This archive report was first published on 10 October 2019.
Low Testosterone: Separating Fact from Fiction ¶
Published on October 10, 2019, a time when testosterone supplements were gaining popularity, with the number of users tripling from the early 2000s through 2016.
Testosterone is a critical hormone that plays a vital role in a man's life, from puberty to adulthood. It contributes to bone growth, muscle mass, and red-blood-cell production, and affects mood stability. However, the message that testosterone supplements send can be misleading, especially for men facing economic and social anxieties.
Urologist Elizabeth Kavaler, M.D., notes that testosterone has become the new answer for a life of quiet desperation. Men may think that taking testosterone will make them feel great, but that's not the case. Low testosterone levels can have significant effects on a man's life, but the truth about what it means and how to treat it is often misunderstood.
There's a lot of information out there about testosterone, much of it speculation and lore, that leads men to jump to conclusions about it. Men put a lot of psychological weight on their testosterone number, but there's little evidence to support the stereotypes that low testosterone means you're weak or retiring, and high testosterone means you're muscular, aggressive, or athletic.
How to Know if Your Testosterone is Low ¶
As many as 5 million men in the U.S. have low levels of testosterone. To know if your testosterone is low, look for symptoms such as erectile problems, lack of energy, and a low libido. However, these symptoms can be caused by other factors, and a low testosterone level doesn't automatically mean you're experiencing low-T symptoms.
Getting an accurate reading of your testosterone level is tricky. You should have at least two tests, since testosterone is constantly in flux. It peaks in the morning, so aim to be tested by 10:00 a.m. if you're young and on a typical sleeping schedule. Be aware that your level can be affected by certain social factors and health habits, such as resistance training, cardio, and sleep deprivation.
3 Courses of Action if You Have Low Testosterone ¶
The single best thing you can do to improve your testosterone level is to be healthier. Avoid stress, get more sleep, and lose weight. If your level is low enough to warrant more aggressive treatment, your doctor can prescribe a drug that causes your pituitary to tell your gonads to make more testosterone. However, this doesn't exempt you from needing to get healthy, as it doesn't diminish the risk of losing T to bad sleep and a beer belly.
Testosterone-replacement therapy should be your last resort. When you give your body T, it stops making its own, and there's no guarantee it can start again. If you and your doctor decide it's the way to go, you've got options, including testosterone replacement gel, pills, subcutaneous pellets, or rice-sized inserts that live directly under your skin.
