Guys: UC and low testosterone level?

I've been waiting on a few lab tests to come back, but I've been planning to start the same thread.  I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis a little over six years ago and have been in a flare for a little over a year. 

I've been complaining to my GP about general fatigue for about a year and, then, about 6-8 months ago it started to get worse and, then, about two months ago it became completely unbearable.  All along and unbeknownst to me, I was bringing to my doctor's attention what were actually symptoms of low testosterone -- fatigue, waistline pudge, low libido, mental fog, aggravation, etc. -- but he claimed they were symptoms of ulcerative colitis.  (They can be similar, but I do feel like he wasn't really paying attention.  That I wouldn't take prednisone or 6mp or Remicade also contributed to his opinion that I was just doing this to myself.)

To make a long story short, when I told him I absolutely had to have surgery or had to sell my home because I couldn't take the stairs anymore, he thought to check my testosterone because a "34-year-old runner shouldn't feel that way."  (No crap , doc. . . .)  I don't know what took him so long.

My doc did a different test than seldom_seen's, but my numbers barely registered and were below those of a 100-yer-old man.  My doctor actually apologized.  I've been on the patch for about two weeks and I feel like a completely different person.  The people around me are amazed at the change.

I haven't found much of a connection between low testosterone and uc but my doctor considers the two problems related.  It is mentioned in passing in an Italian study that suggests all male uc patients be tested for low testosterone.  At any rate, it is up in the air whether the colitis causes low testosterone or whether colitis and low testosterone are a symptom of a general autoimmune problem.

As part of testosterone replacement, my doctor wanted a baseline bone scan, and the bone scan shows osteopenia.  Again, this is not to be expected in a 34-year-old man who exercises regularly.  It is likely to be a symptom of low testosterone, but it could also be a symptom of colitis.  My understanding is that what's causing the bone density problem will reveal itself depending on whether the bone loss reverses itself.

It seems like a lot of bad news, but I'm actually relieved to get to the bottom of the problems I've been having.

Anyone else???

Hi,

Since being diagnosed in 2006 my drive has slowly taken a dive to the point now where it's now non existent.  I hadn't actually considered that my UC may have something to do with it.

I've been on Pred for a week and a half and I'm now begining to tapering off, so will have to wait untill that is out of my system, but I'm going to get my Testosterone levels checked too.

Do you know how long it takes for Pred to leave your system?

seldon_seen, I believe there was a thread on this exact subject awhile back. From what I remember males and females have both voiced their concerns about this, so it's not just a guy thing. It seems as though it may be another wonderful side effect of UC that some of us may experience.

All good points, ioscan-fnk.

I'd say I comply with your six points fairly well yet my testosterone levels went wonky. What's the cause? So far unknown. Did you have your testosterone levels tested or are you going by feel?

A couple more points, seldom_seen: From what I've read, the patches can be a better fit, so to speak, for raising T levels. (They can also be very irritating to about a third of patients, but it might be worth a try.) Six months may be a long time between blood tests, especially if you don't feel it's working. As I understand it, you can probably tweak the dose month to month. You might also ask for a test of "free" or "bioavailable" testosterone which is said to be more accurate than total testosterone.

Thanks for all for the replies. I tend to believe that the physiology of UC does not itself interfere greatly with Testosterone production. But I do believe that the goodies that UC often brings with it -- lethargy, depression and anxiety, to name a few -- can suppress T. I certainly have all these, plus I am married and not getting any younger. If I ever felt up to hitting the gym anymore, that would help immensely, no doubt.

And a quick apology for prefixing the thread with "Guys," as I understand that this hormone is not gender-exclusive. Certainly women could also suffer.

I went to the lab yesterday for a retest. I suspect similar results, if my instincts are correct. I have read, as "seconder" wrote, that measuring T is not a cut-and-dried process. "Total T" is sort of a sloppy way to go about it. I suspect that I need to go to a urologist or some other specialist who really knows the mechanics of T -- my PCP is good, but I don't get the impression he knows a ton about treating low T.

As for whether T supplements help -- not for me. However, when I have been in good shape (with UC, I have done two triathlons and practiced Krav Maga), which I suspect naturally raises T, I have felt much better.

