ANXIOUS, depressed and slowly piling on weight, Nick Dooley didn’t recognise the man he had become.
Once an outgoing, chatty car salesman, the dad-of-two barely had the energy to sit in front of the TV, and blamed night shifts as a train driver. It wasn’t until he was scrolling on Reddit that he came across a simple test that revealed a common condition plaguing millions of men.
Nick’s symptoms went undiagnosed for seven years until a simple £40 test gave him his love life back[/caption]
Nick, pictured with his partner Katy, said that couple blamed his lack of libido on him working night shifts[/caption]
Nick, 39, tells Sun Health: “I was really struggling with my mental health. I had depression and terrible anxiety, especially around going out.
“I’d sit on my backside watching telly, day in, day out.
“I just had no motivation to do anything.”
His symptoms, mistaken for simple exhaustion and blamed on the stress of daily life, went undiagnosed for seven years.
It wasn’t until Nick took a £40 online blood test that he finally got some answers.
The results showed he had low levels of testosterone – the male sex hormone that boosts general wellbeing, as well as fertility and muscle mass.
It was to prove a life-changing discovery, nine months later after receiving testosterone replacement therapy, Nick felt like a new man.
His mood lifted, he lost over five stone and even his love life improved.
“It’s like Katy’s living with a horny teenager,” Nick says of his teaching assistant partner, 33, with whom he shares a nine-year-old daughter and five-year-old son.
“We’ve been together 13 years, it’s never been particularly bad, but I’m in the best mental and physical shape I’ve been in for a long time.
“Katy would say I’m a better father, that I’m a lot happier and she’d probably complain slightly that I’ve now got the libido of a teenager!”
Nick, from Bury, North Manchester, saw his health start to decline around seven years ago.
“I was permanently starting at 10pm or 11pm and working through until 5am or 6am,” he says.
“I became a bit of a recluse and just didn’t feel like myself.
“I was getting quite bad anxiety about doing things and feeling depressed. I started to gain quite a lot of weight.
“My children were quite young and I struggled to want to do stuff with them or anyone else.”
As the years went on, Nick’s social life dried up, as he found excuses to avoid seeing friends.
Nick pictured before and after his incredible weight loss[/caption]
Nick admits: “I would use work as a reason to not attend events and not go on nights out, which is something I never would have turned down [before].
“If I did arrange to go and do something with my friends, I was always looking for either an excuse to get out of it or was extremely anxious, pretty much up to the point of being there.
“I constantly had sweaty palms, to the point where I would walk around with a tissue in my pocket, just in case I have to shake somebody’s hand.”
Nick also noticed changes in the bedroom.
He says: “I’d just lost interest in sex altogether but, again, Katy and I just put it down to anxiety and depression because of my shift patterns.
“I didn’t go to the GP because I was brought up with a very stiff upper lip, not to go to them with something like that or to talk about how I felt.”
But one evening, while scrolling Reddit, Nick came across a post on TRT.
“Reading the description of what the sufferers of low testosterone experience, I would say I ticked 99 per cent of it,” he says.
“It talked about anxiety, poor weight, people being unable to gain muscle and lose fat.
“It mentioned erectile dysfunction which could sometimes be an issue.”
I’d just lost interest in sex altogether but, again, Katy and I just put it down to anxiety and depression because of my shift patterns.
Soon, ads for TRT began popping up on his phone, so Nick ordered a home finger-prick test.
He says: “I was like, you know what? It’s 40 quid. I’ve got nothing to lose!”
A week after sending his test to the lab, the results showed his testosterone levels were low – 11.8 nmol/L (nanomoles per litre).
The NHS considers normal testosterone levels to be between 10 and 30 nmol/L.
But Dr Jeff Foster [@DrJeffFoster], the medical director at men’s health website Manual.co, who treated Nick, says: “The British Society of Sexual Medicine, and the Endocrine Society both state that if a total testosterone is 12nmol/l or less and a patient has symptoms, he should be considered for a trial of treatment.
