Those ads for testosterone boosters show up in your inbox all the time. They haunt you on social media. And it’s easy to think, “Hey, what harm could it do?” After all, testosterone is a natural substance, right? You’ve enjoyed the benefits your body’s natural testosterone has provided for years, so a little more couldn’t possibly hurt, right?
Not right. Some of those products touted across the internet aren’t safe at all. Because they aren’t regulated, there’s no way for you to know which are okay and which are definitely bad news. Even if you’re dealing with low testosterone levels (many men are!), there are safer, more reliable ways of dealing with the situation without putting your body at so much risk.
Let’s sort out what’s true and what’s just a sales pitch. There are solutions for men in Dallas, Texas who are concerned about their testosterone levels — and they don’t require untested, unverified purchases online.
The Big Question: Are Testosterone Supplements Safe?
When you take a prescription medication, whether in pill form or as an injectable, you know that it passed rigorous testing and approval regimens. It’s declared safe and if there are any risks or side effects, you’re informed of them at great length.
That’s just not true for those testosterone supplements that you see advertised everywhere. No one is monitoring the health of men taking these supplements to look for adverse reactions or dangers. No one is regulating manufacturers to make sure that the supplements actually contain the substances they claim, or that one batch is the same as the next — and no one is checking to make sure they don’t also contain dangerous substances.
So are they safe? The honest answer is: Who knows? There’s simply no way to know unless you hire a proper lab to check out each bottle of supplements you buy. We’re guessing that’s probably cost-prohibitive and too much hassle for most men.
Some studies were indeed done on various over-the-counter testosterone supplements and the jury is still out. Some supplements increase the risk of prostate cancer. Others appear to be unsafe for men who are overweight, while some cause unwanted fluid retention. You won’t find these risks on the supplement labels, though. Since they’re unregulated, the manufacturers aren’t required to tell you any bad news.
Here’s another potential danger. Let’s say the supplement you’re taking does raise your testosterone levels, as you’re hoping. Because you’re taking it on your own, without any monitoring by a physician, you can’t check to see what else the supplement is doing to your body. One authenticated result of increased testosterone levels is an increase in red blood cells. That may not sound dangerous, however, if your red blood cell count rises too high, you’re putting yourself at risk of heart attack or stroke resulting from blood clots. Without a doctor or men’s clinic to keep an eye on how you’re responding to the testosterone, how will you know if you’re in danger?
Are Testosterone Supplements Worth the Risk? (Do They Work?)
Yes, many testosterone supplements do increase the amount of testosterone in the bodies of the men who take them. But what does that mean?
Testosterone is responsible for a lot of desired functions in a man’s body. Notably, testosterone is responsible for the ability to achieve and maintain an erection. Concerns about erectile dysfunction are often what drive men to try untested testosterone supplements. But testosterone does a lot more in your body. It helps you maintain a healthy weight, builds muscles, boosts your mental capacity, and gives you confidence.
So what are you looking for when you consider buying a testosterone supplement off the internet? Once you can answer that question, you’re in a position to wonder whether the supplement will do what you want it to. And the answer is: very often, no.
Many over-the-counter testosterone supplements do raise men’s testosterone levels, but only by about 20%, which, for many men suffering from low testosterone, is simply not enough to produce the kinds of results they want. The goal with any kind of testosterone replacement therapy is to get testosterone levels back into the normal range of 300 to 1,000 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL). That meager 20% boost is, in many cases, too little to accomplish this. Which means the effects you want to see aren’t likely to happen.
And the supplements you spend good money for may do little to nothing at all because (a reminder!) there’s no regulation to make sure they actually contain the ingredients they claim to. A research study from 2019 found that less than 25% of the supplements claiming to boost testosterone could provide any kind of clinical proof of doing so. Almost 20% of the supplements tested didn’t change testosterone levels at all. And more than 10% of them resulted in decreases in testosterone levels. Imagine paying all that money to have your condition get worse!
In addition, many of the supplements tested contained dangerous levels of other ingredients, including magnesium, zinc, and various types of vitamin B. The men taking these supplements had no way to know that they were actually putting their bodies at risk.
So What Are Your Choices If You Suspect You Have Low Testosterone?
Maybe you first began to suspect your testosterone levels were not sufficient when you stopped caring so much about sex, or when you had some unexpected difficulties in the bedroom. Possibly, your energy has been low, and you’re putting on some pounds around your belly. You could find yourself feeling less confident, and sometimes it seems your brain just isn’t as sharp as it once was. And so you’ve begun to wonder if low testosterone levels could explain all this.
It’s very possible that low testosterone is at the heart of all these issues. Your body’s natural production of testosterone peaks around the age of 30, after which you lose about 1% of your testosterone production per year. For many mean, that can quickly drop them out of the normal range. That’s when all those discouraging symptoms start to show up.
The good news is that you don’t have to turn to untested, over-the-counter supplements to solve this problem. You can find safe, reliable treatment for low testosterone right here in Dallas.
Testosterone Replacement Therapy: The Real Solution
Testosterone replacement therapy from a licensed physician is the safe, reliable, regulated solution you’re looking for if you’re dealing with testosterone deficiency. When you go to a doctor’s office or men’s health clinic, you get the medical care and monitoring you need. Your doctor can run the appropriate tests to make sure that low testosterone is the reason for the symptoms you’re experiencing, since many of these symptoms can have multiple causes.
Testosterone replacement therapy is only available from licensed physicians. It raises your body’s testosterone levels safely, resulting in an improvement in your symptoms over a period of a few weeks. Because your entire treatment is overseen by a physician, you get the dosage you actually need, rather than a random amount packaged into bottles, manufactured who-knows-where, and with no oversight or regulation. You know what you’re putting into your body, and you know how it’s supposed to work. And your treatment is monitored, because your doctor has your whole health in mind and understands how your testosterone levels interact with all the various systems of your body.
Here’s what you can expect when you turn to a men’s health clinic like Texas Men’s Health Group for testosterone replacement therapy:
- Proper testing. If your testosterone levels aren’t low, then taking testosterone supplements won’t cure what ails you, and they could post a real danger. At a men’s health clinic, you can get the tests you need to confirm the causes of your symptoms so you can get the treatment you actually need.
- Appropriate dosage. When you pop over-the-counter testosterone supplements, you don’t know what you’re taking and you don’t know what dosage you’re getting (regardless of what the bottle claims). At a men’s health clinic, your doctor will determine the right dosage for your unique body. You can also choose between multiple applications, including testosterone gels, injections, patches, and pellets, each of which is appropriate for different men based on lifestyle and personal preference.
- Monitoring during treatment. You can’t monitor your health when you take over-the-counter supplements, but when you receive testosterone replacement therapy from a licensed clinic, your health gets the monitoring you need. That means your doctor can adjust your dosage as needed. In addition, your health care providers will keep an eye out for any side effects and monitor your response to treatment.
Are You Ready to Check Out Testosterone Replacement Therapy?
Are you experiencing a drop in your sex drive or negative scenarios in your love life? Do you feel fatigued all the time and unable to focus? Have you been gaining weight and losing muscle mass, even if you go to the gym regularly?
These symptoms could all point to low testosterone levels. But don’t guess about the cause when you can find out for sure at Texas Men’s Health Group. We’ll run the needed blood tests and interpret the results in the light of your greater health and well-being, and we’ll keep your needs foremost as we help you develop the right treatment plan.
You don’t need to pump untested supplements into your body. Not when real help is available. Contact us today to get the safe, reliable, discreet treatment you need. Make today the day you turn the corner back toward health and vitality.