Is the Human Race in Trouble?

[Sedg1]

I have been a daily visitor to this site since I was diagnosed with low T levels (305TT/49FT) in January. I did my due diligence here, and elsewhere on the web and ultimately agreed with my urologist to start Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), which I realize I will be on for the rest of my life.

But I am 57. I understand the "natural" deterioration of the body's ability to produce endogenous testosterone as a man ages. Like many other men my age, I hit the "holy crap" barrier and needed to do something about it. I get it, accept it and am grateful for the therapy which has restored considerable quality to my life.

What greatly troubles, however, me are the number of young men (ie: 40 and much younger) who post their levels and symptoms with increasing frequency. Chronologically, they are young. But from a T perspective they are old. Many have even worse levels than I did pre-HRT.

I have read studies that confirm the phenomenon. With each successive generation, men are producing less testosterone. And by significant amounts. If the trajectory continues, low T will become an epidemic with grave sociological consequences. Will my three boys, all in their twenties, have to take T shots when they hit their thirties, or even sooner? Will they be able to have kids, if they choose to? Does all this end like one of those apocalyptic movies where all society is on a drug that becomes the breath, heartbeat and master of the nation? And if so, as more and more men turn to the needle, or roll-on or pellet for exogenous relief, the cure perpetuates and deepens the phenomenon as natural production shuts down. And we all become even more dependent on the "fix.".

Seems to me that more time and attention should be spent exploring the reason we men are a threatened gender so that our resources can be redirected to prevention and not just treatment. And young men can enjoy being young men without the vial.

 

[halfwit]

Well, for starters you have to remember that testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is actually still quite new as doctors have been telling us men that we're SUPPOSED to suffer through the effects of low testosterone as we age. Heck, I bet the term andropause will still raise eyebrows in most medical offices as it just isn't really recognized nearly as much as it should be. With that said however, I do think you're onto something as our environment has become one of phytoestrogens and xenoestrogens making their way into our bodies through the foods we eat and the objects we use as creature comforts. I don't even want to get into the fact that the prevalence of drugs we're assigned for everything from the common cold to a scraped knee have been found to decrease HPTA function in otherwise healthy men.

I'm sure evolution has a small part to play in this as we no longer need the heavy musculature that our far ancestors did, but there is definitely something else at play here - that's for sure. If you really want to have an eye opener, take a look at the incidence of diabetes/hypertension and then look at the similar growth pattern in the trend for hypogonadism. Obesity ties into all this as well, but where does it all stem from? Find the answer to all this and a cure, and I'm sure you'll win a Nobel Prize.

Will your children face this problem as they grow up? I think if they minimize risk by eating healthy and exercising regularly as well as avoid unnecessary drugs, they'll be fine. Then again, who knows for sure - we can only hope for the best when it comes to our children. I know I do.

My .02c

 

[Sedg1]

Appreciate your observations. It is true that hypogonadism is a relatively new diagnosis. But it, I suspect, is what has prompted the studies that confirm generational decreases in endogenous T, independent of age and other risk factors. Or at least known risk factors.

And that is my point. If this is a phenomenon that must be seen in generational terms, it is even more disconcerting. We like to think we are the masters of our bodies - and to a certain extent we are. Those of us concerned about our health eat right, exercise, try to get as much rest as possible. I have done that my whole life. I am trim and fit. I do not have diabetes, or hypertension. I have never smoked or abused my body in other pathological ways. I get regular check-ups and look better than all of the guys my age in the gym, and many who are years younger. But despite all that, I have low T.

There are factors clearly outside my control that have caused this phenomenon in men of my generation. Despite the fact that I am considerably healthier than a typical 57 year old man of my father's generation, he would, according to the studies, have a higher T level than I do. There is something outside our control that is causing or contributing to this phenomenon. And it is what we do not know that most troubles me.

You suggest that lifestyle may be a factor. Perhaps that is true with individuals, but apparently not statistically. Consider the following:
We observe a substantial age-independent decline in T that does not appear to be attributable to observed changes in explanatory factors, including health and lifestyle characteristics such as smoking and obesity. The estimated population-level declines are greater in magnitude than the cross-sectional declines in T typically associated with age.
From:A Population-Level Decline in Serum Testosterone Levels in American Men

I have no expertise in this area. And my thoughts on the subject are not fully formed. But the disturbing results of this study suggest that, like the honey bees, our bodies are subjected to pressures we may not yet be detecting, except by diminishing T levels.

