Boston Testosterone Injury Risks Abound

According to a recent news article from KXAN, one of the side effects of using testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) drugs is that it has been shown to lower a patient’s sperm count.  This reported side effect has been especially pronounced with topical testosterone creams.

With testosterone replacement therapy becoming such a big business, there are a variety of competing products on the market, and these products come in many forms.  There are oral medications, a film that is placed under the tongue, a stick deodorant, injectable testosterone and of course topical skin gels and creams.One thing to keep in mind is that testosterone replacement therapy drugs were first developed in the late 1960s and approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat a relatively rare medical condition known as hypogonadism.  Hypogonadism is generally seen in much younger patients, as an extremely low testosterone level can affect development. It is also seen in much older patients and is typically administered by doctors who specialize in geriatric medicine.

The vast majority of low testosterone medications are actually administered at what are known as Low T clinics.  The reason for this is because most traditional doctors will order blood tests and determine what a person’s testosterone level is. They can counsel a patient about the risks and potential benefits of taking testosterone replacement hormone. This is what doctors are trained to do.  However, they do not really know what it what having a low testosterone level really means and whether it actually causes any of the symptoms claimed by the companies that make the testosterone replacement therapy products.  They also do not know if taking TRT drugs will actually help to alleviate the symptoms. While it can be claimed that taking testosterone replacement therapy drugs will artificially increase one’s testosterone count, there is not any real consensus in the medical community about what that actually means.

However, as our Boston testosterone injury lawyers have seen in many cases, taking testosterone replacement therapy drugs can cause serious side effects.  This includes raising the patient’s risk for having a stroke or major heart attack.  According to this recent article, it seems that there is a risk of having a reduced sperm count for younger men that take testosterone replacement therapy drugs in the form of a topical cream or gel. This is one of the more popular forms of the medication, based upon marketing and convenience.

The reason so-called Low T clinics will administer the drugs is because they are not treating patients for hypogonadism.  This actually makes sense, because most of the patients who go to these clinics do not have this rare medical condition.  Instead, they came to the clinic because the commercials told them taking these drugs will stop weight gain, loss of libido, loss of muscle tone, and many other other characteristics of normal male aging that the drug companies have convinced people are symptoms of low testosterone.

If you are the victim of Massachusetts product liability, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.

Additional Resources:

Comparing the benefits of testosterone restoration and replacement, January 21, 2017, BY Marievel Santiago, KXAN

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