Editorial on Testosterone Supplementation

Just appeared in the New York Times:
www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html?action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&module=Kicker®ion=Header&pgtype=article

You have to do a search on "Don't Ask Your Doctor about 'Low T' to find the editorial--the link is no longer valid.

Post Edited (Postop) : 2/4/2014 11:40:51 PM (GMT-7)

For years, docs threw pills at me - Ritalin to help me think more clearly at work, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds, etc. When those meds created sexual side effects, they threw Viagra at me.

When I started taking testosterone, I ditched every single one of those meds.

If I'm lucky enough to have undetectable PSA readings at 3 and 6 months post-surgery, I will be back on testosterone in July. And I can't wait.

The stuff about side effects in other people is only for people who use the gels, which cost more and are generally less effective than the injected T.

I stopped the T in September, just before my biopsy. I'm back to having insomnia, night sweats, I struggle more in the gym and at my job, and I'm dealing with depression and anxiety again, although I'm not taking anti-depressants this time around. At least, not yet, and I am trying hard to keep it that way. I've gained fat in my belly and lost muscle mass. The ED is there, but for obviously different reasons.

Testosterone was a life changer for me, and I will use it again if my PSA results are acceptable. The shrinking testicles are not a big deal, and HCG and Clomid can help there anyway. The increased hemoglobin/hematocrit is not a big deal for most people unless you are using excessive amounts. I never tested high. And even if it gets borderline high, you can simply donate blood. Aggression and irritability have never been issue for me. If anything, I'm less irritable on the stuff.

Maybe it's oversold and over-hyped and over-prescribed. My numbers were clinically low and I'm willing to take the risk. All of the docs I talked to before my surgery took my results with T into account, and that's part of how we arrived at surgery as my primary treatment. My surgeon said he will gladly sign off on me re-starting if we get to six months with no issues.

Sorry, for typing so much, but the recent anti-T backlash bothers me somewhat. It's probably a lot like our local government's efforts to get docs to prescribe fewer opiates. That might be great for keeping them away from the recreational users and addicts, but are they also harming people who genuinely need meds and can no longer get them?

These endless studies weary me. I for one have been doing bio-identical T for 3 years (starting 1.5 years out) and will not stop. We are a group of men, who are incontinent, have major ED, and many who are fighting for our lives. So lets see if the powers that be can can also lower our T to 200, so we can feel even more powerless. Then we can live. Is that quality of life? I implore you again, read Morgantalers book "Testosterone for Life". Regards Inkhorn