 

[fatboy26]

Wow. This is exactly what I have been thinking for years. I call it the silent epidemic.

I was diagnosed with Low T when I was 37. But years before that I had the symptoms but just did not know what was wrong.

Sedg you are right your father my father and I bet our grandfathers all had higher T than you or I. My father who is 70 has 3 times higher T than me.

The specialist who is currently treating me discussed this same phenomena as he has men and boys in their late teens and early 20s with Low T and I have read where boys hitting puberty that have low T.

When I inquired with my doctor what could be the cause he said it may be plastics. I speculated mobile phones.

My question is what has caused this sudden drop in testosterone.

Is it natures way of controlling the population? Drugs? Chemicals, Lifestyle? Who knows.

There is no cure. And I have a feeling no one is really looking for a cure. Just treatment.

The medical profession attitude to this problem is appalling. When I see a doctor as I go to a medical center and if he dismisses it I just ask for my result get my prescription and leave. Most doctors are useless and so are most Endocrinologists.

They are SCARED of TESTOSTERONE. Some won't treat it. I had one Endo who I paid $300 tell me just get on with life.

If I was a woman needing hormone replacement therapy they would fall over themselves giving it to me like candy. But as a male needing Testosterone its like I am a junkie asking for a fix.

But saying all that there are a few good doctors who are fully aware of the situation. The problems with low T are severe even to the point of death with sudden cardiac arrests in younger men.

You will be hearing about more young men playing sport having heart attacks. And I doubt they will check their T levels.

 

[Sedg1]

Wow. This is exactly what I have been thinking for years. I call it the silent epidemic.

My friend, you are living proof of my concern, and I am sorry to hear it.

You raise two critical points. First, it is frightening to think that teenage boys are T deficient, absent a primary cause, like some testicular dysfunction from pathology or injury. It does not sound like that what your doc was referring to. But it underscores the breadth of this largely invisible health phenomenon.

When you mentioned the word "plastics" I could not help but flash back to that classic '60's movie, The Graduate. In a party scene, a middle aged guy takes the young Dustin Hoffman aside to give him career advice. Just one word - "plastics."

Perhaps not just plastics, but BPA's, stuff in the air, in the water, anti-biotics and growth hormones in our food, cell phones, the pace of modern life. Reading these words back I sound like an alarmist. But I am a realist forged from my own situation, which mirrors your experience, and those of even more men who have no idea why they are unhappy and dysfuctional. Something is affecting the level of testosterone on a generational scale and at a pace that can not be explained by ordinary genetic mutation. The urge to procreate, and to have the balls to do it, is hard-wired. It is as strong an instinct now as it has been for all of human existence. It is not something that will ever go out of genetic fashion. So my uneducated opinion is that this is not a phenomenon that we can lay at the feet of our genetic code.

Your second point highlights the political and sociological barriers which confront a full and thoughtful exploration of this critical public health issue. It sure would be easier being a diabetic who has to take insulin. Or a woman who takes the "other" hormone. The unfortunate reality which we legit guys confront is this: the face of "steroids" in the public consciousness is an ugly one - like the guy on the home page sporting grotesque biceps. What comes to mind are these juice-fueled monsters or, even worse, sport cheaters. And the common, evil denominator are steroids. Those of us who have to choose between this medical therapy and a dismal quality of life get swept up in the tornado of public condemnation of the medication. Guilt by association.

I know the feeling you describe. I do not tell people I am taking T. I do not want have to get into it. I do not want them to look at me and think of Armstrong. But they will because that is the face of steroids. It even permeates our doctor's offices. Guys with a legitimate medical need play doctor roulette in the hope of finding one who will acknowledge the issue and have the "balls" to treat it. I am lucky enough to have a PCP who was willing to do the test, and a urologist who was willing to treat on the basis of symptoms, rather than just on the test results which were low/normal (305/49 +/-). Not everyone is so lucky.

You use the term "silent epidemic." Nice phrase. I agree. That is not likely to change until testosterone deficiency is accepted for what it is - a hormonal imbalance. The stigma will persist until the public face of steroid users becomes your face or mine, until the medical community finds the epidemiologic explanation for this "epidemic," and the public accepts that steroids are medicinal for most and recreational for a few.