By Mike Kocsis | 7 minutes read | Last updated: October 2, 2020 Categories: Age Low testosterone Testosterone TRT
Medically Reviewed by Dr. George Touliatos
If you are suffering from low testosterone and the associated symptoms in your 20s, then you are probably wanting to learn more about low testosterone and how to fix it. Low T in your 20s is not a natural decline in testosterone and is likely caused by external factors or health issues. The good news is that you are in your 20s and have not yet started the natural decline of the testosterone in your body. This means that low testosterone could be easier to treat than you might think.
However, to address the problem of low testosterone in your 20s, there is some information that you will need to know first. With this information in hand, you can be sure that you are able to combat the low testosterone that you are experiencing as well as the symptoms that you have because of it.
Watch Our Video on Low T in Your 20s
About Testosterone in Your 20s
The first thing that you need to know is that in your 20s, you should be experiencing the highest levels of testosterone in your life. It is during your 20s that you have very high levels of testosterone and you can expect to enjoy all the benefits of normal testosterone levels. However, as you naturally start to age, your testosterone levels can decrease. This is a natural process but usually doesn’t start until much later in your life. This process usually begins in the late 30s or early 40s and your testosterone normally will decrease by 1% each year.
If you are experiencing low testosterone in your 20s, this means that something has gone wrong. You could be suffering from a medical condition that could cause a result of low testosterone or an external force is causing you to have lower testosterone levels than usual. If this is the case, you should know that there are generally actions that can be taken to reverse those effects.
Since lower testosterone in your 20s is not generally a natural thing to take place, there are treatments and actions that you can utilize to raise the level of testosterone and prevent the associated side effects from continuing to happen. You may be able to return to a time when you had very high levels of testosterone and all of the benefits that come with high levels of testosterone.
Symptoms of Low Testosterone in your 20s
One of the best ways to fight low testosterone is by identifying it in the first place. We can find out your testosterone levels through one of our advanced testosterone blood tests. When you are aware that low testosterone is affecting you, you will have a much easier time fighting low testosterone and reversing the side effects that often come along with low testosterone. To do this, you’ll need to be familiar with the symptoms of low testosterone and how they can affect you. Here are some of the symptoms of low testosterone in your 20s:
- Erectile dysfunction
- Decreased sex drive
- Infertility
- Hair loss
- Lowered muscle mass
- Lowered endurance
- Increase in body fat
- Fatigue
- Depression
You can experience one or a mixture of many of these symptoms if you do indeed have low testosterone in your 20s. If you have identified these symptoms, then the next step is to speak with one of our hormone specialists to discuss your options and confirm that you have low testosterone.
With this knowledge in hand, you will truly be able to make the first steps towards combating low testosterone and improve your knowledge of the condition.
Causes of Low Testosterone in Your 20s
There are a number of potential causes of low testosterone in your 20s. As we touched on earlier, low testosterone in your 20s is not necessarily a natural thing to be happening. Testosterone levels in men don’t begin to start dropping until they hit the middle of their lifespan or partly past the middle.
The causes of low testosterone can range from internal factors such as health conditions to external factors such as life events or family stress. That is part of what makes it so hard to identify what the cause of low testosterone is. There could be a wide range of factors. Still, we will cover both the internal and external factors that have been known to drive low testosterone in men in their 20s.
External Factors
There are many external factors in life that could cause an imbalance in hormones within the body. If this is the case, you should take some relief since they are generally things that can be changed. Here are some of the most common external life factors that have contributed to low testosterone in the 20s. The good news is that most external factors can be fixed by you, so long as you are prepared to put in the effort you can boost your natural testosterone levels yourself.
Stress
One of the main contributors to low testosterone is stress. When you are stressed, your body can behave in strange ways and a potential side effect is that it does not produce enough testosterone. If you are experiencing high amounts of stress and also low testosterone, you might consider trying to manage your stress better, organize your stressors, or reduce stress or responsibilities in your life.
Poor Diet
Another potential external factor cause of low testosterone is a poor diet. What you eat is what you are. And when you don’t have a good, healthy diet with all the vitamins and minerals that your body needs to function normally, it’s not going to function normally. One of the first steps that you should take is to take a look at your diet and improve it where possible by eating testosterone-boosting foods.
