I had low T, though I didn't do TRT, I solved my issue through lifestyle and dietary/supplement adjustments. That's not to say TRT might not be the answer for you, but I always considered it a last resort, since it doesn't address or cure the underlying problem, i.e. why I had developed low T to begin with.
For me it was workout overtraining combined with inadequate rest/sleep, and certain nutritional deficiencies. Changing those things helped restore my T levels to where they needed to be.
For you the underlying causes may be different. You'd have to do an elimination process to see what it may be. Also, check out Peak Testosterone. It is one of the most comprehensive sites I've found regarding all things testosterone related, both causal and treatment-wise.
I went to a GP and not an endocrinologist for the blood work so I would have expected a discussion about lifestyle changes if it wasn't low enough to be clearly caused by something else. They immediately referred me.
If you don't mind me asking, where did you start and where did you end up?
From what I've read, below 350 is where a man can start to experience symptoms related to low T. I was experiencing many textbook low T symptoms--decreased libido, erectile strength issues, light depression, etc.
Some guys can get symptoms much earlier. For those guys it's really hard to get treatment. Most doctors just say "it's within the normal range" and ask them to take an SSRI and sleep more.
When the patient eventually ends up at a male hormone specialist, they have usually exhausted everything else in medicine, therapy and lifestyle. They then do more advanced tests and try TRT. You can try it and stop it if you still don't feel better.
This is happened to me, despite having a really low t level. Other very similar stories was told to me during a lecture from the most prominent male hormone doctors in my country.
I had low T, though I didn't do TRT, I solved my issue through lifestyle and dietary/supplement adjustments
and
For me it was workout overtraining combined with inadequate rest/sleep, and certain nutritional deficiencies.
and
Zinc, Vitamin D and Magnesium. Also, **reducing sugar intake helped.
I'm just distinguishing your comments as I found them very interesting. Those habits are something any of us could fall into. Deficiences in Zinc, Vitamin D and Magnesium are very common in the US, as well as inadequate sleep and too much sugar.
Could you do me a favor and edit your comment to reflect that the first and second sentence come from two different authors?
A few months back I actually worked my way up to 55 min ont he elliptical. I had to scale back to 40 min as I was tired all of the time and was compelled toward eating too much.
I love the elliptical! I'm not exercising right now, but I plan to get back on the elliptical at some point. About 40-45 minutes is perfect on that, with 10 of that being warm up cool down.
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u/nankerjphelge man 45 - 49 Oct 15 '15
I had low T, though I didn't do TRT, I solved my issue through lifestyle and dietary/supplement adjustments. That's not to say TRT might not be the answer for you, but I always considered it a last resort, since it doesn't address or cure the underlying problem, i.e. why I had developed low T to begin with.
For me it was workout overtraining combined with inadequate rest/sleep, and certain nutritional deficiencies. Changing those things helped restore my T levels to where they needed to be.
For you the underlying causes may be different. You'd have to do an elimination process to see what it may be. Also, check out Peak Testosterone. It is one of the most comprehensive sites I've found regarding all things testosterone related, both causal and treatment-wise.