I decided to post this article in an effort to share my experiences because I think it may be helpful for many other men who might be suffering with the same issues as I was. Let me preface this with a disclaimer: I am NOT a doctor or an authority on medicine or health issues. If you think you may suffer from low testosterone, please read my story. If you find that you can identify with my experiences, you might decide to seek direction from a qualified professional.
I am a 42-year old man, husband and father of 4 children. Approximately 8 years ago I started to feel "off." It started off with very slow, almost imperceptible changes in how I felt and it gradually became worse. I was very easily winded (even tying my shoes became a huge chore). I had no energy or motivation to do anything. I got dizzy if I stood up too quickly. I started to gain weight without any real change in my diet. I had always been a very sexual person throughout my whole adult life and when I no longer had early morning erections, I knew something was wrong. My libido was pretty much non-existent.
I went to my general practitioner who referred me to an Endocrinologist. That doctor did a bunch of tests (blood, urine, etc...) and found that my testosterone levels were way below the normal levels for a man of my age. He told me that I had something called pituitary hypogonadism. In a nutshell, my pituitary gland shut down and stopped sending signals to my testes to produce testosterone. Evidently, it's quite common in men who are in their late 30's and/or early 40's. I guess most men just tolerate it and chalk it up to growing old. Not me. No disrespect to those men who are okay with aging but I want to do everything I can do to stay youthful for as long as I can. The Endocrinologist put me on testosterone, an injection that I had to give myself in the rear-end, once every two weeks.
After my first shot, I felt much better. My energy came back, I started losing weight, my erections and libido returned in earnest. That was it! That was the answer. It just made so much sense. I was low on testosterone, so I needed to supplement testosterone right? Wrong! Let me explain further.
I stayed on testosterone for many years. I did shots (two different types of testosterone esters), creams, patches and gels. I've tried them all. All in all I felt better than before the HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) but I started to develop another issue. This one, I wasn't able to detect on my own. There were no side effects like getting tired or not wanting to have sex. The doctor who was treating me for the low testosterone did periodic blood tests to check on my overall health and testosterone levels. He noticed that my hematocrit level began to rise. Hematocrit is a measurement of blood volume that is occupied by red blood cells. I started to develop the opposite problem of someone with anemia. I had too many red blood cells - a condition called Polycythemia Vera. Polycythemia is potentially life threatening. Too many red blood cells make your blood particularly thick. Some professional athletes (particularly distance runners) take supplements in an effort to increase the number of red blood cells in their bodies. Red blood cells transport oxygen to our muscles so in theory, the more red blood cells you have, the more oxygen you make available to your body. This translates to better and more efficient athletic performance and quicker recovery. However, as in my case, there IS a point at which it's too much of a good thing.
The downside of an increased number of red blood cells - thicker blood means my heart has to work harder to pump blood throughout my body. That "extra work" I'm asking my heart to do could lead to a heart attack. Also, thicker blood will clot easier and more effectively. This could lead to stroke, a pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, etc. Basically, it's not good.
I went to yet another doctor (this one a Hematologist/Oncologist). The treatment for high hematocrit (too many red blood cells) is to do a phlebotomy (remove some blood). Basically, they just take off a pint of blood. When they remove a pint of the "thick blood" my body will make new blood to replace the pint they took. The hope is that my body can't produce the red blood cells as fast as the doctor can remove them. It's just like donating blood. This blood-letting needed to happen a couple of times per month until the levels of red blood cells cane down to an acceptable or "safe" level.
I was in a catch-22. I needed the testosterone to feel normal and like a man, but every time I took my shot, I needed to run to the blood bank to bleed-out a pint and eat a cookie! I did this cycle for several years and it sucked!
Fast-forward a few years. My wife saw an infomercial and they were talking about Acai berry - using it to detox, cleanse and lose weight. My wife was trying to lose the last few pounds she had gained while pregnant with our newest son. She wanted to give Acai a try. She and I both went online and got one of those offers for a one-month test. I figured if she was going to try it, I might as well try it as well. I had a few pounds to lose myself so I figured it couldn't hurt.
I started taking the pills as directed. After a few days I noticed that I wasn't as hungry as I usually was. I would load up a plate of food at dinner and then only finish ½ of it (which is NOT normal for me). The only other thing I noticed was that my morning "eliminations" became almost effortless. I don't want to go into too much detail here but just... um... there was no need for reading material in the head anymore - I was in and out in no time! Other than that, I didn't really notice much. I don't think I lost any appreciable weight but I was also working out a lot and building muscle so it was hard to say based on just weighing myself. I never had my body fat measured (something I should have done). My wife actually DID lose weight (about 8 pounds in 3 months or so) but that's not the point of this post.
It was time for my next appointment with the Hematologist.
Note - for purposes of the time-line, I had been taking the Acai for almost one full month at this point.
