Aging brings with it many physical, mental and emotional changes. Even when you work hard to stay in good shape and maintain your health, you’re likely to experience a decrease in various hormone levels. For men, this often means a decrease in testosterone levels.
The changes associated with aging may seem inevitable — but are they? In fact, many of the physical and mental changes you might associate with getting older may in fact result from that drop in hormone levels.
The good news is that, in many cases, you can treat the physical decline you experience with age by treating those hormone deficiencies. Keep reading to see how testosterone replacement therapy and other hormone therapies can make all the difference as the years stack up.
What Happens As You Age?
As you age, the level of bio-available testosterone in your body starts to decline. This can begin as early as the age of 30 for some men, and it certainly hits most men by age 40. Typically, the decline runs about 1% per year — and over time, that can add up to a significant reduction in free testosterone.
The results of this decrease in testosterone are many of the conditions and symptoms that you probably associate as a natural by-product of aging. That softness around your middle that doesn’t go away with exercise? Well, you’re just getting older, right? The same with that decrease in muscle bulk. Hair loss? Of course. And when your doctor tells you that they’re concerned about your bone density numbers, of course that’s another sign of age.
Don’t even ask about any changes you’ve experienced in sexual function. Trouble getting an erection and maintaining it? You must be getting older. Even fertility decreases over the years, as does semen production. And you’ve certainly heard jokes about the loss of sexual desire with age. All these issues are just an inevitable result of aging, right?
Except maybe they’re not. Low testosterone is all too often behind all these symptoms. And when your testosterone levels are the real reason for the issues you’re experiencing, you can do something about it.
Low testosterone can also be a significant factor in any mental health symptoms you’re experiencing. Maybe you’ve felt a little down or depressed. You could fatigue easily or just feel like you have less energy than you used to — and yet you experience poor quality sleep. And that lack of self-confidence that seems to plague you these days feels like the natural result of, well, aging.
Aging men across the United States share these same concern. In fact, as many as 15 million men may be experiencing low testosterone levels, with all the symptoms and issues that come along with the condition. If you’ve been experiencing any of these signs and have chalked it up to getting older, you owe it to yourself to see if there’s a medical reason behind the symptoms you’ve noticed.
Hormone Levels and Age
Testosterone is one of the key hormones that decreases as you age. It’s produced in the testicles, mostly, with a surge at adolescence that peaks once a man hits his 30s.
Testosterone is responsible for sustaining erectile function, but it’s also vital to many other systems in the male body. It helps build muscle, maintain bone density, and burn fat. Testosterone also is a key to male energy levels. It boosts mood and helps keep the immune system healthy.
As testosterone begins to decline, men often experience the symptoms listed above, including decreased muscle strength, increased body fat, and difficulty maintaining erections. In addition, testosterone has been implicated in the physical appearance of aging on the face, responsible for that dry skin and the wrinkles that may stare back at you from the mirror every morning.
Testosterone deficiency can also manifest in systemic disorders, such as diabetes and osteoporosis, as well as in mental health conditions such as depression. Because doctors so often focus on the symptoms, they all too frequently end up treating just those issues without recognizing or even looking for the hormonal problems that underlie a whole series of complaints.
In addition, many men are affected by the decreased production of human growth hormone (HGH) that occurs naturally with age. This hormone, secreted by the pituatary gland in the neck, plays a key role in maintaining a youthful appearance. HGH keeps body fat under control, speeds up the metabolism, and helps produce muscle mass. It also keeps skin looking young, improves sleep, and boosts both energy levels and thinking processes.
Beginning in the early 20s, though, HGH production starts to decline steeply. It drops an average of 50% every 70 years, to the point that 35% of men over 60 are deficient in the hormone. The depletion of this hormone also affects the aging process just at the time when most people want to hang on to their youthful strength and vigor.
