Low Testosterone Causes

The cause of low testosterone may not be so obvious, others are more direct.

It’s generally prudent to be informed of all the hormonal factors that may impact your well-being, to prevent any deterioration from occuring.

The following is number of factors that may effect your testosterone levels.

Low Testosterone Causes

1. Age.
2. Head injury.
3. Testicular injury.
4. Vasectomy.
5. Medications.

Age and Low Testosterone

As you get older, you may become much more likely to develop a condition called hypogonadism (low testosterone). Once time passes, organs breakdown, and a number of your bodily process become less efficient.

Average Testosterone Levels by Age

Age	Average Male Testosterone Level
15-24	750 ng/dl
25-34	700 ng/dl
35-44	650 ng/dl
45-54	600 ng/dl
55-64	550 ng/dl
65-74	500 ng/dl
75-84	450 ng/dl
85-99	400 ng/dl

Testosterone and Head Injury

If you've acquired a brain injury caused by a stroke, heart attack, loss of oxygen, or a traumatic head injury, you may develop low testosterone.

Your brain is an integral part of the testosterone puzzle. The feedback loop called the HPTA (Hypothalamic Pituitary Gonadal Axis) may get damaged after a brain injury.

The hypothalamus and pituitary gland are structures within your brain acting like air traffic controllers telling your testicles to make more testosterone. When these signals are removed or diminished then there's a greater chance your testosterone levels may take a large dip.

Testicular Injury and Testosterone

An injury to your testicles can also cause low testosterone. When the testicle part of your HPTA is damaged there’s a greater chance low testosterone may develop. So take care of those family jewels. Although you get a pair... two are better than one!

A Vasectomy May Lower Testosterone

There’s a bad secret out there most doctor’s aren’t aware of. A side effect that occurs in a minority of men after vasectomies is the development of an autoimmune (self-attacking) disorder. Your body literally kills your testicular tissue resulting in lowered testosterone levels.

Your sperm are treated like a foreign invaders and killed since they are no longer needed. Since your testosterone producing glands and sperm are in the same area (testicles), they both die in the process.

To be on the safe side, even though this happens in a very small minority of men, you should be aware of any symptoms of low testosterone should they occur.

Medications that Lower Testosterone

There’s three paths that medications can cause low testosterone.

1. Through damaged nerves.
2. Damaging the vascular system.
3. Damaging the endocrine system.

The biggest culprits are;

1. Anti-hypertensives (Inderal, Clonidine, Reserpine, Lasix, etc...)
2. Antidepressants (SSRI's, tricyclics, MAOi's, etc...)
3. Tranquilizers (Haldol, Thorazine, Zyprexa, Seroquel, etc...)
4. Anticholinergics (Benadryl, Donnatal, Pro-Banthine, Cogentin, etc...)

If you've been experiencing any of these low testosterone causes; it may be a good idea to get yourself checked by your doctor. Testosterone replacement or removal of the offending medications may be needed to restore your potency.