This post will rub some of the people the wrong way.
For one, I’m not a doctor. I’m just telling you my experience. Don’t take this as advice.
Two, not everyone likes testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). I get it.
Three, you’re gonna see shirtless pics…you’ve been warned.
And finally: I’m a (small) investor in a TRT company (Hone). I was a customer of a competitor, then switched to Hone. I liked it so much, I asked to invest.
Ok, on to the good stuff…
I’ve been on TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) for 1.5 years. This post will tell you some of the good and bad things I’ve noticed.
At the bottom of this post my background on why I started taking TRT. The gist is:
- I felt depressed and tired. Went to doctor.
- My testosterone levels were super low (200 ng/dL).
- After trying loads of different things, my doctor approved TRT
My mood changed significantly
This is why I started TRT. Not for physical reasons.
In 2018 I started to feel down. Low energy. Depressed. Unmotivated. On the defense.
I owned my own successful business, was recently engaged, and had awesome friends.
I had every reason to feel great.
So, my doctor ran some blood tests and my levels were astonishingly low. Like an 80-year-old man low.
Granted, running a business is incredibly stressful. Maybe that’s why my T was low.
It took about 3 months. But after that, TRT had a drastic change on my mood.
My best buddy said it best: “You used to complain a lot. Now you don’t.”
I stopped complaining to my friends. My confidence went way up, and I felt alive. I know this sounds vague but…I just started to feel like man. More assertive, confident, energetic.
This description sounds like I felt like a meat head. While the vibe had meat head components (wanted to workout more!), it was more so quiet, confident undertone that stayed with me 24/7.
I still have down days now. But the baseline is higher than before.
But my body did changed, a lot
I didn’t start TRT to change my body. I did it for mood/depression. But…it ain’t a bad side effect.
I do Dexascans often (way to measure muscle and bodyfat).
Prior to starting TRT, I weighed 200 pounds with 25% bodyfat. I was skinny fat even though I worked out a lot.
Last week I weighed 205 pounds at 12.7% body fat. While these tests aren’t always accurate, I think 14–15% is fair. So a huge improvement.
I do all types of exercise.
Rowing, cycling, weight lifting, running, swimming. Everything.
I’m average at most of ’em, not great at any. But for the average 30-something, I feel fit.
I’m also a former Division I 200m-400m runner. So I have a fitness background. I’m not like 19-year-old me.
So, close to ~25 pounds of muscle gained and a lot of fat lost in less than two years is great for me.
I’m not in the 99% of fitness folks, but now I recover super fast, build muscle and lose fat fairly easy.
And the best part: I’m far more motivated to workout. Which brings me to my next point.
I feel more aggressive towards life
Its not like I’m out looking to get into a fight. The opposite, in fact.
I’m incredibly comfortable and confident with myself. So much so that I’m not easily offended, don’t get blow up angry often, and can stay calm easier.
It feels like I’m living life on the offensive whereas before it was defensive.
For example, I sold my startup this year. Selling is a stressful 3 months. I’ve been through things like this before. But this time felt different.
I wanted the deal to happen. But if it didn’t, I knew I still be perfectly fine. If it happened, great. If it didn’t, also great.
I call it aggression, maybe most would call it calm. I don’t know. But there’s certainly a difference.
My sperm count went down
TRT has its downsides. While in most (maybe every?) case these are reversible, it still wasn’t a positive.
My wife and I froze embryos this year. At first my sperm count went down when it was time to give my sperm. This was a bit scary to be honest.
So, I stopped taking testosterone for 3 months. Thankfully, it went back up and the process was a success. After, I went back on TRT.
My doctor told me its not uncommon for TRT users sperm count to go down. But it’d go back up if I gave it a rest and got back on after.
According to him, he never had a case of someone’s sperm count going down and not coming back up during a break.
But…this is a big deal. So, research and talk to doctors yourself.
I have a ton of energy
My energy is high. Very high.
For example, sometimes I’ll do two 60–90 minute workouts a day. I’m sure this is unnecessary and likely unhealthy (recovery is important!). But I want to do it. It feels like I have energy I need to burn.
This isn’t all upside.
I used to nap daily around 2. Not nearly as much anymore. Sometimes at night I struggle to go to sleep, which is common for people doing TRT.
I need to work on this.
Libido.
I’m already posting shirtless pictures. I don’t want to embarrass my wife more than I already am.
But this improved a lot. It’s wonderful.
So, that’s it.
There’s a lot more to it, obviously. But people ask me about TRT so I wanted to share.
One last thing they ask about: I inject the testosterone with a needle. I was scared at first. Not anymore. Honestly, if I closed my eyes and let you inject me, 50% of the time I wouldn’t even feel the needle go in.
What can you do to improve your testosterone?
Men suck at talking about this stuff. It’s embarrassing.
But the reality is, men’s testosterone has been going down for years. We’re not really sure why. Maybe we live softer lives, drink from plastic. Who knows.
So, if you’re feeling like you have issues then test your T levels and research.
The Art of Manliness has a great article series on why T is important and how to impove it naturally. Not drinking, working out, less stress. You should do that stuff. I did it too (at first).
After a while a year without results I decided to use TRT and it changed my life. I got my primary doctor’s approval and used a local place that I found on Yelp. It was fine, but not great. So I started using, and then eventually invested in Hone but there are a ton of great options out there.
Good luck!
