What Is Testosterone Replacement Therapy And How To Get Started

Our intricate system of hormones is an elegant and effective machine that we generally don’t pay any attention to – until it begins to break down. That’s where Testosterone Replacement Therapy comes into play.

Each of the roughly 50 hormones our body’s rely upon to function and communicate is incredibly important. However, few are as important to male health and vitality than testosterone. Unfortunately, the average male’s testosterone levels in the United States has dropped by about 1% every year since the 1980’s – and it had already been falling for decades leading up to that point. Our collective testosterone nose-dive is associated with a rise in the prevalence of physical and psychological effects ranging from erectile dysfunction to depression. Indeed, any disruption in normal endocrine function has the ability to impact our health and wellness on every level.

Bringing your hormones (and your body) back into balance is now easier than ever before, and a skillful practitioner with the right tools can make all the difference in the world to your recovery process. Invigor Medical is leading the charge to make testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) accessible to anyone and everyone who is suffering from low-T, and we also seek to educate and empower our clients into making more healthful decisions that can enhance the effectiveness of TRT. Starting here, with this explanation of what testosterone replacement therapy is, the research behind it, potential side effects and contraindications of TRT, where to buy TRT online or in person, and more.

What Is Testosterone Replacement Therapy? 

Testosterone replacement therapy (just TRT for short) has become a commonly used treatment for men suffering from the unpleasant effects that come along with having inadequate levels of this hormone.

Low testosterone, or more specifically symptomatic hypogonadism, means that your levels of this androgenic hormone are so low that you likely have little or no sex drive, your erections are subpar (if they occur at all), energy levels aren’t what they used to be, you’re fatter and less muscular than you once were, and the list goes on and on unfortunately. When your levels of testosterone are low enough to disrupt your normal physiology, you can feel it. How exactly you may manifest the effects of low test will probably be unique to you – but if you are low, you will have more than a few hints.

TRT, when properly applied, has been proven help improve the quality of life of individuals at this level of hormonal dysfunction. It can bring back energy levels, libido, muscle mass, cognitive function, and bone density. These effects will only be enhanced if you are smart and stick to a lifestyle focused on building up your health – not breaking it down. If you want to help support your testosterone levels and potentially enhance the beneficial effects of TRT, make sure to prioritize your sleep quality and consistency, eat real food with actual nutrients, and lift weights or exercise often. These are just a few things that the average male should do to support their testosterone levels, but they are the biggest rocks to focus on.

Testosterone replacement therapy creates improvements in overall health and vitality in men with low T by simply bringing them back up to a normal and sufficient range for a healthy male. This range is highly contested and finding a practitioner that will adjust your dosing and protocols based on your unique symptoms and blood work is important as well. Reference ranges speak to averages across a population. Your test levels may need to be much higher than someone else before you are able to feel like yourself again. Everyone is different – especially when we are talking about hormones. Keeping an eye out for potential side effects forming is absolutely vital to the safe application of TRT. Although TRT is incredibly safe when used appropriately, there have been reported side effects from individuals taking their levels up to supraphysiological levels (way too high).

Testosterone Replacement Therapy Side Effects

Hormones hold tremendous power within the body.

This power is exactly why the reintroduction of testosterone, in therapeutic and physiologically reasonable doses, can have such profound benefits in men who don’t have enough. Fortunately, when administered in an appropriate manner, TRT is incredibly safe. 

Although the research around TRT continues to evolve, it has becoming increasingly clear that it can be a game changer – and generally with a clear and obvious net-benefit. More recent research has refuted any concerns about cardiovascular health with TRT, and a neutral or actually favorable impact on cardiovascular disease risk is more likely. With any hormone therapy however, there will be an adaptation to the introduction of exogenous (from outside the body) hormones. Injecting exogenous testosterone begins a cascade of hormonal events which will lead to your own endogenous (from inside the body) testosterone production being suppressed. This is an expected effect of TRT, but further side effects may include decreased sperm production, increased sebum secretion (zits!), changes in hair patterns, and most commonly, erythema and pruritus (redness and itching). 

As long as you avoid taking supra-therapeutic doses of testosterone (which seem to be a poor choice for long term health), the potential pros clearly outweigh the potential cons.

Introduce excessive amounts of testosterone and you are almost certainly going to be converting a ton of excess test into estrogen through a process called aromatization. Too much estrogen means man-boobs (gynecomastia is a real thing), and an increased risk of obesity, among many other possible and unwanted effects. When blood panels are done and they are closely monitored, TRT has been consistently proven to reverse the increased adiposity (body fat), and improve many markers of physical and emotional wellbeing. In fact, when testosterone levels are brought back up, many of the positive effects of having normally sufficient test levels can be expected to return. Results can only be expected though, if you get your TRT from an honest and official source. Businesses that can provide you with a guarantee for quality and efficacy has become increasingly difficult to find with the explosion of websites selling TRT online. To find one that can provide you with a safe and effective solution to low testosterone, it is important to look for a few things. 

Where To Get TRT Online

Punching in a short google search will bring you an ocean of websites hocking discounted testosterone injections to men just seeking to add some muscle, lose some fat, and generally live better.

Unfortunately, these sites vastly outnumber the ones that are able to provide you with an actually effective TRT regimen. Any website that is clearly targeting bodybuilders or other populations who are seeking to enhance their test levels to supraphysiological levels should raise some red flags for you immediately. 

Another thing to keep an eye out for is whether or not the website discloses both the upsides and potential downsides of Testosterone Replacement Therapy Online. There are real side effects possible when TRT is applied in a less than strategic manner. Testosterone can essentially be thought of as a medication, and with that comes a need for it to be prescribed by a qualified practitioner. Therefore, if you are buying TRT online and you are not required to speak with a qualified medical practitioner and be given a prescription – run away!

Currently, only a small percentage (around 5%) of websites selling medications online actually follow proper pharmaceutical guidelines. So the problem of poor quality testosterone seems more a reflection of the entire online industry being saturated with shady sales tactics and questionable sources.

Mentioned Product

Sermorelin Injections

Sermorelin is arguably one of the most powerful Anti-Aging medications, which offers a long list of benefits: More energy, increased libido, muscle building, recovery, strength, weight loss, and much more.

Learn About Sermorelin Injections

Further than simply not following legal guidelines for medical prescriptions, the quality of the testosterone you are receiving is always going to be a concern when you are purchasing from a questionable website. If what you end up receiving is actually testosterone (oftentimes it will be whatever is cheapest, including a run-of-the-mill anabolic) it will likely be a subpar version. As with anything that you are introducing into your body in order to influence physiological function, it is obviously important that you know exactly what you are putting in your body. It is also important that you are objectively monitoring the effects that it is having by getting periodic blood panels done and consistently meeting with a provider that is experienced with hormonal interventions.

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