“In addition, if you have other metabolic problems such as diabetes, we would also consider treating men with a total testosterone of less than 15nmol/l.”
Nick adds: “I did look into the NHS but with my level of testosterone they’d probably say I don’t need help.”
A testosterone deficiency, known as hypogonadism, is when the testes produce few or no hormones.
Nick began injecting testosterone cypionate twice a week, costing him £110 a month – and it changed everything[/caption]
It is more common in people who have obesity, poorly managed type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea or liver disease.
Nick also discovered that he had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which can cause symptoms of tiredness and feeling unwell.
In October 2024, Nick began injecting testosterone cypionate twice a week, costing him £110 a month.
At the time, he was 19st 4lbs (122kg) but he’d reached 21st 10lbs (138kg) at his heaviest.
The usual diets hadn’t worked; he’d lose weight, then pile it back on soon after.
TACKLING THE STIGMA
He says: “I ballooned up and down for several years before I started TRT.
“It took me 12 months to lose 20lbs prior to testosterone and that was through trying to diet, trying to exercise and fighting against my own head.”
But, hormone therapy changed everything.
Nick says: “One of the first things I noticed was that my sleep had improved so dramatically.
“I wasn’t getting up six or seven times a night to go to the loo, like I was before. I would wake up feeling more refreshed.”
He swapped daytime TV for exercise, using weights in his garden, and tackled his takeaway habit.
“I was spending £300 – £400 a month on UberEats. I just couldn’t be bothered cooking,” he admits.
“I now no longer eat takeaways. I eat lots of protein and vegetables and I don’t do the chips. I’ll eat two healthy meals a day and drink four litres of water a day too.
“I made a very conscious health decision to quit booze and processed foods, because obviously I want to grow old with my kids.”
One of the first things I noticed was that my sleep had improved so dramatically. I wasn’t getting up six or seven times a night to go to the loo, like I was before. I would wake up feeling more refreshed.
Nick now weighs 14st 3lbs (90kg) – losing 5st (32kg) since starting TRT – and his entire body shape has changed.
He says: “When I’ve lost weight previously I always retained it around my chest – I could never lose my man boobs! Now my chest has gone down dramatically.
“I’m not saying TRT is the reason I’ve lost all this weight, it’s not a weight-loss drug.
“But it’s given me the motivation to lose this much weight that I never had before.”
Nick hopes to tackle the stigma attached to TRT by sharing his story.
He says: “People think testosterone is either associated with these big, mostly steroid blokes, or that it only affects men in their late 50s, 60s, 70s.
“HRT and women’s hormones are discussed quite openly and regularly, but there’s a different perception of men taking testosterone.
“I’ve had such a change in my life. I feel back to my old self and now I want to try and get the word out there for other men.
“Just get tested. It might not be the issue, but it might change your life.”
- Follow Nick on Instagram at @trttraindriver
What is Testosterone Replacement Therapy?
TRT replaces testosterone that men have lost, whether due to age, medical conditions or at random.
Dr Jeff Foster says: “In the UK it comes in two forms – topical gels or creams and injectables which can be done 1-2 times per week, or every 9-12 weeks, depending on the treatment plan.”
You may be considered low in testosterone if your levels are below 12nmol/l.
Professor Mike Kirby FRCP, president of the British Society for Sexual Medicine, warns men not to use finger prick tests, however. He says they are “unreliable, and shouldn’t be used to guide treatment”.
“It should be possible to get the tests and treatment on the NHS, however,” he adds.
“The most common symptoms are sexual, low sex drive and erection problems, but brain fog and lack of stamina and motivation also occur.
“Low testosterone is often secondary to being overweight and having pre-diabetes or diabetes. Fatty liver is also common.
“Careful follow-up is essential and infertility may be an issue for younger men.
“It is important to exclude underlying prostate cancer before the treatment is started.”