Testosterone Replacement Therapy

Testosterone Replacement Therapy these words have become more common with every passing year but many still have no clue as to what testosterone replacement therapy really is. You’ve seen the commercials for “Low-T” and if you ask most men they sound great but many still have no clue “Low-T” is nothing more than testosterone replacement therapy and this therapy unknown to even more is nothing more than a legal prescription for anabolic steroids. That’s right, anabolic steroids, testosterone replacement therapy refers to a treatment in-which low levels of the naturally occurring hormone testosterone are brought back into an adequate range. To perform this function the anabolic steroid testosterone, a synthetic version of the hormone our body produces must be administered.

If you possess any understanding of the performance enhancing world, on it's surface the idea of testosterone replacement therapy may bring you a sigh of relief but more than likely it probably irritates you at the same time. After all, for years we’ve been told anabolic steroids are brewed in the bowels of hell but if you receive testosterone replacement therapy this same hormone from which all anabolic steroids are derived from, now it’s a welcomed beacon of hope.

Let’s from this point on be clear and precise, these advertisements for “Low-T” treatment and things of this nature are nothing more than advertisements and promotions for anabolic steroids. When you inquire about testosterone replacement therapy understand you’re inquiring regarding anabolic steroids; let’s call a spade a spade. We are still a long way off from anabolic steroids being generally accepted by the whole of society but it is within testosterone replacement therapy this acceptance holds its most promising form.

Testosterone Injection for HRT:
For the individual who has been prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT) if he receives a regular testosterone injection as part of this treatment, generally 250mg will be the max dose given, although a dose of 100mg-200mg every 7-14 days is a far more common testosterone injection for the HRT patient. In the U.S. users will generally be prescribed Testosterone Cypionate or Testosterone Propionate and the total injection dose will be based on the milligrams provided by the particular testosterone being used taking into account the half-life and then determining total dosing levels to meet this person’s needs. For example, if an individual is prescribed a dose of 200mg every two weeks one testosterone injection of Cypionate every two weeks is all that is needed. If the individual is prescribed Testosterone Propionate at the same dosing level, 200mg every two weeks, he would need to inject approximately 50mg every 3-4 days. You and your physician will determine what is best for you. Although one bi-weekly injection is far more appealing some individuals will be able to maintain a more stable level with frequent doses of testosterone at a lower level making more frequent injections needed. For the performance enhancer a testosterone injection will need to far surpass HRT levels if we are to reach performance enhancing levels. The idea behind HRT is to simply increase testosterone levels in a manner that returns them to normal. For the performance enhancer the idea is to go beyond normal, to give our body an amount of testosterone it is incapable of producing beyond natural levels. This type of testosterone dosing is commonly referred to as a Supra physiological dose and for most this will fall in the 400mg-500mg per week range at a minimum. Much less and you won’t see any true gains or benefit.

Sildenafil or "vitamin V" and bodybuilding

Viagra can be used to try and solve the many erectile problems which are caused by diabetes. It is only safe to use this method of treatment as long as your diabetes is properly monitored and under control and it is extremely important that you make sure that you have had help and guidance from your GP about your condition and the best way to treat its side effects. A recent study which looked at the success rate of Viagra in diabetic men found that there was an increase of ‘successful intercourse attempts’ by 26.7%.  The main symptom of erectile dysfunction is that you are unable to have an erection at any time or under any circumstance. The other main symptom is when your erection is not able to last throughout sexual activity. If these symptoms only happen once or twice then there is normally nothing to worry about, as the vast majority of men have experienced erectile dysfunctions within their life time. It is when these problems become persistent and are ruling your day to day life that you should seek medical advice.
There are some simple questions that you can ask yourself to see whether you should seek help about your erection problems. You need to ask is your sex life being affected by these problems and has intercourse become infrequent due to your condition. You then need to think about why sexual intercourse has become infrequent is this because of vaginal penetration becoming impossible or are you constantly suffering from premature ejaculations.

