Male hypogonadism, also known as low T (low testosterone), is a common problem in males with our modern lifestyle. When women undergo a lot of stress like sickness, weight loss, death in the family, etc., the female will stop ovulating and her period will stop suddenly which lets her know to go and seek medical help and see a doctor. On the other hand, males do not have the warning signs like women. Men have the same stresses in life, but when they undergo those stresses, there is no external sign which means the problem will linger for a long time. Diagnosis will be delayed because of the lack of warning signs even though men will have the same abnormality or disruption in their hormone balance. Common symptoms of low T are:
1) fatigue
2) low sex drive
3) poor erection also known as erectile dysfunction
4) hot flashes or mood swings
5) muscle weakness or muscle atrophy.
As a low T specialist in Houston and Katy, we believe it is very important to first figure out what is the cause of low testosterone before starting treatment with hormone replacement therapy or testosterone replacement therapy because the treatment can be different based on the cause. The causes could be hypothalamic pituitary in origin like a pituitary tumor, prolactinoma, pituitary inflammation, or pituitary infiltrate. While other causes could be testicular in origin like trauma, infections, or childhood diseases. The treatment will be different depending on the cause of the low T and whether the patient wants to have children in the coming 12-18 months. For these reasons, a full and comprehensive endocrine work up is needed before a patient starts any treatment.
Treatments for Low T include:
1) Androderm or Androgel in the form of a skin patch or skin lotion
2) Testosterone injection that is administered as an intramuscular injection weekly or bi-weekly depending on your blood level.
3) Testosterone pellets that can be placed every three to six months.
4) Using HCG injection or Clomid to preserve spermatogenesis
5) Using aromatase inhibitors
One of the other advantages of being treated by one of our endocrinologists is that we are involved in a lot of clinical research studies. Our state-of-the-art research encompasses a variety of endocrine disorders including low T as well as diabetes type I and diabetes type II. You can benefit by enrolling in one of those studies if you qualify, but even if you do not qualify, you will benefit from the knowledge that our group of doctors have obtained by being involved in the research that exposes them to knowledge and information five to seven years earlier than other professionals in the field.
If you are looking for a low testosterone doctor in Houston, call our office at 713-973-3459 or visit our website, www.endocrinecenter.com, to schedule an appointment so we can find out the cause and start an up to date treatment regimen.
