Hey guys, just some feedback from my cardiologist visit today.
(I am having high BP for the last week, which I think is because of apnea.)
I asked for his views on TRT, asking him which would be worse for the heart low T or TRT. He definitely was against TRT. A bit surprised tbh…
Is this inline with what others views on TRT?
No, he’s an idiot
Sounds like a very uninformed and careless knee-jerk statement coming from your cardiologist.
TRT BAD FOR HEART!
Hypogonadism good for heart?
I think many of these dopes equate TRT with harmful effects observed in AAS abusers.
Some information out there about the correlation between hypogonadism and heart disease. Much of it is contradictory and there have been multiple calls for very large clinical trials to observe cardiovascular outcomes of treatment vs non-treatment of hypogonadism:
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C39&q=testosterone+cardiovascular+disease&btnG=
A meta-analysis of clinical trials with TRT found a beneficial or neutral effect:
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C39&q=testosterone+cardiovascular+disease&btnG=
I’d gladly take an increased risk of a heart attack down the line in exchange for getting my youth back.
Yes, I am aware of these. Despite that I wanted to know if there is general apathy towards TRT
amongst cardiologists. Like if anyone discussed TRT with a cardiologist and got his comments.
Actually hypogonadism and poorly dosed/managed TRT can both have negative cardiovascular effects. Most docs don’t have a clue about how to manage it, so cardiologists see a lot of the negative effects of that.
With TRT, you have to keep an eye on hematocrit and estrogen induced hypertension. But properly dosed/managed TRT can greatly improve cardiovascular health. It did for me, although I’m not on it ATM (for fertility reasons).
There’s also the complication of sleep apnea - supposedly TRT makes it worse, but I’m not clear on the mechanism. Bigger neck muscles?
How did TRT help with your CV issues?
I am more concerned about long term affects, I think what I am going through since last week -high BP is transitionary, already came down.
Like if switched to low cholesterol diet, <12% body fat as far as I understand CV affects won’t be as severe so won’t need the extra risks with TRT.
Btw if you go through the studies, they say TRT mostly helps with CV in older males (60+). They could not notice any CV improvements in younger males with TRT. (Sorry could not put the link but just go through what Dubya posted.)
Renegade btw I sympathise with your fertility concern. I had the same last year from my doc.
TRT improved my cholesterol and triglycerides. Not that they were out of range, but TRT put them in the optimal levels/ratio. It also relieved my fatigue, though not completely, I was able to exercise more which also helps.
Also, yes if you’re overweight or simply have a high body fat % level, I would work on that first before doing TRT as that can make it a little more risky. I think that non-PFS guys respond a lot better to TRT than us (like fat loss, water retention, etc). For me, it added both muscle and fat and because of that, it looked like mostly fat. I found the trick to minimizing those negative effects were 2x/week subq dosing at the least possible dose. I can handle 60-80 mg/week (total) pretty well; that puts my Free T levels at middle to top of range.
I’m aware of those studies, but you have to understand that much of the data that underlies them is skewed due to ineptitude of most TRT docs. When it comes to TRT, most doctors fall into three categories:
I’m sure many here can attest to this problem.