Testosterone Replacement Therapy Department of Urology

Testosterone Replacement Therapy Department of Urology

Supervised treatment helps catch potential side effects early, adjust the dosage if needed, and keep the therapy effective and balanced. Testosterone levels are not the only thing doctors look at when monitoring your TRT dosage. There are other health markers that need to be checked regularly, as TRT can affect many parts of your body. TRT can does smoking tobacco increase testosterone the production of red blood cells, which can thicken your blood and raise your risk of blood clots.

These lifestyle adjustments support testosterone therapy, promoting better outcomes and long-term wellness. The primary goal of TRT is to restore testosterone levels to a healthy range, helping men regain vitality and improve their overall quality of life. Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) is a hormone therapy designed to increase testosterone levels in men with hypogonadism—a condition where the body doesn’t produce enough testosterone. Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) is a widely recognised and extensively researched treatment for low testosterone levels. Medical experts and numerous clinical studies have documented the benefits, as well as the potential risks. You need a prescription from your doctor to access testosterone. Taking the drug is often a lifelong commitment (unless the low T is caused by a medical illness), so you’ll need to be continually monitored by a doctor.

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If you are very active, eat a healthy diet, manage stress well, and get plenty of sleep, you may find that your TRT dosage needs are lower. However, if you struggle with any of these areas, your doctor may need to adjust your dosage to help you achieve the best results. If you experience high levels of stress, your body may require more testosterone to balance out the effects of cortisol. In this case, your doctor may need to increase your TRT dosage. Managing stress through relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, meditation, or yoga, can help your body use testosterone more efficiently.

That’s because testosterone activates the androgen receptors in muscle tissue to stimulate growth. You can stay on testosterone replacement therapy for as long as it’s benefiting your symptoms and not causing health issues. If you stop taking testosterone, your levels will return to baseline. Certain existing health conditions make it unsafe, like prostate cancer and heart failure. In 2014, the FDA ordered that a warning label must accompany TRT prescriptions, alerting men to the possibility that TRT increases the chances of heart attack and stroke. A study linked TRT to higher chances of venous thromboembolism, a potentially fatal type of blood clot. But some studies suggest that men who have been successfully treated for prostate cancer may be candidates for TRT as long as they are closely watched for signs of disease.

Testosterone levels play a critical role in determining the starting dose for TRT. The goal of therapy is to raise testosterone levels to a normal, healthy range. Typically, normal testosterone levels range between 300 and 1,000 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL) for men. Before starting TRT, a doctor will order a blood test to measure testosterone levels. Based on the results, the doctor will decide how much testosterone is needed to bring the levels back to normal.

They also serve as your body’s personal energy storage warehouse and help promote the signaling of electrical impulses throughout your brain. As that happens, those bouts of fatigue you’ve been fighting will lessen, and your blood pressure should stabilize closer to within the normal range. TRT, fortunately, gets your red blood cell count back into the flow of things. Testosterone plays a major role in cognitive performance, including memory, concentration, and reasoning. When your levels of testosterone are low, your mental function can suffer. But usually, you’ll start feeling better psychologically within three to four weeks of starting treatment (2).

Testosterone patches work similarly to gels but are more controlled. A patch is applied to your skin, usually on your back, abdomen, or thighs, and it releases testosterone slowly over 24 hours. Like gels, patches provide a steady level of testosterone in your bloodstream. Testosterone injections are one of the most common forms of TRT. In this form, testosterone is injected directly into the muscle, usually in the buttocks or thigh.