I have been hesistant to post this thread for some time. While dealing with the dying days of my marriage and then struggling with whether or not my symptoms and issues were a result of stress and coping with the divorce I wasn't sure if my problems were physiological or psychological. But ... testing has confirmed what I would never have suspected were it not once again, for discoveries I made here on this forum. So in that vein, I hope sharing my information will be useful to others.
The website below is a great one-stop resource for learning about all things testosterone. What it is, what it does, what the measurements mean, and methods of addressing and treating the issue of deficiency. Without getting into existential discussion, testosterone is the hormone produced in the testes that basically, defines male sexual characteristics, bone mass, muscle mass, and influences energy levels and feelings of well being.
Mens Hormonal Health
These are other threads on TAM addressing this question - that from a guy's perspective isn't going to be an enthusiastic conversation - but probably is a necessary one, especially if it is having a negative impact on your relationship.
Any man out there having a mid-life crisis?
Could it be low testosterone?
Low testosterone, how to deal
In my case, what I have found most troubling about the diagnosis, is wondering how long it has been an issue. I have shared previously that I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder in my thirties. I struggled tremendously through college and at times in the work environment with attention and fatigue issues. I took medication for over a decade to treat my inability to focus that led to prostate problems, and utterly crashed my libido, ability to achieve or maintain an erection, or to have an orgasm. Basically the side effects of the medication I was taking increased the symptoms of hypogonadism or low test. To me, the kicker, and hope is the possibility that my ADD symptoms will be resolved by testosterone therapy.
For the benefit of others, in considering low test as a possible issue, my symptoms are as follows:
- Erectile Dysfunction
- Decreased Libido, I still have desire but not that driving urge. And even with desire, my body won't cooperate.
- Decreased penile sensitivity
- Difficulty achieving orgasm, This has almost always been an issue for me. I have the opposite of premature ejaculation.
- Depression, I want to qualify this as feeling more like an emotional trough. I don't feel that it comes anywhere close to clinical depression, although depression still feels like the best word. I feel like there is a damper on my emotions, and at times my energy level is zero.
- Insomnia, I've had bouts of this throughout my adult life. I usually chalked it up to stress - even when there were no apparent stressors in place.
- Fatigue, I'm not talking about feeling a little tired or having a hard time staying alert through the afternoon, I'm talking about a really weird inability to take action in the morning. It's like this low waking state, where I'm aware, but my mind doesn't engage to say - 'time to get up'. I will literally think that I have been awake in bed for 10 minutes or so, and discover when I actually do get up that I had been laying there for close to an hour.
In the evening, between 5 and 8 pm I am exhausted as in want to go to sleep for the night tired, have nearly fallen asleep behind the wheel tired. Occasionally I do doze off and awake a few hours later.
The reason I feel that laying this stuff out there is important, is that so much of it can easily be categorized as other conditions - thus missing the correct one. My physician and urologist never posited the possibility of low testosterone. I asked them to do a screening based upon my symptoms after reading about the subject here, particularly based on contributions and exchanges with Simply Amorous.The screening is a simple blood test.
Testosterone generally begins to drop once a man is in his thirties, the presumption is that the drop is about 1% per year. In my case, my symptoms became far more pronounce approaching my mid-forties. What complicated things in my mind, was this also coincided with the timing of the end of my marriage and divorce. So, based upon the results of my blood screening, I am pursuing treatment on the physiological side. If testosterone therapy doesn't yield any results in terms of the sexual or emotional symptoms, I'll be looking at options on the psychological side.
Frankly, the symptoms and consequences of this condition are humiliating. They are demoralizing. If you feel like crap, it makes you feel crappier. If you are generally confident and upbeat, it's tough to maintain that outlook. All of a sudden the inability to perform one of the most definitive of male traits - becomes the center of anxiety, fear and disappointment - especially if you are trying to forge new intimate relationships. I do want to forge new intimate relationships, and I do want to be back to my confident, upbeat self. So, I have no plans to ignore or deny the issue hoping it will go away, I'm opting for treatment, and would encourage any man on the fence, to get screened and pursue treatment as well.
Treatment takes several forms:
- Pills (Generally considered least effective)
- Transdermal Gels, this is a gel rubbed into the skin where the hormone is then absorbed into the blood stream.
- Injections, intramuscular injections via syringe
- Subdermal Implant, this is the option I chose. The medication is pelletized and inserted beneath the skin where a steady dose of the medication is absorbed for up to 4 months.
My therapy will likely start in early January. Benefits if any, should likely start to appear by February, within 4 to 6 weeks.
