As you age, the balance of hormones in your body naturally changes. A long time ago, when people lived shorter lives, this wasn’t so much of a problem. But as humans live longer, the health consequences of age-related hormonal changes are becoming more important. These changes can affect your quality of life and even your appearance. And because these problems get worse over time, they’re becoming a growing problem and a growing focus of study in the modern world. If you’re experiencing hormonal changes as you age, you don’t just have to put up with these problems. Androgen replacement therapy is one way to potentially alleviate certain issues that come with age. However be aware that this therapy can cause increased hair loss, which can cause additional mental and emotional symptoms.
Androgens are male sex hormones such as testosterone. Testosterone is produced mostly in the testicles and helps build and maintain bone density, muscle strength, fat distribution, and red blood cell production. It’s also pivotal in creating face and body hair, regulating the sex drive, and in sperm production. These are obviously essential functions in men. Unfortunately, once men reach their thirties, testosterone levels start to decline at a rate of about one percent a year. This rate can be even higher if men have certain diseases such as hypogonadism that cause problems with testosterone production.
As testosterone levels decline, many men experience a range of signs and symptoms. These can include:
It can be difficult to decide if certain problems are related to low testosterone levels or to underlying diseases or disorders. However, if low testosterone levels are detected, then a medical practitioner may order androgen replacement therapy to correct the problem. However, this can have the unwanted side effect of causing hair loss, which causes additional problems.
For a long time, testosterone was only thought of in relation to men, which was why androgen replacement therapy was only used for men. However, there is increasing evidence that low testosterone levels in women are a serious health threat as well.
Like in men, women’s hormone levels decrease as they age, and this includes their production of testosterone as the ovaries shut down after the childbearing years. Women’s ovaries produce 60 percent estrogen and 40 percent testosterone, which proves just how essential this hormone is in the functioning and good health of the female body.
This problem is usually worsened when you have adrenal fatigue, a very common condition in the modern world caused by declining adrenal function and hormone dysregulation. The adrenal glands produce some of the body’s supply of testosterone, and adrenal fatigue can seriously affect or even halt this essential function. Some of the symptoms that a woman may need androgen replacement therapy for are:
So, if you’re a woman with low testosterone levels and the associated problems, it’s worth talking to a trusted medical professional about your androgen replacement therapy options. However, you need to be aware that this can also contribute to or even cause hair loss. Women too can experience androgenetic alopecia, though they usually experience general thinning of their hair rather than bald patches. This can be just as destructive to your self-confidence and self-esteem as it is for men and should be a consideration if you’re considering androgen replacement therapy.
Human hair is actually more complex than it might appear. It’s made from a protein called keratin and is anchored into the skin by a hair follicle. Hair follicles, or Pilosebaceous units, are highly metabolic cells, and there are between 100,000 and 150,000 on your scalp. Around 84 percent of them are in a growing phase at any given time and each of them grows around half an inch each month. They are very sensitive cells, which is why they’re usually the first cells to show the damage done by chemotherapy and disease. This is also why they react so severely to androgen replacement therapy.
Hair goes through different stages throughout its life. Basically, this means that your hair grows for a while and then stops before growing again. It also causes shedding, which is why your hair falls out at a rate between 100 and 200 hairs each day. This is completely normal and often doesn’t affect abnormal hair loss patterns. These stages shift in a cyclical rhythm that’s also affected by the circadian rhythm and other factors in the body and outside of it.
There are several risk factors that are implicated in male pattern baldness including:
So, if you experience hair loss on its own or as a result of androgen replacement therapy, it’s worth reducing or eliminating these risk factors to see if that has the desired effect.
When men have low testosterone levels, androgen replacement therapy can help correct the levels and improve any related symptoms. Unfortunately, this can cause other problems as testosterone levels in men are strongly connected to hair loss. There are several different conditions that can cause abnormal hair loss and a decline in hair growth. In men, the most common cause is androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness, which causes 98 percent of male hair loss. Male pattern baldness causes a very distinctive pattern of hair loss where the hair recedes back from the forehead but often continues to grow around the edges.
This condition is caused by a combination of genetic factors and the sensitivity of the hair follicles to a hormone known as dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This hormone is made from testosterone and can act on hair follicles to cause miniaturization of the hair and the follicles. The hormone can make each individual hair thinner, weaker, wispier, and lighter in color, which results in overall hair loss. So basically, if you’re already experiencing hair loss, when you go on androgen replacement therapy the problem could get worse. However, there are other factors that influence the relationship between hair loss and testosterone. The key in this relationship is sensitivity. Some people are more sensitive to DHT, so relatively low or normal levels will cause baldness where less sensitive people wouldn’t notice any negative effects. This sensitivity is usually genetic, but it can be influenced by other factors as well.
