There are a lot of things that can go wrong with our bodies as we get older, and one of the worst for us guys is the medical condition known as male hormone deficiency. In Newport Beach, nearly a third of men over the age of 55 suffers from mild to major deficiency of testosterone.

Testosterone — famous for making younger men violent, sexual, and fairly short-sighted creatures — does a lot of things for older men that are quite important. Testosterone helps maintain muscle mass, bone density, mental focus, and assertiveness. Just as young men suffer from a lack of clarity about their actions when their testosterone levels are too high, older men suffering from a lack of testosterone can lack action — and clarity.

How do you know if you’re suffering from testosterone deficiency? While only a doctor can tell you for certain, there are certain signs that are giveaways.

• Have you recently and somewhat suddenly had an increase in body fat?
• Similarly, have your muscles recently lost definition and/or function (i.e. have you become noticeably weaker?
• Have you recently started suffering regularly from erectile dysfunction?
• Are you finding yourself depressed, fatigued, or just blah on a regular basis in a way you weren’t a year ago?
• Has your memory suddenly given up on you?
• Are you noticeably shorter?
• Do you regularly and uncontrollably fall asleep early in the evening?

If one or two of these things is the case, you might — please forgive me — just be getting older. But if you recognize most of these things as conditions you suffer, you could probably benefit significantly from male hormone therapy. Newport Beach has several excellent clinics who can safely re-balance your testosterone levels. In most cases, men feeling the above symptoms report an almost-immediate difference upon taking testosterone therapy.

There is a fine line to walk, because many of the symptoms listed above really are just a regular part of getting older. That said, no studies have yet been completed that show a problem with male hormone therapy simply as an anti-aging treatment, either.