TRT is great for people who have true hypogonadism that can’t be fixed by other means. I had a friend growing up whose testosterone was under 100ng/dL no matter what he tried with his doctor. Finally got TRT and felt normal again.
However, after the honeymoon period the experience made him realize that not everything is explained and fixed by testosterone. He still had some mental health issues, he still had to work for gains at the gym, wasn’t suddenly full of boundless motivation. All this despite being put toward the upper end of the range for a long time.
This seems to be playing out with a lot of young people going to TRT clinics: The TRT clinics are prescription writing factories that will find an excuse to give almost anyone TRT. They make claims that the normal ranges are wrong and the only correct result is to be at the top of, or above, the reference range. They start people on insane beginning doses like 250mg/week because it gives them a rush to feel like it’s “working”, especially before their natural production shuts down.
The clinics also try to lock people into getting their prescriptions from the clinic in a subscription model. They basically get people hooked, literally dependent on testosterone because their endogenous production has shut down, and then require them to order the testosterone through their pharmacy to continue receiving the prescriptions. If they go to a family doctor, the family doctor will probably decline to continue writing such high dose prescriptions because high doses generate significant side effects, so the person returns to the TRT clinic.
It’s really bad out there. I think we’re headed for tighter regulation of these clinics soon, or at least I hope so. Every time I listen to the radio I get several ads for different clinics every hour promising men they will lose weight, be better in bed, have more energy, conquer the world.