Any experiences of your male DP/DH taking testosterone in midlife??

[Lostribbons]

My mid-40’s DH has been considering taking Testosterone for a while.

Does anyone have experience of their mid life Male partner using it? Good bad or otherwise?

The symptoms that bother him most are a significant drop in libido, less enthusiasm for life, tiredness, and fat gathering on his chest area (gynecomastia).

His blood test results show borderline low testosterone, but not terrible.

He’s pretty fit and does regular strength training. He’d probably benefit from losing maybe a stone, he’s a very tall bloke though and isn’t significantly overweight.

He’s doing loads of his own research and it’s completely his decision of course, but I wondered if anyone here had experience of their partner using it?

Bump?

My DH had similar symptoms but was younger than your DH - prob about 35 when they started.
He went to the GP and was referred to an endocrinologist who recommended he tried testosterone. He had the jabs every few months at the GP surgery and they did improve his symptoms but one of the side effects is an increased risk of prostate cancer. They check for this with blood tests (every 3 months ish?) on two occasions his markers came back elevated and had increased the second time from the first.
He took the decision to stop treatment and has since managed his symptoms with supplements, exercise and the odd afternoon nap! He feels the benefits didn’t outweigh the risks for him but I guess it would depend how bad symptoms were.
A few months ago I listened to a good podcast - I think it was one of the Van Tulkens on bbc sounds. He had an expert on who pretty much said it’s being viewed as the equivalent HRT for men, when in reality it should really only be prescribed to a very small proportion of people.

Sorry, I realise that’s not a very positive story but in your DH’s shoes, especially being borderline, I’d exhaust all other avenues such as diet, weight loss etc first.

Just another bump in case anyone else has experience of this?

My DH takes testosterone. He is 53 now and started about 15 tests ago I think. His testosterone level was very low so it was clinically indicated. He uses the transdermal gel which is much safer than injections. He is under the care of a consultant endocrinologist who sees him every 6 months for a blood pressure check, PSA test, cholesterol test and haematocrit test.
My DH feels great on it and if he ever forgets to apply it he feels sluggish, tired and mentally slow until he applies again.
I think I would be advised by the endocrinologist if your DH should have it. Just as an aside it will cause infertility just in case you are trying to get pregnant.

15 years sorry

Like your DH I had similar symptoms (though not chest fat) and my testosterone levels are low. I visited the GP but didn't pursue it as most of the problems resolved themselves. The cause was probably long term stress. The increased risk if prostate cancer also put me off and shortly afterwards I did find a news article about men self-diagnosing and how this has become a thing. I hope your DH has well in mind that he's not a doctor and he should discuss his symptoms without an expected treatment in mind.

Thank you - it’s fair to say long term stress could be a factor for him yes, and he is definitely not going-ho about it, he has educated himself on the risks vs benefits

I’m interested that people are mentioning the Testosterone and prostate cancer link; I believe this has been strongly challenged in recent years and it has been shown that perhaps clinically low testosterone causes the cancer risk, as opposed to testosterone therapy?

I had a quick google to see if I was thinking along the right lines, and found a few references, including this one https://www.mdanderson.org/newsroom/research-newsroom/low-testosterone-levels-may-be-associated-with-increased-risk-of-prostate-cancer-progression-during-surveillance.h00-159853767.html

That said, I think at the moment DH is happy to pursue lifestyle changes and see if they make the difference

Still grateful to hear from anyone else’s experiences though :)

Have been asking my H to look into this for a couple of years. He has gynecomastia, lost all his leg hair, lowered libido, weight gain, various low grade things that in a woman would be assigned to peri. He has annual health checks including bloods with his work, so no effort needed on his side.

I have been speaking with my DH about this. I don’t think he has clinically low T. Just age related lower levels but he is much more emotionally vulnerable. Lower energy, lower confidence, less resilient. Things he was always extraordinarily strong with before.

I thought in the UK supplementation was only given of a man had unusually low T. Is that correct?

I think there are a number of dedicated men’s health type clinics offering testosterone therapy

But I believe you can also get hold of testosterone without any doctors involvement; some men take it for the muscle gains etc, potentially without fully understanding the risks vs benefits.

My DH did go to see a men’s health doctor and had a few blood tests over the course of the year, hence finding his is borderline low; but to be fair when he lost weight it went up a tiny bit so he’s going to keep following the healthy lifestyle changes for now

DH (early 40s) was in a similar situation a year ago. Did extensive research and was borderline obsessive. But I’m actually glad he was, as playing with hormones has a massive impact on long-term heath as well as immediate. How does he plan to go about it?
In DH’s case, he tried it for few cycles, decided it was too much effort for not very much return in overall health, so came off it gradually (as recommended). Weight loss is expected, but it can lead to quite wild fluctuations in mood. Libido can go up, but will also drop as the body shuts down natural production of T, so doses need to be managed very carefully.
All in all, I got the impression that it’s quite involved and requires a lot of organisation and an analytical mindset. I don’t think it’s for everyone (or for most people for that matter).
Hope that helps.

It’s so interesting, particularly the leg hair loss, that does seem a clear indicator that something’s not right?