So, the more testosterone you have in your body to be converted to DHT, the faster you will lose your hair if your genetics make you sensitive to DHT. This is one of the most frustrating side effects of androgen replacement therapy, and it’s an important one to consider if you’re thinking about hormone replacement.
Hair loss on its own isn’t a danger to your health, which is why many people are given androgen replacement therapy despite the resulting loss of hair. The consequences of low testosterone levels can be much more severe and debilitating to your health and wellbeing then faster balding.
However, most men who lose their hair experience a range of related issues that can affect every aspect of their life and health. The hair of many people is strongly connected to their self-image and their self-confidence, which is why having a full, luxurious head of hair is a sign of youth and virility. In contrast recent studies have shown that men who are going bald often experience the following issues:
These negative feelings and experiences can severely affect your emotional, mental, and physical health. That’s why the new research into androgen replacement therapy and its effects on hair growth is so important. And it’s also why you need to know about the effects of this therapy on hair growth and loss before you start taking it.
If you have hair loss as a side effect of genetic components and the worsening effects of androgen replacement therapy, then there are several different medications and therapies that can help. However, you need to start early with most of these therapies, preferably as soon as you notice some hair loss. You can’t rejuvenate dead hair follicles, so if you leave it too long then these options won’t work, and you will need to try more drastic alternatives to address the problem. Some of these therapy options include:
If your hair loss is sped up because of androgen replacement therapy, it doesn’t mean that you should discontinue it. Low hormone levels will have a very negative effect on your health and your quality of life over the long term. Trying some of these options or even surgery can be a way to have the androgen replacement therapy you need while addressing the side effects of this therapy at the same time.
There are many additional solutions for male pattern balding developing, whether it’s as a result of purely genetic factors or a side effect of androgen replacement therapy. One of the most popular is hair transport surgeries, often known as follicular unit extraction (FUE). During these procedures, your doctor will remove hair from the back of your head or other densely haired area and transplant it onto the balding area. These types of transplants have been going on for nearly 70 years, though the procedures themselves have become more sophisticated through time. In the old days, these surgeries often resulted in scarring or strange patterns of hair growth, but as the sophistication of the surgery improved, these consequences became very uncommon.
This procedure is minimally invasive, and most of the time the only side effect that people experience is a bit of tenderness at the site where the hair was taken from. It’s also fairly successful, with most people noticing a 60 percent increase in hair growth at the site.
There are also several risks that go with this type of surgery including bleeding, infection, scarring, unnatural looking hair growth, and an inflammation of the hair follicles called folliculitis. Some patients also experience the loss of the original hair that was in the transplant area. If you have this operation, you may also need to have successive surgeries to increase the thickness of the hair growth in the target area.
These types of surgeries are fairly expensive and extensive, but they can be highly effective. They’re also a good way to overcome the increased hair loss which often results from androgen replacement therapy. Follicular hair transplant with one or two hair follicles per “plug” is cosmetically differentiable from real hair in look and feel if properly done. Gone are the days where “plugs” of 5-10 hair follicles are transplanted, resulting in a head that looks like a doll.
Low testosterone levels can be a major problem for both men and women as they age, which is why many older people are given androgen replacement therapy. However, aging is not the only condition that can cause your hormone levels to drop too rapidly. Many of the conditions of our modern lifestyles tend to contribute to inadequate hormone levels, including living a sedentary lifestyle, eating the Standard American Diet, obesity, and chronic stress. And many of these factors can add up to adrenal fatigue, which can have a serious impact on your hormone levels.
Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS) causes imbalances in the hormone circuit and interruptions in hormone production. People who have adrenal fatigue are usually under a great deal of stress because this disorder is related to stress and how each individual experiences stress.
The human body has a mechanism known as the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response which helps it cope with stress. This stress response prompts the release of cortisol, which helps the body react to the stressor and protects it from the damage that stress can do. However, because modern stressors tend to be ongoing and can’t be alleviated using a basic biological response, the NEM stress response can become overworked. Everyone’s tolerance for stress is different.
However, there are almost always damaging effects on the body when the NEM stress response is overused. This causes the adrenal glands to become fatigued and start to struggle to keep up with the cortisol demand. The overproduction of cortisol also overworks various systems and circuits in the body, which can cause them to become congested and dysregulated. Basically, AFS can cause a cycle of stress, dysregulation, and increasing ill health which, if not addressed, can become serious and even life-threatening.
The hormone circuit is usually one of the first to become affected by high cortisol levels and adrenal fatigue. Sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen aren’t essential when the body is in a state of high alert and preparing for danger. As a result, when cortisol levels are high the production of sex hormones are usually shut down. This is just one of the ways that AFS can affect general hormone levels in the body and create a need for androgen replacement therapy.
