5 Signs You May Be Suffering from Low Testosterone

Low testosterone and men’s health go hand-in-hand. Low testosterone, which is a hormone imbalance, affects almost 40% of men over 45 and can have a major impact on their sexual function. 

If your testosterone levels are low, board-certified physicians Naima Cheema, MD, and Nijah Burris, MD, can treat the hormone imbalance and the resulting symptoms at Nexclin Medicine in Roswell, Georgia. 

A hormone blood test can confirm if your symptoms are the result of a testosterone imbalance, whether it’s age-related (primary hypogonadism) or comes from some other condition (secondary hypogonadism). Look for these five signs that can indicate low testosterone:

1. Fatigue

Having fatigue means you feel much more tired than usual, and that tiredness doesn’t get better with sleep or rest. It can be easy to write this off as a sign of aging or working too much, but when it occurs alongside other low testosterone symptoms, it isn’t something to ignore. 

Along with your fatigue from low testosterone, you may feel more irritable than usual or have trouble concentrating. You may feel depressed, even if you’ve never struggled with depression before. These are some of the effects low testosterone can have on your mental well-being. 

2. Low bone density

Like menopause in women, low testosterone in men can reduce your bone density and increase your risk for osteoporosis. Testosterone plays several roles in your body, including strengthening and stabilizing your bones. 

When your bone density decreases, your bones become more fragile and more likely to break. Men with low testosterone are at an increased risk for bone fractures, particularly in the hips and spine. Treating low testosterone can help your bones stay strong so they don’t fracture.

3. Reduced lean muscle mass and strength

The hormone testosterone also helps you build and maintain muscle. With low testosterone, your body can lose muscle mass. 

Even if you don’t notice a visual difference, you may notice a decrease in your muscle strength. You might notice a lack of results from weight training at the gym or increased tiredness after a workout. 

4. Low libido

Your libido is your sex drive, or your urge to have sex. Testosterone plays a key role in motivating you to engage in sexual activity, so when levels drop, so can your sex drive. 

If you’ve noticed a stark change in your sexual desire, tell Dr. Cheema or Dr. Burris. It may come from low testosterone, but low libido can also point to health problems like thyroid dysfunction or heart disease. 

5. Erectile dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction and low libido often occur together due to low testosterone. Having erectile dysfunction means you have trouble getting an erection or maintaining one long enough to have sex. You may also no longer get spontaneous erections (erections that appear without a clear cause). 

Low testosterone causes erectile dysfunction because the hormone testosterone stimulates the penile tissues to cause an erection. When you don’t have enough testosterone, it becomes harder to get or maintain an erection. 

Your treatment options

Nexclin Medicine specializes in bio-identical hormone therapies, including testosterone therapy. This treatment restores hormonal balance to alleviate common low testosterone symptoms like those described in this article. 

Depending on your specific symptoms, Dr. Cheema or Dr. Burris may also recommend symptom-specific treatments like penile rejuvenation for sexual dysfunction. 

Call Nexclin Medicine to book an appointment and learn more about low testosterone symptoms and treatments.