Want to know more about Testosterone Injections – Pros and Cons?
In that case, you have landed at the right place. Thousands of men seem to be concerned about a dip in their male hormone and there are many reasons why they should be because testosterone affects men in ways more than one.
Testosterone is the male hormone that gives men their male features and attributes.
A healthy sex drive, strong and hard erections are just one aspect of what this hormone does in your body. Testosterone is also the hormone responsible for muscle growth, fat-burning, bone density and mass, red blood cell count in men. Not just this, it also influences your moods in multiple ways.
What is the normal testosterone level?
Usually, normal testosterone levels vary between 300 and 1000 ng/dL and age is one of the most important factors that determines your T-Levels. Testosterone production in your at its peak level during puberty and early adolescence when major body changes take place. However, once you are on the other side of 30, testosterone levels begin declining at about 1-1.5% a year.
Depending upon your tests and low testosterone symptoms, your doctor may suggest testosterone injections and this is usually referred to as TRT or Testosterone Replacement Therapy. Men who suffer from high blood sugar may also benefit from Test shots.
Many bodybuilders take testosterone to get an edge when it comes to either gaining muscle or burning excess fat to get the desired ripped or shredded look.
Before getting into the symptoms of low testosterone, let me talk about testosterone injections and their pros and cons.
Contents
Testosterone Injections – Pros and Cons
Like every other steroid, testosterone injections or shots also have their own benefits and negatives. Let’s delve a bit deeper into them…
Testosterone Injections – Pros/Benefits
Here are some of the main benefits of Testosterone injections, particularly in men that have low testosterone:
- Improved libido or sex drive – One of the most important benefits of Testosterone injections is that they can help boost your sex drive or libido.
- Improvement in ED or ability to get harder erections – One of the common reasons of ED in men is a drop in their testosterone levels. By increasing your T-Levels, testosterone shots can help you get harder and rigid erections.
- Marked improvement in energy levels – Testosterone shots can also help boost your energy levels so that you have more stamina to work out or enjoy a better time in between the sheets.
- Better mood and fewer mood swings – Low testosterone not only results in mood swings but can also lead to depression. Thus, by enhancing your T-levels, test shots can help elevate your mood and make you feel happier and more confident of yourself.
- Increases sperm count – Testosterone not only affects your libido and erections but also plays a major role in your reproductive health. Test shots can help increase your sperm count thereby improving your fertility.
Testosterone Shots Benefits for Bodybuilders
Let’s talk about the benefits that make testosterone injections so appealing to a majority of gym-goers and bodybuilders…
Muscle Growth
First and foremost, testosterone remains one of the best steroids for bulking to date. Testosterone injections can help boost muscle growth in your body. This, itself, is the prime reason why so many bodybuilders try testosterone shots.
Testosterone shots can almost immediately spike your T-levels. Combining testosterone with other anabolic steroids is often an approach that most bodybuilders adopt and as a result, they succeed in enhancing their muscle size as well as strength.
Stacking of anabolic steroids is quite common and it must always be followed with a PCT to restore your natural testosterone production once you are done with the cycle.
Fat Changes in the Body
Have you ever wondered why men have less fat as compared to women?
Well, the fact is that testosterone is a hormone that has an amazing fat-burning potential. It not only makes your body burn fat faster but also regulates fat distribution in your body. With a drop in testosterone levels, men generally experience a belly bulge or fat gain around their waistline.
Thus, with testosterone shots, you can expect faster fat-burning in your body.
Testosterone Shots – Cons
Testosterone injections may have many benefits but they are not free of side effects. It’s important to know the cons before you take the plunge. Playing with hormones in your body comes with great risk. Many bodybuilders have died young because of the use of anabolic steroids including testosterone, growth hormone, trenbolone, etc.
First of all, Testosterone injections are not for all men. If you suffer from a medical condition such as heart disease, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, or even a high blood cell count, then you are going to require close supervision of a doctor while you are at it.
Furthermore, TRT should be strictly avoided if you have a condition such as a breast or prostate cancer.
Some of the other health issues that may arise due to testosterone injections could include the following:
- liver damage
- heart issues, including heart attack and stroke
- blood clots
- worsening of an already existing prostate tumor etc.
