I’m a 54 year old overweight male who is frequently tired. My nurse practitioner tested my testosterone level and it came back at the very low end of normal. She recommended self-injected testosterone shots.
If you’ve had any experience with this or a similar treatment, I’d very much be interested to hear about your experience. Thanks.
I was diagnosed with low-t about 10 years ago, and had to go to my endocrinologist every two weeks for deep injections. Although my t-levels rose in blood tests, the symptoms remained unchanged. Then the doctor informed me that several men who had been taking the shots had dropped dead unexpectedly, and he gave me the option of discontinuing the shots. I chose to discontinue. Since then, my levels have been steadily on the low end of average, without any apparent problems that can’t be explained by other factors. So it seems I didn’t really need the shots after all. I think that low-testosterone diagnoses have become somewhat of a fad among doctors, and the injections are somewhat overprescribed.
I did them for about a year. I stopped after switching doctors—my new physician said that the cardiac risk associated with testosterone supplements wasn’t worth the benefits.
For the first few months, I went to the doctor’s office every two weeks and got the injection from a nurse. She’d give me the shot in my arm; she’d always ask, “Which arm did we do last time?” and I’d never remember. The injection itself wasn’t particularly painful, but a few minutes later it would feel like someone had whacked me in the arm with a baseball bat.
The main side effect I experienced was extreme irritability. I’m usually a very calm, easy-going person, but for the rest of the day after getting the shot, I’d be Mr. Short Fuse. I hated that.
After a few months, I asked the nurse if I could do the shots myself at home. She said, “Sure, I’ll show you how,” turned to her computer, and Googled “how to give yourself a shot.” Really. 
I did the shots in my thigh, and I immediately noticed that there wasn’t as much residual pain as the arm shots.
The fluid you inject is rather thick, and you’ll need two sets of needles: a large-bore needle to get the fluid into the syringe, and a narrower one for the actual injection. Fortunately that stuff is all relatively cheap and should be covered if you have prescription insurance. If you don’t like shots, there’s a topical gel available, but it is MUCH more expensive. There’s also a subcutaneous pellet option, but I’m not familiar with that.
As I mentioned above, all of this ended when I changed doctors. My current doctor sternly ordered me to stop the shots immediately. You might want to discuss the cardiac risk with your NP.
As an alternative to shots, I’m on Androgel. As a result of a prolactinoma, a benign pituitary tumor, that is preventing the production of follicle stimulating hormone and lutinizing hormone (FSH and LH), my T levels were basically 0.
The gel had brought my levels to high-normal, everything works again and no more hot flashes!
This is a question I’ve had for quite a while re testosterone injections: You were on exogenous testosterone for a year. During that time, did you testicles atrophy? And what happened when you stopped giving your body that exogenous testosterone? Was there any “down time” between when you stopped and when your body began producing it’s own (albeit low) testosterone again?
I ask because it would seem to me that once you begin this sort of therapy, you’d have to be on it for life.
A while back, I read about a man who had a pituitary tumor removed, and a few weeks later, he started having nausea and vomiting in the evening, and after several days, he called the doctor and asked if this could possibly be related to his recent surgery. The doctor said, “Yes, it is; you’re having a male version of morning sickness. :eek: Come to my office and I’ll give you a testosterone shot.” That evening, he did have a bit of an upset tummy but his dinner stayed down this time, and he was also very nervous about telling his wife, because she’d always had a terrible time with it when she was pregnant. To his surprise, she was VERY sympathetic, because as she put it, there was a purpose to hers and an end in sight, but not with him.
He found out the hard way that if he didn’t get his shot, this would start up again on about the 16th day after his last shot.
Hormones are interesting things, aren’t they?
My husband also had a benign pituitary tumor and also does Androgel. He notices if he misses it for a few days his energy levels go way down.
My NP told me that there were no side effects to stopping the therapy. For me, it would be supplemental, not replacement.
There is no such thing as “supplemental” testosterone. Once the body senses that it’s getting the hormone from outside sources, it shuts natural production down. You do this often or long enough, you can permanently shut it down.
My doctor is not even testing for LH or FSH any more as the feedback mechanism has been disrupted by using the gel.
Well according to my doctor that’s not how it works. I started taking shots back in August. It’s not so bad, though I will admit that the stuff is thick and my doctor would not prescribe a thicker needle so it’s a pain to get the correct amount without bubbles. I’ve mostly learned, but it can still be a pain.
I had a pituitary gland tumor as well. That was five years ago, I’ve been on meds for that. That doctor also suggested testosterone shots, but I declined at the time. Two other doctors kept suggesting having the shots so I decided to try.
TMI time, I think my testosterone has always been low. I can’t know for certain, but even as a teen I never remember having erections in the middle of the day. I’d get morning wood, but none of the other stuff teens were supposed to be afraid of. I don’t really remember being horny or getting blue balls or anything like that. Now, while I don’t get erections like a teen, there are days when I just wanna have sex, bad. It’s quite frustrating actually, especially being in my mid 40s. I’ve also noticed keeping hard sometimes during sex, but I don’t know if that’s because I’m tired or if the shots are causing problems too.
I will say that I think my swimming has gotten stronger. I’ve not been much for weights, but I keep track of my swimming and I’ve gotten faster without going to the pool more. I’ve thought about doing weights again just to see what would happen. I can also say I remember my dreams more. Don’t know if I’m sleeping better or having more dreams, but now I remember at least having them now.
I’m still undecided if I want to continue taking the shots or not. I’ve not really seen any improvements, but it’s possible that there are that I’m not seeing. I can’t say for sure if the swimming improvement is because of the shots or because I’ve changed my workout slightly. Could be both.
The shots aren’t that bad. I take them once a week in the leg. I switch legs when I remember. The only side effect I’ve had is I think I hit a nerve once and that hurt for a couple of days. My insurance gives me problems. They want my doctor to tell them why I need it every three months when I pick up my meds, they pay for it and it’s not much, but they still give me problems.
Research it for yourself, it is indeed the way it works. I would guess that either you misunderstood you dr or your dr is simply incorrect (wouldn’t be the first time re testosterone).
Here’s a better cite.
For normal men that might be a possibility. Especially men who are well within the normal range. Both of my doctors are endocrinologists, one from John Hopkins, and neither said it should be a problem for me. I have very low levels, as in at the bottom of normal for men. That’s based upon a number of blood tests for the past five or so years.
I asked about this problem, the increased of heart attack, and a few other things that I had read about, and they are usually only a problem for men who are taking testosterone who are in the normal range, not for men in my situation.
Hey I provided cites. That’s all I can do.
I’m assuming at this point that I am taking Testosterone for life. For me it is not supplementary, my body is just not making Testosterone by itself. I’m in my mid-40s, so who knows in 30 years.
All I know is that taking it is better than the alternative.
Your body will not produce testosterone while you are on testosterone therapy (general ‘you’). That is why I say there is no such thing as “supplemental” testosterone, you either produce it naturally or you replace it chemically. You can’t combine the two.
Any idea how this works? If your body already has testosterone in it, how can it tell that you’re getting shots?
It’s a feedback loop. The way our bodies manage our hormones is by creating and stopping them when the level is high enough. If you inject a hormone your body says oh, hey, we have this hormone and shuts down any more production.
I was just saying it from the standpoint that I am not a low-normal, just feeling kind of tired situation. My levels were as low as .9 nmol/mL (26 ng/dL). I had virtually nothing to combine it with.