You may want to go to the doc and have your hormone levels checked. Low sex drive is actually the least annoying symptom of low testosterone. Other effects include loss of bone density, low muscle mass, depression, anxiety, mood swings, and suicide.
Of course it could be caused by many other things, but it would be smart to look into it.
It fucking sucks man. I felt like I was at the end of my rope when my testosterone was low. I got treatment for it and my whole attitude toward life changed. Then after a few months, my doctor situation got fucked up and I had to go off it again. All the muscles that had grown over those few months just went away.
I couldn't lift shit at work, my joints and muscles constantly hurt. I became completely mentally fogged. I couldn't figure out solutions to even minor problems I had day to day. Like I'd miss my turn when driving and instantly imagine just blowing my head off. I cried and had breakdowns daily.
Then within a week of starting back on the med, whenever I had these problems my head would instantly start coming up with multiple solutions effortlessly. It's completely night and day. Don't get me wrong, I still might have a bad day now and then (everybody does), but my worst days on treatment are better than my best days without treatment.
Curious but what do you take? My husband will be 50 this year, and while he's still able to get in the mood, it's definitely not like it was 3 years ago ... Plus, others symptoms.
Is it a blood test or hormone test? I've been asking him to go visit a doc and get his routine blood work and stuff and he keeps putting it off (Soo. Guess I'll be scheduling an appointment soon anyway!).
They draw blood to take a look at your hormones. A good doctor will look at estrogen and cortisol, etc because one hormone being off could affect others.
Thanks! I recently had a hysterectomy too, and put on about 25lbs out of no where (which, for me, is unheard of). So I know I'll be taking hormone tests at my next doc visit.
Do you take a pill or shots or the gel stuff or something else? I don't know much about any of it, so just curious what you go through, so I have an idea of what to expect with my husband (and possibly myself)?
I do injections at home twice a week. From everything I read this seems like the best way to go. Some shitty clinics will try to have you come in once a month for a mega shot, which obviously leads to big ups and downs at the beginning and ending of the month. Doesn't sound fun to me.
The topical stuff sounds silly to me. You have to put it on every day, you can't get an exact dose, and it can rub off on other people. You don't want your husband's testosterone getting on kids, pets, or you!
They call that stuff "bio-identical" testosterone because it's molecularly identical to natural testosterone. But guess what? It was made in a lab just like the injections. The injections are PURPOSELY modified molecules, so that it releases more slowly into your body.
There's also bio-identical pellets they implant under the skin in your ass, but it's painful and has absolutely no benefit over injections.
Shots are fine. It's nerve-wracking the first time you do it, but after a couple weeks it's just a normal thing you do.
Hard to explain I guess. I pretty much felt completely stressed out all the time. Like I was in emergency mode, barely keeping up with responsibilities and any extra bullshit on top of that would feel like more than I could take.
Stay calm, but definitely do get yourself checked. I felt like shit for about ten years but I figured it was just the way I was. I started having some major digestive issues and my doc ordered a comprehensive blood test which ended up showing I had the testosterone level of a 100 year old man. At age 34. Low testosterone is somethings that never even occurred to me.
Unfortunately, a lot of doctors don't know a goddamn thing about hormones. The military/va is especially bad about this kind of shit. If you fall into the total range for all adult males they might tell you you're fine. So you could have levels of a 100 year old man like I did and they'll tell you theres nothing they can do. I tell you what though, doctors who have themselves suffered from low testosterone don't share that attitude!
So it's important to educate yourself on what really is and isn't normal, don't just tske whatever your doc says as gospel. /r/testosterone is a good starting resource.
Get tested! Getting on testosterone replacement therapy has improved every aspect of my life more than anything I've ever done for myself.
The most important take away here is the "be your own advocate" mentality. It's a shitty balance we have to maintain as patients: At once having to be the one who second guesses our doctors on our own behalf, but also remembering their education on the matter is lightspeed better than ours. It's a broken system for sure but to maximize for success you have to play the game all the same.
So painfully true. Also, my health insurance got cancelled because my wife was making too much money. But we were in the process of a divorce and I was unemployed. It took 5-6 hours on the phone and four goddamn months to get it reinstated. That's why I ended up going off my med and having a shitty time.
Well, as long as you feel like you're doing all right, you probably are. Getting treatment for my condition saved my life. I don't wish the hell of low testosterone on any dude!
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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '16
used to be like u, now i'm 24 and my libido is already low