By this time, my doctor appointments were becoming very routine. It was the same thing every time I went in. They would do what's called a "Stat Hematocrit" (a quick blood test to check my levels of red blood cells). It was ALWAYS too high (near 60-ish for any physicians who might be reading this). Then they would put a needle about the size of a McDonald's drinking straw into my arm, take off a pint of blood, give me a cookie or a hard candy and send me on my way. This time was different though. This time, the test showed a LOW level of red blood cells. Not too low but at the low end of normal. There was no need for the blood letting (I was really happy about that - I hate giving blood). My doctor asked me if I had changed anything. He thought maybe I stopped taking my testosterone shots or something. I told him no. I was still on the testosterone. In fact, I had just recently done my shot about 3-4 days prior to that appointment. Based on that, my red blood level should have been through the roof! I couldn't think of anything that I was doing different so we just made another appointment for a month later and I left his office.
It wasn't until I got home later that night that I remembered that I had been taking the Acai pills. I wondered if maybe the pills had something to do with the change in my blood profile. I wasn't doing anything else different so it made sense to me. I tried looking it up online and found NOTHING regarding a correlation between Acai and red blood cells. I had no way to prove my theory but my position was this: I was feeling great and my blood profile was PERFECT so why change anything right? I ordered another bottle of Acai pills and continued to take them religiously. Just an interesting note - My wife actually stopped taking the Acai pills. She said that they gave her headaches. I really don't think that Acai caused her headaches but I figured it was at least worth mentioning here.
About 3 weeks later I had another appointment with my Endocrinologist. I was seeing him regularly as well (about once every 6-8 weeks). He would always order a blood test to check my levels of total and free testosterone. On this occasion, neither he nor I was prepared for the results of this test. My levels of testosterone were through the roof! My total testosterone measurement was 937 ng/dl! That's about twice the normal level for a 25 year old man (I was 39 at the time).
It's important to note that throughout the years, while under his care and on the testosterone injections; my levels would fluctuate (usually between about 319-450 ng/dl). Those are considered acceptable or "normal" levels for a man in his late 30's or early 40's. There was always a direct correlation between the higher levels and the amount of time that had elapsed since my last shot (the testosterone level would spike about 3-7 days immediately following the shot, gradually decrease over the next 10-14 days).
My doctor asked me what I was doing to increase my levels of testosterone. I told him nothing. I told him that I had been taking Acai and asked him if he thought it might be having an effect on my testosterone levels. He said "no." I think he was angry because he accused me of taking more of the drug than he had prescribed. He gave me a lecture about the side effects of taking too much testosterone (a steroid). He didn't refill my testosterone prescription and made another appointment for me to come back and test again in a month.
Again, I went online and tried to research any possible correlation between Acai berry and testosterone production in men. I found nothing! I found that most of the websites were just trying to sell Acai and touted the weight loss effects of the supplement. There didn't seem to be any scientific research at all - just a bunch of hearsay and hype ("Diet secret of the stars", "Super Food Acai Berry", etc...).
Fast forward to my next appointment with the Endocrinologist. I intentionally did not take my shot when I was scheduled to so by the time I was at the doctor's office, it had been approximately 8-9 weeks since my last testosterone shot. My level of testosterone should have been VERY low (in the 200's). It was not! In fact, it was high-normal (517 ng/dl). What the heck? It had been about eight years since my diagnosis. Pituitary Hypogonadism, according to my doctor, doesn't just fix itself. It's a chronic condition. My doctor has no explanation but refuses to acknowledge that the Acai has anything to do with it (he's very old-school medicine and this is just too much of a stretch for him I think).
Since that appointment, I have had several more testosterone tests. My level stays at a normal or high-normal (430-520 ng/dl). My blood profile (the high red blood cells) has remained within the normal limits. I attribute this to the fact that I'm no longer supplementing with testosterone injections. I feel great, I have energy, my weight is down a few pounds and I still really enjoy it when I poop! I'm not necessarily saying that Acai is responsible for all this, but I'm not saying that it isn't either!
I still see both doctors once in a while just to keep an eye on things. If things start to revert back to the way they were, I want to be able to catch it early you know? I'll tell you though, I've had several blood tests over the past many months and so far, everything is perfect!
If you think you might have low testosterone, you might consider going to a doctor to get it checked out. A lot of "old-school" doctors are of the opinion that low testosterone is just part of growing old and they aren't comfortable prescribing testosterone. You probably should look for an Endocrinologist or an anti-aging doctor - someone who specializes in hormone replacement therapy.
I'm obviously a HUGE believer in the benefits of Acai berry supplementation.
About this Author
If you want to give Acai a try, you should use only pure Acai (as opposed to Acai mixed in with various other supplements). For an offer for a trial bottle of pure Acai, please click on the link below:
[http://www.acaicolon.net]
The author is a 42-year old man, husband and father of 4 children. He loves to write and is motivated to share his experiences and history in an effort to help others who might identify with the subject matter. Be well! [http://www.acaicolon.net]
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