Testosterone Replacement Therapy for Men’s Health Management
Posted: November 9, 2021
Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is an important part of health management for many men. Low testosterone levels may lead to unwanted symptoms and health risks. Treatment with testosterone injections can help reduce these symptoms and risks to help you improve your health and feel like your best self.
Testosterone Replacement Therapy for Low Testosterone Levels
Testosterone replacement therapy is a common treatment option to increase testosterone levels for those with hypogonadism (low testosterone).
Testosterone replacement therapy may help you improve your health if you have low testosterone.
Low testosterone can cause many symptoms, including:
- Fatigue
- Low sex drive
- Erectile dysfunction
- Unexplained weight gain
- Loss of muscle mass
If you’re experiencing these symptoms, you could have low testosterone levels and may benefit from testosterone replacement therapy. Hypogonadism is a common health condition that is often easily treatable with TRT.
What Does Testosterone Do In the Body?
Testosterone is a hormone that performs many different functions in your body, which may explain why men with low testosterone often experience symptoms that disrupt everyday life. We will discuss how low testosterone may affect your health and quality of life in the next section, but first it’s important to understand how the body makes testosterone and some of the functions it performs.
Testosterone production starts in the brain. If the hypothalamus determines you need more testosterone, it sends a signal to the pituitary gland. You can think of the hypothalamus as a customer in a restaurant. The hypothalamus places the “order” for testosterone to the pituitary gland. Then, the pituitary gland signals to the testes. The testes are like the kitchen in our restaurant analogy, as the testes make most of the testosterone in your body. Once the testes produce the testosterone, it travels throughout your body through the bloodstream. Any flaws or glitches in this process can limit testosterone production and lead to low testosterone.
Of course, it’s also important to understand that testosterone production naturally declines as we age. While this increases the risk for low testosterone, hypogonadism isn’t an inevitable part of aging. It’s important from a health perspective to address low testosterone, as hypogonadism is a condition that can cause many different symptoms and health risks.
There are testosterone receptors throughout the body. Testosterone plays many different roles in the body. It can affect many different functions and systems, including:
- Red blood cell production
- Fat distribution
- Bone mass
- Muscle size
- Muscle strength
- Sex drive
- Mood
Low testosterone can cause many symptoms and also exacerbate other health conditions because the hormone is so essential in the body. Fortunately, testosterone replacement therapy may help improve your symptoms and health if you have low testosterone levels.
Testosterone Replacement Therapy May Impact Quality of Life and Health
Testosterone replacement therapy can have noticeable effects on your overall well-being. Low testosterone can cause symptoms that make day-to-day life hard. For example, fatigue and sleep disturbances are common symptoms of hypogonadism. These symptoms can make it difficult to do normal things like go to work, exercise regularly, or even spend time with your family. Low libido and erectile dysfunction can negatively impact your romantic relationships. Unexplained weight gain from low testosterone can increase your risk for many other health issues like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Low testosterone is also associated with major health conditions like type 2 diabetes and obesity. Therefore, low testosterone can lead to many negative effects for both your health and quality of life.
Fortunately, testosterone replacement therapy can reduce many of these risks. If you have low testosterone, TRT can alleviate your symptoms. This can help you not only feel better, but also make it easier to follow healthy habits in your day-to-day life, such as getting plenty of exercise and maintaining a positive mood. In many cases, testosterone replacement therapy can also help reduce many of the health risks associated with low testosterone. For instance, some studies have found that TRT can help improve insulin sensitivity for men with type 2 diabetes. For many men, testosterone replacement therapy can have many positive effects on your life and health, making it a key part of health management for people with hypogonadism.
How Does Low Testosterone Diagnosis and Testosterone Replacement Therapy Work?
If you’re experiencing symptoms of hypogonadism, you can come into one of our clinics for diagnosis and treatment. Our providers will discuss your symptoms, complete a full physical examination, and also take a full blood panel to look at your testosterone levels and other markers of health like cholesterol levels and blood counts. This comprehensive health assessment allows our team to screen for hypogonadism and other common causes of your symptoms. Normal testosterone levels for men are between 300 and 1,000 ng/dL. If your testosterone levels are below this range during your blood panel, our team confirms the levels with a second blood draw. After confirmation, our providers can diagnose you with low testosterone and create a customized treatment plan for you.
If you have been diagnosed with low testosterone, our team will discuss treatment options based on your specific situation. In some cases, treatment may include lifestyle changes like weight loss, as excess weight can lower testosterone production in the body. If your low testosterone is related to another untreated condition, we may recommend beginning treatment which may help restore your testosterone levels to healthy ranges. However, in many cases these treatments alone aren’t enough to bring testosterone levels into normal ranges for men with hypogonadism. Therefore, we may recommend testosterone replacement therapy as part of your treatment program. TRT supplements your natural testosterone production to increase testosterone to healthy levels.
Our team typically recommends testosterone injections for testosterone replacement therapy. This allows for easy dosage control and optimization. With this treatment program, you take testosterone injections on a regular basis to maintain normal testosterone levels. Since low testosterone is often a chronic condition, many men use TRT for the rest of their lives as a way to manage their health.
When to Use Testosterone Replacement Therapy for Health?
According to most medical recommendations, testosterone replacement therapy can be used to improve low testosterone levels that cause symptoms like fatigue, low libido, erectile dysfunction, and unexplained weight gain. Testosterone replacement therapy can relieve your symptoms and also improve your overall well-being and quality of life. TRT isn’t approved for men with normal testosterone levels, as the aim of testosterone replacement therapy is to increase blood testosterone levels to normal, healthy ranges. This can help improve your symptoms and may also help with other health conditions. Talk to one of our doctors about the benefits of TRT based on your unique circumstances.
When to Avoid TRT?
Just like any other medication, there are some cases where you shouldn’t use TRT. We mentioned that testosterone replacement therapy isn’t for men with normal testosterone levels. In addition, there are some other reasons why testosterone injections may not be right for you. For instance, men with a history of breast or prostate cancer, unexplained elevated PSA (prostate specific antigen) levels, and uncontrolled congestive heart failure may need to avoid testosterone replacement therapy. Our providers can discuss the particulars of your case to determine whether TRT is right for you.
Monitoring and Health Management with Testosterone Replacement Therapy
When you begin a testosterone replacement therapy program at our clinics, we offer ongoing treatment and health monitoring. Our team is here to help you address your health as a whole and also fine-tune your treatment for optimal results. We regularly monitor several markers of health through regular exams. During treatment, we talk with you about your symptoms and any side effects, perform physical examinations, and also evaluate blood panels for things like testosterone levels, PSA levels, blood counts, and cholesterol levels. This ongoing monitoring from our team supports total health management so you can feel healthy and energized.
Solutions for Common Health Conditions for Men at Low T Center
Our team at the Low T Center offers quality care personalized to your lifestyle. Our goal is to help you achieve better health with convenient, affordable treatment programs. We work with you to discover underlying causes of your symptoms. Our team offers quality care for common conditions from low testosterone to high blood pressure. Make an appointment today to learn how you can start improving your health.
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Disclaimer: This article is made available for general, entertainment and educational purposes only. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Low T Center. You should always seek the advice of a licensed healthcare professional.