Vitamin T for Sex
Oct. 16, 2000 -- Testosterone has been the subject of controversy recently, fueled partly by an April cover story in The New York Times Magazine. Author Andrew Sullivan extolled the effects of the hormone as treatment for his HIV-induced deficiency. Citing bursts in libido, confidence, and energy as a result, he refers to his testosterone injections as "a biweekly encounter with a syringe full of manhood."
Interest rose even higher when, shortly after Sullivan's piece appeared, AndroGel was introduced on the market. The injections used in Sullivan's treatment are painful (he describes the three-inch needle and the resulting trickle of blood) and produce wildly erratic hormone levels (huge burst shortly after the injections, insufficient levels a few days later). But AndroGel, a user-friendly cream containing androgens (the class of steroid hormones to which testosterone belongs), can be absorbed through the skin. AndroGel boasts no-muss, no-fuss easy daily applications that produce far more consistent blood levels of the drug. A cover story in Time Magazine on this development aroused further lively media coverage.
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All this buzz about testosterone supplementation evoked a burning question, especially among men of a certain age: Where can guys who are no longer teenagers sign up for this stuff?
Unfortunately, the optimistic reports about testosterone have omitted some important information, such as the need for painful injections. And they failed to consider the very basic question: Do most men need extra testosterone to reverse some of the typical declines in sexuality as they age?
Extra testosterone can definitely improve the lives of men with extremely low levels of testosterone due to disease -- say, 5% of normal, due to conditions such as the removal of a pituitary tumor, removal of the testes (in the case of testicular cancer, for example), or in Sullivan's case, HIV. In these cases, the lowered level would likely affect libido. If you were to boost such a man's testosterone levels by giving him supplemental doses of the hormone, you would expect his behavior to return to normal. That was Sullivan's experience, with some healthy placebo effects tossed in on top -- a possibility he barely raises in his piece.
But most men simply don't need AndroGel. Here's why.
Interest rose even higher when, shortly after Sullivan's piece appeared, AndroGel was introduced on the market. The injections used in Sullivan's treatment are painful (he describes the three-inch needle and the resulting trickle of blood) and produce wildly erratic hormone levels (huge burst shortly after the injections, insufficient levels a few days later). But AndroGel, a user-friendly cream containing androgens (the class of steroid hormones to which testosterone belongs), can be absorbed through the skin. AndroGel boasts no-muss, no-fuss easy daily applications that produce far more consistent blood levels of the drug. A cover story in Time Magazine on this development aroused further lively media coverage.
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All this buzz about testosterone supplementation evoked a burning question, especially among men of a certain age: Where can guys who are no longer teenagers sign up for this stuff?
The Story Behind the Story
Unfortunately, the optimistic reports about testosterone have omitted some important information, such as the need for painful injections. And they failed to consider the very basic question: Do most men need extra testosterone to reverse some of the typical declines in sexuality as they age?
Interestingly, the answer is no.
Extra testosterone can definitely improve the lives of men with extremely low levels of testosterone due to disease -- say, 5% of normal, due to conditions such as the removal of a pituitary tumor, removal of the testes (in the case of testicular cancer, for example), or in Sullivan's case, HIV. In these cases, the lowered level would likely affect libido. If you were to boost such a man's testosterone levels by giving him supplemental doses of the hormone, you would expect his behavior to return to normal. That was Sullivan's experience, with some healthy placebo effects tossed in on top -- a possibility he barely raises in his piece.
But most men simply don't need AndroGel. Here's why.