{"id":13095,"date":"2019-04-12T13:25:47","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T13:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prostate.net\/?p=13095"},"modified":"2020-05-24T20:16:42","modified_gmt":"2020-05-24T20:16:42","slug":"what-is-testosterone-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/red64.com\/what-is-testosterone-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Testosterone Therapy? (And Why You Probably Don’t Need it)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open any men\u2019s magazine or visit a website that targets men or men\u2019s health and you probably will see them: ads promoting testosterone hormone therapy and articles urging men to consider taking testosterone to improve muscle mass, lose weight, improve their sex drive, and boost their mood. But is testosterone therapy the answer to these and other issues that commonly affect men as they approach and surpass their 50th<\/sup> year?<\/p>\n

Marketing moguls and companies that will profit from selling their testosterone products want you to believe it can. After all, use of testosterone therapy promises to combat aging and some of the fears and anxieties that go along with it. Why wouldn\u2019t men want to buy into that? The \u201cfountain of youth\u201d in a gel! Sex like a teenager!<\/p>\n

I have a bunch of friends who are on T-therapy and none of them have been diagnosed with actual male hypogonadism (see below for the clinical definition of low-T). All of them except one (who takes it for cosmetic reasons) have been convinced that the symptoms they are experiencing as they age are due to low testosterone. I say the same thing to each of them \u2013 you need L-therapy not T-therapy.<\/p>\n

What do I mean by this?<\/p>\n

Whereas the medical community and testosterone clinics argue that your low-T is the reason<\/em><\/strong> for your decreased sex drive, loss of energy and other symptoms – the evidence, clinical trials and studies are clear that changing your \u201clifestyle\u201d (hence my term \u201cL-therapy\u201d) has the greatest impact on the symptoms you are experiencing. In short, it\u2019s not low-T that\u2019s your problem \u2013 it\u2019s a mix of other lifestyle factors that are contributing to your loss of energy, sex drive and vigor.<\/p>\n

The good news, though, is that you can do something about it.<\/p>\n

Before I get to this however, it helps to recap what testosterone therapy is.<\/p>\n

What is testosterone therapy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Testosterone therapy (or testosterone replacement therapy) is typically prescribed for men who have low testosterone levels and\/or symptoms of low T and\/or normal T levels but symptoms of low T. In most of these cases, testosterone therapy is not the appropriate treatment, as I discuss below. However, it is considered to be \u201cthe remedy\u201d for the classic symptoms most often associated with men as they get older. (See \u201cClassic Symptoms Leading to Testosterone Therapy\u201d)<\/p>\n

Experts generally agree that men\u2019s testosterone levels naturally decline about 1 percent per year starting around age 30. However, there are two other factors to consider. One is the finding that \u201cpoor health may accelerate the age-related decline\u201d in androgen [testosterone and other male hormone] levels.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another comes from results gathered from men who participated in the Healthy Man Study in Australia. David Handelsman, MD, PhD, director of the ANZAC Research Institute at the University of Sydney and his team studied 325 men, age 40 to 97, over a three-month period. They took nine blood samples during that time and measured testosterone levels.<\/p>\n

Over the study period, T levels did not change in the men, leading Handelsman to say that \u201cage alone does not make you testosterone deficient<\/em>,\u201d and that men who have a drop in T levels should talk to their doctor about underlying health conditions that could be contributing to the decline.<\/p>\n

Testosterone therapy for men is available in five different forms.<\/p>\n