As a urologist, Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt has seen an increase in men asking about their testosterone levels. The interest in testosterone is a good thing, but what we do with a single number is the harder question.
What is Testosterone?
Testosterone is the primary hormone driving male growth and development. These hormone levels fluctuate constantly, running highest in the morning and lower by the afternoon. Just how much testosterone the body releases changes based on sleep, weight, workouts, and even stress.
Most labs call normal somewhere between 300 and 1,000 nanograms per deciliter. That’s a wide range, and where “low” begins depends on which guideline your doctor follows and which lab ran the test.
Treatment and Risks
If a man truly is low, treatment usually means taking testosterone through a gel, a patch, or an injection. Sometimes a doctor prescribes implanted pellets. If a patient is running too high, usually from supplements or too big a dose, the fix is to cut back and let the body recalibrate.
Raising the number isn’t free. Testosterone therapy shuts down your body’s own production, and with it, sperm. Fertility can fall within weeks and doesn’t always come back.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