I will certainly try to post experiences and progress in the interim, and with ongoing treatment. I'll be happy to answer any questions either on the open forum or via PM.
The website below is a great one-stop resource for learning about all things testosterone. What it is, what it does, what the measurements mean, and methods of addressing and treating the issue of deficiency. Without getting into existential discussion, testosterone is the hormone produced in the testes that basically, defines male sexual characteristics, bone mass, muscle mass, and influences energy levels and feelings of well being.
Mens Hormonal Health
These are other threads on TAM addressing this question - that from a guy's perspective isn't going to be an enthusiastic conversation - but probably is a necessary one, especially if it is having a negative impact on your relationship.
Any man out there having a mid-life crisis?
Could it be low testosterone?
Low testosterone, how to deal
In my case, what I have found most troubling about the diagnosis, is wondering how long it has been an issue. I have shared previously that I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder in my thirties. I struggled tremendously through college and at times in the work environment with attention and fatigue issues. I took medication for over a decade to treat my inability to focus that led to prostate problems, and utterly crashed my libido, ability to achieve or maintain an erection, or to have an orgasm. Basically the side effects of the medication I was taking increased the symptoms of hypogonadism or low test. To me, the kicker, and hope is the possibility that my ADD symptoms will be resolved by testosterone therapy.
For the benefit of others, in considering low test as a possible issue, my symptoms are as follows:
- Erectile Dysfunction
- Decreased Libido, I still have desire but not that driving urge. And even with desire, my body won't cooperate.
- Decreased penile sensitivity
- Difficulty achieving orgasm, This has almost always been an issue for me. I have the opposite of premature ejaculation.
- Depression, I want to qualify this as feeling more like an emotional trough. I don't feel that it comes anywhere close to clinical depression, although depression still feels like the best word. I feel like there is a damper on my emotions, and at times my energy level is zero.
- Insomnia, I've had bouts of this throughout my adult life. I usually chalked it up to stress - even when there were no apparent stressors in place.
- Fatigue, I'm not talking about feeling a little tired or having a hard time staying alert through the afternoon, I'm talking about a really weird inability to take action in the morning. It's like this low waking state, where I'm aware, but my mind doesn't engage to say - 'time to get up'. I will literally think that I have been awake in bed for 10 minutes or so, and discover when I actually do get up that I had been laying there for close to an hour.
In the evening, between 5 and 8 pm I am exhausted as in want to go to sleep for the night tired, have nearly fallen asleep behind the wheel tired. Occasionally I do doze off and awake a few hours later.
The reason I feel that laying this stuff out there is important, is that so much of it can easily be categorized as other conditions - thus missing the correct one. My physician and urologist never posited the possibility of low testosterone. I asked them to do a screening based upon my symptoms after reading about the subject here, particularly based on contributions and exchanges with Simply Amorous.The screening is a simple blood test.
Testosterone generally begins to drop once a man is in his thirties, the presumption is that the drop is about 1% per year. In my case, my symptoms became far more pronounce approaching my mid-forties. What complicated things in my mind, was this also coincided with the timing of the end of my marriage and divorce. So, based upon the results of my blood screening, I am pursuing treatment on the physiological side. If testosterone therapy doesn't yield any results in terms of the sexual or emotional symptoms, I'll be looking at options on the psychological side.
Frankly, the symptoms and consequences of this condition are humiliating. They are demoralizing. If you feel like crap, it makes you feel crappier. If you are generally confident and upbeat, it's tough to maintain that outlook. All of a sudden the inability to perform one of the most definitive of male traits - becomes the center of anxiety, fear and disappointment - especially if you are trying to forge new intimate relationships. I do want to forge new intimate relationships, and I do want to be back to my confident, upbeat self. So, I have no plans to ignore or deny the issue hoping it will go away, I'm opting for treatment, and would encourage any man on the fence, to get screened and pursue treatment as well.
Treatment takes several forms:
- Pills (Generally considered least effective)
- Transdermal Gels, this is a gel rubbed into the skin where the hormone is then absorbed into the blood stream.
- Injections, intramuscular injections via syringe
- Subdermal Implant, this is the option I chose. The medication is pelletized and inserted beneath the skin where a steady dose of the medication is absorbed for up to 4 months.
My therapy will likely start in early January. Benefits if any, should likely start to appear by February, within 4 to 6 weeks.
I will certainly try to post experiences and progress in the interim, and with ongoing treatment. I'll be happy to answer any questions either on the open forum or via PM.