Testosterone injection to ‘upgrade’ masculinity

On the TikTok channel with tens of thousands of followers, Dat regularly posts workout videos and a toned body with strong muscles. “Feel like a new man after testosterone injection, lean, muscular and full of desire,” Dat shared.

Testosterone – a hormone that plays an important role in maintaining and developing male physical and physiological characteristics, including muscle strength or sexual function, is injected into the body every 2-3 days by Dat. week, continuously for a year, costing hundreds of millions of dong.

Three years after stopping testosterone injections, Dat got married but had difficulty having children. Test results at the Vietnam – Belgium Andrology and Infertility Hospital showed that the sperm had poor mobility, deformities, and low quantity.

“Patients who abuse testosterone for a long time affect the organ that produces the hormone, causing functional decline, loss of production ability, and weak and deformed sperm,” said Dr. Ha Ngoc Manh. .

Obtained advice on methods to supplement hormones and improve sperm quality, but “treatment takes time and the future is difficult to predict.”

Experts say that more and more young men are voluntarily using testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) to increase muscle and improve their “masculinity”. For example, in the case of a 20-year-old, he ordered a functional testosterone product, advertised as “helping increase muscle”, each tube cost about 400,000 VND, supplemented daily. He said many people in the gym with him also use at least one testosterone supplement.

After a year, he posted on social networks a test report with a fairly high testosterone index, along with the result of gaining 6 kg of muscle. “My body shape is achieved through weightlifting, focusing on protein, eating scientifically and, importantly, using testosterone supplements,” he said.

After symptoms of erectile dysfunction appeared, the patient went to the hospital for examination. Test results showed weak and deformed sperm, the doctor prescribed stopping the product and treatment.

In Vietnam, testosterone therapy is recommended for middle-aged and older patients with decreased male sex hormones and no reproductive needs, effective within 4-6 weeks of treatment. For young patients, there is no indication for use.

However, Dr. Manh commented that testosterone is commonly used in young men, especially in the field of bodybuilding. This trend shows a new type of health care, users are willing to pay tens of millions per month, while this hormone is not indicated in treatment with the purpose of gaining muscle.

“The market today is very diverse, many products containing testosterone are disguised as muscle-building foods, helping men gain muscle but in the long term affecting fertility,” the doctor said.

Every month, the hospital has patients coming for examination and treatment due to the effects of arbitrarily taking testosterone. Testosterone levels typically peak during adolescence, before adulthood (puberty). Testosterone levels usually decrease about 1% each year after age 30 or 40, due to many reasons such as aging or pathological factors (male gonadal dysfunction, or male menopause).

Doctors at Hanoi Andrology and Infertility Hospital shared a case of a man injecting himself with male hormones to give birth to a son. He went to the pharmacy to buy 4 tubes of the male hormone testosterone, dose of 250 mg/nose, and injected himself into his body for two months. After the injection, because they had not yet conceived, the couple went to the hospital for examination. The test results showed that there was almost no sperm in the semen. The doctor determined that the cause of this condition was that he injected himself with 4 high-dose hormone injections.

Theo Business Insidertestosterone use affects the body’s natural testosterone production. Abruptly stopping use can create a “detox” effect – a self-protection mechanism of the body that, if abused, causes a decline in hormone-producing organs. The first step is a number of endocrine-related diseases such as testicular atrophy and infertility, increased risk of cancer, and prostate enlargement. Excess testosterone causes the body to no longer produce endogenous hormones, unable to produce sperm anymore, leading to infertility.

Dr. Manh recommends that men change their diet and sleep patterns to naturally increase testosterone. Some foods that are good for male physiology include: seafood, beef, eggs, milk, cereals, nuts.

Performing testosterone-boosting exercises such as swimming, brisk walking, yoga, kegels, weightlifting, and squatting regularly for 30-60 minutes a day helps increase endurance and flexibility for muscles and joints, stimulating hyperactivity. blood circulation and improve hormone levels effectively.

Doctors recommend that men do not supplement testosterone by any means. People with signs of abnormal reproductive health such as decreased libido, testicular atrophy, erectile dysfunction… need to go to andrology and infertility medical facilities for examination.