Why are regular checks needed when taking testosterone therapy?All men who receive testosterone treatment need to have regular visits with their doctor to check how well the treatment works and to make sure there are no side-effects. The doctor will decide on the dose and check the response to treatment and whether any side-effects have happened. This examination often includes blood tests.
Prostate examination will be done depending on the man’s age as testosterone may increase prostate size and could potentially encourage tumour growth.
For those men whose bones are thin, regular checks of bone density will be needed.
Adult males may have high cholesterol levels before treatment is started that have resulted from having low levels of testosterone. Blood tests for cholesterol may therefore be performed depending on the man’s age.
The doctor may monitor blood for the number of red blood cells and to make sure there is no excessive thickening of the blood.
Sleep apnoea (a condition where breathing stops at regular intervals during sleep) is associated with low testosterone levels and the doctor may also monitor this.  Back to top
When should testosterone therapy be stopped?If androgen deficiency is confirmed at any age, testosterone therapy will usually be needed for the rest of the man’s life.
However, there are no benefits of testosterone if a diagnosis of androgen deficiency has NOT been proven. If a man who is not androgen deficient starts testosterone therapy, his body will stop producing its own testosterone. If he later stops treatment, he may get symptoms of low testosterone for a short time as his testes gradually begin again to make the hormone themselves. The withdrawal and review of testosterone treatment should be done under medical supervision. Back to top
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