Low Testosterone Symptoms
As mentioned above, testosterone levels in men begin declining after the age of 30. By the time, you cross 40, it is quite possible that you are 10-15% short of testosterone levels. Now, this drop in testosterone, even though gradual, can lead to a lot of body and behavior changes in men and some of such changes are listed below:
- Poor libido and erectile dysfunction
- A drop in sperm cunt
- Depression, mood swings
- Weight gain, especially around the midsection
- Loss of lean muscle mass
- Hot flashes etc.
It is also not uncommon for men to experience gynecomastia with a drop in testosterone levels. This condition can be extremely embarrassing for men since it is characterized by an abnormal growth of breast tissue.
Sperm Count Changes
One of the most disturbing effects of low testosterone (for those who want to have kids) is a drop in their sperm count. It goes without saying that a low sperm count reduces your chances of having a baby with your woman.
Even though testosterone injections can help increase sperm count, too high testosterone can also impact your sperm count in negative ways. In other words, low sperm count may also occur as a result of testosterone replacement therapy. As a matter of fact, it is not wrong to say that TRT seems like a double-edged sword and you have to tread in very carefully.
If your body finds that there is excessive testosterone in the bloodstream then it may shut down its natural testosterone production and this could have serious repercussions resulting in testicular atrophy.
This is why, more often than not, doctors do not recommend TRT and even if they do, they like to offer close supervision.
Diagnosing Low T
Perhaps the only way to diagnose low testosterone is through a doctor examination who may want to conduct a blood test as well. This is important since many of the symptoms of low T are often similar to those of aging.
Cost of TRT
Testosterone injections do not come cheap. They can be expensive and they can make you shell out a whole lot of money. According to GoodRx.com, just 1 mL (200 mg/mL) of Depo-Testosterone is around $30 and it is o different for testosterone cypionate. I must mention here that the generic version of these injections could cost anywhere from $12-$26. With multiple injections required every month, the costs could run really high.
Not just this, you also need to add the costs of doctor visits, etc., to the cost of the injections. In other words, TRT could be a very expensive proposition.
Legal and Safer Alternatives
One of the best ways to boost testosterone in your body is with the help of natural testosterone supplements that are made with testosterone-boosting herbs and other natural ingredients. They help your body produce more testosterone of its own and do not have any adverse or negative side effects.
No wonder, testosterone supplements have become a massive hit:
- among bodybuilders trying to get better results from their training routines and
- among men trying to get over symptoms of low testosterone.
Besides this, such testosterone supplements also happen to be far cost-effective as compared to testosterone shots. This is another major positive feature that makes these testosterone supplements so appealing to a vast majority of men, including gym-goers.
Which brands are the best?
When it comes to testosterone supplements, there are literally thousands of brands, each one of them trying to grab a larger chunk of the market share. However, it is just a few that are actually good and can help you get amazing results, whether you want to better your results in the gym or improve your overall health.
These brands include:
- Testogen and
- Testo Prime
Testogen is unique in the sense that it comes in two forms – capsules and drops and you can combine both of these to get even better results.
Testo Prime, on the other hand, is a perfect testosterone booster that is a cocktail of clinically studied and really powerful ingredients that can help you get very quick results with absolutely no negative side effects.
FAQs
What is the downside of testosterone therapy?
There are many negatives. TRT can lead to a lot of side effects and one of the most severe ones include a slowdown of your own natural testosterone production. When your brain believes there is excess testosterone in the bloodstream it either slows down or even shuts down natural testosterone production resulting in severe complications later on.
What are the benefits of testosterone therapy?
There are many benefits of TRT that include muscle growth, faster fat burning, improved libido, better mood, etc. However, there can be many side effects as well. As a matter of fact, the negatives outweigh the positives and this is why doctors generally do not advise TRT.
Conclusion
Testosterone injections or shots may seem like the best and an instant way to testosterone in your body, making it so appealing to most bodybuilders but such shots can have a lot of side effects. As a matter of fact, it is best to avoid such injections. A better and safer way to increase testosterone is with the help of natural testosterone supplements like Testogen and Testo Prime since they do not contain any synthetic hormone and help your body produce more testosterone of its own. Combining them with regular exercise can boost testosterone dramatically.
Such supplements have become a massive hit among gym-goers and you must have a look at them if you want to increase your T-levels naturally.