Signs of Low Testosterone
Introduction
The body requires adequate hormone levels to function normally, maximize performance, and maintain overall health. Testosterone is the most important hormone men need for countless physiological processes, including sexual function and metabolism. Low testosterone changes your mind and body, altering how you feel, perform, and live.
Men need to understand the signs and symptoms of low testosterone to preserve their health and vitality. In most cases, testosterone levels slowly diminish over time. Without effectively monitoring yourself, you may overlook significant changes or dismiss them as inevitable results of aging.
Proper self-surveillance will help you spot symptom development early, enabling you to speak about them with a doctor. The following discussion covers what causes low testosterone, the signs indicating hormone loss, and the solutions available to restore testosterone.
What is Low Testosterone?
Low testosterone, clinically referred to as hypogonadism, is a medical condition in which a man's testosterone levels dip low enough to cause changes in his sexual function, body composition, and mental sharpness. This imbalance occurs because the testes do not produce enough of the necessary hormone.
Testosterone fluctuates daily based on health, exertion, and diet. While slight temporary dips are natural, a persistent or continual drop signals an unhealthy change. Testosterone levels peak during a man's twenties and then begin dropping each year.
Once the changes start causing symptoms, treating the hormone imbalance is necessary to promote healthy metabolism, preserve muscle mass, and maintain the ability to get and stay erect. Low testosterone is a highly-treatable condition with well-established protocols.
What Causes Low Testosterone?
In many cases, low testosterone results from aging. Hormone levels fall about 1% each year beginning in a man's thirties. Depending on your genetics and baseline, the initial symptoms may be easy to overlook. Over time, the loss of testosterone leads to observable physical and psychological symptoms.
Men can also experience low testosterone due to their lifestyle. Poor diet, obesity, and lack of exercise all inhibit testosterone production, depressing hormone levels. Excessive alcohol consumption and illicit drug use tax the body and suppress hormone production.
Chronic illnesses, like diabetes and other disorders, may diminish testosterone levels due to their effect on the entire body. In some instances, low testosterone may be the initial symptom that uncovers a chronic disease. For others, abnormal hormone levels may occur years into their diagnosis as their condition progresses.
In rarer cases, testicular injury, brain abnormalities, congenital conditions or diseases of the pituitary gland, and poor thyroid function cause low testosterone. It's critical to monitor for symptoms of low testosterone because they could be signs of a serious underlying health issue.
Common Signs of Low Testosterone
The presentation of the signs of low testosterone will depend on your age, baseline testosterone level, and overall health. You may experience one or more of the signs. When considering these symptoms, it's critical to look at the trends over time. Fortunately, because it often indicates a more significant health issue, a rapid loss of testosterone is apparent.
Meanwhile, a gradual loss of testosterone will lead to subtler symptoms that become more pronounced over time. These incremental changes can be harder to detect, and men often dismiss them as natural and expected.
One of the most common signs of low testosterone is a loss of interest in sex. While it's typical to think about sex less as you age, an absent or minimal sex drive indicates testosterone loss.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is also a sign of low testosterone. The hormone is essential for the neurochemical reaction that causes erections. Low testosterone often leads to erections that are not hard or long-lasting enough for sex. Whether ED is frequent or occasional, it can be a clear indicator of abnormal testosterone levels.
Testosterone helps men maintain muscle mass and body composition. Lowered levels can lead to a loss of both muscle size and strength. In addition, men may carry additional belly fat or develop breast tissue when they have lowered testosterone, even while maintaining the same diet and exercise routine.
Unexplained fatigue is also a sign of low testosterone and is easy to dismiss as a part of the aging process. You may experience extreme tiredness despite sleeping well or feel drained after routine activity or exercise.
Hair loss may also signal low testosterone. While balding is a natural part of aging for many men, thinning or shedding facial and body hair often indicates altered testosterone levels.
In some men, diminished testosterone causes emotional changes. These symptoms can manifest as depression, withdrawal, and disinterest. Many men describe these symptoms as a general malaise.
Testosterone is also vital for the mind. Sometimes, mental fogginess, memory loss, and inability to focus signal hormone loss. These changes are also easy to dismiss for older men.
Many of the signs and symptoms compound each other. ED and diminished sex drive can impact self-esteem, causing stress and depression, further dampening testosterone levels. It's also essential to self-monitor because many of these symptoms indicate other health problems, including heart and kidney disease.
Low Testosterone Treatments
There are multiple options for managing low testosterone. If doctors determine hormone imbalance results from an underlying condition, like a pituitary problem or chronic illness, they will treat the disorder and provide hormone therapy.
For other causes of low testosterone, doctors will recommend lifestyle modifications. Often, improving diet to lower obesity, increasing cardiovascular exercise, and reducing alcohol use can naturally raise testosterone levels.
In many cases, the lifestyle factors that lower testosterone create a perpetuating cycle that further decreases levels and exacerbates the signs.
One of the most common treatments is testosterone injections. The simple outpatient procedure is administered at your doctor's office every seven to 14 days, depending on the type of injection. The shots quickly raise your levels and then slowly wear off over time.
Doctors also prescribe testosterone patches containing a layer of testosterone gel your body absorbs through the skin. Patches are applied daily and release a small and steady stream of testosterone for 24 hours to stabilize levels.
You can also treat with topical gels, which function similarly to patches. You rub them onto the shoulders, upper arms, or thighs. Clothing must be worn over the application site to prevent accidentally wiping the gel off.
Topicals are effective, but you must apply them carefully and thoroughly cleanse your hands to prevent the gel from rubbing off or exposing another person to testosterone through touch.
Doctors can also implant small pellets beneath the skin, typically at the hip or buttocks. The implant slowly releases testosterone for three to six months, elevating and maintaining levels for an extended period. Once depleted, you will need to have replacement pellets placed.
The best treatment option depends on your testosterone levels measured by a blood test, the extent and nature of your symptoms, and your medical history.
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December 21, 2022
Written By
Jake Peter
Fact-checked By
Dr. Avidon Appel
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