Male Hormone Testosterone Test

10 Facts Every Man Should Know About Testosterone UPMC HealthBeat

It is important to determine if a low testosterone level is simply due to the decline of normal aging or if it is due to a disease. Your testosterone levels vary each day and over the course of your life. Testosterone levels naturally increase during puberty and remain relatively constant until age 30, when they begin to drop. Women also produce testosterone in the ovaries, but levels of the hormone are higher in men. Most of the testosterone that women produce is converted to the female sex hormone estradiol, according to the Cleveland Clinic. For an average man, total testosterone levels of less than 8 nmol/l highly support a diagnosis of low testosterone whereas levels greater than 12 nmol/l are likely to be normal.

Testosterone is a hormone found in humans, as well as in other animals. Women’s ovaries also make testosterone, though in much smaller amounts. Testosterone is so much more than its reputation would suggest. Men and women need the proper amount of testosterone to develop and function normally. However, the optimal amount of testosterone is far from clear. Hormonal conditions can be tricky to find and complicated to treat.

In fact, both factors contribute to the behavioral differences, which remain pronounced even as our society becomes more egalitarian. A health care professional will take a blood sample from a vein in your arm, using a small needle. After the needle is inserted, a small amount of blood will be collected into a test tube or vial. The potential side effects of prohormones plus their unproven clinical benefits make them a poor, possibly dangerous choice for boosting testosterone. One proposed treatment for low testosterone comes in the form of testosterone supplements. Too much testosterone, on the other hand, can lead to the triggering of puberty before the age of 9 years. This condition would mainly affect younger men and is much rarer.

Blood samples are typically collected between 7 and 11 am when testosterone levels are at their highest due to the hormone’s circadian rhythm. Generally, testosterone levels tend to decrease with age, starting in your 30s, says Brian Black, D.O., an American Osteopathic Association board-certified family medicine physician. Some labs report testosterone levels up to 800 or 1000, but the average man probably won’t measure that high, and there is not a benefit to having a significantly higher testosterone level.

Men taking testosterone replacement must be carefully monitored for prostate cancer. Although testosterone may make prostate cancer grow, it is not clear that testosterone treatment actually causes cancer. As surprising as it may be, women can also be bothered by symptoms of testosterone deficiency. For example, problem with function of pituitary gland or adrenal glands may lead to reduced testosterone production. Affected women may experience low libido, reduced bone strength, poor concentration or depression. So, if you’re living with high testosterone levels, it probably makes sense for each of these main functions to be amplified, right?

Even safe and moderate testosterone therapy bears a slightly increased risk. On average, a testosterone level of 300–1,000 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL) of blood is normal. Hypogonadism – reduced testicular function – generally occurs when the total testosterone is less than 300 ng/dL. However, a healthy level for you depends on your age, lifestyle, and bioavailable testosterone level – the unbound testosterone your body isn’t using for daily functions. It’s a naturally occurring process in which a message is sent from the brain to the pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain. The pituitary gland then fires a signal to the testes to produce testosterone within cells called Leydig cells.

Make an appointment with your doctor at Ross Medical Group to check your testosterone. A blood test is the only way to diagnose a low testosterone level. Certain blood tests can also be performed to check for other causes of low testosterone. Because of natural fluctuations in testosterone levels during the day, it is best to check your levels in the morning when you are fasting. If we identify a testosterone deficiency, you could be a candidate for testosterone therapy. Testosterone therapy optimizes your hormone levels with the goal of improving your symptoms and your quality of life.

One study suggests that there’s a lower risk of aggressive prostate cancers for those on testosterone replacement therapy, but more research is needed. Abnormally high levels of testosterone could be the result of an adrenal gland disorder, or even cancer of the testes. However, many men with normal testosterone levels have similar symptoms, so a direct connection between testosterone levels and symptoms is not always clear. As a result, there is some controversy about which men should be treated with supplemental testosterone. Testosterone therapy is approved for the treatment of delayed male puberty and abnormally low production of testosterone secondary to malfunction of the testes, pituitary or hypothalamus. The proper balance between testosterone (along with other androgens) and estrogen is important for the ovaries to work normally.

Another treatment option for low testosterone is natural testosterone boosters. Bear in mind that we are not talking about any kind of steroid boosters you can get on the black market, but testosterone boosters made with natural testosterone enhancing foods ingredients that are regulated for your safety. From age 30, testosterone production decreases by around 1 to 2% each year.