….. at least, not until you’ve done some preliminary work first.
Men with low T generally tend to fall into two camps; those who ignore it completely and don’t do anything about it and those who jump into it feet first without doing any research beforehand. It’s the second group I’m talking to now.
So, you find out that your T levels are low, you go to one of those doc-in-a-box low T clinics, they confirm your low T, write out a script for T cypionate injections and heck, they even offer to give you your first injection right then and there. It’s all good, right? Well, maybe not.
Starting T injections is pretty much a life long commitment. Typically, what happens is that after a few months of exogenous (external) testosterone, your body will stop producing its own testosterone. At that point, you are dependent on the exogenous source from that point forward. (There have been some incidences where men can re-start their own production by utilizing HcG or Clomid, but it is by no means a sure thing.)
Depending on why your T levels are low, it may be possible to increase them without resorting to T therapy. So, the #1 priority before you take the first shot or the first med is to figure out as much as possible about what’s causing your low T.
There are a number of things that can contribute to low T, many of which can be detected with a simple blood test. Sometimes, fixing the issue can completely solve the low T or at least alleviate it somewhat.
- Diabetes
- Iron overload (ferritin levels)
- Elevated estrogen
- Elevated Prolactin levels
- Hypothyroid
- Vitamin D or Zinc deficiency
Other things that contribute to low T are lifestyle conditions. Addressing them may not cause your low T issues to resolve completely, but can improve the situation significantly.
- Sleep apnea
- Obesity
- Heavy alcohol use
About 10-20% of all men have a condition called:
- Varicocele (varicose vein in the testes)
Varicoceles can lower testosterone production, probably by raising the temperature in the testes. This condition can be detected either by physical exam, ultrasound or a specific type of x-ray. Often, once it’s corrected, testosterone levels rebound on their own.
So, don’t be too quick to jump into T therapy. The very first thing you want to do is to determine the cause, specifically whether it’s primary (originating in the testes) or secondary (originating in the hypothalamus-pituitary axis).
The best way to determine this is to check for your LH (luteinizing hormone) and FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) levels with a blood test. If your testosterone is low, your LH and FSH levels should be high, telling your testes to produce more testosterone. If the testosterone level is low, but the LH or FSH levels are either low or normal, then that’s a good indicator that your problem is originating in your hypothalamus-pituitary axis. That determines your starting point.
If you are a guy experiencing low T, I’d be really interested in hearing whether your doctor tried to determine the cause before wanting to treat the low T. What blood work did he/she recommend? Drop me a comment.
Hi, I’m Rebecca Watson. Author, Researcher, and Marriage & Attraction Consultant.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom Rebecca!!
AKA
You are so welcome. If my husband and I had had all this information years ago, we could have spared ourselves a lot of heartache.
My goal is to help others avoid the same.
Rebecca, my endo went through the full set of blood tests (liver function, thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, PSA, etc). We even went so far as to do the pituitary MRI to make certain the issue wasn’t a tumor. All of that proved to be negative, and my LH was low relative to the T being produced…he stopped digging and we continued forward with the T shots. From his perspective, the only reason to hunt for the cause was to eliminate the possibility of a pituitary tumor, which if allowed to progress, could cause cardiac arrest. Once that was ruled out, treatment is pretty much the same in his mind, so that was that.
John3
It’s so nice to hear about a doctor who’s actually thorough. I wish everyone who was treating low T was like your doctor.
Did he consider trying HcG monotherapy to jump start your own body’s production? Dr. Crisler and a few other doctors claim to have some success with this.
When my husband tried to do it with Clomid, it didn’t work, so we assumed his low T was primary. At that point, we didn’t know about checking for LH levels and his then-doctor didn’t suggest it. Wish I had known then what I know now. : )
Thanks for chiming in with your experiences, John3. I always enjoy your comments. 🙂
Thank You for Blazing a Path into the Unknown! I had many of the symptoms, i was able to overcome by a multi-viamin, excercise, losing weight, and eating better.
Thanks Again
Pretty cool John Q. would you care to give more details?
Why kind of multi-vite? What kind of excersize? what specifically diet wise?
I have some low T symptoms, but also addrenal deficiency symptoms. I sleep as much as possible. My only diet sins are alcohol and not enough vegatables and fruits. I am in good shape. Although I probably would be better served if I did less cardio and more heavy lifting.
Anyway. I’d be interested in your regimen if you’d care to post.
AKA
You’re right about the heavy lifting. Just got the new post up there with lots of links on the best types of exercise to boost T production. Hope it helps.
John Quest
That’s awesome!I’m so glad you were able to turn it around.
Rebecca has been helping me with my low-end-of-normal Testosterone levels for a couple of months now using a blend of diet, exercise and supplements. I can’t speak to the numbers yet, but I can definitely say that I am for focused, have higher energy, and my fitness improvements have sped up a great deal.
I hope you’ll share your insights on these measures soon, R.
@Brian Rideout. I agree. I would like to hear about that as well.
Now, if I were in Rebecca’s shoes, I would ask you to write up the story about what you have changed, so that it would be easily posted. 😈 But I will let you two haggle over that.
AKA
Ya’ll were prophets because that’s exactly what I was working on. It took longer to complete than I thought, though. So much information out there to sort through.
Brian
I’ve been working on this one for a couple days now and it’s finally up. Took a while because I wanted to find the actual studies that support each suggestion. There were points where my eyes were glazing over and rolling back in my head. Even Research Queens have their limits for dry government studies. Whew, glad that’s done. 🙂
I am amazed and pleased at the candor and honesty on
your blog. This kind of help has been a long time coming
and I am excited about it. So many couples have struggled
with these issues and there has been little help available.
I am impressed with the knowledge and desire to help in your
group. Thanks from one who appreciates it. mamashay
mamashay
Thanks. I struggle sometimes with how much to share. What to leave in and what to leave out.
But I think it’s important to share the successes as well as the struggles. I’ve had so many women ask me, “Maybe my husband just isn’t capable of being sexual, maybe even with T therapy, things will never be what I want them to be.”
I want them to know there’s hope. Changing the hormones is only a part of the journey; both partners also have to actively change the behavior that’s keeping them blocked. Hopefully, me sharing how my husband and I are accomplishing this will help them figure out their own path. 🙂
This is so true! I went to my doctor for 3 years complaining of low energy and no sex drive. He FINALLY thought to test me for low T and my number was around 250.
No other tests were done and he put me on Testim gel that very day. I had no idea that it would shut down my own production for the rest of my life. He should have discussed it with me before committing me to a lifetime of this. I consider this malpractice!
It’s been about 5 years now and I usually still feel pretty horrible even though my number is generally between 300-400. I can barely afford treatment and now I’m a slave to it for life.
This is no way to live. PLEASE don’t start HRT without knowing ALL of the facts, both good and bad!
Mark —
Actually, it may be possible to re-start your own production.
Take a look at the HcG protocol.