Another useful question to ask yourself is how firm your erections are and how do they alter under different circumstances. You should ask yourself questions like does your erectile dysfunction happen when you are with a particular partner, because if so this could be a psychological problem. This particular erective problem could be down to relationship problems or low libido which would be treated with therapy or counseling rather than a medical issue that needs treatment with medicines or surgery. 

Sildenafil is categorized as a vasodilator and originally was meant to be an aid for high blood pressure. However, it proved to be effective for erectile dysfunction, and it is currently marketed for this purpose. It works by relaxing blood vessels in the penis, which improves blood flow. This property makes it attractive to bodybuilders as well. Bodybuilders take Sildenafil or "vitamin V" as it is often called, along with anabolic steroids prior to a workout. The theory is that the drug's ability to dilate a person's blood vessels will help deliver these steroids to muscles, according to a June 2008 "New York Daily News" article. Bodybuilders who use amino acids, legal supplements and vitamins may operate under the same theory regarding sildenafil. This drug also counteracts the impotence that is sometimes caused by testosterone injections meant to increase muscle mass.

The most famous drug in the world is sildenafil citrate. What’s that? You never heard of it? Perhaps you’re more familiar with its trade name, Viagra. Viagra was once known only as UK-92, 480. The UK portion of the name referred to the United Kingdom, where Viagra was developed in the labs of the giant drug company Pfizer. Chemists were attempting to produce a drug that could effectively treat high blood pressure and angina pectoris, which is pain in the chest related to coronary artery disease. Although the new compound proved weak in treating angina, it produced a readily apparent side effect: pronounced penile erection. The suits at Pfizer immediately recognized the broad implications of the discovery and patented the drug in 1996. The trade name Viagra was chosen, and the FDA approved the drug in 1998. The era of the little blue pill had begun. Viagra works by preventing the premature breakdown of cyclic GMP, a substance that operates at the cellular level to relax smooth muscle. When that happens in the tissues of the penis, blood flow is increased, resulting in penile erection. Viagra increases the presence of cyclic GMP by inhibiting phosphodiesterase type-5, an enzyme that helps break it down. One of the more interesting uses of Viagra has been in sports. Famed baseball pitcher Roger Clemens denied using performance-enhancing drugs during his baseball career but openly admitted using Viagra—not for sexual purposes but rather because he was told that it could enhance endurance and increase oxygen delivery to muscles. Clemens said that it produced facial flushing and a rapidly beating heart. An Italian professional cyclist was suspended after being caught with 82 unprescribed Viagra pills. Victor Conte, architect of the infamous BALCO drug scandal, said that he routinely provided Viagra to such famous athletes as Barry Bonds and Marion Jones. While many of Viagra’s properties seem impressive and despite its apparent widespread availability over the Internet, it’s nonetheless important to remember that it’s a potent drug. The most common adverse effects associated with Viagra include headaches, flushing, indigestion, nasal congestion—a nose-on?—and impaired vision. Some users find themselves seeing everything with a blue tint. Getting too enthusiastic or using too large a dose can cause an erection that doesn’t subside, a condition known as priapism. That can cause serious injury to the penis. Even worse, Viagra can induce severe low blood pressure, even a heart attack in rare instances. A more recent side effect linked to the drug is sudden hearing loss.

What is Andropause?

Andropause is in many ways simply male-menopause and often referred to as “manopause.” In short, the condition can be explained very easily as it exists simply on the basis of declining androgen production within the body, most notably testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone and to a degree the increase in Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin (SHBG); direct androgen production is however the primary concern. While menopause and Andropause share some strong similarities there is one very distinctive difference that must be noted. When a woman goes through menopause the onset of the condition is almost instant, the drop or decline in adequate hormonal production is very quick and can become quite bothersome almost overnight. Andropause is however in most cases a little different. Andropause is something that will typically not manifest itself in such a quick and dramatic fashion but rather hormonal decline is slow and steady over a period of many years. How fast the decline will vary from one man to the next and often quite significantly but generally speeding up each and every year as the man ages.

