Testosterone helps maintain men's:
- Bone density.
- Fat distribution.
- Muscle strength and mass.
- Facial and body hair.
- Red blood cell production.
- Sex drive.
- Sperm production.
What happens when you take testosterone?
Soon after beginning hormone treatment, you will likely notice a change in your libido. Quite rapidly, your genitals, especially your clitoris, will begin to grow and become even larger when you are aroused. You may find that different sex acts or different parts of your body bring you erotic pleasure.
What does testosterone pills do to a man?
Testosterone boosters may provide the following benefits to people with low testosterone levels: increase sex drive. improve sexual function. increase muscle strength and physical endurance.
Does testosterone increase size?
Testosterone is responsible for increased muscle mass. Leaner body mass helps control weight and increases energy. For men with low testosterone, studies show that treatment can decrease fat mass and increase muscle size and strength.
What are the negative effects of taking testosterone?
Testosterone therapy has various risks, including: Worsening sleep apnea — a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. Causing acne or other skin reactions. Stimulating noncancerous growth of the prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia) and growth of existing prostate cancer.
Overview
- Testosterone is a hormone that is produced primarily in the testicles for men and the ovaries and adrenal glands for women. This hormone is essential to the development of male growth and masculine characteristics. For women, testosterone comes in much smaller amounts. Testosterone production increases about 30 times more during adolescence and early adulthoo…
Benefits
- A healthy heart pumps blood to the rest of the body, providing muscles and organs with the oxygen needed for peak performance. Testosterone helps red blood cell production through the bone marrow. Low testosterone levels are linked to a variety of cardiovascular risks.
- The treatment can also increase the risk of sleep apnea, promote prostate and breast growth, and even encourage the development of prostate cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic.
- Testosterone helps build muscle and lose fat, and low levels of the hormone can contribute to a loss of muscle mass and the accumulation of body fat, particularly in the belly. But according to an intensive review on testosterone, even when muscle mass is impacted, low-T may not affect muscle strength or function.
- The benefits of testosterone for men are just beginning to be fully understood. We are learning that testosterone may help prevent heart and vascular disease in addition to its benefits with mood, muscles and aiding blood sugar levels. Diabetics tend to have higher rates of estrogen, which may correlate to a degree with their higher blood sugar levels [Source: Small]. Lower testo…
Adverse Effects
- The effects of testosterone replacement therapy on mood can vary. Men with hypogonadism reported improved mood and well-being, and reduced fatigue and irritability. Research suggests that this treatment may also be an effective anti-depressant treatment.
- The safety of testosterone treatment is still being researched. It has several possible side effects and some possible long-term effects, as well. Other side effects include increased risk of heart problems in older men with poor mobility, according to a 2009 study at Boston Medical Center. A 2017 study published in JAMA found that treatments increase coronary artery plaque volume. A…
- Buccal patches are placed on the gums above the incisors (teeth) about every 12 hours and slowly release testosterone. They are not effective if swallowed. Buccal patches may cause a bitter taste, irritation to mouth tissues and gums, and may cause headaches. Fortunately, these side effects lessen over time. The patient can eat, drink, and kiss others while using buccal patc…
- Additionally, a mans sex drive will likely decline with age. But because testosterone is a primary male sex hormone, a significant or sudden loss of libido might be a sign that its time to get your testosterone levels evaluated by a doctor. If youre struggling with disordered sleep like insomnia, frequent nighttime awakenings, or something else, a 2014 study showed that low testosterone …
Treatment
- Treatment is not necessary if your levels fall within the normal range. Testosterone replacement therapy is primarily beneficial for men with low testosterone levels. Dont purchase testosterone without a prescription. See your doctor if you think you might have low levels of testosterone. A blood test can determine your testosterone levels and help diagnose underlying conditions.
- Doctors typically to treat men for hypogonadism if they have symptoms of low testosterone and their testosterone levels are below 300 nanograms per deciliter. For people who are worried about low or high testosterone, a doctor may perform a blood test to measure the amount of the hormone in the patient's blood. When doctors find low-T, they may prescribe testosterone therap…
- If you are diagnosed with low testosterone, your primary care doctor may suggest you see a specialist such as an urologist or an endocrinologist. Not everyone with low testosterone will need or qualify for treatment. These specialists will help guide your treatment and design an approach to your low testosterone problem that is best for you. Low testosterone treatment is designed t…
- However, the good news is that low-T can be addressed in a few different ways. For example, Harvard Health Publishing states, Even if your levels are low and you have symptoms, therapy is not always the first course of action. If your doctor can identify the source for declining levelsfor instance, weight gain or certain medicationhe or she may first address that problem. Undoubtedl…
Risks
- Prescription testosterone treatments are available as gels, skin patches, and intramuscular injections. Each comes with potential side effects. Patches can irritate skin. Intramuscular injections may cause mood swings. If you use the gel, dont share the product with others.
- It is important to note, however, that conditions other than low T can cause erectile dysfunction, such as diseases in the nerves or blood.
- Keep in mind that testosterone therapy carries various other risks, including contributing to sleep apnea, stimulating noncancerous growth of the prostate, enlarging breasts, limiting sperm production, stimulating growth of existing prostate cancer and contributing to the formation of blood clots in the veins.
