At Happy Valley Clinic, we address many factors that might contribute to ED, including hormone therapy. Low testosterone can negatively affect sex drive and erectile function. These Hormone imbalances can affect many areas of your life.
Depending on your hormone needs, our team may recommend a proprietary blend of supplements, or our physician may recommend hormone replacement therapy (HRT), also called Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT).
All our biochemical life stages are regulated by our hormones. As testosterone is one of our most crucial hormones, unbalanced levels can stimulate or aggravate a slew of health conditions.
Your set of 50 hormones is like an orchestra, and testosterone, like the drummer, keeps the heartbeat, energy, and sexual libido strong and vibrant.
Like musicians in an orchestra, our hormones must perform together, in tune, on pitch, at just the right volume and intervals for harmonious health to ensue. Because our hormones are synergistic, a low level of testosterone not only disrupts its own function but can cause dissonance with other hormones.
We at Happy Valley Clinic want to help tweak your testosterone level to harmonize with the rest of your hormones and make life feel more like a beautiful, energized symphony.
Testosterone is so closely associated with men because it is so crucial in how the body develops. Even before a boy is born, testosterone is being produced in the male genitals.
During puberty, however, the body naturally produces more testosterone.
This increases the amount of testosterone produced in the body, significantly affecting the way bones and muscles develop. Muscle mass starts to bulk up, and men with the right amount of testosterone become much more vital than women—the amount of hair on the male body changes during puberty.
Testosterone also regulates how men store fat in their bodies, creating metabolisms that are the envy of every woman. It affects red blood cell production, as well.
Testosterone is most often thought of as the sex hormone. It plays a vital part in a man's sex drive and sperm production. The male sex drive naturally peaks in the late teens and early 20s, though. The body starts to act differently.
There will be a few noticeable effects of slightly higher amounts of T-levels in the body. However, if there is too much testosterone in the body, a teenager may begin puberty early. Increased levels in a grown man may indicate problems in the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland regulates testosterone production.
A rare birth condition called adrenal hyperplasia might also cause higher T-levels.
While it is natural for testosterone production to diminish gradually, other factors can cause the hormone levels to decrease. An injury to the testicles could cause the output to go down. Chemotherapy can also negatively affect how much the body makes.
Chronic diseases and health conditions can also reduce the body's testosterone. Kidney disease, alcoholism, and cirrhosis are just a few of the diseases that can impact hormone production. Stress and heart disease can also play a part.
A man with low T-levels may experience less energy throughout the day. There may be feelings of depression and moodiness. He could start to share less body hair and have thinner bones.
Without testosterone regulating the way the body stores fat, a man may begin to see weight gain. He is adding to a decreased sex drive.
When a man experiences decreased hormone production and starts to experience these negative things, he can drastically affect how he feels about himself.
Like conductors that prompt musicians to release more or less sound at different intervals, our glands must release a precise amount of hormones into the appropriate organs. Our glands secrete these 50 biochemicals directly into our bloodstream, through which they travel to their target site: every cell, tissue, organ, and body system.
Once they arrive, hormones deliver commands to our cells, which respond by performing every physiological function required for human life: growth, musculature, bone density, metabolism, emotional response, and sexual function. Even a tiny over- or underproduction of any hormone, especially testosterone, can cause havoc in your body.
As a man ages, his body naturally makes less testosterone. In fact, by the time a man is in his mid-forties, testosterone levels can be down by 40%.
Lifestyle factors such as excessive stress, weight gain, and lack of exercise can lower levels even further – impacting stamina, sex drive, virility, and bone strength and potentially leading to chronic fatigue, erectile dysfunction, and even heart disease.
A study published in Circulation Journal demonstrated that low testosterone may be a predictive marker for those at high risk of cardiovascular disease.
Some signs of low testosterone are the same in men; others vary.
Warning signs of male testosterone imbalance include:
If you have these symptoms, speak with a Happy Valley Clinic specialist to diagnose or rule out any other underlying medical conditions before discussing testosterone supplementation.
Bioidentical means molecularly identical to the body's natural hormones. Unlike conventional hormone replacement, BHRT applies testosterone produced from natural plant sources like yams and soybeans, which match human hormones molecule by molecule, alleviating risks and side effects that make synthetic chemical hormones problematic.
The only way to determine whether you need bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is through laboratory testing.
During your initial exam, your healthcare provider will discuss your medical history, diet, lifestyle, and medication intake. A genital exam may help diagnose or rule out any underlying medical conditions causing your symptoms. Then, your provider will decide to do one of the following:
Before a blood test, tell your practitioner if you take any medications, as they may affect your results. Then, they will insert a needle into your vein, withdraw a blood sample, and send it to a lab for close analysis.
As the Harvard Medical website explains, determining if a man is truly testosterone deficient is far from simple. The blood test for total testosterone is only sometimes reliable. Why? Your sex hormones in the bloodstream are 95-99% bound to carrier proteins and, in this form, are unavailable to target tissues. A blood test may not detect them completely.
Saliva testing measures the amount of hormone available in the tissues your hormone is targeting – the bioavailable amount. That's why saliva testing may better detect levels associated with specific hormone excess or deficiency symptoms.
Saliva tests also help monitor hormone levels during hormone replacement therapy to help tweak them.
Evidence suggests that saliva tests can more accurately determine testosterone levels and DHEA (a precursor to male and female sex hormones, including androgens and estrogens).
This non-invasive sampling method requires patients to spit into a plastic tube and allows them to collect saliva at home at specific times to measure hormone levels more accurately.
Low testosterone results may lead your Happy Valley Clinic practitioner to other tests that help pinpoint a diagnosis, such as the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) test, an FDA-approved urine test. FSH prompts the production of sperm in men.
After reviewing all lab results and determining your baseline hormone levels, your Happy Valley Clinic practitioner will decide if bioidentical testosterone replacement is necessary.
In some cases, it may not be; however, lifestyle and environmental factors may alter this need over time, so we recommend routine testing and a preventive health lifestyle to keep your hormones balanced and your health optimized.
What is a healthy testosterone range? That depends on your age, gender, and the symptoms you're trying to treat or prevent. It also depends on how well you tolerate the intensity levels of those symptoms.
Remember: results are not static. Your hormone levels fluctuate throughout the day. Level testing provides a starting point that helps determine the next steps. We can help you interpret and act on your diagnosis.
As with any medical procedure, results and efficacy of testosterone level diagnosis vary from patient to patient, depending on age, genetics, environmental conditions, and other health factors.
Once you're identified as a candidate for BHRT, your Novus practitioner will administer supplements via:
Your testosterone levels will be monitored during and after your treatment to ensure optimal health results and minimize side effects. Because excessive testosterone levels can increase your blood pressure and potentially damage kidney function, speaking with our highly trained specialists throughout your treatment is crucial.
It is always good to know the side effects before beginning any medical treatment. Besides increased sex drive, testosterone replacement therapy may also cause oily skin or fluid retention. In some cases, there may be a shrinking of the testicles and decreased sperm production.
If you're ready to take charge of your hormonal health, schedule a consultation at Happy Valley Clinic online or by phone today by calling 833-336-6386.
