In the UK, especially with the NHS, it can be extremely difficult to get treatment for low testosterone. Many GPs flat out refuse treatment.
Doctors in the UK can be shockingly clueless about many medical conditions in my experience. Sometimes you just have to do your own homework.
For example, I suffer from a skin condition called Rosacea. I stay up to date with all the latest developments in the treatment of this condition. On arrival in the UK, I heard about a new treatment that had been on the market for about a year. Feedback was positive and it sounded like the treatment would be much better than what I was currently using.
So I went to my GP, and asked him if he could prescribe it for me, so that I could see if it improved my condition.
He hadn’t even heard of it!
He then proceeded to look it up online, glanced over the medical literature, and turned to me and said “Hmmm, sounds good. Let’s give it a try.”
That story highlights the necessity for you to take control and ownership of your own health – because nobody else will, and even if they do, it might not be the best advice or solution.
Getting Treatment For Low Testosterone In The UK
In the UK, especially with the NHS, it can be extremely difficult to get treatment for low testosterone. Many GPs flat out refuse treatment, even when clear symptoms and signs are evident.
As testosterone replacement therapy has been around for quite some time now, many doctors still remain behind with the times and can be very ignorant on the subject.
Even if you have a valid case of low testosterone, many GPs will refuse treatment due to inexperience in this field.
To prevent getting stonewalled by your doctor, it always helps to be prepared. Learning as much as you can about a condition beforehand is essential.
This is your body, your health and your well-being. Therefore the responsibility lies with you, not the GP, to do everything you can to take care of it.
Make sure you read my guide if you haven’t already: How To Get TRT In The UK
Get The UK Guidelines For Low Testosterone
For low testosterone, the levels you need to be at to qualify for testosterone replacement therapy are already very low (< 12 nmol/l or 350 ng/dl).
Even still, doctors may be hesitant or refuse treatment when your levels are at or below that level, for example 8-12 nmol/l.
Many of you, including myself, have learnt this from experience, as you’ve all probably seen now on my YouTube channel where we talk about this.
You need to come fully prepared. Luckily, there is a set of UK Guidelines which includes a section on low testosterone and treatment. See the image below.
To quote a viewer and friend from my YouTube Channel: “It’s amazing how quickly doctors change their mind when they are sent a copy of the UK guidelines!”
You can download the UK Guidelines on Low Testosterone here, or you can get them straight from the British Society For Sexual Medicine’s website. Simply click the link that says: “Management of sexual problems in men: the role of Androgens”.
This is not a guarantee that you will get treatment, but it certainly bolsters your case if you’re GP is being difficult.
Good luck! If this helped your case, please let us know by sending me a message or leaving a comment on my YouTube Channel.
Stay Strong!
Last blood test I took places me at 12.9 nmol/l (at age 27), and my doctor had the predictable response of “Your Testosterone levels are normal.”
I’ve gotten another blood test done, and I’ve asked to be referred to an endocrinologist. This guide in particular helps with people falling in the 8-12 nmol/l range, so what course of action would be best for me to take if my levels still fall just above that range? Am I best to just keep insisting I get referred to an endocrinologist?
That is definitely low. If switching doctors and endocrinologists doesn’t work, you may have to go private. Any physician judging by numbers and not symptoms is showing their ignorance and inexperience. So you’ll need to find a more clued up doctor/service that understands this. Which is usually the hard part, but definitely possible.
Similarly to Micah’s comment I have just had my blood results curtesy of Medichecks and at 38 years old my Testosterone level has come back as 10.6nmol/L and a Free Test of 0.2030nmol/L so I’m going to pursue a remedy from my GP that in the past has said my levels are normal.
Thanks for all of the information and guidance!
Please keep me posted on how seeking treatment goes and how treatment works for you once you get treated. All the best. I hope you feel good again!
My GP has referred me to an Endocrinologist which is a good start.
I also asked him to pull up my blood results from last summer to which they said they were fine… my testosterone level way 9.2nmol/L which is ridiculous considering I have 10 years of low test symptoms logged with them.
Typical. NHS, I presume?
Yep. Classic NHS
So the Endocrinologist I was referred to claimed that my level of 9.2nmol/L Testosterone and 0.203nmol/L Free Testosterone is fine and refused to treat me. Back to the drawing board
had my first set of bloods. I’m sitting at 7.2,
Today was my 2nd set of bloods. So will get results soon. But we know in the uk, my doctor will probably do nothing about it. I have no go in me at all, it’s effecting every aspect of my life. My mental health is up and down like a yo-yo