TESTOSTERONE - Low T and Males

Addiction and Alcoholism:

How it affects the Levels of Testosterone

What is Testosterone?

Testosterone is a steroid hormone that is the most potent naturally occurring androgen and that regulates the development of the male reproductive system and male secondary sex characteristics. Testosterone is produced mainly in the testes.

Although it’s normal for testosterone levels to drop as men age, low testosterone can affect a man’s health.  Testosterone levels decline steadily after age 40. The decline is relatively small, at an average rate of about 1% to 2% percent per year. By middle age and older, virtually all men experience some decline in testosterone -- but only a small percentage of aging men have levels far below those considered normal for their age.

What is Low Testosterone?

Low testosterone is defined as less than 300 nanograms per deciliter of blood. The symptoms of low testosterone include low sex drive, erectile dysfunction, mood problems, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. Of all men with below-normal testosterone levels, about one-half to two-thirds report symptoms.

Unlike a woman’s menopause, when estrogen levels plummet over months to very low levels, men’s “andropause” is a gradual decline of testosterone levels over years. The effects of low testosterone can be insidious, even go unnoticed.

Some men with low testosterone levels have symptoms without recognizing them. Men may still have a sex drive, but not realize how much it’s declined. Men with symptoms of low testosterone can have significant impairment in quality of life. Current medical thinking is these men should be treated with testosterone replacement.

Testosterone Replacement Benefits

Testosterone replacement in available doses is felt to be generally safe.  Men have a wide variation in response to testosterone replacement.  About 90% of men see improvement when receiving therapy.  In clinical studies, the majority of men with low testosterone have improved erectile dysfunction and sex drive with testosterone replacement.

In middle-aged and older men with low testosterone levels, long-term testosterone replacement therapy greatly improves their fatty liver disease and their risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, a new study found.

Testosterone deficiency, which becomes more common with age, is linked not only to decreased libido but also to a number of medical problems. These include the chances of developing heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. Studies shows that testosterone has a much wider therapeutic role than just for improving sexual desire and erectile function."

Furthermore, liver function significantly improves during the first 12 to 18 months of therapy and is stabilized. Treatment also greatly decreased blood levels of C-reactive protein, a measure of inflammation that is linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

The Symptoms of Lowered Testosterone Levels

Low testosterone in men can create problems for many as they age. A typical male loses 1% per year of the natural testosterone level. 

The list list of symptoms of low testosterone includes:

What Lowers the Level of Testosterone?

Generally speaking the excessive use of Drugs & Medications can reduce the levels of testosterone.  However, the use of Opiates, painkillers and Alcohol seem to have the greatest effect of all substances.  The repeated use and abuse of these substances can substantially reduce the testosterone levels. Chronic log term use can leave individuals depleted.

These substances have the most effect depleting the levels of testosterone:

Alcohol and Testosterone Levels

Studies of heavy drinkers have shown that alcohol directly suppresses testosterone levels in men.  And the more alcohol you drink, the worse it gets.  Chronic Alcohol abuse is associated with altered levels of all male reproductive hormones, not just testosterone.

Alcohol use is associated with low testosterone and altered levels of additional reproductive hormones.  The overwhelming majority of research conducted in the past 25 years in both animals and humans has found that alcohol inhibits testosterone secretion.

Alcohol can interfere with the function of the male reproductive system, and can lead to tissue shrinkage, reduced testosterone production, and sperm abnormalities, in the testes. Alcohol markedly affects testosterone metabolism independently of cirrhosis or nutritional factors.

Alcoholic men often present with symptoms of decreased sexual function, such as impotence and infertility. Decades ago it was recognized that alcohol per se is a testicular toxin, lowering testosterone levels in alcoholic men. It is also recognized that alcohol intake may cause a transient acute decrease in blood testosterone levels in healthy nonalcoholic men.

So stopping drinking alcohol may help preserve the level of testosterone, help prevent impotence and improve the overall quality of life.

What can be done about Low Testosterone (LowT)?

The NBRC Testosterone

Hormone Enhancement Therapy Program (THET)

New Beginnings Recovery Center offers a comprehensive

Testosterone Hormone Enhancement Therapy program. 

Patients are evaluated and testosterone levels are checked. 

Treatment is accomplished by:

Call today at 561-790-4177