Testosterone Injections: Uses & Side Effects

DEPO®-TESTOSTERONE testosterone cypionate Clinical Pharmacology US

The FAQs section on this page includes more savings information. When considering all available routes of delivery, concentrations, and branded or generic choices, there are currently over 30 different testosterone preparations to consider when choosing one for a patient. The decision on the best product choice should include patient preference, PKs, treatment burden, cost and insurance coverage.

Do not increase your dose or use this drug more often or for longer than prescribed. When testosterone is misused or abused, you may have withdrawal symptoms (such as depression, irritability, tiredness) when you suddenly stop using the drug. Testosterone may increase the levels of red blood cells, also called erythrocytosis or polycythemia. In severe cases, it may increase your risk for blood clots, a heart attack, or stroke. Tell your health care provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms of erythrocytosis or polycythemia.

Testosterone cypionate is also prescribed off-label for testosterone therapy for transgender males and gender diverse people. Off-label means a doctor can prescribe the medication for a different use than what it was approved for. This medicine may increase your risk of having heart or blood vessel problems, including a heart attack or stroke. Tell your doctor right away if you have chest pain that may spread to your arms, jaw, back, or neck, faintness, headache, nausea, vomiting, trouble breathing, trouble seeing or speaking, or unusual sweating.

While the effects of testosterone have been described in detail, relatively little attention has been given to the time these effects take to occur and achieve a full expression. To the attending physician, monitoring the effects of administration of testosterone will be facilitated when it is known when certain effects can and should be expected. Patients like to receive information when the effects will set in. Furthermore, this information is relevant for the design of clinical trials on testosterone replacement therapy. It is important to have information when an effect can be expected and when its maximum has been attained. Millions of American men use a prescription testosterone injection or gel as forms of testosterone replacement therapy (often referred to as TRT therapy) to restore normal levels of the manly hormone.

Free thyroid hormone levels remain unchanged, however, and there is no clinical evidence of thyroid dysfunction. Androgens may decrease levels of thyroxine­binding globulin, resulting in decreased total T4 serum levels and increased resin uptake of T3 and T4. The time-course for the spectrum of effects of testosterone may vary considerably, as testosterone actions are exerted through a cascade of many different pathways. Most of the actions of testosterone take place via the androgen receptor as a transcription factor activated by testosterone. Over the past two decades evidence of rapid responses to androgens, dependent or independent of the androgen receptor, occurring at the cellular and organ level has accumulated.

Call your health care provider if your blood pressure increases while using this medicine. In people with breast cancer, testosterone can help counter the effects of estrogen, a female sex hormone that often contributes to the growth of breast cancer. Physical dependence is characterized by withdrawal symptoms after abrupt drug discontinuation or a significant dose reduction of a drug. Androgens may decrease levels of thyroxine-binding globulin, resulting in decreased total T4 serum levels and increased resin uptake of T3 and T4.

Effects of sex steroids on GIP had not been reported before. This is of specific interest, as action of GIP is not limited to pancreatic cells and may affect lipid homeostasis (56) and intestinal glucose transport (57). Decreases in serum total cholesterol have been noted as quick as after 4 weeks (38, 39) but most studies have reported a decrease after 3 months (35, 36). A decrease after 24 weeks was observed in a recent study (40), others have found this to occur after 9 months (41) or 12 months (42) with a maximum reached after 12 months (32). Before starting testosterone cypionate, be sure to tell your doctor and pharmacist about all prescription, over-the-counter, and other drugs you take. Also tell them about any vitamins, herbs, and supplements you use. Sharing this information can help you avoid potential interactions.

Observed mean range of changes in selected measurable outcomes of testosterone administration to hypogonadal men in reviewed studies. Whether you have health insurance or not, cost may be a factor when you’re considering testosterone cypionate. What you’ll pay for testosterone cypionate may depend on several things, such as your treatment plan and the pharmacy you use. The drug can cause bones to mature more quickly than usual without causing an increase in height. If your child uses this drug, their doctor will check their growth regularly. Testosterone cypionate can interact with several other medications. For instance, some can interfere with how to eat onion for testosterone well a drug works, while others can cause increased side effects.