Low testosterone treatment can help improve quality of life and reduce or delay the symptoms of aging, known as andropause – the male version of menopause.
In men, testosterone levels begin to decline after the age of 30 by about 1% per year. Some men will have even more rapid decline in their testosterone levels.
By the age of 40, many men begin to experience symptoms of low testosterone.
You may have low testosterone if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:
- Low or reduced libido
- Erectile dysfunction or decreased sexual performance
- Fatigue or loss of energy
- “The couch is calling”
- Irritability or low mood
- Loss of muscle or increase in body fat
If you have any of the symptoms of low testosterone it is important to have your testosterone levels checked. You only need to have 1 or 2 of the symptoms for us to suspect your testosterone levels have declined. If you have none of the symptoms it is unlikely you have low testosterone but keep in mind that everything is relative.
For example, if you think your sex drive is good but it is less than when you were 25 years old then you do have a reduced libido. The decline in testosterone can be so insidious, occurring slowly over time, that you may barely notice the decline in your quality of life until it becomes so severe that it creates other problems in your life.
At our clinic we typically do a screening test by checking the total level of testosterone in your blood. The total testosterone level can sometimes be misleading as most of the testosterone in your body is bound to proteins floating in your blood. These little proteins (ie. sex hormone binding globulin) carry your testosterone around in your body to target cells (ie. muscles and brain). Unfortunately, as you age the proteins that bind testosterone will likely increase and cause your testosterone to become less available to have affects in your body. It just gets too bound up.
There is a way to measure the unbound, or “free”, portion of testosterone in your body. This is a more complicated test but can be done. This often explains why patients who have been told their testosterone level is “normal” still have many of the symptoms of low testosterone.
Most men receiving testosterone therapy at Revive Low T Clinic do weekly testosterone injections. This helps keep your testosterone levels more balanced vs doing testosterone injections once a month.
Most men have the option of coming to our clinic for weekly testosterone injections or doing their testosterone injections on themselves at home.
Also, we check blood levels of estrogen and testosterone, and others such as blood thickness (hematocrit) about every 3 months. This helps us fine your treatment and decrease the risks of side effects.