Long-term use of performance-enhancing steroids can cause harmful effects. TRT is used to treat testosterone deficiency low testosterone in some men. A low testosterone level by itself doesn't need treatment. TRT can have side effects, and the long-term risks and benefits aren't well known. Only men with symptoms of low testosterone and blood tests that confirm this should consider testosterone replacement. Men with testosterone levels in the bottom of the normal range ie, still normal are generally not treated with TRT.
The benefits of testosterone treatment can include improved mood, such as feeling less depressed, an overall feeling of energy and wellbeing, and improved libido and sexual function.
TRT can also change your body composition, eg, give you more muscle mass and less abdominal fat. If erectile dysfunction is the only symptom of low testosterone, TRT is unlikely to be used. A PDE5 inhibitor such as sildenafil is preferred, after other causes have been addressed. The entire injection process generally takes no more than 15 seconds. Always be sure to maintain a sterile environment. Wipe the injection spot with an alcohol wipe beforehand to disinfect the skin and do not reuse needles or syringes as this greatly increases the risk of infections.
As a side effect of this, you might experience injection site soreness for a few days after the fact. Massaging the muscle and applying a warm gel pack for minutes can also help alleviate any soreness or stiffness at the injection site. This is the most common option for many newcomers to TRT since you can just close your eyes and let us do the injection for you.
You may also ask a friend or family member to help with the first few injections if you prefer to do them at home. In the long-term, it behooves you to become comfortable with doing TRT injections by yourself. We all want results yesterday, but as alluded to earlier you will need to be patient.
TRT is not an overnight solution. It is a long-term investment in your health. Nevertheless, a good amount of TRT patients notice positive changes in their health and well-being within the first month of starting TRT. Such short-term benefits may include :. Some men notice a quicker onset of benefits on a small dose of testosterone; others may take a little longer to respond and might need a larger dose to achieve therapeutic benefits.
If you experience no benefits or positive changes after several months of TRT, consult with your physician as there may be more diagnostic testing necessary. TRT takes a little trial and error, initially, and the time it takes for the benefits to become apparent varies between everyone. Exogenous testosterone is a drug and it can produce some side effects, much like any other drug. When you start taking exogenous testosterone, your body will decrease its natural endogenous production of testosterone.
This is due to the negative feedback loop your pituitary gland works through to regulate your production of testosterone. In healthy individuals, the pituitary will produce luteinizing hormone LH and signal the testes to produce testosterone to keep levels in adequate range. As a side effect of this, your testicles can shrink in size since less LH is being produced and thus, testosterone synthesis in the testes decreases.
There are workarounds to these issues; one such protocol is to simultaneously use human chorionic gonadotropin HCG - an analog of the LH that your pituitary gland produces - along with TRT. HCG is normally made in females by the placenta during pregnancy. It is often used for "off-label" as a weight loss aid but also has documented benefits for enhancing fertility and testicle size in males by promoting testosterone production from the testes, similar to the way LH normally would. Testosterone is the most potent androgen your body produces, and it controls your masculinity in every sense of the word.
In modern culture, men with higher testosterone have been shown to live longer, have more vitality, and exude more confidence. The answer is yes. People with low testosterone often see a massive improvement in libido once levels are optimised. It must be noted however that libido is multifactorial.
Testosterone is one of the hormones responsible for sex drive in both men and women. Many chemical pathways can affect desire.
Having optimal testosterone is only one of many factors. There are occasions where levels of testosterone are optimised yet people still have lack sex drive.
In these cases it is key to work closely with the doctor to look at other causes. This can be investigated and treated accordingly. The world of testosterone replacement therapy is often difficult to navigate.
It is filled with misinformation and bro-science on forums. You may have many of the symptoms of low testosterone, but confirmation is needed via blood tests. When undertaking this next step you must be tested for the right things. Going to your NHS doctor for a blood test is the first port of call for most men. The problem is, they often lack specialist knowledge in hormones — especially testosterone.
Hormones are the foundation of your health as a man, and testosterone is central to that. Creating a picture of the hormonal system with your body and how effectively it is working is the first step on the road to getting symptomatic relief. The cost of TRT is typically less than you may think when utilizing a company like Balance My Hormones rather than going through the NHS or private insurance companies. The journey of TRT starts with comprehensive blood testing prior to thorough medical consultations and examinations.
If approved for TRT, blood testing must be done throughout, alongside doctor follow ups at certain intervals to ensure you are properly monitored. This is generally at 6 months, a year, and then yearly following that. Face to face consultations and examinations are highly recommended and in most cases they are required by the doctor to start treatment. Follow up consultation may be done via skype or remote consultation.
If you live near one of our clinics we highly recommend you stop in for your annual consultation and examination when possible. Balance My Hormones BMH is a clinical and healthcare service company, not just an online website selling blood tests like many others out there, we are different. Being part of BMH allows members to receive ongoing support, organisation of treatment as well as your monitoring and blood testing in an efficient and hassle-free manner.
