Can a sleep disorder cause low testoserone

[Complete novice]

Hello all,

Been suffering with all the symptoms of low testosterone for as long as I can remember, I've been referred to 3 different endo's all confused with my bloods, they say that my results are the same as a steriod user! I haven't ever taken steroids !!

So just got back today from the newest endo who is a proffesor in the field, but cause its a new hospital I'be had my blood test then I've got to wait 3 months to be seen again!! Gutted as I've not had any treatment as yet!!(tried nebido but they took me off as i have a normal sperm count and me and them don't want to risk becoming infertile)

Anyway they have said that an underlining sleep disorder maybe causing my problems as they seem stumped!! And have referred me to a sleep specialist!!

Just wondered if anyone else has had Any thing like this?!?

Thanks for any help

[juice2012]

I got diagnosed with low T and also did a sleep study where I got diagnosed with this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_a...tance_syndrome

I'm still waiting on the CPAP (device used to treat it). I should be getting it in the next week. Getting a sleep study isn't a bad idea if you can afford it just to rule out one more thing.

After being on TRT for 3 weeks I still feel like shit so who knows my issue may be more sleep related.

[Brazensol]

I have read several times now that sleep apnea is is associated with low T. You can google it read the articles.

[Times Roman]

I got diagnosed with low T and also did a sleep study where I got diagnosed with this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_a...tance_syndrome

I'm still waiting on the CPAP (device used to treat it). I should be getting it in the next week. Getting a sleep study isn't a bad idea if you can afford it just to rule out one more thing.

After being on TRT for 3 weeks I still feel like shit so who knows my issue may be more sleep related.

the sleep study is a fairly easy procedure, a devise you hook yourself up to while going to bed. I ordered my CPAP and should arrive shortly. Make sure you get one with a humidifier, else you will wake up with the dryest gawdam throat/mouth/nose you've ever had!

[Complete novice]

Im going for first sleep conciltation a week on monday! Just wondered if anyone with low test, had gone back to normal range and symptoms had gone after getting treatment for sleep disorder?!?

[juice2012]

I'm reposting this from a sleep apnea forum:

"To the Editor: I appreciated the recent comprehensive review of androgen deficiency and replacement therapy in men by Handelsman and Zajac.1 I ask their opinion of the importance of obstructive sleep apnoea as a cause of secondary hypogonadism, and also of the safety of androgen replacement in men with hypogonadism who have obstructive sleep apnoea but are intolerant of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment.

In my practice, obstructive sleep apnoea is one of the most common associations, if not indeed causes, of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. Several studies have shown that obstructive sleep apnoea is associated with secondary hypogonadism, which is partly or completely reversed by both CPAP treatment and uvulopalatopharyngoplasty.2-4 Secondary hypogonadism is also a feature of several conditions in which there is a high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea, including chronic spinal cord injury and cardiac failure. Of concern, studies have shown that androgen replacement may precipitate or worsen obstructive sleep apnoea."

http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/181 ... _fm-5.html

"Our findings suggest that OSA in men is associated with dysfunction of the pituitary-gonadal axis. The relation between LH-testosterone profiles and the severity of OSA suggests that sleep fragmentation and, to a lesser extent, hypoxia in addition to the degree of obesity and aging may be responsible for the central suppression of testosterone in these patients.

The reduced amounts of LH and testosterone and their significant association with RDI suggest that the pituitary-gonadal dysfunction is a consequence of OSA, rather than an independent primary disorder of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis."

http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/87/7/3394

YOU GOTTA READ THIS CHART! It shows the direct relationship between obesity, sleep apnea and secondary hypogonadism. It rocks!

http://www.andrologyjournal.org/cgi/con ... 5/619/FIG1

"CONCLUSIONS: OSA in men is associated with dysfunction of the pituitarygonadal
axis. The central suppression of nocturnal testosterone in these
patients is partially corrected during chronic CPAP treatment"

http://www.nel.edu/pdf_/24_6/NEL240603A ... itzky_.pdf

Bottom line? If your LH is low and T is low, you have central AKA secondary hypogonadism. Any doctor will tell ya that. Doctors are discovering CPAP can reverse pituitary-gonadal axis suppression and by doing that, raise testosterone.