Low testosterone treatment is available for men who have lost a significant amount of testosterone over a long period of time. In fact, as many as twenty-five percent of all American men have this deficiency but only five percent of the men actually have symptoms of low testosterone (low T) which is called androgen deficiency. From about age thirty on, there is about a one percent drop a year in testosterone levels, unlike women who have a very steep drop in estrogen levels after menopause. So the good news is that while most men have lower T levels, a small percentage of them actually have symptoms. There is often loss of sex drive, erectile dysfunction, bone loss and related symptoms such as sleep disturbance, depressed mood, lethargy and diminished physical performance. So if a man does address his physician with these problems, the physician will run blood tests to see if there is actually androgen deficiency.
Testosterone affects much more than sexual function in men. This substance is actually also found in women at much lower levels, but the T affects the brain, bone, muscle mass, fat distribution, the vascular system and energy levels in both sexes. In 2007, ABC news reported that according to a UC San Diego study, men with lower T levels had a thirty three percent greater death risk during the next eighteen years than those without the lower readings. This low reading might actually be a predictor in the future of how long a man may live. The problem is that no one actually knows what a low reading is. Consequently, without knowing what a real low reading is makes a diagnosis quite difficult for a physician to gauge when to offer low testosterone treatment therapy for a patient.
Some of the symptoms of lower T levels certainly mimic depression traits such as trouble sleeping or wanting to sleep too much, depression, lack of interest in sex and other general malaise. Hot flashes are often thought to be only belonging to women, but not so. Men can also have them. When the deficiency really exists, there is loss of physical strength, decrease in bone mass and decreased muscle mass also. The problem for low testosterone treatment and the physician handling it lies in the fact that these latter symptoms are often quite difficult to ascertain for many years and they might just be attributable to older age. People would love the find the fountain of youth in order to ward or stave off the inevitable coming of death, but it is an assignment we all must face, given to us by God. "It is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)
But low testosterone treatment isn't going to be given to those men who are depressed or lethargic. And doctors warn that taking it won't make a fifty year old feel like thirty again. If a man has lower T levels but is not in the area where it is considered androgen deficient, adding testosterone to get higher levels thinking it will mean more energy doesn't square with the experience of others who have tried it. In fact, there are side effects to low testosterone treatment that aren't anything to be ignored. To begin with, sleep apnea has developed in some who have had low testosterone treatment. This has been known to cause heart problems and even strokes and high blood pressure. Additionally, blood has been thickened in many patients and prostate cancer has increased chances for development in those receiving lower T treatments.
What are things that cause Lower T levels beyond the aging process? Medications for depression can sometimes cause lower T levels as well as radiation and chemotherapy. AIDS has been shown to also create low T as well as hemochromatosis which is too much iron in the blood. Additionally, there have been situations in which excessive stress has been shown to bring on lower T levels as well as dysfunction of the pituitary gland. Only a medical professional can determine the causes of lower T levels.
Lower T level therapy will be administered by a physician in the form of pills, patches, gels, creams or intramuscular injections. Testosterone that is absorbed under the skin has been found to be the best delivery system, while the pill regimen taken orally has been found to not be readily absorbed into the bloodstream and may increase the risk of high cholesterol. Additionally an oral regimen may lead to heart and liver issues that are negative in scope. Once the low testosterone treatment has been started under strict medical supervision, the treatment usually takes a number of doctor visits over a period of weeks or months.
One of the temptations a man might have is actually trying to diagnose low T by himself and beginning the use of androstenedione which is a steroid-like substance. This product is often sold as "something just as good as testosterone" only in more saleable language. The recent years have shown that steroids have few upsides physically except for those who want to take on the Fifth Army brigade bare-handed. Steroids cause heart disease, liver damage and a host of other long term physical problems. Androstenedione is not regulated by the Federal Drug Administration and when the substance is taken in large doses ("More must be better") by young or unsuspecting males, the long term effect can be disastrous when self-serve low testosterone treatment is attempted. There is no better advice than can be dispensed to any man than to make one's physician the cornerstone of any drug or natural substance therapy. While men like to go it alone, this is not a time to be alone on an island.
Testosterone affects much more than sexual function in men. This substance is actually also found in women at much lower levels, but the T affects the brain, bone, muscle mass, fat distribution, the vascular system and energy levels in both sexes. In 2007, ABC news reported that according to a UC San Diego study, men with lower T levels had a thirty three percent greater death risk during the next eighteen years than those without the lower readings. This low reading might actually be a predictor in the future of how long a man may live. The problem is that no one actually knows what a low reading is. Consequently, without knowing what a real low reading is makes a diagnosis quite difficult for a physician to gauge when to offer low testosterone treatment therapy for a patient.
Some of the symptoms of lower T levels certainly mimic depression traits such as trouble sleeping or wanting to sleep too much, depression, lack of interest in sex and other general malaise. Hot flashes are often thought to be only belonging to women, but not so. Men can also have them. When the deficiency really exists, there is loss of physical strength, decrease in bone mass and decreased muscle mass also. The problem for low testosterone treatment and the physician handling it lies in the fact that these latter symptoms are often quite difficult to ascertain for many years and they might just be attributable to older age. People would love the find the fountain of youth in order to ward or stave off the inevitable coming of death, but it is an assignment we all must face, given to us by God. "It is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)
But low testosterone treatment isn't going to be given to those men who are depressed or lethargic. And doctors warn that taking it won't make a fifty year old feel like thirty again. If a man has lower T levels but is not in the area where it is considered androgen deficient, adding testosterone to get higher levels thinking it will mean more energy doesn't square with the experience of others who have tried it. In fact, there are side effects to low testosterone treatment that aren't anything to be ignored. To begin with, sleep apnea has developed in some who have had low testosterone treatment. This has been known to cause heart problems and even strokes and high blood pressure. Additionally, blood has been thickened in many patients and prostate cancer has increased chances for development in those receiving lower T treatments.
What are things that cause Lower T levels beyond the aging process? Medications for depression can sometimes cause lower T levels as well as radiation and chemotherapy. AIDS has been shown to also create low T as well as hemochromatosis which is too much iron in the blood. Additionally, there have been situations in which excessive stress has been shown to bring on lower T levels as well as dysfunction of the pituitary gland. Only a medical professional can determine the causes of lower T levels.
Lower T level therapy will be administered by a physician in the form of pills, patches, gels, creams or intramuscular injections. Testosterone that is absorbed under the skin has been found to be the best delivery system, while the pill regimen taken orally has been found to not be readily absorbed into the bloodstream and may increase the risk of high cholesterol. Additionally an oral regimen may lead to heart and liver issues that are negative in scope. Once the low testosterone treatment has been started under strict medical supervision, the treatment usually takes a number of doctor visits over a period of weeks or months.
One of the temptations a man might have is actually trying to diagnose low T by himself and beginning the use of androstenedione which is a steroid-like substance. This product is often sold as "something just as good as testosterone" only in more saleable language. The recent years have shown that steroids have few upsides physically except for those who want to take on the Fifth Army brigade bare-handed. Steroids cause heart disease, liver damage and a host of other long term physical problems. Androstenedione is not regulated by the Federal Drug Administration and when the substance is taken in large doses ("More must be better") by young or unsuspecting males, the long term effect can be disastrous when self-serve low testosterone treatment is attempted. There is no better advice than can be dispensed to any man than to make one's physician the cornerstone of any drug or natural substance therapy. While men like to go it alone, this is not a time to be alone on an island.
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