To allow treatment to be sustainable we offer unique pricing subscription packages to match your treatment plan. Our plans include all the medication required, delivery costs and personal support from our staff, doctors, and partners. This is before, during and whilst on treatment. Medical case manager support is also included throughout.
Contact the team today to discuss your potential costs for TRT treatment. Depending how sympathetic they are, they will send you off for a testosterone blood test. They will normally send you for two lab tests to confirm a diagnosis of low testosterone.
Tests are typically done before 9am, which in theory is when testosterone is at its highest. Once the GP gets the lab results back confirming you have low testosterone, they will refer you to an endocrinologist.
Generally speaking, the NHS standardised model of care works well for many medical conditions. Patients visit their doctor with symptoms and have tests to validate the symptoms, they are then treated accordingly. However, the NHS has serious flaws when it comes to treating a condition as nuanced as low testosterone. The need for an underfunded service to always be comparing cost to efficacy limits this provision. Firstly, most doctors, let alone GPs are not well informed on testosterone replacement therapy.
So you might end up being treated for depression with medication instead of a testosterone deficiency. If you do manage to get a referral to an endocrinologist, you may have to wait several months for an appointment. Furthermore, once you do get to see an endocrinologists, there is no guarantee you will get the right type of treatment.
The method of treatment tends to vary significantly between specialists. Some may prescribe testosterone gels to their patients, whereas others may ask you to inject every 2 weeks help!
Every one of these options either leaves you with periods of high then low testosterone or not enough from the therapy at all. The NHS will not monitor oestradiol levels, and rarely will they monitor prolactin or free testosterone levels.
We have even seen men end up with lower testosterone levels ON therapy than before they started! This entire process could take many months. For those that do receive effective testosterone treatment on the NHS are very fortunate.
But there are many that fall foul of the standard care model and end up frustrated because they cannot get treatment or get a treatment that causes them to feel worse than before. But in order to qualify for testosterone replacement therapy on the NHS, patients have to jump through countless hoops as described above. It can be a painful time-consuming process where you will either feel like you have been fobbed off or if you are extremely lucky and find a doctor that knows how to provide TRT effectively then it can feel like hitting the lottery.
You can get the process started with an open-minded and experienced hormone replacement therapy doctor. You can get approval for treatment in as little as 48 hours if you have all the appropriate blood tests and forms complete. And we aim to treat our clients as individuals — not just as a lab number. You can have a remote consultation in the comfort of your own home that is flexible and fluid once a relationship with your doctor is established.
Also staff at Balance My Hormones are always on hand to assist in other aspects related to supporting you through your TRT journey. In our experience many of our clients come to us following a search for an open minded GP that had then referred then to a consultant endocrinologist. This usually takes months. After having seen the consultant and having further tests which may show levels above the NHS threshold for treatment they are often simply fobbed off and told there is nothing wrong and treatment is withheld.
This not only is disappointing for the client but it exposes them to s further months of low Testosterone symptoms. For this you would need two blood tests that show levels under the NHS threshold for treatment.
In rare cases we have heard that Sustanon has been used but only dosing every weeks. So even if you get one of these options the NHS will not monitor Oestradiol oestrogen levels and rarely will they monitor prolactin or free testosterone levels. In this situation the question that must be asked is what the alternative is. The options being to continue as you are with sub-optimal or dangerously low levels of testosterone for life with all the symptoms it causes or would you like medical treatment to optimise these levels and bring symptomatic relief.
There are Testosterone boosting protocols other than TRT but stopping these therapies does not often sustain the increase in levels achieved. You may be worried about the perceived dependence of having to take a hormone for life to allow symptomatic relief and bring about health benefits but if it allows all these things it must be considered against the alternative.
Another common question is if your body can start making testosterone again on its own after discontinuing treatment. In nearly all cases and from the literature the answer is yes. It takes time with the median being 3. It must be noted that the baseline was insufficient and was causing symptoms however. A common and antiquated opinion is that cycling testosterone is beneficial but there is no benefit for going on and off testosterone.
It just causes periods of hormonal deprivation, disrupts homeostasis and caused Hypogonadal symptoms to come back. If testosterone replacement therapy relieves your symptoms of low testosterone, then often ceasing will cause symptoms to recur.
It is for this reason that TRT is usually a lifelong commitment. This may sound daunting, but once you feel the symptomatic relief and benefits of testosterone therapy, stopping treatment often becomes less of a concern. Should you need to stop TRT there are ways to assist the body in producing its own levels of testosterone faster than just stopping TRT alone. In some studies the median time for recovery of sperm is around 3.
