Diabetes Association® can continue our lifesaving work to make breakthroughs in research and provide people with the resources they need to fight diabetes. Younger women with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes are more likely to go through menopause earlier in life. You can also ask about a referral to visit an endocrinologist or urologist who specializes in treating conditions like low testosterone.

According to studies, the prevalence of low testosterone in males over 40 is approximately 25%, although it causes symptoms in only 6% to 12%. It’s important to identify related symptoms, especially considering that about 39% of men aged 45 and older in the United States experience this condition, and the prevalence increases with age. Think of it as a battery gradually losing its charge; as testosterone levels decrease, so can a man’s overall function and well-being. The basis of Low T may be inflammation due to the other diseases present with Low T, or some men may have a genetic predisposition to low testosterone levels. Not all men with low levels will show the signs and symptoms of testosterone deficiency. If a man exhibits symptoms of testosterone deficiency, the best way to confirm is testosterone-induced polycythemia reversible with morning blood tests, drawn on two separate days, to measure the levels of testosterone. If both tests show levels below 300 ng/dl (nanograms per deciliter), the diagnosis may be confirmed.

Clearly, a dip in your testosterone level can wreak havoc in your life. Testosterone fuels the male sex drive, so when you’re running low, you may lose interest in sex. Another problem is that low testosterone can lead to sleep issues such as insomnia, which can then cause issues with daytime fatigue.

If a doctor wants to check the levels of hormones in your blood, they will tell you what time of day to take the test. Since hormone levels peak in the morning, this test is often done between 7 and 10 in the morning. If you’re noticing it’s hard to get and keep an erection, it’s worth getting your testosterone levels checked. We have seen that foods rich in Vitamin D can help boost testosterone levels. A research article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association studied the links between low testosterone levels and anemia. It reported that administering a testosterone gel to anemic men resulted in improved blood counts compared with men administered a placebo.