Sadly I think that often GP’s aren’t brilliant if you’re not “ill” and can fob people off; my DH saw a reputable men’s health specialist slugs GP privately who was very balanced in his approach and gave a good long consult - an hour! - so they could actually talk about everything properly

Thanks so much for this

Yes I believe these reasons you mention are what’s stopping him trying it so far, and trying to do lifestyle stuff first…

Can I ask, did your DH do injections, or testosterone gel on the skin?

Hmm, I’m not sure about there being no link with prostate cancer. Only anecdotally of course, but DH had low levels of PSA before starting treatment. It rose significantly during treatment and then dropped back to normal after stopping.

Name changed specifically for this as it’s so personal.

My husband self-injects testosterone twice a week, under supervision of a private GP. He does blood tests etc several times a year to check that everything is ok.

He’s 53 and has been taking testosterone for (iirc) about 2 years. His testosterone levels were borderline before; his main issue was that he just had no energy at all, and even mild exercise wiped him out for days (previously extremely fit and sporty).

Side effects since taking testosterone:

• acne (face and all over his back) fairly soon after starting. This went away after a few months. The acne on his back was really bad but of course nobody else could see it
• very very VERY red face on and off for at least the first year. I mean REALLY red. Like he was wearing red face paint! He got quite upset about this. It’s gone down now but I’d say he’s still got a redder complexion than he used to; he is Caucasian but as he works outside a lot the redness sort of gets camouflaged by suntan/windburn to a certain extent
• massive increase in body hair. He’d never been hairy. Now he is really hairy, including his back. I’m not gonna lie, I’m not a fan of this; his body feels very different when we’re having sex (we been together about 26 years before he started taking testosterone so it’s a big change). Aware that people might criticise me for this but I can’t help the way I feel. I have never said this to him and I never will.
• change in body shape… more belly fat, like a classic beer belly except he only drinks a couple of times a year
• increase In libido (it wasn’t low before but he can go several nights in a row now if I’m up for it)
• also not gonna lie that the infertility is a bonus, as I’m still in perimenopause & having periods at 54 and therefore TECHNICALLY able to get pregnant (!!) according to my GP….
• his stamina / ability to recover from exercise has improved a bit but he hasn’t seen the big positive changes that he’d been hoping for unfortunately. I think he will stay on testosterone for as long as the doctor (and our bank balance) allows, but I know he’s disappointed that he doesn’t have more energy. Older friends and colleagues still bounce back after playing tennis or going for a run or whatever, whereas if he does a 20-minute gym session he will literally feel like he has flu for 48 hours afterwards.

I hope this is helpful - I realise it’s not mega positive!

** edited to add: re my comment about sex. I didn’t mean to imply that he’s constantly gagging for it! But his sex drive did increase. Given that mine had taken a dive due to perimenopause as well, this required some conversations to be had.

Injections.
And it is definitely worth doing the lifestyle stuff first, as I really don’t think it’s a magic bullet, and the maintenance is a huge effort.

I think there's some link between zinc deficiency and low testosterone levels. You can buy a very cheap zinc taste test online to find out if that might be part of the problem.

Thank you this is hugely helpful

I think my DH is fairly aware of this stuff, hence not starting yet but thinking about it - but I really wanted to understand it myself so these personal experiences are so informative

My own HRT experience has been life changing but I appreciate men don’t go through anything like what we do!

You're welcome. The GP mentioned the increased risk of prostate cancer but said there were ways of mitigating that. That's all I can remember.

My dh has similar symptoms. He went on a calorie controlled diet and lost a few stone. Because he carries weight on his stomach he used the asian bmi to work out his goal weight. Once he's lost it everything improved. He has so much more energy.

If I’m honest, I wish my husband would stop taking it.
However, he was told by the GP that he might not start producing any T naturally again. So he continues.
Prior to starting he’d spent months trying to raise his levels naturally - diet, exercise, supplements etc - but nothing had worked.

He wasn’t overweight before, so the changed body shape is frustrating for him. T seems to have CAUSED an enlarged belly.

I actually think he’s got long COVID and that this accounts for the low energy (he was hospitalised with Covid 5 years ago) but he won’t hear of it.

My dh has been taking testosterone injections for approx 2 months , he’s just ordered his second blood test. He went through Voy. They have been brilliant. His testosterone was on the lower side but not low enough for nhs help. He was on sertraline for about 4 years previously , he’s not on them any more! Everything has improved for him. His libido disappeared for 3/4 years but it’s back now , he has more energy, he’s just generally more positive, happier, less aches and pains, he’s back at the gym more , he’s motivated, no more mood swings it’s been brilliant for him , and me. Ive got my old dh back because he’d practically vanished .

If he’s borderline low I suspect the doctors will just recommend lifestyle changes

he’ll be extremely lucky to get this in the NHS they literally have no interest in helping and will say it’s natural aging
the problem is once you start it a risk coming off it is the body will stop producing and doesn’t always restart making testosterone

going private the cost is around 2,500 a year you need to pay for monitoring test as well

Thank you, I’m so glad it’s going well for your DJ so far, that’s great

Certainly compared to being on Sertraline, taking a natural hormone seems a MUCH better option for his body