Men's Health Issue - Especially for Veterans

My digital marketing and Marine Corp veteran friend, Jeremy, shared an article that discusses the connection between a host of health issues in male vets that are likely caused by hormone imbalances. The chief among these causes was low testosterone (Low-T). According to the article, Low-T could be caused by the overload of stress that many veterans experience while serving. That stress can come in many forms and doesn't necessarily come from direct combat situations.

This is one of those things that men may be hesitant to talk about, even with their doctors. I'm sharing my story in hopes of helping those of you who may be suffering the effects of Low-T.

About 5 years ago, I started having symptoms that led me to believe I might be suffering from Low-T. I did a lot of reading and felt strong enough to check with my doctor during my annual physical. She dismissed the ideas and attributed my symptoms to simple aging. I took her advice and carried on. To be fair, this was an excellent doctor and I certainly benefited tremendously during the time she was my primary care physician.

As time went on, I started to have some very serious issue, among them:

• Bouts of severe depression
• Sleeplessness - at one point I was unable to sleep more than an hour at a time
• Mood swings
• Inability to concentrate

Other, less severe, symptoms were lack of energy, weight gain and others. 

My wife, who certainly noticed what was going with me, changed doctors. The person she started seeing was a provider of BioTe, a bioidentical testosterone therapy. She picked up some brochures that had excellent information. As I read the possible symptoms of Low-T, I found myself checking off most of the items on the list. That was enough to get me to make an appointment.

After some tests, the doctor confirmed that I would benefit from hormone therapy. The procedure is rather simple: An area on the upper part of your backside is numbed, a small incision made and the hormone pellets are inserted. The area is a bit sore and you have to take it a little easy for 7 days, but it's worth it.

A week after I was first "pelleted," I could feel the difference. I was sleeping better, I wasn't experiencing mood swings and the depression evaporated. I really felt like myself again. 

There are some things to consider before undergoing this type of therapy. The most important is to have regular PSA checks, especially if prostate cancer runs in your family. Of course, you'll want to consult with a physician to see if this type of thing is right for you.

As a 14-year veteran of the Army, I served under some incredibly stressful situations. Even though I never experienced direct combat during Desert Storm, I was certainly involved in things that caused a great deal of stress. Still, I never considered that my Low-T issues were possibly service-connected until I read the story Jeremy shared. I'm telling my story, hoping that vets will get themselves checked out if they are having symptoms.

I Remember Clarke

I served with a lot of people who could be described as "characters" during my time in the Army. One of those who really stands out in my memories was Clarke.

Robert Clarke and I were stationed at the Defense Language Institute, Ft. Bliss, Texas and then later in Augsburg, Germany. He was a one-of-a-kind person who was full of life and lived on his own terms. Here are some things I remember about him:

• He was quite the rebel. I remember once he shaved off his eyebrows just to see what kind of reaction he'd get from the leadership in our unit. It was rather creepy, which I think was what he was going for. He also once dyed his hair red; not the bright red people use these days, but a very natural-looking red. I started calling him "Red" after that, which often befuddled people he met after the red hair grew out
• Another rebellious thing he did: When we were at DLI and doing one of the semi-annual physical fitness tests. Part of the test was a 2-mile run. In the middle of the run, Clarke stopped to pull a cigarette and lighter out of his sock, light up and then continued the run. A bunch of the school leadership yelled at him to put the cigarette out because smoking wasn't allowed during the test. Even though he stopped to argue with some of them, he still finished the run and passed
• Everyone called him "Clarke," even his mother. That was something some people who met him didn't quite believe. It was true, though. His mom once visited him in Germany when we were there and I never her refer to him as anything other than "Clarke"
• When we were at Ft. Bliss and we lived in the barracks, his roommate was Mark. He and Mark would often bicker about things, sometimes even to the point where they'd start punching it out. It seemed they were more like arguing siblings than anything else; but, knowing Clarke I can well imagine he liked to push Mark's buttons to get him going
• When we were in Germany, he bought a crotch rocket motorcycle. He once tried to see how fast he could get to Garmisch and back. I don't remember exactly how long it took him, but I remember thinking, "Holy crap that's fast - I'm surprised he didn't kill himself doing that"
• I don't think he kept it much of a secret, but I did know him to indulge in marijuana from time to time. I sometimes wondered how he managed to elude getting caught in the numerous, random drug tests that were conducted
• He sometimes described his time before the Army as being a professional student. He had attended Texas A&M for several years, but I don't remember if he said he'd ever graduated
• Related to that, I spent one New Years Day watching the Cotton Bowl featuring A&M playing Notre Dame with him and his mom along with some others. I was forgiven for rooting for ND only because I went to high school with their starting quarterback
• I hadn't seen Clarke since our Army time. Once, when I was living in Central Texas, he sent me an email (or mentioned on Facebook) that he was going to be visiting a nearby town. We made arrangements to meet up for dinner, but he never showed. I think that I would have been offended if it were someone else, but with Clarke I figured that it was the way he was. I know that may seem odd, but if you ever met him, I think you'd feel the same way

I'm sure as I think about things I'm sure I'll remember more.