For women, testosterone is produced in smaller amounts but is essential for bone strength and sexual interest. Testosterone is often recognized as the primary male sex hormone, but its role in the body is vast and complex. If testing reveals abnormal hormone levels, Huddle Men’s Health may recommend hormone therapy tailored specifically for men. Low testosterone can also cause enlarged breasts (gynecomastia), reduced body hair, and sexual function issues. A hormone blood test provides valuable insights into your hormone balance that regular laboratory testing misses. And never underestimate sleep—that’s when your body does its most important hormone production and regulation, especially testosterone. Managing stress through whatever works for you—whether it’s hitting the gym, meditation, or time outdoors—prevents cortisol from crushing your testosterone levels. Including testosterone testing as part of your routine visit can provide valuable insights into your energy levels, mental clarity, and long-term health. Specialized men’s health clinics also offer hormone testing, often with additional support for testosterone replacement therapy if needed. Advocate for your health by asking your yearly checkup doctor to include testosterone testing in your routine bloodwork. Knowing both your total and free testosterone levels is crucial for a complete understanding of your hormonal health. Together, these make up your total testosterone levels, which reflect the overall amount of testosterone circulating in your bloodstream. Low testosterone levels can impact everything from your mood to your physical stamina. Understanding your hormones is the first step toward reclaiming your peak performance. But when things get out of balance—whether from stress, aging, or just life taking its toll—you might start experiencing frustrating symptoms like unexplained weight changes, mood swings, or feeling like you’ve lost your edge. When your hormones are optimized, you feel strong, focused, and unstoppable. You’ll get your blood pressure checked, step on the scale, and maybe have some basic blood work done. Low testosterone in females can also lessen sexual desire and affect mood, concentration, and energy levels. For both sexes, having too little or too much testosterone can cause symptoms. Combine this with thyroid testing and other key screenings to create a comprehensive approach to staying healthy. Including a thyroid panel in your routine bloodwork ensures your doctor gets a complete picture of your hormone health. While some primary care providers and endocrinologists offer testosterone testing as part of an annual checkup, most may not offer it unless prompted by the patient. Optimizing testosterone can improve emotional resilience, helping you manage stress, stay motivated, and maintain healthy relationships. Yes, testosterone levels naturally fluctuate based on factors like sleep, stress, and time of day. A healthcare provider will evaluate your symptoms, overall health, and specific testosterone levels to determine if TRT or other interventions are appropriate. With increasing visibility of TGD persons, healthcare professionals are frequently initiating and monitoring medically necessary GAHT to reduce gender dysphoria and improve quality of life in their patients. Noted caveats to breast cancer screening in transgender women include lack of evidence guiding recommendations and how to manage screening in the presence of breast implants, which some transgender women obtain as part of GAS. These guidelines were created prior to the newer Dutch data showing a higher risk of breast cancer in transgender women compared to cisgender men, and thus reaffirmed the current breast cancer screening recommendation for transgender women. As there is currently no evidence that breast cancer risk among transgender women is higher than that in cisgender women, recommendations for breast cancer screening in transgender women are largely based on guidelines for cisgender women (Table 5). With exogenous testosterone and a modest decline in estradiol, studies, including a meta-analysis with 247 transgender men after 12 and 24 months of GAHT, have shown no significant difference in BMD when compared to their baseline BMD.26, 27 Recent data did not show increased fracture risk in transgender men across the lifespan; 1.7% of the transgender men experienced a fracture compared with 3.0% of the age-matched cisgender men (OR 0.57 95% CI 0.35–0.94) and 2.2% of age-matched cisgender women (OR 0.79 95% CI 0.48–1.30).28