Testosterone is a hormone that both men and women have. Levels of testosterone tend to be higher through pubescent years and begin to decrease around age 30. Testosterone is usually associated with red blood production, muscle and bone mass, and can affect sex drive in men and women.
What Happens When You Have Low Testosterone?
In men, low testosterone can cause weight gain, depression, low self-esteem, moodiness, decreased energy, and low libido. In women, low testosterone can cause insomnia, fatigue, reduced sex drive, fertility issues, and weight gain. No matter who you are, low testosterone production in your system is a serious health problem that can dramatically impact your ability to function on a daily level.
Low testosterone has also been linked to an increase in social anxiety. While many low testosterone doctors have typically associated low levels of estrogen in women as the main culprit for anxiety, low testosterone levels can have similar effects, especially on men.
The actual level of testosterone can have a direct correlation with how much anxiety you feel. The lower the levels, the higher the anxiety. This could explain why anxiety tends to be higher during certain times in our lives. For example, anxiety could be higher in teenagers during puberty, or higher during menstrual cycles in women.
Testosterone and Cortisol
Cortisol is considered to be your body’s most prominent stress hormone. When we go through tense situations, cortisol increases in the body. This increased production of cortisol inhibits the production of testosterone. The increase in cortisol and the decrease in testosterone can cause heightened levels of anxiety. If you already know that you have high cortisol levels to the point of clinical anxiety, it’s very likely that you may also be suffering from low testosterone levels as well as a result.
Diagnosing Low Testosterone
Your doctor will need to take a blood sample in order to test your testosterone levels. The amount of testosterone you have in your body will be different throughout the day and tend to be highest in the morning. Therefore, to get the most accurate reading, your doctor will typically schedule your testosterone test during morning hours.
The test will measure the total amount of testosterone in your body as well as the amount of free testosterone. About 98% of your testosterone is already bound to either albumin or sex-hormone binding globulin. The other 2% is call free testosterone. This is testosterone that is free to be absorbed by cells to increase functionality.
Testosterone is considered low if it falls below 300 nanograms per deciliter. The level for treatment will depend on your age at the time of the test.
Treatment of Low Testosterone
If your testosterone is low, the doctor will usually prescribe some type of testosterone replacement therapy. This could be in the form of a patch, a topical gel that is applied to the skin, a pill, surgically placed pellets or injections. All of these therapies are designed in increase your level of testosterone. The method of testosterone delivery chosen by your doctor will depend on the amount of hormone needed.
Low testosterone is a serious issue for many people and it is not something you can easily fix on your own. If you suspect that you may be suffering from low testosterone, either causing anxiety or other troubling symptoms, make sure to speak to a doctor to have your levels tested and treated when necessary.