No Exercise
Just like diet can affect testosterone production, so can exercise or lack of exercise. A healthy testosterone production system oftentimes depends on a healthy body. If you are experiencing low testosterone, you might consider trying to get moving more and give your body more exercise. Generally, men that are in better physical condition will have improved testosterone and this also carries plenty more benefits as well.
Drugs and Alcohol
Drugs and alcohol are very important to avoid if you are trying to maintain normal levels of testosterone. These substances are detrimental to testosterone production as well as many other areas of your body. They prevent the body from behaving normally and can get in the way of many crucial functions. If you are experiencing low testosterone and using drugs or alcohol, a potential way to improve your situation is to cut out drugs and alcohol from your life.
Internal Factors
There are also internal factors that could be affecting your testosterone production. These often come in the form of medical conditions. For that reason, they are a bit harder to address and repair, but still very possible to turn around. Here are some of the most common internal factors that can lead to low testosterone in your 20s.
Hypogonadism
Hypogonadism is perhaps the most common internal factor and medical condition that affects testosterone production. It’s a condition where your body is unable to produce enough testosterone. This deficit is what creates the condition of low testosterone. Luckily, there are many treatments for this condition and it is very possible to experience an increase in testosterone production through some basic treatments.
Injury to the Testicles
Another possible reason for the lack of testosterone production is the suffering of a past or present injury to the testicles. It’s very possible that this could be the source of low testosterone in the 20s, but it is also very rare. This should only occur if you have experienced severe trauma to the testicles or suffered a severe bodily injury during an accident or other event.
Cancer Treatments
Unfortunately, cancer treatments can also cause low testosterone in men in their 20s. Though not many men in this age group actually are diagnosed with cancer, it affects them the same as their older counterparts. Cancer treatments are extremely harsh on the body and one of the casualties of these treatments is often the general health of the patient, including the parts of the body responsible for testosterone production. We advise checking your testicles regularly for lumps and as there can often be no pain or swelling with testicular cancer. More often than not any lumps found will be cysts and can be ignored, however, it is worth having the lumps checked by a doctor who will perform an ultrasound scan on your testicles.
Why Is Testosterone So Important?
Testosterone is the main hormone in the body of a male. It is responsible for much more than just reproduction. What many people aren’t aware of is that testosterone is actually responsible for dozens of different functions within the body and proper testosterone levels are absolutely essential for men to maintain their basic health needs.
Without the right level of testosterone, they can suffer many negative health effects that lead to the symptoms that we covered earlier. For men with low testosterone, it is very important that they seek medical help to remedy that situation so that they might reverse some of the effects of having low testosterone and return to normal health.
Low Testosterone in 20s Treatment Options
Luckily for men in their 20s that are suffering from low testosterone, there are several potential treatment options that you can pursue. The most common treatment for men in their 20s that are experiencing low testosterone is testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). This is a type of treatment that is designed to replace the testosterone that your body is unable to produce to keep up with the demand of the body.
Other changes that you might consider making to improve your testosterone production include being more active, having a healthier diet, and trying to reduce stress from your life.
Get Help From Balance My Hormones
If you believe you are suffering from low testosterone and you would like to meet one of our expert testosterone doctors, please do get in touch by contacting us via phone or use the live chat option in the bottom right of his website, our consultations are free and there is no obligation to move forward with any treatment. Our doctors will always advise you on whether they think you are a suitable candidate for TRT or not and this is done through the initial consultation and optional blood testing.
Evidence Based Research
This article has been researched and written based on scientific evidence and fact sheets that have then been crossed checked by our team of doctors and subject matter experts.
References, sources and studies used alongside our own in-house research have been cited below, most of which contain external clickable links to reviewed scientific paper that contain date stamped evidence.
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About the Author: Mike Kocsis
Mike Kocsis has an MBA with a focus on healthcare administration and is an entrepreneur and medical case manager for Balance My Hormones Ltd which offers medical services in the UK and Europe. Mike has over 20 years of experience in the healthcare sector, much of that working with people who have hormone imbalances. Mike has appeared on podcasts and radio and is an expert speaker on the subject of hormone imbalance. He specialises in Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) and Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and has helped thousands of people suffering from hormone imbalances recover and regain control of their lives. You can follow him on LinkedIn and on the Balance My Hormones YouTube Channel.
Last update: October 2nd, 2020
