Overview
Have you not been feeling like yourself lately? Do you feel tired, depressed, lethargic? Are you not making the gains that you once did in the gym? Are you finding it harder and harder to build muscle and lose fat no matter how hard you train and diet? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions then you might be experiencing a hormonal imbalance with testosterone and estrogen.
In this article we’ll go over the most common signs of hormonal imbalance, how you can diagnose what the issue is and how to go about treating it so you can get back to feeling great and get your life back on track.
Symptoms of Hormonal Imbalance In Men
- Low sex drive
- Fatigue
- Reduced lean muscle mass
- Irritability
- Erectile dysfunction
- Depression
- Water retention (bloating)
- Moodiness
- Increase in fat mass
- Gynaecomastia (man boobs)
How To Diagnose A Hormonal Imbalance
If you find yourself experiencing any of the symptoms above the best thing you can do is go to your doctor and describe your symptoms. Tell them that you’d like to get blood work done to determine if you have low testosterone or possible high estrogen. Both of these are very common in men as they age. If you don’t want to go to your doctor you can use an online service like privatemedlabs.com where you can order your own lab tests and have them performed at Quest Diagnostics or Labcorp.
Blood Work To Determine Hormonal Imbalances
If you’d like to order your own blood work from an online service like privatemedlabs.com you can use the list below to determine if you’re having any common hormonal imbalances.
- Estradiol (estrogen) – Amount of estrogen in the body
- Testosterone Free – The amount of testosterone that you body can use
- Testosterone Total – The total amount of testosterone in the body
- LH (Luteinizing Hormone) – LH causes the testicles to make testosterone
- FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone) Helps control the production of sperm
- TSH (Thyroid stimulating hormone) Determines if your thyroid is normal, overactive or underactive.
- T3 – Triiodothyronine (T3) is one of two major hormones produced by the thyroid gland.
Treatment For Low Testosterone
If your testosterone levels come back low the only real possible treatment is Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT); This is when a doctor would prescribe you exogenous testosterone which you could take as a pill, a transdermal patch, or with intramuscular injections. The dosage and frequency of treatment would be determined by your doctor.
To learn more about Testosterone Replacement Therapy you can checkout this article here: Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT): A Beginners Guide
Treatment For High Estrogen
If your estrogen levels come back high your doctor could prescribe you an Aromatase Inhibitor (AI). Aromatase Inhibitors like arimidex, anastrozole, or aromasin can all help to bring your estrogen levels back into the normal range. Aromatase inhibitors work by blocking the enzyme aromatase, which turns the hormone androgen (testosterone) into small amounts of estrogen in the body.
For more information about how to diagnose and treat estrogen related problems you can checkout this article here: 10 High Estrogen Symptoms In Males: How To Diagnose and Treat
Conclusion
As men get older our testosterone levels go down and our estrogen levels can possible go up. This can lead to an array of problems like feeling depressed, a loss of muscle mass, an increase in fat, and a lack of energy. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms it’s best to go to your doctor and tell them what you’re experiencing. They will help you diagnose and treat your symptoms. In just a few short months you can go back to feeling and looking great with the right treatment as well as diet and exercise plan.
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