Testosterone Injection: MedlinePlus Drug Information

Testosterone therapy: Potential benefits and risks as you age

Prescriptions of testosterone for males over 60 years of age quadrupled from 2001 to 2011. Keep reading for more information on testosterone injections, including their uses, safety, and potential side effects. Contact your care team regarding the use of this medication in children. While this medication may be prescribed for children as young as 12 years of age for selected conditions, precautions do apply. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions. It is intended for general informational purposes and is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

If reducing the frequency of injections is important to you, Testosterone Cypionate might be a slightly more convenient option—but it’s not a make-or-break factor for most. These changes can significantly impact quality of life, prompting many men to explore treatment options (Saad et al., 2017). Testosterone is a controlled substance regulated by the United States government and must only be taken when prescribed. However, taking some precautionary measures before initiating the therapy is best. Treatments could last for a lifetime or be short term, depending on the individual’s circumstances.

Study subjects received either 50 or 100 mg of Vogelxo® daily, while the patch delivered 5 mg of testosterone daily. The study was conducted over 90 days, with measuring of serum testosterone to assess 24-hour PK profiles on days 30 and 90. At day 30, the mean Cavg for the 50 mg gel group increased 50% from baseline compared to a 173% increase in the 100 mg gel group. The patch group had an increase in Cavg similar to the 50 mg gel group.

This medicine may increased risk of bone growth problems in children. Your doctor will check your child’s bone growth every 6 months. Hypercalcemia (high calcium in the blood) may occur in patients taking this medicine. Check with your doctor right away if you have stomach pain, confusion, constipation, depression, dry mouth, increased urination, loss of appetite, metallic taste, or muscle weakness. Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur.

People who are 65 and older can be at greater risk of some side effects from testosterone. Talk to your health care provider about your risks if you are in this age group. Testosterone can cause changes in the lipid (fat) levels in your blood, including cholesterol. Keep all appointments with your health care provider to have your blood checked. Liver damage, also called hepatotoxicity, can happen when using testosterone.

If you are concerned about side effects, discuss the risks and benefits of this medication with your doctor. Do not dispose of medications in wastewater (e.g. down the sink or in the toilet) or in household garbage. Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of medications that are no longer needed or have expired. The deadline to have twice the impact to advance healthcare research is May 15. This medicine may cause swelling of the breasts (gynecomastia) and breast pain in some patients. Check with your doctor right away if you have pain or tenderness in the upper stomach, pale stools, dark urine, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, or yellow eyes or skin.

You may need to stop using this medicine several days before you have surgery or medical tests. This medicine may cause changes in the level of cholesterol and fats in your blood test for serotonin levels. If this condition occurs, your doctor may give you a medicine to adjust the cholesterol and fats. This medicine may cause blood clotting problems (eg, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism). Tell your doctor right away if you have anxiety, chest pain, coughing, dizziness or lightheadedness, fainting, fast heartbeat, pain, redness, or swelling in the arm or leg, or trouble breathing. Studies in women breastfeeding have demonstrated harmful infant effects.

The recommended starting dose of AndroGel® 1.62% is 40.5 mg applied topically once daily in the morning. Serum testosterone levels should be measured 14 and 28 days after initiation prior to the morning dose. It should be noted that application sites for 1.62% gel only include the shoulders and upper arms, and not the abdomen. Dose adjustments between 20.25–81 mg increments are recommended for levels outside the range of 350 to 750 ng/dL. The PK effects of AndroGel® 1% on serum testosterone levels was evaluated in a randomized, parallel study that compared gel 50 mg/day to gel 100 mg/day and patches 5 mg/day for three months in 227 hypogonadal men (30). After three months, the patients could receive either testosterone gel 50, 75, 100 mg/day or patch 5 mg/day. By day 30, the Cmax in the 50 mg/day gel group was 875±57 ng/dL with a Cmin of 360±39 ng/dL; for the 100 mg/day gel group, the serum testosterone Cmax was 1,198±56 ng/dL with a Cmin of 504±27 ng/dL.

These patients exhibited a markedly improved spatial working memory within 3 weeks, improving further until week six (81). The effects of testosterone on bone mineral density are in part mediated by estrogens, derived from testosterone via aromatization (18). Testosterone improves bone mineral density at the lumbar spine compared with placebo, but at the femoral neck improvements are less certain (19).

Testosterone cypionate is a prodrug of testosterone and is an androgen and anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS). Medications other than those listed above may interact with this medication. Tell your doctor or prescriber about all prescription, over-the-counter (non-prescription), and herbal medications you are taking. Since caffeine, alcohol, the nicotine from cigarettes, or street drugs can affect the action of many medications, you should let your prescriber know if you use them.