Many men are not treated testosterone for this deficit because they are not diagnosed . If the doctor or urologist does not think about this syndrome, it will be difficult for him to request a testosterone test. Up to 9 out of 10 men with symptoms of low testosterone are not treated . Men tend to attribute their symptoms to other clinical conditions and think that it is a normal aging process (low energy, depression, lack of sexual desire, etc ...).

The treatment of men with low levels of this hormone (hypogonadism) is based on supplementing the hormone with specific substances such as transdermal gels or intramuscular injections . The goal is to increase testosterone levels to the mid-normal ranges of 400-700 ng / dL .

Testosterone treatment will not only produce a change in sexual desire . It will also improve your thinking capacity or energy so it will improve your mood. Improvements in muscle mass and osteoporosis will also be evident . It will even make them more alert .

Testosterone alone does not cure erectile dysfunction since it is a much more complex pathology in which cardiovascular and neurological factors are closely involved, but if the levels are low and treated correctly, the ability to erect can be improved .

Treatment with testosterone always requires a medical check-up with repeat blood tests to see how the PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen), the hemoglobin levels, etc ... are evolving.

The gels or sprays testosterone should be applied daily in the shoulders-arms or chest and must continue treatment for many weeks to assess whether levels have normalized.

The treatment with testosterone injections have the advantage in the frequency of administration; there are formulations that allow injection every 3 weeks and some every 10 weeks . These injections produce a peak of the hormone in the body and over the days, its levels progressively drop.

In relation to testosterone replacement therapy, there is always the controversy of fear in relation to prostate cancer . There is the paradoxical fact that the peak of incidence of prostate cancer occurs when the levels of this hormone are the lowest in men. There is no evidence to justify its non-use in patients who need it. What you have to do is monitor the patient by digital rectal examination, PSA and blood tests to see the evolution of the hemoglobin and hematocrit levels and see the evolution of the testosterone levels .

The men who are looking to have children not be subjected to treatment with testosterone since it can affect your fertility .

The anabolic steroids frequently used by athletes and weight lifters mimic the effects of natural testosterone with the result of increased muscle mass, but in the long run they cause a drop in testosterone levels . An excess of anabolic steroids can increase aggressiveness levels, cause severe acne, tremors, shrink the testicles, reduce the number of sperm and lead to baldness.

There are medications that can increase testosterone levels such as finasteride, which is a drug used to reduce prostate enlargement in hyperplasia. There are other drugs that can reduce testosterone levels as are the corticosteroids such as prednisone or the narcotics such as morphine . Treatments for advanced prostate cancer produce a chemical castration by suppressing the production of testosterone.

The testosterone replacement therapy may worsen some diseases such as obstructive sleep apnea the reason why in these men must take special precautions. In men with benign prostate hyperplasia, prostate cancer, or congestive heart failure, special caution should be exercised .

Alcohol intake affects the testes , the site of testosterone production, and appears to also affect the production of hormones related to sexual function and fertility . Testicular atrophy is characteristic of low testosterone levels in alcoholic men with liver involvement. Breast enlargement or gynecomastia is typical of heavy drinkers because alcohol can intervene in the conversion of testosterone into estrogens, which are female hormones.

Exercise can help raise testosterone levels . After exercise, testosterone levels rise for a short period of time (a few minutes to an hour). Testosterone levels are highest in the morning and decrease throughout the day to be lowest in the late afternoon. Some researchers advise that resistance exercise in the afternoon has a greater effect on testosterone, although with training, the body adapts and the response to exercise decreases.

The experts advise to increase testosterone levels use the most possible muscle versus doing only one specific exercise . It is also better to lift heavy weights versus multiple repetitions of light weights and to have short periods of rest during physical training .

The paradox is that elite athletes or overtrained amateurs can experience a significant drop in testosterone levels. In these cases, they also have high levels of cortisol, the "stress" hormone. The signs of overtraining are: generalized muscle aches, recovery time after exercise is long, difficulties in sleeping-insomnia, loss in the achievement of goals and strength.