Men’s Hormonal Health: Spotting the Red Flags of Low Testosterone.

Low T is no joke, and most men will face it at some point during their lives. The only question is: what will you do about it? Here’s what to look for and how to know when it’s time to see your doctor. You Have Low Sex Drive

It seems weird that you aren’t interested in sex anymore, right? It might not be that you don’t love your wife. It might be that you have low T. Testosterone is the male sex hormone and, while it has many functions in the body besides helping you achieve and maintain erections, sex is the number 1 function of this hormone.

You should base your changes on a predefined “norm” for you. If it’s normal for you to be sexually aroused several times a day and you’re now only aroused once a week, there’s a problem.

If you’re aroused and having sex 3 times a week and suddenly you go a month without getting an erection, you need to go see your doctor – assuming you haven’t just had a major fight with your wife or your marriage is already on the rocks.

In the latter case, book an appointment with a sex therapist.

You Don’t Have Morning Erections

It’s totally normal to have “morning wood.” In fact, if you don’t have an erection in the morning, something is wrong – way wrong. Since testosterone stimulates a man’s sex drive, it’s also responsible for achieving an erection.

When testosterone levels drop too low, achieving and maintaining an erection is impossible. Other health problems can also influence erectile dysfunction too, but this is a major cause.

You Have Low Semen Volume

It’s hard to tell whether you have low semen volume unless you pop into the doctor’s office and get yourself checked out. You will have to ejaculate into a cup, a lab analyses the output, and you get a nifty printout that you can discuss with your doctor.

There are also blood tests that you can take to corroborate the low semen volume, like FHS (follicle-stimulating hormone) and LH

(luteinizing hormone). Both of these hormones are secreted by the anterior pituitary in response to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GNRH), which is, in turn, released by your hypothalamus.

In plan English, these are hormones that are responsible for your testosterone production. If your blood levels are too low, it’s time to take a look at why your pituitary and hypothalamus gland aren’t doing their job.

You’re Losing Your Hair

A lot of men lose their hair, and they think that’s it’s a natural part of aging. In some respects, yes that’s true. But, the reason it’s “natural” is because your testosterone levels are plummeting. Ouch.

One of the functions of testosterone is hair production. You could also experience loss of body and facial hair as your testosterone levels drop.

You’re Losing Muscle

Muscle loss is also considered “normal,” but it’s because testosterone levels are going down. The hormone plays a major role in the building and strengthening of muscle. So, if you feel weaker than normal, one of the possible causes is a low testosterone value.

And, going into the weight room might not help. According to the Mayo Clinic, those who do try to reverse the muscle loss through weight lifting find it difficult to do – that’s because you need testosterone to be strong. And, you need to be strong to lift weights and progressively overload your system. And, that progressive overload leads to more muscle.

But, without the proper amount of starting “fuel” (without enough testosterone), you can’t “get off the ground” so to speak.

You Feel Different

Being moody – irritable, depressed, or inexplicably angry at the most mundane of things are all signs of low testosterone. Since the hormone directly impacts mood through various physiological processes, having a high testosterone level is important if you want to feel your best – happy, confident, sexual, and calm-assertive.

Your Lab Values Are Low

Lab values will help corroborate a lot of your feelings and intuitions. Unfortunately, according to the Life Extension Foundation, labs can tell you that you’re within normal physiological ranges when you’re not.

Some research suggests that American men have experienced declining testosterone levels, on average, over the past few decades, making current lab ranges inadequate when it comes to properly assessing proper testosterone levels.

What to do? Rely on lab tests you’ve taken throughout your entire life? Oh, you didn’t get labs done at 20?

Look into what a 20-year old testosterone level should be and use that as a rough guide for you.

If you notice your lab values straying significantly from the reference range of a young person, it’s time to look into the best test booster on the market and sleep regimens that will increase testosterone.

If that doesn’t work, talk to Blueprint Health about TRT (testosterone replacement therapy). TRT is pure testosterone hormone that will replace what your body isn’t making.

Could testosterone HRT help treat the male menopause?

Testosterone replacement therapy should be provided for men, according to academics who claim the male menopause is genuine. Just like in women, male sex hormones drop as they age, a study by the Harley Street-based Centre for Men’s Health has found. Men also suffer hot flushes, low libido, night sweats and joint pain, the experts claim. Otherwise known as the ‘andropause’ syndrome, symptoms can include weight gain, muscle weakness and depression. One in five men over the age of 50 are thought to suffer from testosterone deficiency, researchers found. And in a study of 2,000 men with the syndrome, the majority benefited from therapy, the Daily Telegraph reported last night.

Professor Malcolm Carruthers, chief medical officer at the Centre for Men’s Health, said: ‘This study proves the therapy’s effectiveness… but most importantly supports the safety of testosterone treatment over long periods.’

Prof Carruthers also called for improved testing of testosterone levels, fearing some men could remain within ‘normal levels’ yet still be deficient. ‘Contrary to orthodox theory, there is no threshold for testosterone levels. Resistance to the hormone could be caused by age, stress, obesity intake or genetic factors,’ he added.

Recent research has suggested men with low testosterone levels are likely to have a shorter life expectancy than those considered normal. Other studies have linked it to obesity and diabetes – although scientists say it is too early to tell if hormone therapy could ease those conditions.

The latest findings – published in the Journal of the Ageing – have been met with scepticism from some. Professor Jonathan Seckl, from Edinburgh University, told The Daily Telegraph: ‘It doesn’t appear to add much to a complex topic that cries out for a large, blinded, randomised clinical trial’. Professor Frederick Wu, of Manchester University, added that the findings were ‘potentially dangerous’ because they could lead ‘men to be treated, inappropriately, with testosterone’.

The male menopause has long been a source of controversy with many medics calling it little more than a myth. Some believe that because there is no sudden decline in testosterone levels, as with women, the phenomenon cannot be likened to a menopause. Instead, it is thought the reduction in sex hormones in men is more gradual, decreasing from the mid-30s. Others have suggested the male menopause is triggered by stress and anxiety of a midlife crisis.

This Vitamin May Help You Perform Better

Lacking enough of the sunshine vitamin might snuff out the lights on your bedroom game. New research from Italy suggests that low levels of vitamin D may increase your risk of erectile dysfunction. When researchers tested 143 men with varying degrees of erectile dysfunction, they found that nearly half of them were coming up deficient in D, and only one in five had optimal levels of the nutrient. What’s more, men with severe cases of ED had vitamin D levels that were about 24 percent lower than those of men with mild forms of the condition.

Insufficient levels of D may spur the production of free radicals called superoxide ions, according to study author Alessandra Barassi, M.D., and her research team. These free radicals deplete your nitric oxide, a molecule that helps your blood vessels function properly. The result: It makes it hard to, well, get hard.

“Nitric oxide causes the blood vessels to relax, which increases the blood flow and causes an erection under normal circumstances,” says Larry Lipshultz, M.D., a Men’s Health urology advisor. Without the necessary amounts of nitric acid, though, your blood vessels may not relax enough to allow for an erection.

If you suffer from ED, ask your doctor to check your vitamin D levels. For ED patients with low levels, the study recommends taking supplements to get back to the optimal level of 30 ng/mL or above.

As for men with normal erectile functioning, Dr. Barassi says she’s currently studying whether vitamin D supplementation may act as a preventive measure to delay ED.

Source: Men's Health Magazine