Screen Shot 2016-05-18 at 2.38.28 PMMore men than ever are realizing that getting older doesn’t have to mean losing your energy, vitality and fitness. Thanks to increased diagnosis of a condition known as low testosterone, or low T, men who have been struggling with low energy, depression or loss of muscle mass now have treatment options that can help them stave off what most people used to think were the natural signs of aging. Low T can be a tough condition to deal with on your own, but for many patients, it can be completely reversed. Read on to learn the symptoms and treatment methods for low T, and find out if you should get your testosterone levels tested!

Low T occurs when levels of testosterone produced in the body are too low to maintain its necessary functions. This can occur in males or females and in children or adults. However, the condition is most common in men who are older than 30. Testosterone levels are supposed to peak during development in the womb and during adolescence, with levels beginning to decrease about one percent per year after age 30. But sometimes they drop faster than that, or the drop begins to seriously impact a man’s daily life, and that’s when low T needs to be treated.

Low T can cause a wide range of symptoms, because it’s involved in so many processes in the body. Most people know it as the primary male sex hormone, responsible for the development of sexual organs and the response to sexual stimuli. While that is its primary function, testosterone also acts as an anabolic steroid, fueling muscle growth and maintaining bone density. It also regulates energy and mood, and can even influence how well you sleep. So even if you haven’t experienced erectile dysfunction or other directly sexual symptoms, you still could be suffering from low T.

To treat low T, doctors usually recommend some form of hormone replacement therapy. For most men, either gels or patches can provide a sustained increase in testosterone. For men struggling with fertility, a doctor might recommend testosterone injections, which quickly increase sperm motility. Doctors also recommend that men alter their diets to include more fresh produce and unprocessed foods, because the complex processes that influence hormone production are easier for your body when it has the proper fuel.

If you think you’re struggling with low T, help is just a quick hormone test away! Any Lab Test Now offers the Comprehensive Male Panel, which can tell you if your exhaustion, loss of muscle or low libido are the result of low T. Contact your local Any Lab Test Now to start taking control of your health, and be one of the men who doesn’t accept that aging means losing out on quality of life.