To mark Men’s Health Week 2023, Justin Powlesland of JHP Recruitment shares his experience of low testosterone levels affecting his life and work, and urges us all to support our colleagues in talking about and seeking help with health challenges.
Men’s Health Week aims to raise awareness of preventable health problems that disproportionately affect men and encourage them to gain the courage to address their issues.
It is important that we all prioritise self-care and act to address any health issues. But men are less likely than women to acknowledge illness or to seek help when sick, and are less likely to use a general practice or visit a pharmacy.1
Working in the veterinary professions is challenging and evidence shows that veterinary professionals are at higher risk of suffering from common mental health problems than that of the general population. But it can sometimes be difficult to work out whether symptoms like fatigue, brain fog and low mood are being caused by lifestyle issues, stress, mental ill-health, or a physical problem.
Advice from medical professionals is vital, and caring partners, colleagues and friends can be helpful in providing their perspective. Someone who knows us well may be able to see changes in our behaviour or spot when we may be reluctant to admit there is a problem and support us to take action.
Justin’s story:
I was 42 years old and pulled up to a roundabout and just sat in my car. For some reason I just couldn’t remember if I needed to go right or left around a roundabout. The car behind me started beeping, telling me to get on with it, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember. I put my hazard lights on and let the car pass and sat there wondering what was wrong with me.
This was the third strange thing to happen to me in the space of a week and I was worried. I spoke with my partner, Lydia, and she told me that I needed to see a doctor. This was a big deal for me as I try and avoid the doctors as much as possible, but I agreed that it was something that definitely needed to happen.
Seeking support
After plucking up the courage to visit the doctor, I sat and explained to him what was happening to me. I was having major ‘brain fog’ and couldn’t seem to remember simple things. I was lethargic and lacked any energy. I knew something wasn’t right and I had been like this for around 18 months. I didn’t tell the doctor this, but I was concerned that I had early signs of dementia. We sat and chatted, and the doctor told me that he felt that I was ‘stressed’ and gave me a leaflet to take away and read.
I sat in the car in the doctor’s carpark and cried. I knew what I was experiencing wasn’t down to stress, but I didn’t know what was happening to me.
“I knew something was wrong and I had to fix it, but I didn’t know how.”
Over the next 6 months, I seemed to be getting more and more lethargic and struggled to concentrate. I lost my drive and couldn’t get myself motivated to complete the simplest of tasks, let alone do any exercise and I started to gain weight, which made me feel even worse. I struggled to get up in the mornings (which is something that has never been a problem previously), and my sleep pattern was all over the place, if I was getting any sleep at all.
I knew something was wrong and I had to fix it, but I didn’t know how. My first step was to see another GP and get a second opinion. This didn’t go as planned, as this time I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and the doctor offered to put me on medication. I wasn’t keen for this, explained to the doctor that I didn’t think I was depressed and declined the medication, again not knowing where to turn.
Testosterone matters
Then one day whilst sat in the office, I was scrolling through LinkedIn, and it was then that I found a post from a private healthcare company called Alphagenix helping men through education, investigation, diagnosis and treatment of low testosterone levels.
Testosterone is a hormone found in all humans, as well as in other animals. It is most often associated with libido and plays a vital role in sperm production but also affects bone and muscle mass, mood, mental clarity, the way men store fat in the body and even red blood cell production.
What I now know is that as men reach the age of 30 years old, they can then start to see a 1-2% decrease in their testosterone levels each year.
The production of testosterone starts to increase significantly during puberty and begins to dip after age 30. Some men can experience significant changes starting in their middle years or more commonly aged 60 or above. Hypogonadism is decreased functional activity of the gonads – and male hypogonadism is characterised by a deficiency in testosterone.2 This drop in testosterone levels is sometimes termed “male menopause” or andropause. Historically, this has just been accepted as normal and almost considered a taboo subject.
As I read about the effects of men having low testosterone levels, I realised that 90% of the symptoms were what I was currently experiencing. I plucked up the courage to contact the author of the original post that I had seen to ask if they could help me.
Finding answers
After an extensive phone call with a doctor and telling them everything that I was experiencing, with the low moods, no energy, brain fog and loss of strength and loss of ‘get up and go’, he agreed that it would be good to have my bloods taken to check the levels.