Treating the Physical Signs of Aging
Low testosterone is also sometimes known as “andropause,” which is the equivalent of male menopause. Because it’s rooted in a hormonal imbalance, it only makes sense that hormonal treatment can often be the right answer, tying together all the symptoms that might otherwise seem unrelated.
Once a medical professional starts to look at the issue, running tests to check for hormone levels, you may find that testosterone replacement therapy or HGH treatment can make a real difference in how you feel and how you’re aging.
Testosterone replacement therapy is well-known for its ability to boost the sex drive and help men achieve and sustain erections. Its effects on the signs of aging may not be discussed as often, but they also can be significant. Many men find that this therapy makes a marked difference in their overall energy levels. They also experience renewed muscle bulk that reminds them of their younger days, and the concomitant reduction of body fat helps them feel younger as well.
Hormone replacement therapy also plays a key role in renewing the skin. With aging, skin decreases in density, elasticity, and moisture. Hormone replacement therapy has been shown in studies to improve and youthen the skin, including decreasing wrinkles around the eyes.
Treating the Mental Signs of Aging
Aging affects the body, certainly — and it also affects the mind and the emotions. Some people face depression as they age, or they deal with unpredictable mood changes. Sleep disturbances become more common with age, and fatigue and lack of motivation plague many men as they move into their 40s and beyond. Others complain of memory problems and other mental issues.
As with the physical signs of aging, many of these symptoms can be the result of low testosterone levels. A holistic approach that integrates physical and mental health can connect the dots between the physical, sexual, mental, and emotional symptoms that congregate around low testosterone levels. Seeking the right treatment can make an enormous difference to your mental health as well as your physical stamina and strength.
Is Testosterone Replacement Therapy Right for You?
There can be plenty of reasons for some of the varied symptoms associated with low testosterone levels, such as insomnia, lack of skin elasticity, and depression. One sign that points directly at testosterone deficiency, however, is lack of sexual desire, often accompanied by erectile dysfunction.
Men experiencing these symptoms, which often go hand in hand with decreased fluid during ejaculation and difficulty reaching orgasm, should head straight to a urologist to be tested for testosterone deficiency. When these symptoms pair with weight gain, decreased body hair, and various mood symptoms, the man in question is very likely to be diagnosed as having low testosterone.
Tests for low testosterone start with blood tests to measure both total and free testosterone levels. In addition, especially with older men, tests for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) are often run to determine the health of the prostate gland. Younger men experiencing signs of low testosterone are sometimes also tested for levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), and tests for levels of HGH may also be run.
In addition, men with diabetes may need to be measured for estradiol, as they may need additional medications to make their testosterone therapy effective. Some men also experience low testosterone as a result of various metabolic diseases, and these can also be tested for at the initial appointment. The doctor will also discuss your personal health history to determine which tests are most needed.
Men with low testosterone are very often good candidates for testosterone replacement therapy. This therapy is safe and effective when administered properly by a licensed physician, and there are plenty of delivery options for providing the therapy. You can choose between injections, oral medications, or gels and patches that deliver measured doses of testosterone through the skin or even through the gums.
The benefits of testosterone replacement therapy for men with low testosterone are well-known. Testosterone therapy can boost energy levels, increase muscle bulk and strength, decrease fat, and increase bone density. It can also boost the sex drive and get rid of any problems maintaining erections and achieving orgasm. The therapy even helps improve the regulation of blood sugar in men with diabetes. In addition, many men experience greater mental clarity and a boost to their mood.
Seeking Testosterone Replacement Therapy to Beat Aging
It’s not an exaggeration to say that achieving healthy testosterone levels is key to beating the symptoms of aging, as well as boosting overall health.
Is it time to start to reverse the signs of aging through testosterone replacement therapy? If you’re ready to take the tests that could make sense of the varied symptoms you’ve been experiencing, it’s time to contact us at Texas Men’s Health Group. We provide custom-designed hormone replacement therapy that can help you feel and look younger. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.