None of those have testosterone in them. It’s a bullshit herbal supplement that’s probably harmful and definitely doesn’t raise T levels.
Probably because those products don’t actually boost your testosterone.
Yeah, exactly this. These ‘natural testosterone’ supplements are snake oil.
Oh? What kind of snake? I heard snake tranquilizer is great for ebola
The comercials are the best. Do you feel older or out of shape. Don’t fall for the diet and excersise fake newz you need my man juice. Suck down my man juice and you will be more than a man. You will be like a man on man on man on man.
Here in Scotland they use the word beast to describe pedophiles and rapists.
I would feel uncomfortable with a jar of TestoBeast
What does Scotland have to say about Mr. Beast
When the weens fight back and you need an edge - testobeast.
Theyre on the Buckfast tbf. You’d need every advantage you can get.
Better in a jar than free.
Most of those ‘testosterone’ products are marketing and/or don’t really contain them in significant levels. It’s like homeopathy where you put 1 teaspoon of paracetamol in a whole vat full of water, and then claim it’ll cure your headache.
It’s simply not concentrated enough to affect your body and thus often doesn’t really get regulated (even though it still is quackery).
Personally, I’m skeptical about protein powders for the same reason - I prefer to eat healthier and to exercise instead.
That said, testosterone (at more detectable levels) prevents osteoporosis and can be used as sport doping (due to speeding up metabolism, energy output, and affecting the cardiovascular system), as well as medication against breast cancer.
Male pattern baldness also is more likely to occur if you take dihydrotestosterone (DHT, formed from testosterone). Better is to take finasteride, though that may induce gynecomastia.
For sport doping, though, there are other means, such as anabolic steroids (which are structurally similar to testosterone though aren’t necessarily the same), and stimulants such as caffeine, modafinil, and so on. Extracting one’s own blood and then injecting it later (when the body has made new blood cells already) is also done, as well hyperbaric chambers and gene doping.
Doping is well-controlled for at sports’ competitions; testosterone access is unlikely to be an issue in this regard. We know what normal testosterone levels are - those decrease gradually with age, from:
- 21 nmol/L total (with 0.4 free T nmol/L) at the age of 25-34,
- to 13 nmol/L total and 0.2 free T nmol/L) at the age of 85-100
Trans men may or may not wish for testosterone, but those that do, generally use that hormone to transition, not to dope (otherwise, they’d risk losing access to it, which would negatively affect their health). Transmasc people who are on T generally showcase similar rates of testosterone/estrogen as that of cismasc people.
Banning or heavily restricting access to testosterone, therefore wouldn’t be meaningful - so why is it then done?
Protein powders are meant to be for people that do enough exercise to need it. More sedate people saw all the fit/ripped people eating them and got it I to their heads it was the protein powder doing it, not the exercise… (And the manufacturers started leaning into it)
If finasteride blocks T and induces gynecomastia, is it just e?
Not exactly. It’s a relatively weak antiandrogen, which mainly reduces DHT production.
If someone wishes to feminise their body, then at sufficent levels, it’s primarily estradiol (a form of estrogen) that feminises, but if the method of medication isn’t strong enough for monotherapy*, then you may also need antiandrogens, though more potent.
*Using only one medication to achieve an effect.
How is it illegal for trans to buy these products? They check at the counter?
OP is saying they can buy these products, but they can’t receive it for medical purposes.
The answer is that these products don’t actually have testosterone, I think
Oh! All right. Actually makes perfect sense if you ask me. Why should we subsidize that? Yes I know I’m poking a fucking hornets nest and shit but nobody has ever been able to tell me in a straight up manner why or had anything to say about it other than call me a bigot and block me. I look forward to the same treatment this time, because some things are apparently dogma and cannot be discussed civilly- I’m just supposed to fund whoever’s medical adventures because they say so.
jUsT aSkInG qUeStIoNS
If you wrap all your questions in that kind of stuff, I can see why you don’t always get favourable responses.
The short answer is because it’s healthcare to treat a recognized medical condition. I believe that’s predominantly or solely gender dysphoria.
Wikipedia is generally a good place to get an understanding of you are genuinely interested in learning the answers to those questions. Wikipedia isn’t a trans-rights site or anything, and is probably the closest we can get to neutral without going into peer-reviewed scientific papers (and needing to have the academic background to understand what we’re reading there).
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_health_care_misinformation
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_dysphoria
I’m not trans, and I haven’t researched this stuff, so I’m not the best source for this information. But I’m happy to discuss with anyone who has questions that are in good faith. There are a lot of difficult questions, and understanding it requires shifting paradigms we’ve had since we were children. It’s not easy.
It’s also the fact that testosterone is a chemical that comes with risks.There are people that abuse testosterone for bodybuilding purposes, there are people that abuse it for sports performance purposes, there are people who abuse it for sex purposes, and there are people who are transgender who will use this without medical supervision to work towards their preferred gender experience but risk injuring themselves in the process.
You’re not supposed to fuck around with steroids, testosterone is a steroid.
