Risks of testosterone shots serious

Dear Dr. Gott: I’m 51 and have been taking a testosterone shot each month for the past year. What are the short- and long-term effects, and do the benefits outweigh the risks?

Dear Reader: Testosterone, or male hormone, is often prescribed when a deficiency exists: that is, in men with sexual dysfunction in whom blood tests have documented a lack of naturally occurring hormone.

Thus, to answer the last part of your question first, the benefits outweigh the risks only if you have a hormone deficiency causing sexual dysfunction. In particular, supplemental testosterone is not recommended to treat impotence that is caused by other factors, such as inadequate circulation.

Because testosterone is a natural hormone, the short-term side effects are negligible. With chronic use, testosterone-deficient patients may experience improved sexual functioning.

However, the risks – especially in older men – include liver tumors, jaundice, fluid retention, nausea, vomiting, increased cholesterol and prostate cancer.

Therefore, I discourage testosterone supplements (including the pills or patches) unless there is a clear-cut necessity for the medicine. You need a consultation with a urologist.

Dear Dr. Gott: Thank you for your always-informative column, and especially for being receptive to “nontraditional” treatments and remedies. Please continue to be as open-minded, caring, offbeat and opinionated as you’ve been thus far. How refreshing.

Dear Reader: Thank you for your compliment. Actually, I have been criticized by others for ignoring alternative treatments and remedies. Thus, I am pleased that you recognize my goal: to promote what may be effective, while debunking those techniques that aren’t.

It’s a difficult balance to achieve, as you know; but there’s a lot of interest today in nontraditional methods of maintaining health and treating disease, and I believe that my readers welcome (and are entitled to) as objective a view as I can muster.

Also, most doctors could benefit by learning more about nontraditional medicine.

To give you related information, I am sending you copies of my Health Reports “Fads I: Vitamins and Minerals” and “Fads II: Herbs and Other Supplements.” Other readers who would like copies should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 per report to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title(s).