Replacement therapy prescribed to patients suffering from hypogonadism. Self-prescribing androgens to enhance one’s athletic and sexual performance can have serious health consequences
After the statements of a former maid of Gianluca Vacchi, who accused the influencer entrepreneur, among other things, of imposing fines on the servants who moved the testosterone injectionsmany are wondering what these hormone stings are.
Who Should Get Testosterone Injections?
The main indication for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for which there is also a reimbursement note, referring to situations of hypogonadism (testosterone deficiency) – explains Giario Conti National Secretary of the Italian Society of Oncological Urology – for example children who have lost both testicles due to trauma or pathologies and find themselves in a development phase without testosterone, but also adults with a testosterone level below which one must not go down, with the aim to bring the values back to physiological levels (and not to triple them). In these cases it is possible to undergo replacement or supplementary therapies, but not with injections or tablets, because with these therapies the toxicity increases considerably. Today they are available gel o cerottisafer formulations, but the therapy must be followed by an endocrinologist or an andrologist or in any case by a doctor expert in this field because dosages, timing, intervals of intake must be evaluated and frequent checks must be made.
Why are injections dangerous?
All of these drugs are metabolized in the liver, but when they are taken by mouth or injected there is a hepatic passage very important and the risk of undergoing hepatic pathologies, including neoplasms, is not so remote, for this reason the choice fell on formulations with fewer side effects explains Giario Conti, who is also head of Urology at the S. Anna Hospital in Como.
What are the risks of self-prescription?
Self prescribe androgens for the purpose of improving one’s athletic or sexual performance, perhaps buying drugs on the internet, can cause serious health consequences. First of all, the intake of testosterone – says Giario Conti – to all intents and purposes a doping. The problem is that if a person suffers from hypogonadism, with testosterone levels approaching castration, therapy can also make sense to protect the musculoskeletal system and counteract cognitive deficits. But if a person does not have a deficiency in testosterone or other enzymes that are rated normal, replacement therapy makes no sense. It is a very delicate hormonal and endocrine therapy, both in children and adults, which must be taken absolutely only when needed and the DIY honestly pure madness. He does not become a superman, he instead risks getting very hurt.
What are the side effects?
The most concrete risks of non-prescription abuse are general metabolic disorders, liver problems,
polycythemia (increase in the number of red blood cells and blood coagulability), a increase in the size of the prostate with the appearance of symptoms of urinary retention. On the other hand, there are no direct correlations with prostate cancer: if a person does not have prostate cancer, it is not the testosterone that causes it to come, but if the latent tumor testosterone could accelerate its onset.
Does Testosterone Decline As You Advance Normal Age?
A decline in natural testosterone production as we age (The reference values of testosterone in men, which are measured with a blood test, vary according to age although there may be 70-year-olds with testosterone values higher than the 50-year-olds) but the levels that identify the deficiency are very low. Many studies confirm that from the age of 40 there is a progressive decline in the serum levels of this hormone.
What does the drop in testosterone entail?
Low testosterone levels lead to a progressive e widespread reduction in muscle mass, especially abdominal, which manifests itself with poor strength and resistance to efforts. Then there is a progressive decay of the bone mineral density and above all aimpaired sexual function (reduced desire and erectivity), to which are added negative repercussions on cognitive function, on the general state of mental well-being and on the functional cardiac activity of the patient, which are accompanied by a worsening of the quality of life. There is the illusion that with doping you become more performing from a sexual and athletic point of view – concludes the urologist – but the possible damage is much greater than the possible benefits. Furthermore, the decline in muscle mass or sexual functions does not depend exclusively on the drop in testosterone but is linked to a set of endocrinological factors. The decline in muscle mass in favor of fat mass in patients with normal testosterone levels for age can be counteracted much better with exercise and diet, without bombing with testosterone.
May 27, 2022 (change May 27, 2022 | 17:17)
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