AFS can also cause deeper problems with the hormone circuit that can affect testosterone levels. The hormone circuit includes the thyroids, adrenals, and the ovaries or testicles, and AFS can cause imbalances in this circuit to occur at a younger age. The three organs in this circuit are closely connected, so when your adrenals become fatigued, it can cause the other two organs to become unbalanced as well. This only increases the body’s stress levels and worsens the original problem. Imbalances in this circuit can result in widespread health problems and symptoms of androgen deficiencies that may make androgen replacement therapy appealing.
As the adrenals become fatigued, it often leads to imbalances in both the testes and the thyroid gland.
The thyroid gland helps cells convert oxygen and calories into energy, and it’s a key regulator of metabolism and growth. As the hormone circuit becomes disrupted, the resulting imbalance in the thyroid gland affects every aspect of health. It’s closely linked to the hormonal imbalances that come about with aging, which means that imbalances in this organ could cause or exacerbate the low testosterone levels that make androgen replacement therapy necessary.
It could also be a factor in hair loss. As the thyroid functions break down, cell growth will be interrupted or impaired, which could contribute to hair loss and the lack of hair growth. In fact, the symptoms of thyroid impairment are almost identical to many of the symptoms of low testosterone, which is why it’s so important to get an accurate picture of your overall health before you start androgen replacement therapy or any other therapies designed to correct hormone imbalances.
Circuit imbalances can create symptoms that look very much like other diseases and disorders. And if you go to see a medical professional who isn’t aware of the overlap, you could find yourself taking a range of medications that don’t address the underlying cause and so don’t really help improve your health in the long run.
Several factors can affect or cause hair loss. Obviously, you can’t change the genetic factors, your sensitivity to DHT, or change the fact that you may need androgen replacement therapy to increase low testosterone levels and improve your overall health. However, there are some risk factors for hair loss that you can change. And these factors are closely related to AFS.
When you have AFS, you will experience a range of symptoms and circuit malfunctions that could contribute to AFS. And if you’re taking androgen replacement therapy to correct hormone imbalances at the same time, it could result in a perfect storm for permanent hair loss. This is yet another reason why it’s important that you work towards better health on all fronts rather than just by addressing the overarching symptoms.
If you have AFS, it’s important that you speak to a medical professional before you try androgen replacement therapy. Due to the anabolic nature of such hormones, not everyone can tolerate them. The weaker the adrenals, the greater the risk. Side effects such as hair loss and hirsutism may also surface. Paradoxical reactions have been reported as well. Although imbalances in the hormone circuit can cause severe and debilitating problems and deficiencies in hormone levels, focusing on these symptoms without addressing the underlying cause will only cause more problems.
A medical professional who’s aware of AFS will work with you to address the underlying problem with the hormone circuit. That means that they’ll help you to reduce your stress levels so that the system can start to heal and balance itself again. If you have hormone imbalances because of AFS, this should help to alleviate the problems.
However, the opposite is also true. Hormone imbalances that occur as a result of age can cause stress and bring on or exacerbate AFS. That’s why it’s so important to work with a trained medical professional who can unravel the tangled symptoms, disorders, and problems. They will be able to determine the exact cause of each problem and the best way to go about correcting the underlying issues as well as addressing the symptoms.
This is also an issue if you’re considering androgen replacement therapy or other therapies for hair loss. When you have advanced AFS especially, it’s important that you don’t make any changes without help and advice from someone who understands your condition. AFS can cause your body to become over sensitive to medications, which could mean that you’ll have a negative reaction to any therapies meant to combat hair loss. Because of this, it is wise not to invest in these therapies until you know that they’re safe for your body.
Hair loss and other problems related to aging can make people feel bad about themselves. It can seriously affect self-esteem and cause serious anxiety or even avoidance of social interactions. This problem is one that can be caused or exacerbated by androgen replacement therapy. Although this therapy may be necessary to reduce or eliminate symptoms of hormone imbalance, it can also increase your rate of hair loss and the accompanying mental and emotional consequences.
However, that doesn’t mean that you should stop taking this therapy. Correcting hormone levels as you age is very important in a world where people can live up to 100 years and may experience a variety of changes related to hormone deficiencies for 50 years of that time. Instead, you should consider the wide range of hair therapy options such as surgery or topical medications if you believe that your hair loss is causing ongoing stress or affecting your quality of life. This will also help to lower your overall stress levels, which will positively affect all your health needs.
© Copyright 2020 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.
As you age, your hormone levels naturally decrease, which can lead to years of health problems associated with hormone deficiencies. Androgen replacement therapy can help you combat these issues, but it can have the side effect of increased hair loss and the associated stress, embarrassment, and emotional pain.
