Symptoms of Low Testosterone in Women
Symptoms of Low Testosterone in Women
In 2002 a group of medical researchers put together a study on testosterone deficiency in women. To summarize their findings, they stated that the androgen-deficient (testosterone-deficient) female manifests these symptoms:
If you are experiencing fatigue, weakness, lack of energy, body shape changes, low self esteem and more importantly, a low sex drive that affects your sexual performance, you need to improve your testosterone levels.
- Diminished sense of well-being, gloomy mood and/or reduced motivation
- Persistent, unexplained fatigue
- Sexual function changes, including decreased libido, sexual receptivity and pleasure
- (Potential) bone loss, decreased muscle strength, changes in cognition/memory.
- Mood changes
- Sleep disturbances
- Body shape changes
When these symptoms manifest, medical practitioners may overlook the likelihood that the problem is actually caused by low testosterone levels.
In the United States, 600,000 hysterectomies are performed annually. Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of
both ovaries) is performed in conjunction with hysterectomy in about half of women aged 40-44 years of age who undergo the procedure and in almost 80% of women 45-54 years old. U.S. data collected between 1980 and 1993 showed that the likelihood of removal of the ovaries when undergoing hysterectomy is age related. Approximately 18% of women aged 15-24 years who had undergone hysterectomy also had bilateral oophorectomy. This proportion increased with age, peaking at 76% among women aged 45-54 years then declining to 62% among women aged greater than 55 years. It is estimated that one in four women will undergo this procedure at 60 years of age. In over 50% of cases removal of the ovaries is routinely performed. Reasons may include prophylactic prevention of ovarian cancer, endometriosis or pelvic inflammatory disease.
When both ovaries do not function properly, testosterone production drops dramatically. So, many of the body functions that depend on testosterone weaken.
Other women, for various reasons, have lower than normal testosterone production, even without removal of the ovaries. Their symptoms are no different to those listed above.
The answer for many women is the restoration of testosterone levels.
Recommended next page - Causes of Low Testosterone in Women
