As a urologist, I’ve seen a surge in men asking about their testosterone levels. The interest is a good thing, but what we do with a single number is the harder question. Testosterone is the primary hormone driving male growth and development, and its levels fluctuate constantly.
What Testosterone Actually Is
Triggered by signals from the brain, the testicles produce testosterone. The hormone levels fluctuate, 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.
A diagnosis of low testosterone is never the result of one blood draw. Your doctor will check your testosterone levels, alongside other labs, at least twice. This process helps rule out the other factors that can drive a number up or down.
The Conversation Almost Nobody’s Having
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: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