Testosterone production can return in some individuals in as little as weeks. Factors affecting how quickly your testosterone will return depends on the original strength or signal from the pituitary gland Leutinising Hormone and Follicle Stimulating Hormone , and how sensitive or efficient your Leydig cells testosterone producing factories located in your balls testes are.
In our experience this can occur quite quickly. It must be noted that if you are starting from a low baseline before beginning TRT restoration back to this lower level is likely all you will achieve. You are under no obligation to continue treatment. It is a private service and therefore a personal choice. However, in the grand scheme of things our treatment packages are affordable and sustainable and priced around your budget and medical advice from the introduced doctor.
Please contact us and we can work with you and the doctor to find a package that is right for you. The best type of TRT depends on what is best for you the client as determined by symptoms and blood testing and discussions with the medical facilitators and doctors. Some prefer injections, some prefer topical formulations. The doctor can determine administration dose and frequency depending on blood tests, age, medical history etc.
It is highly individualistic the type of treatment that may be needed and a careful process must be undertaken to find what is best for you. However, the most commonly prescribed methods are testosterone injections testosterone gels and testosterone creams. You should also understand the pros and cons of each, so you can make an informed decision on your treatment.
TRT UK Gels and creams are the one of the most favoured methods of testosterone replacement therapy for those unable or unwilling to inject themselves. Many doctors swear by its efficacy to raise low testosterone. They are usually applied to the skin in the morning and the evening before bed for best results. Typical areas of application include; the shoulders, upper arms and scrotum.
Gels and creams tend to come in various concentrations. Testosterone injections are another form of commonly prescribed TRT treatment. It has been considered the standard of care. Treatment efficacy is dependant on the type testosterone preparation used, e.
Sustanon, Enanthate, Propionate and administration frequency. Testosterone can be injected one of two ways; subcutaneously subQ — i.
Doctors prescribe testosterone injections because of their predictability and titratable nature. This allows stability of blood testosterone levels. There is no right or wrong choice. Both injections and some topical formulations can be effective methods of treatment for low testosterone. The question is, which one is right for you? Ultimately it depends on your individual circumstances. Using a topical formulation would be the easiest route for administering testosterone replacement therapy if you are not able to comfortably inject.
But if you are someone who leads an active lifestyle then they may not be for you. Similarly, the topical formulation such as a cream or gel can be transferred to another person if contact with skin where it was applied. This is often why scrotal application can be beneficial.
Remember, any decision on treatment should always be taken under the supervision of a qualified doctor. If you want to book an appointment with a doctor to discuss testosterone treatment options, then get in contact with us. Yes, we have made a blog post listing famous people on TRT. Testosterone Replacement Therapy is medically restoration and optimisation of testosterone levels using bio-identical testosterone.
The treatment aims to reduce the symptoms of low testosterone and to actually feel the absolute best you can. Options include testosterone injections, testosterone creams or testosterone gels, testosterone lozenges or testosterone pellets.
These all contain testosterone and need to be utilised in a way that releases optimal amounts of the hormone in a steady and stable manner. Anabolic Steroids were developed for medical use. They were made by altering the structure of hormones, like testosterone to make them more anabolic and often less androgenic. Alongside testosterone these were used to maintain muscle mass and function in cases of people suffering with disease or episodes of illness or trauma that caused muscle wasting.
Anabolic steroids are used medically and in some cases as an adjunct to TRT. Nelson Vergel. The base of TRT treatment is testosterone and long term use of only anabolic steroids may not always be ideal and is normally not recognised as the standard of care for TRT as a monotherapy.
Please check out our useful blog post on high estrogen in men. HCG is important as it mimics the signal going to your testes, from the pituitary, that stimulates Testosterone and Sperm.
It is used alongside TRT to help maintain fertility and prevent testicular atrophy. If responsive it allows steroidogenesis to occur where hormones are made from cholesterol in the testes. It allows intra-testicular testosterone testosterone that is produced in your testes locally to be produced.
This can be reduced with TRT alone. High intra-testicular testosterone is needed to maintain fertility. Studies show when IU of HCG is used times per week along with exogenous testosterone, in males fertility can be maintained.
In some cases HCG can be used at higher doses as a mono-therapy starting at IU every other day and, in rarer cases, as high as IU every other day. Some notice a slight difference after the first injection or application and for others it may take a little longer. Usually energy is the first to come back, but others have mentioned noticing increased morning erections, improvements in mood, and lifting of brain fog. Female client have reported feeling more assertive and increased sex drive.
Some people experience increase in mood, energy, erections, sex drive, muscle growth, facial hair growth, body hair growth. Side effects may include mild acne, and some scalp hair loss. The majority of people see a massive improvements in symptoms associated with low testosterone. It is important to get blood tests regularly whilst on TRT. Frequent blood testing helps the doctor identify why your treatment may not be providing symptomatic relief.
0コメント