I agree hair loss should not be the deciding factor, but it may be a factor. But I’m not losing my hair at all, and I have had a most difficult time finding out whether TRT will cause hair loss if I am not losing my hair at all, and it does not seem like I will be. Maybe nobody knows this answer, but that seems unlikely.
I'm a CPAP patient. Yes, I have sleep apnea. It doesn't matter if you only sleep two hours while you at the place that does the sleep study. They're looking for very specific things, such as do you stop breathing. It's quite precise. You then receive about a 20 page report with tons of date. Rip--I know you love data.
Do you have a link or citation to anything that is somewhat scientific that says this? I'm 53. I remember being tested for testosterone and being told that the result was normal. I don't mind having to find another doctor to get testosterone replacement but I want to make sure that I'm not endangering my health. I believe I recall something about testosterone replacement being linked to cancer. Thanks for your help.
I believe I took a sleeping pill. At the time, I took sleeping pills every night.
I believe anything below 300 is below normal. They won't always immediately start testosterone replacement therapy, but you appear to be symptomatic and you also have a need for the strength.
If anyone has any suggestions on anything I should read about testosterone replacement therapy being given when the doctors typically say no, please post a link. The doctor, a few years ago, said that I was normal. I actually don't recall the levels. But I am 53 and would like it for me if it's beneficial. However, I don't want to do it unless it's safe.
Question for The Doctor:
Why do you think male testosterone levels are going down (in general) across the board in society over time?
I have seen several news articles on the subject.
1- obesity epidemic?
2- diet changes?
3- 'forever chemicals' acting as hormone disruptors?
I think some have noted this is not exclusive to the USA.
(i.e. our high obesity rates; pollution; modern physically inactive lifestyle; etc)
I would imagine if they re-normalize the modern day average levels for the 'new normal' .... well, that would be bad.
What really amazes me is that men still stick to their hair so much. Study after study has shown that women prefer men with shaved heads, precisely because they understand at a higher (or lower, depending which school of psychobabble one prefers) than aesthetic level that hair loss in men is a sign of high testosterone.
How dangerous was testosterone when you were 18 with high levels? Testosterone has been used and abused for decades since it was first used clinically in the mid-1930s, and it has never, let me repeat never, been shown to cause harm in any randomized control trial to date, and there have been thousands done. I will link you to some more recent guidelines regarding treatment. If you will look at the literature that they discuss with regard to benefits on various organ systems you'll understand how beneficial testosterone is, and that there is actually no harm with treatment.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13685538.2021.1962840
A sedentary lifestyle and the western diet certainly have an affect on testosterone levels, but when you look at the studies they specifically report that these alone cannot explain the precipitous decline in testosterone levels over the last couple of decades. If you look at more of the research, this precipitous decline in testosterone levels as well as sperm levels correlate directly with the increase in industrial chemicals. They go hand-in-hand. You can go to the Endocrine Society website and there is a section on endocrine disrupting chemicals, and you can learn about what I am talking about.