Testosterone, IBS, & Anxiety: How They Are Connected
Oct 26, 2023An interesting case came up this week was regarding a 42-year old male, who was noticing an increase in anxiety and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), after having COVID. He also had a past history of more sleep apnea, fatty liver, and even glaucoma.
Together, we had an excellent discussion answering:
What direction should be taken in a case such as this?
Declining Testosterone
In this age group, one of the things that can both trigger anxiety and IBS, and especially an increase in pain with IBS, is a declining testosterone. Andropause, the decline of hormones in men, tends to not be as overt and dramatic as it is in women. Most women tend to go from having fairly high levels to dropping off as menstrual cycling stops. However with men, it's just a slow drop over time; there's not a big drop off, which is not always as apparent, when these things are occurring.
Anxiety & Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Experiencing more anxiety and panic attacks in our male patients is one thing to watch for as testosterone declines. Testosterone is one of those things known to give us courage and keep us sharp. In an environment where testosterone declines and anxiety increases, painful IBS becomes more common as well. In fact, testosterone has been given for treating IBS and shown to have positive outcomes.
System Stresses
What can be done naturally to increase testosterone when we might use more of a prescribed testosterone? And what are some of the best ways to look at that in terms of testing, honing in on why the patient is experiencing both the IBS and the anxiety, especially post COVID? It is known and has been shown that the hormones of one of the subsets of people with long COVID suffered because of it. When there is an increased production in cytokines and inflammation, signals to the body are sent, saying “We're too inflammatory right now. Don't procreate.” It's a stress on the system and stress, evolutionarily speaking, says, “There's no food to hunt and gather, so now's not the time to procreate.”
Infectious disease is also a stress on the system. It will manifest in many of these same pathways, saying, “Hey, you've just been through a lot. Now it's not time to procreate, so let's knock the testosterone level down.” Thus, a consequence of the infection could be setting into action this lower level of testosterone, causing the patient to feel more anxious and to have more IBS.
Conclusion
These manifestations themselves can steer us in a clear direction in terms of what steps to take next, in order to treat the root cause of what's going on in terms of the chief complaints in his system. It is crucial to continue these discussions and review cases together as a team of functional medicine practitioners. At Origins Incubator, we are fortunate to have a team of dedicated professionals as guides and mentors for the betterment of your individual patients and communities.
We will continue to provide a glimpse into our conversations on our website blog, YouTube Channel, and our social platforms. Stay tuned!
Are you ready to build the practice of your dreams?
Click below to view our free minicourse and learn the principles behind building a profitable practice!