Low Testosterone And Gluten...

[JerryK]

A couple years ago, I was diagnosed with low testosterone. As with many things medical

it wasn't "quite low enough" to treat, but at the time I had the testosterone level of an

80 year old. (I'm 46) I went round and round with my HMO trying to convince them to

give me a trial of testosterone, to no avail. So I've had this low level for a while now,

it comes and goes. My libido has been pretty non-existent at times, which was quite a

dramatic change from the most of the first 40 years of my life.

Now suddenly after a couple days without gluten, I feel like a jack-rabbit on a date. I'm plenty

frisky, but also wondering what gives?? Not that I'm complaining or anything....

Same thing happened a week and a half ago when I abstained from wheat for a while.

Anyone have any ideas about this?

[natalunia]

I don't know, but I know my hubby (43) had his testosterone checked about 2 weeks ago and it was 249, when 240-1150 is the range. Our general practitioner sent him to a urologist (why? this is an endocrine problem), and the urologist has sent him to an endocrinologist. I have been having him eat gluten free at home alot, but I know he eats burgers and goodies at work, so maybe I need to have him go gluten free completely...

[JerryK]

Yeah they tested mine 3 times. 240ng/dl 250 and 340. Pretty pathetic. They sent me to

a endocrinologist who looked at me and said I was fine. They didn't like it much when I argued with them and told them I had the testosterone level of an 80 year old. They opted not to treat it, treating it would mean that low testosterone is a medical condition. Medical conditions cost money to treat. Something our

HMOs are scared of....

Funny if it turns out celiac disease was the culprit....my T level sure seems up now

[Nantzie]

Hey! My husband has low testosterone. He's on Androderm patches and not gluten-free. I suspect he might be either celiac or gluten-intolerant though. When he goes on the Atkins diet (gluten-free) occasionally, he does feel better. He just isn't open to exploring the possibility of celiac.

The thing that makes me wonder if you might be on to something here is that if he's doing Atkins and runs out of his patches, he doesn't get the same plummet in energy and libido that he usually gets.

Hmm...

Nancy

[tarnalberry]

I can at least tell you that it isn't necessarily the cause of low testosterone in women, as I have been testosterone deficient after going gluten-free. My doctor is willing to treat it, however. (And my insurance pay for it.) I did make sure, though, to address it as a quality of life issue (fatigue which interfered with my job, irritability which interfered with social interaction) and not just a sex drive issue, as the medical profession is want to downplay the importance of treating sex drive medically.

In so far as celiac disease can make it hard for you to absorb the items that your body needs to build testosterone, yes, it could contribute. It is not traditionally strongly correlated.