Low testosterone can be caused by various reasons. A common cause of low testosterone is obesity, especially belly fat. Other common causes include chronic stress, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and use of certain medications. Head injury and testicular damage to the testicles (caused by for example illness, surgery or sport) can also cause low testosterone.

If you’re rarely in the mood for sex, often feel tired and perhaps have difficulty getting an erection, you may have low testosterone. Other common signs are increased body fat, especially belly fat, low mood, decreased muscle mass, weakness and fatigue. However, low testosterone is often ignored by suffering men because they think they’re just “getting old”.

Low testosterone is not an easy subject to talk about, especially if you are having sexual problems. However, if you suspect that you are experiencing symptoms of low testosterone, it is important that you tell your doctor. All that is needed to find out whether you have low testosterone is a simple blood test that will measure your testosterone level.

The most common treatment for low testosterone is testosterone therapy. It increases your testosterone to a healthy level; in so doing, after a while (usually during the first year of treatment) your symptoms will become less intense and may even disappear with long-term testosterone therapy.

Testosterone therapy is available in different preparations, the most common are injections - which can be long-acting (requiring few injections per year) or short-acting (requiring many injections per year) – and cream/gel or capsules.