Question for the doc - testosterone

Hello -

I have a question for the doc’s on here. I was recently diagnosed with low testosterone and the doctor gave me some AndroGel for testosterone therapy.

Why do these say don’t put on your genitals - what does it do?

No I didn’t put it there - just want to understand a little better.

Thanks in advance!

I am SO interested in the answer to this question I could bust! I have been thinking about purchasing DHT gel for genital application on the theory that it might induce a “2nd puberty” effect. Am I as crazy as I sound?

Hi,

I’m no doctor but maybe this could be the reason.

I did a little search on the Internet and I found out Androgel is bad for woman. So a reason why you shouldn’t put it on your genitals is that during intercourse you could transmit the Androgel to your partner.

It can also cause testicular atrophy! YIKES!!

Hopefully somebody else knows more about this stuff.

Andro Gel is high in alcohol so I wouldn’t put this product on my nuggets but I’m curious if it shut the boys down. I guess atrophy could be a sign toward inactivity so they shrink??? Hell if I know - I thought there were a few doc’s on here that could answer this one maybe???

I have been receiving testosterone injections in my butt each week from my doctor for a few years now, to top up my low testosterone count. At regular intervals I take a rest from the injections for three or four weeks. My experiences have been good, although the first time, about 5 years ago when I started the injections, my nuts did shrink. Since my sack is large anyways, it did not make too much of a difference visually. But when I went off the injections for 6 months, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch.

My left testicle awakened pretty well and returned to it’s normal size. The right testicle however, took about 3 weeks longer and if you know what it feels like to get kicked in the balls.. Or what if feels like to have blue balls.. Ouch! I am only guessing that the duct that runs from the testicle to my penis was plugged or blocked and as the testicle grew in size, so did the pressure on the ball itself. Eventually it resolved itself on it’s own, but for a good week, I was in agony that I would not want to experience again. But then again, the benefits of the testosterone therapy outweighed any discomfort I had experienced because I chose to continue the testosterone therapy, and for that I am grateful.

Hey,

I’m a family practitioner and the reasoning is too fold:

1-The genitals are a very sensitive skin area and the androgel is known to cause skin reactions no matter where it is placed, but more frequently in sensitive areas.

2-The most important: We generally use androgel for testosterone replacement, meaning the levels are low….if put on testosterone replacement(gel, patch, tablets, injections), your testes will produce less endogenous (natural) testosterone because of feedback inhibition……if the testosterone were more abundant in or around the testes as it could be from applying to the genitals, then this feedback response of shutting down the testes would be worse, and so would the shrinkage.

I’m no endocrinologist nor urologist, but this is the info we are given. I have seen no evidence based studies on the topic of topical testosterone applied to the genitals and am not sure if it has ever been studied.

If you really are a doctor then go do a search for the HPTA in your first year pre-med notes. Your reasoning for number 2 is nonsense since the feedback occurs in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland not the testes. Of course the level of testosterone in the testes is higher than elsewhere since that is where is it produced but it is quickly spread by the blood stream.

Boogie man,

I’m no doc, but I would be very interested to know what your diet is like. Could you tell me, in complete honesty, what would an average day of eating be like for you? What has your general diet been like throughout your life?

I won’t infer anything personal, so please be honest if you intend to answer.

Thanks either way,
SS4

I wouldn’t put it on or near your genitals. I was prescribed some natural testosterone (which by the way, is much safer to use with fewer side effects then the artificial stuff) and was told very explicitly by my doctor and pharmacist never to put it on your penis or testicles. Firstly, putting on or around your testicles can cause your own testosterone production to stop all together and secondly, it can cause penis and or testicular cancer. Not worth taking the chance if you’re going to use it near your genitals in my opinion.

I think it is you who needs to check their notes. The feedback does occur in the hypothalamus but the level of testosterone is “sensed” by receptors throughout the body. The actual amount of testosterone produced is determined by LH secretion. You must also consider that the testes and genital areas are more highly vascular, so a substance applied in this area would be absorbed faster into the blood where it would be sensed and a signal would then be sent to the hypothalamus to produce less gonadotropin-releasing hormone which leads to less LH production by the pituitary which then tells the Leydig cells of the testes to produce less testosterone. And prolonged suppresion of testosterone will cause the testes to shrink. I restate that I am not a urologist or a reproductive endocrinologist, but I do deal with testosterone replacement daily. And if you think I still have my first year med-school notes after a three-year residency and a year of practice you are very mistaken.

Please forgive me for not expounding my HPTA knowledge and for just answering the question posed, in lay terms. I am sorry to have posted non-scientifically, since it abviously offended you.

The question was directed at the doctors on here. Anyone can say they are a doctor on the internet so to differentiate yourself from a layman it is necessary to give an explanation. I won’t bother picking apart your newer explanation in the interests of civility.

I, unlike some, do not feel the need to distinguish myself from a layman by dropping scientific language and facts. I am no better than anyone else on this forum just because I spent more time in school and practice medicine. Admittedly, there are many many people, physicians or not, who have more knowledge than I.

Theres no need to critise unless you seriously think his advice may be harmfull. No one has to prove themselves, either the advice is helpfull or not and thats really the opening posters’ decison

It appears that the testosterone levels of this thread are much higher than what I am currently prescibed from my physician.

:rolling:

Well they must tell you not to put it on your balls for a reason. Liljoe your coming off nasty and I don’t think you want to come off that way. It’s always good to back up whatever you say at thunders with a research link or state something as opinion.