Heading the list of Things You Wish Your Doctor Had Told You …
Testosterone therapy usually causes infertility in men. I’m always floored when a guy tells me that his doctor didn’t mention this. Because if you still want kids/more kids, this is kind of an important thing to know. And yet, not all doctors realize the impact testosterone therapy has on a man’s fertility levels.
“In a recent survey of U.S. urologists, Ko et al. (1) observed that approximately 25% have treated low testosterone levels associated with male infertility with exogenous testosterone. Many physicians are unaware that testosterone replacement therapies (TRT) adversely affect spermatogenesis.”
So, if you’ve been diagnosed with low testosterone, but still want kids, what’s the deal? Are you just out of luck?
Luckily, there are a few options that can preserve fertility while allowing you to increase your testosterone levels.
- You can take HCG on its own. That sometimes has the effect of increasing testosterone levels, although it doesn’t always bring the same subjective benefits as testosterone therapy. HCG is normally taken as an injection. It’s affordable when ordered from a compounding pharmacy.
- You can also use HCG in addition to your testosterone therapy. This has the effect of preserving your internal testosterone production, therefore preserving your fertility.
- Clomid is another option that can be used on its own or in conjunction with testosterone therapy to increase/preserve internal testosterone production. Clomid works a little differently than HCG and is available in a dirt-cheap pill. It’s a good option for a lot of guys who want to maintain fertility.
This really underscores the importance of finding a doctor who knows what he’s doing before you start hormone replacement therapy. Because when it comes to testosterone treatment, what you don’t know can hurt you.
Oh, and if you’ve already started testosterone therapy, but still want kids, don’t panic. You can normally restore fertility by adding Clomid or HCG to your regimen.