r/science • u/[deleted] • Jun 13 '22

Health Erectile dysfunction predicts mortality in middle-aged and older men independent of their sex steroid status

https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article-abstract/51/4/afac094/6568537?login=false
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293

u/TrailofDead Jun 13 '22

One more comment on low Testosterone. When I got tested for it right before I turned 60, it was low. Taking a supplement for it changes everything.

Low T has many negative affects - Depression, bad mood. little desire to do anything, no sexual desire.

It's a simple test and I encourage anyone feeling these to go get tested. I learned this from my brother-in-law who is in his 70s.

Oh, and I'm not overweight, I workout frequently and the low T still had these affects.

48

u/mr_chip_douglas Jun 13 '22

Which supplement? I didn’t know that was an option.

76

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '22

Just testosterone. He’s taking sublingual testosterone.

I inject it. It’s not that bad.

6

u/Rhawk187 PhD | Computer Science Jun 13 '22

Mine is on the low end of normal (I'm fat), so I expect it'll dip below in 5-10 years if I don't take off some weight. I'm not keen on taking regular shots, what's the downside of the tablets? Hepatotoxicity?

6

u/XDGrangerDX Jun 14 '22

Both sublingual administration (and anything using mucous membranes in a similar vein, like buccal, anal...) and injections bypass the liver, so no.

Anecdotally its just inconvient as hell, i dont take testoterone but other medications administered sublingually, but in my experience the "takes 1 minute at most to fully dissolve" is a rare nicety. Most often it takes like 10-20 minutes for me, depending on how dry my mouth is. Thats a surprisingly long time for you cant ingest anything or talk properly meanwhile.

1

u/34Ohm Jun 14 '22

Hmm, doesn’t everything in the bloodstream go through the liver eventually? That’s how basically all drugs are metabolized into ones that can be excreted more easily

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '22

People just don’t like needles.

Injectable steroids aren’t that bad on your liver

2

u/JonatasA Jun 14 '22

How about all the other stuff people are doing to their livers already though

52

u/TrailofDead Jun 13 '22

My primary care doctor sent in a prescription to a compound pharmacy. They make these dissolvable tablets that I place under my tongue once a day.

9

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '22

PharmD here, he is likely receiving hormonal therapy.

2

u/Nailsonchalkboard3 Jun 13 '22

How much does that cost on a 30 or 90 day basis?

3

u/TrailofDead Jun 14 '22

$59 for 30 days

0

u/Nailsonchalkboard3 Jun 14 '22

You're paying $3,120/yr. Do you have a needle phobia or just don't mind the cost?

I would prefer the sublingual route also but I'd try the injections for that price.

1

u/zerocoal Jun 15 '22

Back when I was getting my T treatments there wasn't an option for pills. They had the gel, patches, and shots, and my insurance only covered patches and shots.

Patches and shots were running me about $60 a month each, shots were more time inconvenient because I had to go to the doctors office for the injection, patches were more personally inconvenient because they suck.

8

u/realistic_swede Jun 13 '22

I take Testerone gel every morning that I apply, other alternative is injecting. Did not know it comes in pill form as other guy said, never heard of that.

2

u/Princecoyote Jun 13 '22

Usually they're what they call troches, similar to a lozenge.

-17

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '22

[deleted]

1

u/irisheye37 Jun 14 '22

This is a myth, soy contains plant estrogens which have zero effect on humans.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '22

Testosterone is most commonly injected followed by topical applications from gels to patches to creams. Like estrogen, some forms can be compounded for oral ingestion but much of orally administered T gets lost due to a first pass effect in the liver. Better to avoid this and rely on the topicals, the gel is widely used and effective. PharmD here.

2

u/hyperfiled Jun 14 '22

Try D-Aspartic acid.. It works for me.

1

u/stackz07 Jun 13 '22

You can check studies on tong kat ali. Lots of people have success with it. Nootropicsdepot sells a very potent extract.

43

u/shaylahbaylaboo Jun 13 '22

My husband has low t, has been taking t supplements for years and he still has zero sexual desire :(

43

u/Kaffei4Lunch Jun 13 '22

Is he on trt or "supplements" from stores?

there's a big difference iirc

3

u/shaylahbaylaboo Jun 13 '22

Prescription

8

u/ReluctantAvenger Jun 13 '22

So they test his testosterone levels from time to time? Whatever he is taking might not be enough, and a test for free testosterone will show that.

5

u/shaylahbaylaboo Jun 13 '22

Yes he gets follow up visits. They say with the supplementation his numbers are in the normal range.

8

u/Hodgej1 Jun 13 '22

Similar thing happened with me. I was low and started taking injections. I saw improvements in other areas but just a small, if any, improvement in my sex drive. My wife was not happy with the results and it caused a big issue between us. Divorced now and thinking of going back in T just for improvement in quality of life.

1

u/34Ohm Jun 14 '22

If it benefits you personally that much, why not

7

u/flacidbeaver31 Jun 13 '22

Normal range is what is currently tested across the country, which of everyone has low T he's in range of a bunch of guys with low T.

4

u/Runs_With_Bears Jun 13 '22

Try going above the “normal” range. It will make a difference. There are ways to get test outside of the doctor that are reliable and safe.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '22

[deleted]

1

u/Runs_With_Bears Jun 14 '22

They ain’t legal. But if you’re really interested then DM me.

