Low testosterone

B

Balti Man

Winger
Hi all,

Any other lads on here been diagnosed with low testosterone? I suspected I had it and first blood test has confirmed so I now have to have another blood test to look at potential pituitary gland issues. Thyroid is fine. For the last year I have been eating and drinking loads of testosterone boosting stuff (pomegranate, nuts, seeds, grains, zinc, magnesium etc.) so it is possible my testosterone levels would have been even lower had I not been.

Just wondered if anyone is being treated for it or working around it? I am 50 this year so might just be age related but would love to hear if anyone has any experience to share. Will be doing resistance training etc. but have so little energy it's hard to do it.

Cheers all.
 


Your testosterone levels decrease 1% a year with age from early/mid 30s onwards, so it's no surprise you're not be feeling the same energy levels as you did 20 years ago.

Summary from this video:
Good sleep
Eat fat
Vitamins & Minerals
Shower chlorine filter
No plastic containers


There are very few supplements that have the literature to back up their claims of boosting testosterone, but these are a few that Andrew Huberman alleges to take:

Tongkat Ali - 400mg a day
Foagia Agrestis - 400-600mg a day
Zinc supplements
Boron - 2-4mg a day
 
Cheers. My energy levels have been seriously low, like feeling physically weak doing nowt. Plus my beard growth and hair growth slowed dramatically, plus a bit of good old erectile dysfunction (not terrible, but markedly affected). Also put on some timber despite eating better, no booze and reasonable exercise. All classic symptoms of low testosterone.

Probably just need to grow a(nother) pair!
 
I’m at the age where it might become a problem and very aware of it sneaking up on me. I’m a vain lad and like to carry a little muscle so it terrifies me to think I’d suffer from low Testosterone. Sex is also a big part of my wellbeing.

I personally keep myself right by making sure I eat loads of fruit and veg, don’t drink a lot, never smoked and only drink water at work.The main thing is though I lift weights at least 3 days a week and take creatine daily.

For me it works and I feel good. I can fall asleep anywhere mind but I’ve always been like that so can’t blame age.
 
Balti Man said:
Cheers. My energy levels have been seriously low, like feeling physically weak doing nowt. Plus my beard growth and hair growth slowed dramatically, plus a bit of good old erectile dysfunction (not terrible, but markedly affected). Also put on some timber despite eating better, no booze and reasonable exercise. All classic symptoms of low testosterone.

Probably just need to grow a(nother) pair!
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I’m not sure what yours is like, but when I started prioritising my sleep I noticed a huge improvement in my overall mental and physical help.

It’s something that puts us out of action and vulnerable for a third of our lives so it must be incredibly important and worth investing in sorting out properly.
 
Agreed. I sleep pretty well now, but since I gave up alcohol, that might be the reason. I still don't sleep long (probably average 6 hours) but seems reasonable quality. Never wake up feeling tired anyway.

My diet is good. No alcohol for two years. Very little processed foods, healthy breakfast daily. About 13 months ago I noticed I felt physically knackered and weak. Wasn't needing to shave for up to a week (used to need to every other day). Needed a haircut every 6 to 8 weeks instead of fortnightly. Hair on bollocks stopped growing (tmi?) Also seem to have put on a few kilos (despite cutting out all alcohol so was expecting to shed loads, not gain some!) Also seriously lacked motivation to do anything. Feel flabby and out of shape.

Feel a lot better than a year ago, but have been drinking pomegranate juice daily, taking vitamin d plus zinc and selenium. Eating loads of wholegrain cereal, multiple seeds and nuts, berries etc. So maybe that has elevated my testosterone but it is still low, which suggests it might have been even lower otherwise. And as I understand it, 'low' for the NHS is really low.
 
Things which improve testosterone levels:

zinc, magnesium, steak and eggs, plenty of good sleep, competitive activities like sports, weightlifting, sprints, punching the bag, dropping belly fat.

(The more bro-science part of me is also convinced that talking to attractive women, and listening to aggressive music like Slayer or Sepultura also increases testosterone while listening to jazz music lowers it.)
 
Thurston said:
Things which improve testosterone levels:

zinc, magnesium, steak and eggs, plenty of good sleep, competitive activities like sports, weightlifting, sprints, punching the bag, dropping belly fat.

(The more bro-science part of me is also convinced that talking to attractive women, and listening to aggressive music like Slayer or Sepultura also increases testosterone while listening to jazz music lowers it.)
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What about talking to an attractive woman while listening to slow jazz. 🤣

It’s 100% an aggression thing. All my aggression has just dissipated over the years. Even things like a competitiveness streak is no more.
 
There are certainly things you can do to naturally help with your test levels, but this will only help so much - more so the older you get. Your best bet is that your GP prescribes TRT, but this could end up being a lifetime thing. I hope you, and any others, get sorted. I guess this can be quite emasculating.
 
