Hormone Imbalances in Men

Hormone imbalances in men are not as well recognized as they are in women. Recognizing and treating these imbalances can add significant benefits to overall health and quality of life. Most common is testosterone deficiency or what is sometimes called low T or andropause.  As you will see, the imbalances in men are quite common and many age related symptoms correlate directly to declining hormone levels.

Symptoms of hormone imbalances in men

The signs and symptoms of hormone imbalance in men occur gradually over time. This can be different in women, which can happen more quickly. This gradual process in men makes detection and recognition more difficult, but there are some key things to look for. 

The most common symptom of low testosterone is low libido and/or erectile dysfunctions. Age related hormone imbalances can also contribute to fatigue, low energy, mood alterations (poor cognitive function, anger, lethargy, and lack of motivation), decreased muscle mass, osteopenia, increased abdominal fat, insulin resistance, blood sugar issues, frequent infections and immune compromise. These symptoms are mainly caused by the gradual decline in testosterone.

Cause of low testosterone, low T, andropause

The most common imbalances that men suffer from is testosterone deficiency. Low testosterone or low T occurs for several reasons mainly a lack of testosterone productions from the testes and lack of stimulation to the testes from the brain. The area of testosterone production in the testicles is from the leydig cells. These cell numbers gradually decline with age starting around age 40. This cell decline is part of the reason for decreased hormone production. Additionally the Leydig cells are stimulated by a hormone from the brain called LH. The LH from the brain also declines with age leading to less leydig cell stimulations and decreased testosterone production.

Also, most testosterone in the body is body to proteins called SHBG( serum hormone binding globulin). This SHBG actually increases with age making the amount of bound testosterone higher and the free testosterone lower. As a result some men with even reasonably high testosterone will have a lower amount of available testosterone.

Another cause is the gradual rise in estrogen production. Most of the rise in estrogen production comes from increased adipose tissue (fat) that occurs universally with age. As this occurs more of the testosterone gets turned into estrogen which lowers your total testosterone.

What are the treatment options?

The treatment options for low testosterone, low T, andropause varies from direct replacement of testosterone to lifestyle and herbal treatments to stimulate testosterone production.  Stimulating the bodies own production of testosterone can be accomplished through lifestyle changes, herbal medicine, and/or hormone stimulant. In the case of lifestyle changes and herbal medicine we would expect marginal increase in actual testosterone levels; however the improvements in symptoms can be dramatic.

Ways to increase testosterone.

Internal

Increase weight lifting exerices to 3-4 times a week

Eat a whole foods diet avoiding synthetic chemical and processed foods

Herbal stimulants – Tribulus terrestis or Maca can sometimes help

LH analog- a hormone injection that stimulates Leydig cells

These treatments can cause some dramatic results in some men but may not raise testosterone enough to provide relief from low T or andropause. In this case we recommend supplementing with testosterone directly.

Testosterone supplementation options

Topical Cream

Injectable Liquid

Topical Gel

Implantable pellets

When it comes to testosterone a steady level of free testosterone is the goal. This is best accomplished with topical creams or gels.  So if you are searching for answers to hormone imbalances in men than contact us today and set up a free consult today!