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Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffAlthough you're likely to start by seeing your family doctor or general practitioner, you may need to consult an endocrinologist, a doctor who specializes in the hormone-producing (endocrine) glands. If your primary care doctor suspects you have male hypogondism, he or she may refer you to an endocrinologist. Or, you may ask for a referral.
Here's some information to help you get ready for your appointment, and to know what to expect from your doctor.
What you can do
- Write down any symptoms you're experiencing, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment.
- Write down key personal information, including any major stresses, recent life changes and history of childhood illnesses or surgeries.
- Make a list of all medications, as well as any vitamins or supplements, that you're taking.
- Write down questions to ask your doctor.
Preparing a list of questions for your doctor will help you make the most of your time together. For male hypogonadism, some basic questions to ask your doctor include:
- What's the most likely cause of my symptoms?
- Are there other possible causes for my symptoms?
- What kinds of tests do I need? Do these tests require any special preparation?
- Is my condition likely temporary or chronic?
- What treatments are available?
- What are the side effects of each treatment?
- What treatment do you feel would be best for me?
- What are the alternatives to the primary approach that you're suggesting?
- I have these other health conditions. How can I best manage them together?
- Are there any restrictions that I need to follow?
- Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can take home with me? What websites do you recommend?
Don't hesitate to ask any other questions you have.
What to expect from your doctor
Your doctor is likely to ask you a number of questions, such as:
- When did you begin experiencing symptoms?
- Have your symptoms been continuous, or occasional?
- How severe are your symptoms?
- What, if anything, seems to improve your symptoms?
- What, if anything, appears to worsen your symptoms?
- When did you begin puberty? Did it seem to be earlier or later than your peers?
- Did you have any growth problems as a child or adolescent?
- Have you experienced any testicular trauma?
- What about head trauma?
- Did you have the mumps as a child or teen? Do you recall if you felt pain in your testicles while you had the mumps?
- Did you have undescended testicles as a baby?
- Did you have surgery for a groin hernia or genital surgery as a child?
- Snyder PJ. Causes of primary of hypogonadism in males. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 29, 2010.
- Snyder PJ. Causes of secondary hypogonadism in males. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 29, 2010.
- Snyder PJ. Clinical features and diagnosis of male hypogonadism. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 29, 2010.
- Snyder PJ. Testosterone treatment of male hypogonadism. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 29, 2010.
- Male hypogonadism. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec17/ch227/ch227b.html. Accessed Oct. 14, 2010.
- Medical guidelines for clinical practice for the evaluation and treatment of hypogonadism in adult male patients mdash; 2002 update. Endocrine Practice. American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. www.aace.com/pub/pdf/guidelines/hypogonadism.pdf. Accessed Oct. 14, 2010.
- Testosterone therapy in adult men with androgen deficiency syndromes. Chevy Chase, Md.: The Endocrine Society. http://www.endo-society.org/guidelines/Current-Clinical-Practice-Guidelines.cfm. Accessed Oct. 25, 2010.
- Brunton SA, et al. Late-onset male hypogonadism and testosterone replacement therapy in primary care. The Journal of Family Practice. 2010;59(suppl):S1.
- Bassil N, et al. Late-life onset hypogonadism: A review. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine. 2010;26:197.
- Dietary Reference Intakes for calcium and vitamin D. Institute of Medicine. http://www.iom.edu/vitamind. Accessed Dec. 2, 2010.
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