SR7 said:
There are certainly things you can do to naturally help with your test levels, but this will only help so much - more so the older you get. Your best bet is that your GP prescribes TRT, but this could end up being a lifetime thing. I hope you, and any others, get sorted. I guess this can be quite emasculating.
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Yep I agree. Dietary stuff only makes a tiny difference and meds are needed to make a notable difference. Just comes with some risks and side effects sadly.

Will see what second blood test indicates but TRT seems the likely outcome for me. I don't feel emasculated as such, but mostly feel flabby, physically weak and knackered despite being healthy and not unfit. Would be lovely to feel a bit energetic and spritely again (seems especially 'unfair' after I gave up alcohol completely - I should really be feeling great and have shed a stone in weight, but because of this I feel like a sack of shite!) C'est la vie, the joys of aging eh?
 
Balti Man said:
Yep I agree. Dietary stuff only makes a tiny difference and meds are needed to make a notable difference. Just comes with some risks and side effects sadly.

Will see what second blood test indicates but TRT seems the likely outcome for me. I don't feel emasculated as such, but mostly feel flabby, physically weak and knackered despite being healthy and not unfit. Would be lovely to feel a bit energetic and spritely again (seems especially 'unfair' after I gave up alcohol completely - I should really be feeling great and have shed a stone in weight, but because of this I feel like a sack of shite!) C'est la vie, the joys of aging eh?
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I will have it all to come in time, no doubt! I know people that take test (amongst other things), but for different reasons and it can really mess with your body if not monitored correctly.
 
SR7 said:
I will have it all to come in time, no doubt! I know people that take test (amongst other things), but for different reasons and it can really mess with your body if not monitored correctly.
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Indeed. Will probably need regular blood tests to see that levels are correct. But might lose hair and get spots, so not ideal. But that's the trade off to not feel lousy 24/7 I suppose.

With all this discussion and coverage about the menopause, I wonder if testosterone deficiency in middle aged men will become a hot topic? If I am anything to go by, if affects men profoundly, both physically and mentally but doesn't seem to be talked about as much.
 
Gillythedilf said:
This is the blokes version of going through the change yet it’s never spoke about. Obvs not as bad as what women have to go through but it still has an effect on blokes.
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It may be as bad. It can cause all manner of issues. Losing all your strength and energy, brain fog, depression, hair loss. Plus left untreated it can cause bone thinning, heart problems and plenty else. I think it hasn't been researched as fully and the implications aren't as widely understood. Testosterone is a key thing, not a minor one and its effects are profound.
 
Peegee said:
What about talking to an attractive woman while listening to slow jazz. 🤣

It’s 100% an aggression thing. All my aggression has just dissipated over the years. Even things like a competitiveness streak is no more.
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Yeah, to be fair, I’m a lot more mellow than I used to be. In my teens, twenties and up to about the last 18 months (I’m 36) I used to be a lot more of a radge to be honest, and would lose my shape at even small things.

It’s not that I don’t still have the occasional kick off, but for the most part, I don’t even get wound up at things that should really wind me up these days. Definitely testosterone related.
 
Thurston said:
Yeah, to be fair, I’m a lot more mellow than I used to be. In my teens, twenties and up to about the last 18 months (I’m 36) I used to be a lot more of a radge to be honest, and would lose my shape at even small things.

It’s not that I don’t still have the occasional kick off, but for the most part, I don’t even get wound up at things that should really wind me up these days. Definitely testosterone related.
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I’ve tended to become a bit more radgy as I have aged … I blame the DNA test that revealed that I’m majority scotch biologically.
 
Ned Land said:
I’ve tended to become a bit more radgy as I have aged … I blame the DNA test that revealed that I’m majority scotch biologically.
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There were studies done in America years ago which compared students from different backgrounds, and they found that people who came from cultures which had traditionally prioritised growing crops were far more passive than people whose ancestors were Irish and Scottish and who’d had farmland which reared animals.

They basically inconvenienced people and found that the people whose ancestors came from Irish and Scottish backgrounds were massively tapped and were prone to violent outbursts of anger, while the people from the other cultures were almost embarrassed to even express any sort of negative emotion. They concluded it was because ancestrally people didn’t have to defend crops in the same way they had to defend against the threat of people stealing their animals.
 
Thurston said:
There were studies done in America years ago which compared students from different backgrounds, and they found that people who came from cultures which had traditionally prioritised growing crops were far more passive than people whose ancestors were Irish and Scottish and who’d had farmland which reared animals.

They basically inconvenienced people and found that the people whose ancestors came from Irish and Scottish backgrounds were massively tapped and were prone to violent outbursts of anger, while the people from the other cultures were almost embarrassed to even express any sort of negative emotion. They concluded it was because ancestrally people didn’t have to defend crops in the same way they had to defend against the threat of people stealing their animals.
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That’s interesting mate, I guess it was similar that Saxons were originally warlike invaders but then softened when they turned to settled farmers. Then the Vikings were aggressive until they too settled down.

Highland Scottish and Irish peasants had a notoriously difficult environment and it made them into effective ‘shock troops’ when they were organised.
 
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