No! I usually don’t begin my articles with a one-word exclamation, but I wanted to make sure you, dear reader, got the most important part of the answer up front and quickly. Testosterone Replacement Therapy, or TRT, is not the same as using Anabolic Steroids.
This article is going to be short, and we’ll rely on several data points showing how TRT is safe and well-regulated. We’ll also use a metaphor throughout, and hopefully one that many of you will grasp immediately: Food. So let’s get started.
What You Need to Know
TRT is Like Fiber
“What’s that?” I can hear you asking your computer screen. Well, obviously TRT isn’t Fiber. I’m starting that analogy I mentioned before. You see, TRT is the direct introduction of synthetic steroids into your bloodstream. Which can sound like using anabolic steroids. But the two are as different as eating one slice of whole grain bread for the fiber and good carbs versus eating a whole bowl of sugar because it makes you feel good.
The bread and the sugar are chemically nearly identical–strands of carbon (Carbo-) and hydrogen (-hydrates) linked together in weak bonds that generate heat (calories) when broken down in our bodies. But that’s where the similarities end.
Whole grain bread has fiber, which helps insulate our bodies from taking up all the Carbs as blood sugar right away, and it has protein to help us feel more full longer, and to build out our muscle response better. The sugar is nearly evil incarnate.
Similarly, TRT is a well-regulated Testosterone delivery system that puts the hormone into our bodies in a safe way, in controlled doses. You won’t absorb so much of it that it will cause liver damage, like anabolic steroid use, and it won’t throw your other hormones out of balance, causing anger issues or depression.
Is TRT a steroid? Yes, and it’s anabolic. Because “anabolic” only means “to build.” Just like Oatmeal is a carb, but no doctor in their right mind would tell you to limit the oatmeal in your diet because it’s making you overweight.
Quick Clinical Data
As an example of how different a TRT steroid is from the shady guy at your gym with a duffle bag of “supplements from Europe,” here’s a quick fact sheet on a recently approved TRT drug, Kyzatrax. You can see that the page has public access data from the American FDA, and the history of its clinical safety trials.
And here’s an article published in an Endocrinology Journal (study of hormones) detailing the safety parameters for TRT in population-wide scenarios. Here you can find over 50 references to other clinical trials, experts, and studies supporting the use of TRT.
Throughout all of the TRT articles I’ve written for the Great Green Wall you can find dozens more studies and articles just like this one, all pointing to one immutable fact–TRT is not a simple steroid injection, and taking TRT is not the same as steroid use.
Final Word
In the end, the choice of whether to try TRT is going to be yours and yours alone. And for many men, the natural supplement path will always be more attractive–and for good reason! You can safely begin and end a supplement routine with little fear of side effects or withdrawals.
TRT, like any prescription medication, will come with some risks. Which is why you need to speak with a doctor before beginning treatment. If TRT sounds like the way to go, then have that conversation today. And have the confidence that it’s nothing, nothing at all, like taking anabolic steroids in the conventional sense.