Androgen Replacement
Therapy

Your body naturally produces less T as you age. According to an article in American Family Physician, the average male’s T production goes down by about 1 to 2 percent each year.

This is all part of a completely natural process that starts in your late 20s or early 30s:

1. As you age, your testicles produce less T.
2. Lowered testicular T causes your hypothalamus to produce less gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH).
3. Lowered GnRH causes your pituitary gland to makes less luteinizing hormone (LH).
4. Lowered LH results in lowered overall T production.

This gradual decrease in T often doesn’t cause any noticeable symptoms. But a significant drop in T levels may cause:

• low sex drive
• fewer spontaneous erections
• erectile dysfunction
• lowered sperm count or volume
• trouble sleeping
• unusual loss of muscle and bone density
• unexplained weight gain

The only way to know whether you truly have low T is by seeing a healthcare provider for a testosterone level test. This is a simple blood test, and most providers require it before prescribing this treatment.

You may need to do the test several times because T levels are affected by various factors, such as:

• diet
• level of fitness
• time of day the test is done
• certain medications, like anticonvulsants and steroids