- Before beginning treatment, its important to discuss any risk factors that make you ineligible with your doctor. Risk factors can include a history of prostate cancer, elevated prostate markers, cardiac issues, or other conditions.
Function
- Testosterone is a male sex hormone that is important for sexual and reproductive development. The National Institutes of Health regards testosterone as the most important male hormone. Women also produce testosterone, but at lower levels than men. Testosterone belongs to a class of male hormones called androgens, which are sometimes called steroids or anabolic steroids. I…
- One of the many functions of testosterone is to help produce sperm. When testosterone levels are low, the \"sperm count\" can also be low. If the sperm count is very low, the man may not be able to father a child.
Testosterone is a critical hormone in the body. In men, its thought to regulate sex drive (libido), bone mass, fat distribution, muscle mass and strength, and the production of red blood cells and sperm, says the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Furthermore, testosterone is responsible for the deep voice in men, …
- Present in much greater levels in men than women, testosterone initiates the development of the male internal and external reproductive organs during foetal development and is essential for the production of sperm in adult life. This hormone also signals the body to make new blood cells, ensures that muscles and bones stay strong during and after puberty and enhances libido both i…
Signs And Symptoms
- Levels of testosterone naturally decrease with age, but exactly what level constitutes \"low T,\" or hypogonadism, is controversial, Harvard Medical School said. Testosterone levels vary wildly, and can even differ depending on the time of day they're measured (levels tend to be lower in the evenings). The National Institutes of Health includes the following as possible symptoms of lo…
Testosterone levels decrease as men age. Sometimes this lower level of testosterone is termed \"andropause\" or \"male menopause.\" Symptoms of male menopause may not be caused by low testosterone, but additional research is needed. Many men do not show any symptoms of decreasing levels of testostero…
- Since low testosterone can affect many aspects of a mans well-being, its important to know the signs and symptoms.
- Assuming youve completely discontinued exogenous testosterone administration, you may gradually notice the emergence of testosterone withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms are typically a result of your body reverting back to homeostatic functioning without the exogenous testosterone boost that it had been receiving. In any regard, it is relatively difficult to pinpoint sp…
Results
- You may be interested in boosting your testosterone levels if your doctor says you have low levels, or hypogonadism, or need testosterone replacement therapy for other conditions. If you have normal testosterone levels, increasing your testosterone levels may not give any additional benefits. The increased benefits mentioned below have only been researched in people with lo…
- The study identified seven men who had used the drugs before or at the time they were admitted to the hospital for serious blood clots. The men experienced blood clots at 3 weeks, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 12 months or 27 months after starting TRT.
- Testosterone injection may control your symptoms but will not cure your condition. Your doctor may adjust your dose of testosterone depending on the amount of testosterone in your blood during your treatment and your reaction to the medication.
- Testosterone cypionate: Reports document that the plasma elimination half-life of testosterone cypionate after intramuscular injection is around 8 days. This means that itll take slightly over a week to eliminate 50% of the exogenous testosterone from your system. Knowing this, we can estimate that itll take around 44 days (6.29 weeks) to have fully eliminated exogenous testoster…
Research
- But can testosterone replacement therapy help with heart disease? Study results are mixed. Small studies in the early 2000s found that men with heart disease who underwent testosterone therapy saw only slight improvements. Some were able to increase their walking distance by 33 percent. Another study found that hormone therapy only widened healthy arteries but had no effect on an…
- In older men with true testosterone deficiencies, testosterone treatment has been shown to increase strength and sex drive, experts say. But sometimes, symptoms of erectile dysfunction are due to other conditions, including diabetes and depression, according to the Mayo Clinic. Treating these men with testosterone hormone won't improve symptoms. There are a lot of othe…
- While previous studies suggested a link between testosterone therapy and an increased risk in heart disease, currently the connection isn't clear. For example, a 2014 study reported that testosterone therapy might increase the risk of a heart attack in men age 65 and older, as well as in younger men who have a history of heart disease. A 2013 study found a higher frequency of d…
- A 2012 study found a correlation between low levels of testosterone and depression in aging men. The study also noted a connection between the hormone and increased feelings of anxiety, irritability, mood swings, nervousness, and an overall lessened sense of well-being. But more research is needed to determine just how low-T causes or contributes to depression or other as…
Diagnosis
- See your doctor if youre concerned about low testosterone. Because its natural to have low testosterone as you age, some symptoms such as decreased muscle mass, increased body fat, or erectile dysfunction may be a sign of other conditions.
- You might need to be tested for low testosterone if you have erectile dysfunction (ED), a very low sex drive, low sperm count, loss of body hair, decrease of muscle mass, and osteoporosis. Conditions other than low testosterone could be the underlying cause of one's symptoms. A doctor will want to rule out other conditions before diagnosing and treating low testosterone. Te…
- When testosterone levels are low, an individual may exhibit a whole range of issues. To be diagnosed with low-T, Harvard Health Publishing specifies that in many instances, men need to have both low levels of testosterone in their blood (levels less than 300 ng/dl), and they need to display several symptoms.
- Prostate cancer may become clinically apparent within months to a few years after the initiation of testosterone treatment, the authors concluded. Physicians prescribing testosterone supplementation and patients receiving it should be cognizant of this risk, and serum PSA testing and digital rectal examination should be performed frequently during treatment.