I'm not sure when I actually became hypogonadic. I think I was about 25. I went through puberty, etc. OK, but suddenly at 25 I started gaining weight and began to lose interest in a social life. I had all the signs of depression. My first encounter with an endocrinologist was about 6 years later, when my thyroid started acting up. At that time I questioned him about measuring my Testosterone levels, and he blew me off, saying, "if you have to shave, your hormones are OK".

Another 8 years went by and I started getting short of breath all the time. This time I was told I had asthma. After a year of meds and no results, I was so bad I could hardly walk out to my car without getting breathless. I finally insisted on seeing a specialist. After numerous tests and a nasty surgery to remove a chunk of my lungs, (the only way to get a sure diagnosis), they finally told me I have Sarcoidosis, an immune system disorder where your body basically attacks itself - usually in the lungs. They put me on prednisone, which I'm still on, but there was still something else wrong and I knew it.

One day a friend told me he had been diagnosed with osteoporosis. They had linked it to low Testosterone. For some reason, A light bulb went off and I just KNEW that was my problem. I made an appointment with his endo and told her my story and basically insisted that she test me for everything. The results - Testosterone level 136, FSH and LH very low. Classic secondary hypogonadism. I made her do more tests and we found out I was diabetic, had osteoporosis, and had a high IGF-1 level. Lovely!

Anyway, the doctors have no idea what got me to this state, but I firmly believe it started with low Testosterone levels, which screws up the immune system, which led to all the other mess.

Nick