While several varying androgens can be affected testosterone is generally the most important one and the one that will have the greatest negative effect when in decline. You’ve probably already seen the commercials on T.V. talking about low testosterone often referring to it as “Low-T” and in medical practice such a condition is most commonly referred to as hypogonadism. Generally speaking, hypogonadism and Andropause refer to the same thing with Andropause encompassing the total androgen production as a whole, with hypogonadism generally referring only to the androgen testosterone. In any case there are six androgens worthy of note, Androstenediol, Androstenedione (Andro), Androsterone, Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and Testosterone; testosterone being the primary for which all exist and the only one of high particular importance. 

The effects of Andropause while generally not life-threatening can be beyond bothersome and can in-fact be gateway that opens the door to more serious conditions later down the line that are indeed life-threatening. In short, men who suffer from Andropause will notice their quality of life in a constant state of decline and as this decline is brought about slowly by the time it has really become a problem many men have become accustomed to it. Often such conditions are simply attributed to age and as hormonal decline is a part of age, on its surface this assumption is not without some level of truth. However, if age were the only factor all men would experience Andropause to a similar degree but this is not the case; many men never experience the symptoms to a large degree and in that light things such as genetics or predisposition and lifestyle choices necessarily come into play.

How great of an effect can Andropause have on your quality of life? The condition has the potential to affect sexual function, your appearance, your physical and mental well-being to a far reaching degree with the most common symptoms including:

    Decline or Total Loss of Libido
    Erectile Dysfunction
    Loss of Strength
    Loss of Muscle Tissue & Mass
    Increased Body-Fat
    Lack of Energy
    Lack of Focus
    Insomnia
    Weakened Immune System
    Depression

Your testosterone levels are going to decline as you age, in this there is no escape and as it declines, in many cases other androgen's will follow. However, the lifestyle choices you make can play a factor and you can make adjustments to your life to aid in staving off the condition but understand when Andropause is a reality there is generally no turning back; you will require therapy and you will require it for the remainder of your life. As low testosterone is the primary concern the individual will necessarily do all he can to aid in maintaining proper levels and by and large it is our physical condition and stress levels that dictate this to the greatest degree. Maintaining a healthy body weight or more specifically a healthy body-fat to muscle mass ratio will be your primary tool in staving off Andropause. Your physical condition is of the utmost importance and as a healthy diet rich in healthy fats, especially of the Omega-Fatty Acid nature as well as regular physical activity have all be linked to promoting testosterone production, these are factors that must be considered.

Further, stress as eluded to can play a big role and it can come in many forms. The presence of stress in our life often brings with it the presence of glucocorticoid steroids in abundance and such hormones destroy muscle tissue and promote body-fat as well as leave us generally sluggish. Such stress can be caused by our simple daily lives through work and home, this is true but factors such as lack of rest, improper diet that does not promote adequate physical recovery, over training in the gym or in any activity can all lead to an abundant release of these muscle destroying and fat promoting hormones and ultimately lead to Andropause. When Andropause is determined you will find there is only one true treatment but because such a treatment is built around a very emotional topic many doctors will avoid it until all other options have been tried. Let’s be clear, if you suffer from Andropause there is only one solution, at this stage in the game while improving your lifestyle choices will aid you in the long run they will not provide a solid solution, rather they should be in addition to the therapy you need. To treat Andropause you will need to be placed on a Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) plan, then and only then will you see your condition improved and this improvement will work almost every single time. It is true, there is no permanent cure for Andropause for example, once an individual suffers from low testosterone he will always need Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) generally with one exception. Some performance enhancing athletes fall prey to low testosterone at a young age; once steroid use has been discontinued and laid aside they no longer have the ability to naturally produce the hormones they need; generally this is due to abuse of the hormones; many athletes who use responsibly never have a problem. In such cases an HRT plan that generally includes testosterone, in-fact a simple TRT plan may be all that is needed can lead to eliminating the problem. At the same time it may not and this individual may too find himself on HRT for the remainder of his life.