Testosterone: What It Is and How It Affects Your Health

Understanding How Testosterone Affects Men National Institutes of Health NIH

Before prescribing testosterone, your doctor should check your testosterone levels and make sure your low T is not due to something else, like an illness. If your levels are low because of aging, you don’t need TRT. Despite being a male sex hormone, testosterone also contributes to sex drive, bone density, and muscle strength in women. However, an excess of testosterone can also cause women to experience male pattern baldness and infertility. Testosterone is a hormone that your sex organs mainly produce.

The presence of it (or lack thereof) can indicate the state of your mental and physical functioning. The good news is that our team at Advanced Urology can help. We specialize in diagnosing and treating low testosterone at our offices in Redondo Beach, Culver City, Los Angeles, and San Pedro, California. It’s time to find out just how important this hormone is for your well-being.

If you wonder whether testosterone therapy might be right for you, talk with your doctor about the risks and benefits. Your doctor will likely measure your testosterone levels at least twice before recommending testosterone therapy. In females, a high testosterone level can lead to irregular periods, acne, voice deepening and an excess growth of body hair. A high testosterone level is also found in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome, a condition that can cause infertility.

You may need this test if you have symptoms of low testosterone. If you stop TRT, the symptoms of low T usually come back, so you may have to stay on the drug for life – unless you decide you don’t want to be treated anymore. You can also get addicted to anabolic steroids, even though they don’t produce any “high.” One downside is that these pills are expensive and may not be covered by insurance, unless you’ve tried other methods of treatment and had no success or bad side effects. This may look like a pill, but it sticks to your upper gums.

Testosterone regulates libido and is necessary for the production of sperm. Without sufficient levels, sexual desire and function can decline, affecting both physical intimacy and reproductive health. Testosterone plays a pivotal role in maintaining muscle mass and strength. It promotes protein synthesis, which is vital for building and repairing muscle tissue. This process is key to maintaining muscle size and preventing muscle breakdown, especially as you age.

A low T test result in an adult man could mean the pituitary gland isn’t working properly. But a young teen with low testosterone levels might be experiencing delayed puberty. Some men and women experience immediate side effects of testosterone treatment, such as acne, disturbed breathing while sleeping, breast swelling or tenderness, or swelling in the ankles. Doctors also watch out for high red blood cell counts, which could increase the risk of clotting. Symptoms include irregular periods, reduced fertility, excess or coarse hair on the face, extremities, trunk and pubic area, male-pattern baldness, darkened, thick skin, weight gain, depression and anxiety.

In fact, most of what we know about abnormally high testosterone levels in men comes from athletes who use anabolic steroids, testosterone, or related hormones to increase muscle mass and athletic performance. However, the majority of testosterone produced in the ovaries is converted to the primary female sex hormone, estradiol. Certain health conditions, medicines, or injury can lead alternatives to clomid for testosterone low testosterone (low-T). Low testosterone can affect sex drive, mood, and changes in muscle and fat. Low testosterone levels are linked with a higher prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED), but it’s rarely the sole cause. ED is more commonly caused by factors such as atherosclerosis, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

The table below shows the testosterone levels observed in one study of healthy men between 40 and 79 years of age. In males, testosterone production begins very early indeed, usually at the start of the seventh week of embryonic development. Testosterone levels remain high throughout fetal life, but they fall just before birth, so they’re only slightly higher in newborn boys than girls. Baby boys experience a blip in testosterone production between three and six months of age, but by a year their levels are back down. Between six and eight years of age, adrenal androgen production rises, triggering a transient growth spurt and a bit of body hair but no sexual development. In men with hypogonadism, a low level of testosterone is produced due to a problem in the testicles or the pituitary gland. According to Harvard Medical School, determining exactly what constitutes a low testosterone level is a controversial matter.

Testosterone is also important for maintaining bone strength and lean muscle mass in women, as well as contributing to overall well-being and energy levels. This hormone plays a key role in a woman’s sex drive and is responsible for enhancing sexual pleasure during intercourse. However, the levels of testosterone produced by females is still between ten and times less than the amount produced by men. In some men, estrogen levels will increase as testosterone levels increase.

For example, patients may need bloodwork to measure prolactin, a hormone made by the pituitary gland that, in high levels, can be a sign of a pituitary tumor. There are many health benefits to optimizing testosterone levels. However, TRT is not a one-dose-fits-all treatment and if done without expert guidance can lead to some serious health consequences. As a board-certified physician specializing in testosterone optimization, it’s easy to safely fine-tune testosterone levels to ensure there at optimal levels for any given individual.