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Low Testosterone Symptoms — and How to Test at Home

By Jillian Foglesong Stabile, MD, FAAFP, DABOM

Testosterone is a vital hormone that affects multiple parts of the body and can have significant health effects. Hormone imbalances can profoundly affect your quality of life, and testosterone is no exception. Testing for testosterone can provide valuable insights into your health, and several testing options are available. If you want to know more about low testosterone symptoms and how to test at home, read on.

Understanding Low Testosterone

Testosterone belongs to a class of hormones known as steroid hormones. It is synthesized from cholesterol and is the primary hormone responsible for the development of sexual development in men and people assigned male at birth (AMAB). In women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB), testosterone plays a role in libido, energy, mood, bone density, and muscle mass.

Testosterone levels naturally decrease with age, but if lower levels are causing symptoms, consultation with a healthcare provider may be needed to determine whether the symptoms you are experiencing are due to low testosterone or another condition.

What Causes Low Testosterone Levels?

Many factors affect testosterone levels. Some factors that contribute to low testosterone levels include:

Genetic conditions such as Klinefelter syndrome
Injury to the testicles
Infections such as mumps
Medications such as chemotherapy or opioids
Problems with the pituitary gland or hypothalamus
Advanced HIV/AIDs
Kidney Failure
Liver Disease
Diabetes
Aging
Having obesity
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Severe malnutrition
Antihormone medications, such as those used to treat prostate cancer
Excessive alcohol consumption
Prolonged stress

Many other factors can affect testosterone levels. Many of these conditions and factors can be managed through lifestyle modifications and, when appropriate, medication. If you have one of these chronic conditions, your healthcare provider can help you determine when monitoring your testosterone level may be suitable.

What Are the Symptoms of Low Testosterone?

Many people experience symptoms and wonder whether those symptoms may be related to low testosterone. One of the challenges associated with low testosterone is that the symptoms are prevalent and overlap with other medical conditions.

Some of the symptoms of low testosterone in men and people AMAB include:

Low sex drive
Difficulty with erectile function
Low sperm count and infertility
Muscle loss and decreased strength
Increased body fat
Osteoporosis
Loss of body hair and difficulty growing a beard
Decreased testicle size
Fatigue
Decreased energy
Trouble concentrating
Hot flashes

These symptoms may mimic other conditions such as sleep apnea, hypothyroidism, depression, and anemia.

Why Is It Important to Test Testosterone Levels?

Low testosterone can affect your quality of life, but it can also potentially cause issues with your health. Low testosterone levels can cause problems with fertility and even increase your risk for fractures. It can make it difficult for you to concentrate, which can negatively affect your work. Difficulty with erectile function may hurt your mental health and relationships.

Suppose you’re having symptoms of low testosterone. In that case, it may be essential to check your levels to determine whether testosterone is the issue or whether there might be another medical condition causing the symptoms.

How to Test Testosterone Levels at Home

There are many options for testing testosterone levels. If you’ve discussed your symptoms with your healthcare provider, they may order testing from a clinic or an outpatient laboratory. However, you can also test testosterone levels from the comfort of your home.

You should carefully follow the instructions for whichever home testing kit you choose. Testosterone levels fluctuate naturally throughout the day, and the timing of this test is often crucial in making treatment decisions. You may need additional testing to confirm a diagnosis of hypogonadism, the medical term for low testosterone. Home-testing for testosterone is often a starting point for identifying a problem, but you may need additional testing to determine the reason for the low levels.

Home Testing Options

There are several options for testing testosterone levels at home. You can often purchase these kits either from a pharmacy or online. Before choosing a company to purchase your test kit from, make sure to research the reliability and reputation of the company, as the accuracy of these tests can vary.

Saliva Testing

One popular method of testosterone testing is saliva testing. This involves collecting a saliva sample and sending it to a lab for analysis. This test specifically measures the amount of free testosterone in the sample.

One advantage of salivary testing is that it doesn’t require a needle to get the sample. This makes it easier to test multiple times a day to monitor the natural fluctuations of testosterone throughout the day. This test also measures free testosterone, the active form of testosterone.

Blood Testing

You may also do blood testing for testosterone from the convenience of home. This generally involves poking your finger to collect a blood sample, which you then mail to a lab for analysis. These tests offer the convenience of testing from home, but do require poking yourself, which can make them less appealing for some people. The American Urological Association and the Endocrine Society currently recommend blood testing for testosterone over other testing methods.

Urine Testing

Urine testing for reproductive hormones such as testosterone generally involves collecting urine and putting a sample on a filter paper to dry before sending it to a lab for analysis. Like with saliva testing, multiple samples can be collected throughout the day to evaluate fluctuations. Repeated measurements are felt to have similar accuracy to a 24-hour urine collection. However, some medical organizations do not prefer urine testing for hormone levels due to questions about accuracy.

Interpreting Your Results

Interpreting at-home test results requires careful consideration. Because testosterone levels fluctuate naturally throughout the day, healthcare providers often obtain more than one sample at specific times of the day. Frequently, you may need additional testing to help determine the cause of low testosterone levels and guide the treatment.

For these reasons, it is important to discuss your results with a healthcare provider before considering or initiating treatment for low testosterone. Your healthcare provider may consider other factors that could influence the accuracy of your results, such as medications or recent illness.

Limitations of Home Testosterone Testing

At-home lab tests have the potential to be variable in accuracy and quality for several reasons. With at-home testing, you collect the sample yourself, whereas in a clinical lab setting, a trained phlebotomist or medical assistant often collects the sample. Clinical labs undergo rigorous testing and ongoing quality control to maintain their licenses and certifications. While some labs that process home-collected samples maintain these certifications, not all do.

At-home labs may not offer the same level of support and guidance from a healthcare provider as those performed at a clinical lab. Clinical laboratories often require a physician's order to perform the test. Some at-home laboratories offer consultation with a healthcare professional to guide you on the next steps after testing, but not all companies offer this level of support.

Manage Your Sexual Health With Everlywell

Both low testosterone and erectile dysfunction can significantly affect your quality of life. The good news is that both of these common conditions are treatable.

Everlywell offers lab tests and healthcare appointments from the comfort of your home. If you think that low testosterone may be contributing to erectile dysfunction or if you want to know about your levels of this vital hormone, Everlywell has you covered. Our Men’s Health Test uses a saliva sample to give you the levels of four important biomarkers, including testosterone. Want to talk with a healthcare provider about your symptoms? You can schedule a men’s health appointment, and our certified healthcare providers can answer your questions and give you the guidance you need today from the comfort of your own home through our discreet telehealth service. At Everlywell, you come for the testing and stay for the guidance.

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