[JoeFromPA]

This is really just a question to see what peoples experiences are or have been...

Wondering if anyone has regularly gone to a physician and been prescribed any form of male hormone therapy for quality of life issues and NOT a diagnosed condition - whether it be testosterone or analogue, growth hormone, or similar. And then continued to receive follow-up to keep an eye on total hormonal balance, etc.

Physicians could be anything: Endocrinologists, GP, "Anti-aging", etc.

The impetus for this question is simple: I'm considering going down this path to seek pharmacological aid for quality of life. Energy, muscle/fat disposition, mood, etc.

I take no medications and really have never, but I'm extremely familiar with metabolics and clinical research - and thus I'm in the exploration/consideration phase.

[m3ray]

First you would need to have your T level tested. Low levels can affect mood and energy. If low there are several good options out there. Tell tale sign is if your sex drive is in the dump.

[atinybug]

If you legitimately have a medical condition that requires you to take hormones, then you should talk to your doctor about it. If you don't, and you're just looking for a shortcut to get more buff or whatever, get off your lazy bum and work out.

[JoeFromPA]

Gents,

Let me re-state the purpose of this thread: I'm looking for people who have experience in this area and would be willing to share their experience, if they exist on this forum.

Thanks,

Joe

[Templar]

Unless you actually have diagnosed low t levels, you're not getting anything "legally."

[upstatedoc]

[MaynardZed]

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

Gents,

Let me re-state the purpose of this thread: I'm looking for people who have experience in this area and would be willing to share their experience, if they exist on this forum.

Thanks,

Joe

Very experienced here. I'll send a PM, Joe.

Originally Posted by Templar

Unless you actually have diagnosed low t levels, you're not getting anything "legally."

If its prescribed by an MD, it is legal. Whether or not its ethical, moral, wise, good medicine is another story. Lots of gray area here. I seen some situations that really makes me scratch my head?

[UncleWede]

When I win Mega tonight, I'm going to hire one of those companies that do the whole deal for me: food, exercise, "metabolic" support. I'd love to be in one of their commercials in a year or 2: "I'm 52, and I'm in the best shape of my life"

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

When I win Mega tonight

I've got my ticket.

[UncleWede]

Gathering the cash in the office for the pool, somehow I'm the degisnated "lucky" ticket buyer. I'm going to fck with them since none of them know I already planned to go fishing tomorrow. Phone will be in airplane mode, so they couldn't track me if they tried.

[JoeFromPA]

Ok, sounds like there's alot of people who have an opinion on this matter. Let me help out a bit:

Endocrinology and hormone level assessment is both art and science. To focus on testosterone for one second, the reference range for "normal" is non-standardized. Many labs would consider a normal testosterone level for an 80 year old man to also be a "low normal" level for a 30 year old man. Short of GROSS pathology, almost everyone is considered normal.

Second, the "art" part of it is not just the lack of standardized statistics...it's also that different levels of testosterone effect different individuals to a different degree. One man with a T level of 400 ng/dl may have great energy, a raging libido, an upbeat mood, and a proper response to muscle stimuli....while another may have energy struggles, a depressed (but still functioning) libido, etc....also because of how the interactions with the totality of hormones play out.

I'm a FORMER metabolic researcher and I've worked in clinical research for a decade. I'm not an MD.

One new emerging part of medicine is that gut bacteria, the same bacteria we happily wipe out and have ignored mostly since the advent of antibiotics, can be responsible for GI diseases and food allergies.

Similarly, there have been some limited modern studies on the effect of basically playing with male hormones - in a controlled fashion - to improve mood, libido, energy, and yes the bodies reaction to muscle stimuli.

Today, some physicians - both general practitioners and specialists - will both prescribe hormone therapy and provide ongoing monitoring and dosage adjustment and seek to determine mood, energy, libido, and body are impacted in a positive manner without notably increasing any negative markers.

It's a somewhat costly, non-insurance covered, and non-standardized treatment. It is completely legal.

Hope this helps provide some context here. I know about it in an abstract sense quite well, I'm simply looking to hear from individuals who know more - and more personally - about it. One way or another.

[Markao66]

I definitely recommend any kind of hormone treatment. you don't specify your age but i will assume you over 30+ years.

I grew up in a bodybuilder environment, but always being supervised under a doctor and physician at all times, i always feel great. I'm today 25 and i run a TRT treatment and somatropin, i feel great, but my point is:

my father is 60 years old, and about a year ago he was having the common effects of aging, i took him to my doctor, the clinic is called BioStation and located in Boca Raton. he started all kinds of hormonal treatment and today he is in one of the best shapes of his life, sometimes i feel like his more energetic than me. and he seems to be taking "good" care of his new girlfriend , whom is 40.

I definitely reccomend, if by any chance your feeling a little tired, depressed, or even not in the mood to do anything to get a bloodwork done and make sure everythin is in order, nothing that you going to do under a physician is going to hurt you, is normal to have a few hormones shut down.

[BayMoWe335]

I was diagnosed with high T and have to see a specialist. There are negatives to high T as well. Mine is higher than some on steroids.