Treatment and Prevention
Replacing testosterone in the blood is the most common treatment for men going through andropause. This treatment provides relief from the symptoms and helps improve the quality of life in many cases. Lifestyle changes such as increased exercise, stress reduction and good nutrition also help.
Testosterone is available in a variety of different preparations including skin patches, capsules, gels, and injections. Your doctor will help determine which treatment is best for you and will often consider your lifestyle when making this decision. Follow-up visits with your doctor will be important after the initial treatment begins. At follow-up visits, your doctor will check your response to the treatment and make adjustments, if necessary.
Skin patches: People who wear a patch containing testosterone receive the hormone through the skin. The patch allows a slow, steady release of testosterone into the blood stream, avoiding symptoms caused by high and low levels throughout the day. It allows a person to continue with regular day-to-day activities and is applied once a day to a dry area of skin on the back, abdomen, upper arms, or thighs.
Testosterone gel: This treatment is also applied directly to the skin, usually on the arms. Because the gel may transfer to other individuals through skin contact, a person must take care to wash the gel from the hands after each application.
Capsules: Taken twice daily after meals, this is yet another option for testosterone replacement. Men with liver disease, poor liver function, serious heart or kidney disease, or too much calcium in their blood should avoid testosterone capsules.
Testosterone injections: This treatment involves injections of testosterone (testosterone cypionate and testosterone enanthate)* in the muscle every 3 to 4 weeks. They may cause mood swings due to changes in testosterone levels. Men with severe heart disease, severe kidney disease, or too much calcium in their blood should avoid testosterone cypionate. Men with severe kidney disease should not take testosterone enanthate.
Testosterone should not be taken by any man with prostate or breast cancer. If you have heart disease, are taking some medications such as blood thinners, or have an enlarged prostate, liver or kidney disease, you will need to discuss with your doctor whether or not testosterone therapy is right for you.
*All medications have both common (generic) and brand names. The brand name
is what a specific manufacturer calls the product (e.g., Tylenol®).
The common name is the medical name for the medication (e.g., acetaminophen).
A medication may have many brand names, but only one common name. This article
lists medications by their common names. For more information on brand names,
speak with your doctor or pharmacist.