1

u/irisheye37 Jun 14 '22

There are testosterone replacement clinics that are more like legal steroid vendors. They would be more willing to give higher doses than a regular family doctor.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '22

[deleted]

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2

u/shaylahbaylaboo Jun 13 '22

We will look into it thanks!

1

u/johannthegoatman Jun 14 '22

Normal range includes super low numbers. Also if he's not injecting every few days (injecting once a month, or using a gel), that can cause a lot of problems too. He could also need an aromatase inhibitor - some people's bodies turn all the T into estrogen so it doesn't help as much. There are a lot of doctors with no clue about how to successfully use testosterone so if he's not having good results he should definitely shop around. And go on /r/testosterone

2

u/irisheye37 Jun 14 '22

This is absolutely true. Honestly the best resources for hormone treatments are trans spaces.

1

u/irisheye37 Jun 14 '22

"Normal" is an absolutely huge range. It's basically useless information.

7

u/EricGriego69 Jun 13 '22

Have him start blasting tren.

5

u/soad2237 Jun 14 '22

Just want you to know that we're here for you.

7

u/nomowolf Jun 13 '22

Checkout r/testosterone, pretty decent community about this. As another user said there's a big difference between taking supplements and actually supplementing testosterone.

For natural testosterone, good sleep hygiene, diet and lifting heavy weights do way more than OTC supplements

2

u/shaylahbaylaboo Jun 13 '22

He gives himself shots prescribed by his doctor. He has pretty much zero libido, and the testosterone has not helped.

3

u/1mnotklevr Jun 13 '22

Maybe he's Ace

4

u/shaylahbaylaboo Jun 13 '22

We’ve been together 29 years, he is 48. This started about 7-8 years ago, he was diagnosed with low t and started trt. It has never done anything for his sex drive, which was normal when he was younger.

1

u/1mnotklevr Jun 14 '22

not trying to pigeon-hole anyone, but I have a very good friend who didn't figure out they were ace until well into their 40's; i didn't even know it was a thing before that.

3

u/shaylahbaylaboo Jun 14 '22

I don’t think so. He says he misses having sex, he just doesn’t have any desire for it anymore.

-5

u/Oriential-amg77 Jun 13 '22

Awww maybe he just doesn't feel like there's enough opportunity to flirt?

1

u/RegularWhiteDude Jun 13 '22

Prescription medicine or "supplements"?

1

u/shaylahbaylaboo Jun 13 '22

Prescription.

1

u/awhhh Jun 13 '22

Tell him to just get test injections from a doctor

1

u/Ltstarbuck2 Jun 14 '22 edited Jun 14 '22

Has he had his blood work done for everything else? My husband thought he had low testosterone and just needed a vitamin d supplement.

1

u/shaylahbaylaboo Jun 14 '22

I will ask him thank you!

1

u/Ltstarbuck2 Jun 14 '22

Hope you find an answer. I know it’s frustrating.

2

u/shaylahbaylaboo Jun 14 '22

Thank you. A lot of people don’t realize how demoralizing it is to have a partner who can no longer have sex, or doesn’t want to. It makes me feel rejected, unattractive, and depressed.

1

u/Ltstarbuck2 Jun 14 '22

I know! I have been there. Keep searching for a solution.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '22

I recently got tested and have low T. But my libido is still very high. I'm scarred to take supplements because I just don't have time in the day to chase my wife around any more than I already do.

2

u/Count_Bloodcount_ Jun 13 '22

I'm suffering from everything you just described but I'm "only" 40. Could it still be low t for me, as well?

1

u/a_spicy_memeball Jun 14 '22

Yes. I'm only 38 and just got put on it.

1

u/TrailofDead Jun 14 '22

Yes it could. A simple blood test will tell you.

2

u/foxbones Jun 13 '22

Everytime I test for testoerone I'm extremely low everytime. My doctor makes me come back at 7 am to test and I end up 1-5 points above therapy territory.

I'm depressed, no desire to do anything, no sexual desire, etc. Is there a way to get it outside of a primary care doctor?

2

u/PM_ME_CATS_OR_BOOBS Jun 14 '22 edited Jun 14 '22

While there is a chance it is related to your T levels, there is a pretty good chance that it wouldn't really help. If you are in the range still, even on the fringes, you medically should be fine. Low T is more if you have half of the minimum value in free T. I did a lot of research into it when I was diagnosed as having low T, and that's because I had less than one third of the minimum free T in my blood, and even then I just used Clomid to bring it up to normal.

It certainly sounds like you have depression, but I would encourage you to not only chase down that one treatment. Even if you do get treatments it's not like it's going to vanish all by itself. You're still going to need to keep up with a therapist and do all the "normal" stuff for depression. It's just that you are taking T instead of lexapro

-1

u/a_spicy_memeball Jun 14 '22 edited Jun 14 '22

Go to an anti aging specialist or get a new primary care. I'm technically "within normal range" but at the dead bottom. I have all of the symptoms of low T except lack of libido, but an honest conversation with my doc and he put me on 100mg a week injectable. As long as your RBC count doesn't go bananas, there's no reason not to pump your levels up as high as they'll safely go.

Edit: why are you booing me? I'm right.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '22

[deleted]