I was so nervous as I genuinely thought that this might be my last chance to try and work out my issues and a few days after having the blood taken, the doctor called me to say that my levels were low and that he felt that I could benefit hugely from restoring optimal testosterone levels and hopefully improving my quality of life via testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).
Although I was being told that there was an issue with my body, it seemed strange that I was actually relieved. I was relieved because firstly, someone believed that I had a problem and they had potentially found the reason that I was feeling the way I was – but also there was a treatment to potentially get me back on track and give me a chance to get my energy and concentration levels back. I just hoped that this was the answer.
Being told that I had to inject myself was a bit of a shock and something that took me a few weeks to get used to, but I immediately felt a high. This was short-lived. The doctor had informed me that it could take three months to start feeling the affects of the treatment but I think I got a placebo type feeling initially. This was great but I did have a bit of a ‘crash’ after a couple of weeks. Knowing that you are trying to improve your wellbeing but not feeling any different for a few months was tough.
After three months of treatment, it was time to have my blood tested again and I my numbers had improved but still had a way to go in order to try and hit those optimal levels.
The doctor increased my dose and, it’s crazy, but my energy levels came flooding back. I started going to the gym again, which in turn improved my mood and I felt like a new person.
I’ve now been on TRT for twelve months and my numbers are improving with every blood test. Honestly, I go for the blood tests, but I don’t need to see the results as I am feeling so much better as each week passes. I’ve lost a lot of fat but have regained muscle mass. I am back training in the gym 5 times a week and my strength is back where it was five years ago. I have no doubt that this will continue to improve and my goal this year, aged 43, is to be stronger than I’ve ever been.
Fear of stigma
According to the ‘National Office of Statistics’, since 2010, males aged 45 to 64 years have had the highest suicide rate in the UK. As I had been suffering so much and had been so low, it got me wondering if low testosterone levels were partly to blame for this horrible statistic?
After lots of research and meeting a number of men who are on TRT, I realised that a lot of them were hiding it, like they should be ashamed of it. Being on TRT isn’t something that anyone should be ashamed of. No one chooses for their testosterone levels to drop. No one chooses to lose their drive, their concentration levels, their energy or ability to concentrate!
Lydia’s take
Justin’s partner Lydia was keen to support as much as possible:
“Initially Justin was very good at hiding the fact that he was struggling. When he did come to me and tell me how he had been feeling, I assumed it was down to the stress of trying to keep JHP operating throughout Covid. I had noticed he had lost his drive and general ‘get up and go’, which was very unlike him.
Throughout Justin’s lowest period, I just tried to make home life as smooth-running as possible. Although he still needed to run the business, I tried to take the pressure off at home and with our two young boys. I encouraged him talk with a counsellor – I knew this would be difficult for Justin as he isn’t one to open-up about his feelings, even with me. He also confided in a couple of close friends which I was so pleased about, as bottling up these feelings wasn’t helping.
Once Justin had discovered all he had been feeling over the last few months was down to low testosterone levels, firstly I was surprised, as I had not heard of the ‘male menopause’ before but also felt a sense of relief. I was hopeful that with the treatment on offer he would begin to feel himself again. After 3 months of the treatment, I noticed his moods were lifting. He seemed happier and had his fire back! I am so thankful for the help that he received from Alphagenix!”
This has prompted me to write this article and to speak openly about it to anyone that will listen!
If you are suffering from any of the symptoms that I have written about or if you see a partner, friend or colleague suffering any of these, they may feel as low as I did and may not know about what low testosterone can do to a man. Please reach out to them, feel free to put them in contact with me or ask them to visit a clinic to be tested. It has changed my life and in turn, has changed my family’s lives for the better and probably everyone around me.
I continue to use TRT and am likely to do so for the rest of my life. I’m so pleased that I found Ross at Alphagenix and hope that in turn, I can help other men.
References:
1Key Data: Understanding of Health and Access to Services, Mens Health Forum, n.d. https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/key-data-understanding-health-and-access-services
2 Male hypogonadism: Symptoms and treatment; Kumar P, Kumar N, Singh Thakur P, Patidar A, (2010) Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology and Research. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3255409/#:~:text=Hypogonadism%20is%20a%20medical%20term,gametes%20(eggs%20or%20sperm).
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