Do I Have Low T? (Testosterone)
Posted on Sun, Feb 19, 2012
Do you have "low T"? Recent commercials advertising name-brand prescription testosterone creams and gels have raised this question in the minds of many men.
The good news is that hormonal balance is becoming more acceptable as a means of improving quality of life. This has led many men and women to seek medical consultation for conditions that previously had been considered just part of getting older.
Problems such as low-energy, diminished physical strength, loss of mental clarity, decreased sex drive, decreased sexual responsiveness, trouble with erections, and in women trouble with climax. Often times rather than just being inevitable events of aging, these symptoms can be from treatable forms of hormonal imbalance.
The problem comes from looking at this issue to simplistically. It's not simply a matter of collecting the symptoms and applying cream until gone. It's important to realize that testosterone is linked to other hormones in a very balanced manner.
Testosterone is converted into estrogen in the body. This process known as aromatization, and is the reason why at times prescribing testosterone can actually make things worse. If a person's body is turning testosterone into estrogen then the problems of low T will not be solved.
Things that tend to enhance the conversion of testosterone to estrogen include excess body weight. Fat cells convert testosterone into estrogen and then store estrogen. Part of treating low testosterone should be treating excess body fat and restoring a person to a healthy body weight.
When properly replaced, testosterone therapy does not have any known increased risk for cancer. However if not properly balanced, the subsequent increases of estrogen can have the potential to raise the risk of certain forms of cancer including prostate cancer.
Many physicians and patients don't fully appreciate that all of the sex hormones including testosterone are made out of cholesterol. Sometimes in our zeal to treat high cholesterol, we can lower the level to a point that can affect our overall health and cause low testosterone.
Some patients have interpreted the commercially available information to put themselves on the supplemental DHEA. While it's true this is a precursor to sex hormones, it's also true that It can drive down either the testosterone or the estrogen pathway. Simply taking this precursor does not reassure that the outcome desired will be achieved.
There are things that you can do without a prescription to improve your hormonal balance. Diminishing stress increases testosterone level as does increasing exercise and decreasing body fat. All these things are good for general health and available without a prescription.
If healthy living still leaves you with some of the symptoms of low testosterone, seek consultation with a physician who has an appreciation for the breath of complexity that comes with proper hormonal balancing.
At the Petteruti Center, we are experts in hormonal balancing and managing body weight. Together my staff and I will be able to guide you toward the safest and most effective treatment options available.
-Dr. Stephen Petteruti
The Petteruti Center for Life Extension is located in Warwick, Rhode Island. Dr. Stephen Petteruti is the Medical Director who is board certified in Family Practice and Bariatric (medical weight loss) Medicine as well as completing a fellowship in Anti-Aging. To lean how we can help you achieve your healthy weight and life extension goals, call us at 401-921-5934.