\n<\/p>\n
Is\u00a0testosterone therapy\u00a0really all it\u2019s cracked up to be? Does it really help your sex life? Does it actually help you live longer? Is testosterone the medicinal Holy Grail for men? And how, pray tell, have we come to believe that anabolic-suffused competitive bodybuilders, those (spray) tanned Adonis\u2019 with ripped, ballooned muscles everywhere, are truly \u201chealthy\u201d when in fact they are not: their\u00a0mortality rate\u00a0<\/strong>as young men is unspeakably high. Yet there are those, including my patients, who swear by testosterone as the secret sauce to their quality of life. They just wouldn\u2019t be the same without it. So, maybe the 1st<\/sup>\u00a0Century BC Roman poet Lucretius was right when he said that one man\u2019s cure is another man\u2019s poison.<\/p>\n What does testosterone actually do? During development, it helps male fetuses develop male genital organs. At puberty, it turns boys into men by helping them grow tall, build muscle, and become fertile. In adult men, it maintains fertility and sexual function, and preserves muscle and bone mass. The best data on the benefits of testosterone come from The Testosterone Trials, a group of 7 double-blind trials in\u00a0788<\/strong>\u00a0men. These men averaged\u00a072 years old<\/strong>\u00a0and had very low testosterone levels, which were boosted to levels considered the mid-normal range for young men and followed for a year. Here what testosterone did for them:<\/p>\n This all fits in with my analogy that, like oil in an engine, testosterone keeps things running smoothly as we age. Likewise, when the \u201coil\u201d of testosterone is low, you could say that the engine wears out faster and doesn\u2019t work as well or as long as it should. Note too, that when testosterone levels are truly low in much younger men, we would expect more benefit than that obtained in the older men in the T-Trials.<\/p>\n Clearly normal testosterone levels are good for the body. But what testosterone doesn\u2019t do is also worth noting:<\/p>\n There are a lot of ways to take testosterone these days: applied gels or creams, injections, implants, patches, buccal adhesives and most recently, pills. However, if you\u2019re considering taking testosterone, also consider its potential side effects and complications:<\/p>\n In my practice, this plethora of pluses and minuses are applied to each patient considering testosterone replacement. I also perform a root cause analysis to decide whether the symptoms might be due to a dozen or so underlying (and treatable) medical conditions that can mimic or result in low T. It\u2019s also impressive how often simple lifestyle choices that encourage exercise, healthy eating and adequate sleep may \u201ccure\u201d symptoms that were attributed to low T. The bottom line is taking testosterone is a serious commitment to a serious medication and needs some serious thought and so I urge you to consult with an expert before beginning this medical odyssey.<\/p>\n This post was originally published to\u00a0Dr. Turek\u2019s blog.<\/p>\n Photo by Jeffrey Keenan on Unsplash<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\u201cVitamin T\u201d Benefits<\/h3>\n
\n
Testosterone: Myths<\/h3>\n
\n
The Small Print<\/h3>\n
\n
Doctor\u2019s Orders<\/h3>\n