Every man has testicles that produce a hormone called testosterone. The purpose of the hormone is to sustain several physical characteristics in men, such as their sexual libido, energy levels, bone density, muscle mass, sperm production, and body hair. Testosterone can even affect a person’s mental health and emotional wellbeing too.

Your brain is supposed to know when your blood has low testosterone levels in it. The link between the brain and testicles is critical for this to happen correctly. Once low testosterone is detected, the brain signals the testicles to produce more testosterone for the blood.

Unfortunately, it becomes more difficult for the body to produce testosterone as a man gets older. Of course, age is the main contributing factor to low testosterone, but other factors could influence it too. Some of which include genetics, sedentary lifestyles, poor diet, and lack of exercise.

Testosterone Testing 

The first step is to get a testosterone test. A primary care doctor or urologist can conduct this test on your blood.

It is better to get the test done soon after waking up in the morning because testosterone levels are at their highest. The doctor will take a blood sample from you and measure the testosterone levels found within it. If the levels are between 300 ng/dL and 1,000 ng/dL, you have a healthy testosterone level. But if your testosterone test reveals a level below 300 ng/dL, then it means you have a low testosterone level.

Most men between the ages of 20 and 40 have normal testosterone levels. But once a man reaches 40 years old, their body doesn’t produce as much testosterone as before. In fact, medical experts calculate that a man’s testicles generate about 1% less testosterone every year after age 40. It is a slow annual decline that you may overlook until certain aspects of your life are affected.

Low Testosterone Symptoms 

Low testosterone can cause a wide variety of unpleasant symptoms in men. Some of which include:

• Difficulty focusing
• Depression
• Bad mood
• Weight gain
• Bigger breast size
• Infertility
• Erectile dysfunction
• Low libido

Of course, other medical conditions can cause these symptoms too. But if you are a man over 40 who experiences more than one of these symptoms, you likely have low testosterone levels in your body. That is when you should seek treatment from a urologist.

Failure to seek treatment promptly could cause more severe symptoms to emerge. For example, some men with dangerously low testosterone levels will lose body hair, muscle mass, bone density and develop softer testicles. The combination of these symptoms could lead to osteoporosis.

Low Testosterone Treatments 

You may see many testosterone supplement commercials advertised on television claiming their products boost natural testosterone production in the body. Some supplements with zinc and magnesium may give you minor results, but they likely won’t restore your testosterone levels to normal.

The best treatment solution is testosterone replacement therapy. It is the only real treatment to restore the missing testosterone in your body and give you normal testosterone levels again.

A doctor can administer testosterone therapy in numerous ways, including injections, patches, dissolvable oral tablets, dissolvable underskin pellets, and gels. The doctor will determine the best method for your particular low testosterone condition.

Contact Us 

Do you suspect that you have low testosterone levels? If so, make an appointment to get a testosterone test at Gousse Urology. The founder, Dr. Angelo Gousse, is one of the leading urologists in Florida and around the country. He can give you a testosterone test to determine if testosterone replacement therapy is right for you.

Call us at 954-362-2720 to set up an appointment.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Can I treat my erectile dysfunction with testosterone replacement therapy? 

Contrary to popular belief, low testosterone is not the primary cause of erectile dysfunction. Instead, the primary cause is a lack of blood flow to the penis. Low blood flow can be attributed to other health conditions, such as low blood pressure, hardened artery walls, and diabetes.

Therefore, you cannot fix erectile dysfunction by only boosting your testosterone levels. You would have to seek treatments for those other problems first. Your primary care doctor can help you with that.

What is the duration of testosterone replacement therapy? 

After receiving your first testosterone replacement therapy treatment, you need to continue receiving replacement therapy treatments. The reason is that your body cannot produce enough testosterone naturally anymore. So, you must regularly get replacement therapy treatments to continue normalizing your testosterone levels.