Anyway, here is an abstract I found from some society on androgens and men's health:

TESTOSTERONE INTERACTIONS IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND TREATMENT OF DEGENERATIVE AND INFLAMMATORY DISEASES
OBJECTIVE: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is more common in women and it is frequently assumed that being female may predispose to the development of this disorder. Alternatively, being male could offer some degree of protection and if so, this might be mediated by testosterone. The aim of this study was to assess whether male patients with IBS have lower levels of testosterone and related gonadotrophins than their unaffected counterparts and if this relates to rectal sensitivity.
METHODS: Fifty secondary care, male outpatients with IBS (aged 19–71 yr) were compared with 25 controls (aged 22–67 yr). Each subject had serum testosterone, free testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, follicle stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone (LH) measured, together with rectal sensitivity to balloon distension. Anxiety and depression were also assessed.
RESULTS: The only difference in the hormone levels between patients and controls that reached statistical significance was the lower value for LH in the IBS patients (p= 0.014). Although patients were more anxious and depressed than the controls (p< 0.001), this could not solely account for the reduced level of LH, as adjusting for these (analysis of variance) still tended to show that LH values were lower in men with rather than without IBS [F(1,70) = 2.74; p= 0.10]. Men with IBS were more sensitive to balloon distension of the rectum, with the distension volumes required for "urgency" (p< 0.001) and "discomfort" (p= 0.001) significantly lower than controls. Paradoxically, the patient's sensory thresholds negatively correlated with levels of testosterone (p< 0.05) and free testosterone (p< 0.002), and positively with levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (p< 0.05). Finally, there was a tendency for IBS symptomatology to be inversely related to testosterone levels (p= 0.15).
CONCLUSIONS: These results support the need for further exploration of the role of male sex hormones in the pathophysiology of IBS.

Interesting info., ioscan-fnk.

The fact that many symptoms of low testosterone are similar to many symptoms of ulcerative colitis probably frustrated my diagnosis of low testosterone. Going by feel, my first thought was anemia, but I didn't have anemia. B-vitamin defieciency? Nope. Stress? Not really. I hadn't considered low testosterone, and apparently neither did my doctor.

I went through three rounds of bloodwork (fasting, non fasting etc.) over the course of a month or so and all my blood work came back within the range of normal. My doctor told me I was healthy as a horse and used that opportunity to lecture me about finally taking prednisone. He also suggested depression, but I knew I was not depressed.

I told him that if this was how I had to live with uc, then I had to have surgery and that I would seek it out with or without his help. Then he changed his tune and ordered blood work to consider low testosterone but warned me it was rare. Lo and behold, low testosterone. (And not so rare.) Go figure.

All along, he thought it was uc, so I thought it was uc. My best guess is that my uc was mildly active at that point.

As someone also in his early 30s I realize that supplementing testosterone will likely supress natural production of it. There are ways to counteract that and I will discuss with my doctor. Managing low testosterone seems even more complicated than managing uc. Who'd have thought that was even possible?! At least with uc there are physical and visual cues. Blood in my stool is a fairly reliable indicator of inflammation. With low testosterone it's all abot blood tests.

I'm 29 and suspect I have UC or something similar (hopefully nothing more serious). I have colonscopy tomorrow to find out what's causing my symptoms but basically I have had diahrrea along with occasional red blood on my stools, brought on mostly by exercise and after eating certain foods like bananas, spag bol or alcohol. I have also lost a few pounds due to malabsorption no doubt.

Anyway the I was brought here after googling "IBS+low testosterone" because I definitely have low testosterone since I have very small testicles and only shave every 3 days (been like that for as long as I can remember and only discovered low T would be causing my problems because I read a lot of health mags). Also have other symptoms associted with low test and as a fit and active young guy I really should'nt be getting these symtoms. I have only just persuaded my doc to get blood test for low T so will get results this week.

I do know low T is associated with an increased risk for autoimmune disorders which UC is so my own opinion is that low T (and hormone imbalances in general) must have some cause and effect factor but prob dont necessarily cause UC per say in all cases. However, I am surprised that there seems to be a lack of studies done on this.

Someone else in the forum asked anyone to say whether or not their UC symptoms improved after taking testosterone supplementation - I think that would be helpful.

I did find one persons experience with Crohn's (similar to UC) to be relieved after taking TRT - link:

http://www.usdoctor.com/crohn.htm 

Goodluck to all in fighting against UC and/or los T

I have had the same issue with low libido and fatigue with UC. I have been taking DHEA once per day in 5mg doses. This helps with the low libido and fatigue. My sex drive immediately came back. People with UC/Crohns have been shown to have really low levels of DHEA.