Low Testosterone Was Ruining My Life. How About You?
Man 40+? Brain Fog? Body Shape Changes? Hmmm…
You’ll have heard terms like ‘Male Menopause’, ‘Manopause’, ‘Low Testosterone Symptoms’, mentioned a lot online, normally trying to sell you some sketchy supplements!
But if you’re a guy over 40, it IS worth understanding what the actual signs and symptoms of low testosterone are, so you can know for sure if that’s the true culprit for how you look and feel these days.
Because if you DO have low testosterone, you can take action to reverse any symptoms, and like me go from being grumpy, out of shape and unambitious at work, to a much happier, fitter, healthier, more successful guy!
The Symptoms of Low Testosterone
As soon as you say “Low Testosterone” people’s minds turn to the cliché of low libido and ‘bedroom issues’.
The thing is, those are some of the more minor symptoms. The worst symptoms have dramatic effects on a man’s health, body shape and mental wellbeing.
I’m going to tell you about my own low testosterone symptoms (though I didn’t know Testosterone was the guilty party at the time!).
I decided to get my hormones checked a few years ago, triggered by the change in my general attitude to life, and changes to my body shape.
Let me explain the mental and physical symptoms I had, maybe some of these will ring a bell for you in your own current situation…
** Side Note** The obvious way for you to know, for sure if you have low testosterone is to get a blood test. You can do this either by going to see your doctor or by availing of one of the increasing number of online labs, where they send you the kit, you do the prick test at home send it back, and then they send you the results by email or via a phone app. I use Forth here in the UK but similar labs have sprung up worldwide. Google is your friend here, search up “online mens blood tests” or something like that.**
Mental Symptoms
- I was in a low mood most days, snapping at the wife and kids, all pretty unwarranted (though those pesky kids were annoying sometimes
). - I felt a lack of ambition in my work. I wasn’t willing to try new things. I didn’t want to start a YouTube channel or a podcast or write eBooks or do online coaching or stuff like that. “What’s the point?!” was my general attitude.
- In my ‘day-job’ too, training guys over 40 in-person at my studio, again, I just couldn’t be assed. Going through the motions big-style.
All these mental symptoms were telling me “something’s not quite right”.
In general I felt stressed, even though nothing in my life was remotely stressful — I had a happy family life and a successful business. And yet… I felt stressed and ‘down’ a lot of the time.
Physical Symptoms
I run my own personal training facility. I’m supposed to be in decent shape. Nobody wants an overweight, out of shape trainer giving them training and diet advice :-)
But even though I was working out and watching what I ate, as much as I ever had, I suddenly started gaining weight across my chest, lower back and belly.
I wasn’t eating more calories than before. My workouts were just as challenging, and yet increasingly unrewarding.
I wasn’t making progress or getting stronger. I was constantly changing my workout program, thinking that was the culprit, rather than my messed up body.
Interrupted sleep was an issue too. Waking up quite hot in the middle of the night, sweating. Then this lower quality sleep made me even more fatigued, tired and grumpy the next day. A Big Grumpy Vicious Circle.
My Blood Test Results
These mental and physical symptoms all combined to make me feel like life was a bit of a sh*tstorm, to be honest. So I was quite keen to find out what was going on!
I ordered my ‘Hormone Panel’ blood test, followed the instructions, sent the sample off, and I had my results sent to my phone a few days later.
Here are the most important results.
You’ll see Total Testosterone is average, yet Free Testosterone is low (not in the Test Lab’s red zone but more research on my part told me it was far too low), and Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) and Cortisol were very high.
This was all Good News. And Bad News.
Good news in that I had some proof that my hormonal issues could be partly (or wholly) to blame for my mental and physical rut.
Bad news in that, what the hell is Sex Hormone Binding Globulin and why was it so high, along with Cortisol, and why were they stealing my precious Free Testosterone?!
Testosterone 101
Every guy’s results will be different, so what I want to do is explain what you should do if your TOTAL Testosterone is too low, or if your FREE Testosterone is too low, so your armed and ready to act to reverse any of your own testosterone issues.
Your body produces an amount of Testosterone, referred to as Total Testosterone in any blood work, and this is what’s made available in your bloodstream.
If your Total testosterone is too low, that’s a sign your body isn’t producing enough. You need to fix your Testosterone Producing Machine (technical term there…).
So you can:
- supplement with Vitamin D3 (and get outside more in general),
- supplement with Zinc,
- prioritize your sleep so your body has more time to recover physically and mentally,
- start working out with weights, challenging your body.
Most of your Total Testosterone gets bound to SHBG or Albumin, this is normal.
What’s left over is Free Testosterone, which a man needs an adequate amount of for normal muscular development, normal sex drive, mood regulation.
The main culprits when Free Testosterone is too low, as you can see from my results, are Cortisol (the stress hormone) and far too much Total Test being bound the the already-greedy SHBG.
For this reason it’s important to get tested for both Total and Free Testosterone — if I’d only had Total tested I’d have discounted hormnal issues as the reason for my problems!
How do you increase Free Test then? You lower Cortisol and you stop so much Test getting bound to pesky SHBG, by:
- taking steps to lower stress — more sleep, mindfulness, meditation, walking
- supplementing with Boron and Ashwaghanda
- avoiding overly restrictive diets for longer than a few weeks (too stressful on the body)
What Should You Do With All This Info?
I hope all that has helped you understand what the tell-tale signs and symptoms are of low testosterone.
The thing is, I don’t want to alarm you, claiming that your occasional grumpiness MUST be due to low testosterone.
But if you are suffering physically and mentally in the ways I did, it’s worth getting a blood test done to be sure.
And now you know how to better interpret your results too, if Total or Free Testosterone levels give you cause for concern.
Once you know, you can take action, like I did.
After 6 months of prioritising sleep, practicing some mindfulness, and taking those cheap supplements I mentioned, my latest test saw my Free Test get back to an average levels, and SHBG & Cortisol reduced.
- I’m less grumpy (!);
- I’m making progress in my training again, and lost the weight I’d gained fairly easily;
- My work ambition is back — you’re reading something I couldn’t be bothered writing just a few years ago, while I’m now a content creating machine :-) with a podcast, Youtube channel and online coaching business.
Lots of big changes that all started with finding out whether my Testosterone levels were low. Future You will thank you for doing likewise my friend!