What You Need to Know About Testosterone Replacement Therapy

What You Need to Know About Testosterone Replacement Therapy

Testosterone is a hormone often used to describe someone’s “innate maleness.”   The body naturally produces testosterone which influences health and important functions of the body.  Testosterone regulates sex drive and stimulates sperm production, encourages proper bone mass, encourages proper fat distribution, improves muscle mass and strength, and more!  As we age, our bodies begin to change in a variety of ways.  Hormones such as testosterone that used to rage during adolescence begin to decline over time.  Additionally, some men, regardless of age, have low levels of testosterone for various reasons.  Fortunately, testosterone replacement therapy can help supply the body with additional testosterone when it cannot produce enough on its own.

First, it is important to understand the symptoms of low testosterone and how it can manifest in health. Men that are experiencing low testosterone may not realize that they are experiencing common symptoms. WebMD describes how the body loses testosterone over time and that it can be easy to mistake symptoms for something else, “After age 30, most men begin to experience a gradual decline in testosterone. A decrease in sex drive sometimes accompanies the drop in testosterone, leading many men to mistakenly believe that their loss of interest in sex is simply due to getting older…”A lot of the symptoms are mirrored by other medical problems,” Hedges says. “And for a long time, we were not attributing them to low testosterone, but to diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease. But awareness and appreciation of low testosterone has risen. We recognize now that low testosterone may be at the root of problems.”

Men that are experiencing low testosterone may have side effects that include erectile dysfunction, decreased sex drive, diminished muscle mass and/or strength, infertility, increased body fat, increased fatigue, fragile bones, decreased body hair, hot flashes, sleep disturbances, emotional changes, depression, irritability, and more.  For men with low testosterone, one option to consider is testosterone replacement therapy.  If you suspect you may have low testosterone, it is important to speak to your physician and get the necessary bloodwork to check testosterone levels.  If your bloodwork reveals that you do in fact have low testosterone, you may be an ideal candidate for testosterone replacement therapy.

Testosterone replacement therapy can be administered in a variety of ways, including injections, gels, transdermal patches, mouth patch, and subdermal pellets.  Though it is impossible to predict exactly what each individual will experience when undergoing testosterone replacement therapy, many men experience increased energy, increased sex drive, increased bone density, increased muscle mass, improved mood.  If you think you may be a good candidate for testosterone replacement therapy, speak to your physician about getting the necessary lab work so that you can get back to feeling your best.