Too A lot Of A Good Thing

Not too way back a provider questioned me in regards to the hostile results of testosterone supplementation. He was concerned as one in all his purchasers, a physician, was admitted to the hospital for problems related to an increase in purple blood cells (polycythemia). The client had been using 100 mg of topical testosterone for a number of months and the supplier puzzled if this could be a contributing factor. Our conversation started a energetic dialogue with the opposite doctors on workers at ZRT and I made a decision it was price sharing with the group

With a number of articles on hypogonadism in growing old males popping out in the previous couple of years, testosterone substitute has develop into commonplace. And while it's easy to see the advantages of testosterone remedy, we have to know the dangers as well. A lot of the hostile effects are usually not typically seen with physiological testosterone ranges and it's often the supra-physiological ranges we see with high testosterone dosages which are problematic.

One hostile impact of elevated testosterone that happens most continuously is secondary polycythemia. Secondary polycythemia is a condition in which an abnormal increase of red blood cells (RBCs) is generated in response to a drugs/hormone or underlying condition. Erythropoietin, from the kidney and liver, is the first hormone that stimulates manufacturing of RBCs. Testosterone works synergistically with erythropoietin which may lead to an elevated hematocrit (number of RBCs). Several research have documented an association between testosterone supplementation (injection and transdermal) and a rise in hematocrit (i.e. polycythemia), sometimes twice as excessive as with placebo.

Symptoms of polycythemia may embody headache, lethargy and hypertension. Issues are related to adjustments within the blood. A rise in blood viscosity and a lower in circulation set the stage for blood clots, which may result in a stroke, coronary heart assault, pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis. Polycythemia, secondary to testosterone administration, is usually reversible with dosage adjustment or discontinuation of supplementation. Blood donation is another means of ridding the physique of too many crimson cells.

Accordingly, males receiving testosterone replacement ought to have their hematocrit checked earlier than initiating remedy, six months after after which annually. And to avoid any hostile consequences, adhering to physiological dosing practices is important. Deficiency symptoms might take barely longer to resolve with lower testosterone levels, but down-regulation of the receptors does not occur as it might with supra-physiological dosing. Whereas not everyone using testosterone therapy will expertise the complications indicated above, monitoring the RBC rely can determine those males with the predisposition.