That’s why people have to jump through hoops to get it, to make sure that it’s being used for good reasons, with appropriate caution, and with concern for their overall lifelong well-being.
lol you went in to attack and vent from the start. if you do this often, then you will experience backlash
So I don’t know where you are or what your healthcare system is like, but I suspect it’s somewhere with a public system. Do you think it’s good for your system to treat depression and suicidal ideation/attempts? Because transition is the best prevention of suicide attempts for people who are transgender. Full stop. If there was any treatment that came close to the improvement for depressed cis people, it would be considered a god damn miracle.
anabolic steroids are controlled substances
Why the fuck would anyone who isn’t trans want to take testosterone? Are they fans of male pattern baldness?
I’m fairly sure you’re joking, but just in case you’re not, Testosterone doesn’t cause male pattern baldness, DHT does, but it doesn’t affect everyone.
But also, none of those products actually contain testosterone.
They contain things claiming to boost testosterone in otherwise healthy people.
Because I’m 40 and want to get jacked and my diet and training are pretty well dialed in. I figure I got one last decade before I’m officially old, so why not juice a bit? Under medical supervision, of course.
Women in the menopause. They aren’t just low on oestrogen and progesterone but also on testosterone.
Deficiencies can happen whatever it’s due to lifestyle or some other issues and as the body has evolved to function best when all the hormones are in some certain range. Too low is kinda bad as well. That’s why we have medically supervised testosterone replacement therapy.
All those supplements are completely useless, just a marketing trick and preying on insecurities.
Best non-medical boosters are balanced diet, healthy bodyweight, exercising, good sleep, minimizing stress, and getting some sun.
As the other person said, testosterone itself doesn’t cause baldness, some of it gets converted to DHT and that
exasperatesexacerbates any genetic predisposition to balding.
If a guys whole family line had luscious hair until old age, then it’s very unlikely to cause any balding.exacerbate*
Thanks. I’ll fix it.
😀
I got a lot of medical tests done early this year. I was passing out at work and while driving. I couldn’t concentrate, I couldn’t motivate myself to participate in my hobbies or to take care of the house, etc. I felt week and tired all the time. I was worried my anti-depressant had stopped working and that I was going to get in an accident and die.
I took a sleep test and found I had severe apnea, waking or stopping breathing 70 times an hour. Got on PAP therapy and it made a big difference to me first thing in the morning, but I was still crashing in the late afternoon.
Doc had ordered a ton of bloodwork, including various tests for testosterone levels. My man parts have never given me issue, so I didn’t think anything of it. I associated testosterone replacement as the snake oil stuff others here are mentioning, people wanted to get swol, or just vainly attempt to recapture their youth.
Turns out, at my peak, I have 1/3 or less the testosterone of a normal male. And that’s first thing in the morning when it’s at its highest level. I was nervous about trying it as it can have serious side effects, mainly from thickened blood, but the doc said if I don’t like it, no biggie coming off for the most part. I opted for the gel to get a daily small dose instead of the biweekly shot and have a peak and a valley.
My depression is back to normal being treated with a SSRI, I feel more confident again, I am participating in things I like doing, I’m taking better care of myself and my house, and I’m not falling asleep at work, the car, or right when I get home anymore. It’s pretty cheap medicine, and I just run it onto my upper arms and shoulders and make sure my wife doesn’t touch those spots for a few hours.
I thought it was BS, but it seems to really be helping. In a few weeks I’ll have my first blood results after treatment and see how it is going for real, but it’s making a big positive improvement in my life and it’s keeping me safe.
I had similar issues earlier this year, and I got blood work drawn, and my testosterone total is great. It’s in the 900s out of 1100, which is above average.
But my SHBG, the sex hormone binding globulin, is like 20% over the top of the scale, so my bioavailable testosterone is in the 70s, which is pretty close to a post-menopausal woman’s testosterone.
So I’m taking dhea and a very light testosterone supplement. All of the SHBG is bound up with my natural testosterone, any supplement that I add on top of it turns into pure free testosterone.
I’ve got about another month or so before I get rechecked to see how well it has worked, but I’m sleeping better. I’ve lost seven pounds while making minor changes to my diet. I feel more energetic and outgoing, and I’ve become more active.
It remains to be seen if this is just placebo, but it seems to be working for me.
I’m glad you sound to be feeling better!
I still don’t really understand the how or why to any of this, and I can’t say it’s something that I feel actively working in any way, I just feel a bit better overall.
Both my total testosterone tests came back under 200, so I can only imagine that has at least seen a healthy bump upward.
I wish I had a better understanding of things, my primary doc has been willing to give me whatever tests and all that, but has just been “try it and let me know how it goes” more than anything. The specialist explained a bit more, but she’s off having a baby now, so I feel I’m kinda on my own. I guess I’m fine with not knowing the how and why as long as it works and my blood test comes back fine, but I feel all my docs have been kinda lacking in helpfulness this year.
Between the androgel and CPAP though, I feel leaps and bounds better than I did 3 months ago, and I feel I’m still getting better benefits each week from both still.
You can have testosterone deficiencies. Both male and females can have this (regardless of transgender status).
Plus you have toxic manosphere people who want to make themselves more manly
I mean its a steroid essentially, so with its drawbacks come a fair number of uses. For instance if you have EDS producing testosterone can lessen the impact of the disease by strengthening your muscles and resulting in less damage to joints.
If you can just order it online it’s not illegal?
“Well you see, son… People are morons.”
