LogFAQs > #882809623

So while something like "low testosterone" may have the guise of appearing like a scientific or medical explanation for a range of maladies, I would take caution in attributing it to a lot of non-specific symptoms that can have a really large amount of possible explanations.

A key thing to note is that serum testosterone levels in men follows a diurnal pattern whereby it's highest in the very early morning (4-8am) and lowest in the afternoon/early evening, it's very likely that any sort of blood work performed is going to be done during the hours that it's on the lower end. This doesn't necessarily mean that it is "low", because throughout the day there can be a vast difference. Unless you've had multiple, serial measurements to really determine a pattern, it's kind of irresponsible to attribute symptoms to the "low testosterone", especially if there hasn't been a complete work up of other causes of fatigue.

And while some studies do correlate things like anemia/fatigue and depressed moods, dysfunction in libido, decreases in bone mass, etc with low testosterone, it's usually a problem in much older adults due to age-related decline. A low value in relative youth should raise concern for an underlying cause of hypogonadism.

So if you go to a provider, like a "naturopath" who touts that you have low testosterone, but you haven't had an extensive work up of why that might be the case, you're being peddled snake oil. It falls under the natural fallacy and basically uses a really basic, undergraduate-level understanding of physiology and attempts to treat pretty well known disease-processes with supplements, which if they worked, would have already been the standard of care to begin with.

Awesome posted...

you have to ask for it when you get your blood tested. if you are a guy and feel sad and depressed no matter what then most likely your t levels are low.

And so, given the above, I would encourage you to be a bit more cautious making posts like these. While your lifestyle changes about eating better and exercising are certainly habits that you should develop, making a direct causal link from a "low T" lab value from a quack doctor or fringe health profession (naturopath, chiropracter, etc) to improving it with a "natural lifestyle" and then telling others that that's the most likely cause of their problems--you're asking for someone to take that to heart and refuse to get seen by a medical professional.

Turns out, that person on the internet you told who has chronic fatigue that they just have "low T" and need to eat better had a leukemia and they didn't get it checked out early per your advice and now their death is on your hands.

You don't know what you don't know and it's better to stick to things within your expertise (which in this case isn't medicine).
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"He has two neurons held together by a spirochete."