Many patients ask what is the time frame for testosterone health benefits.
Many health benefits of testosterone have been suggested. In the late 1940s, testosterone was hailed as the cure for male depression. Although this use of testosterone soon fell out of favor, due to fears about long-term health effects of testosterone, more recent studies have shown that indeed, testosterone therapy does appear to offer some relief for depression through altering certain brain neurotransmitters. That brings up a question not often discussed: just how long does it take for the effects of testosterone to become apparent?
How long for muscle mass and strength effects to show?
The major goal of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is to boost deficient levels of testosterone to a point that is both clinically acceptable and that which provides symptomatic relief to the patient.
One study that involved use of testosterone with growth hormone found a significant increase in lean body mass. Maximal muscle strength had occurred by the 16th week of use of both hormones.
Another study showed that it took 12 weeks to reach maximum strength levels with testosterone use alone.
Studies examining the time course for muscle and strength effects related to testosterone usage have varied. If you average them out, however, the maximum muscle and strength levels occur 12-20 weeks after using testosterone, depending on the dose. Obviously, the higher the weekly dose, the quicker muscle and strength gain manifest. The maximum effects are achieved in 6-12 months of continual usage of testosterone (T).
Bone density
Many people are aware of the fact that women with long-term estrogen deficiency are more prone to getting osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease. Less well known is that men deficient in testosterone can also be afflicted by this disease, and strangely, for the same reason.
A certain amount of testosterone produced daily is converted by the aromatase enzyme into estrogen. Estrogen, in turn, protects bone from excessive breakdown. But less testosterone in men doesn’t necessarily mean less estrogen. In fact, an imbalance of estrogen to testosterone is common in older men. What happens is that while the natural production of testosterone in men drops each decade past age 40, estrogen continues to made through the actions of aromatase, which doesn’t drop with age. As a consequence, estrogen goes up, while testosterone drops, and much of the smaller production of testosterone in older men falls prey to conversion into estrogen through aromatase action.
This has implications for health, in that higher estrogen levels in older men are linked to onset of prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease. But that higher estrogen also may protect bone mass. This scenario would only be applicable to men with higher body fat levels, since fat is a prime area of aromatase activity. In men who are lean, the lack of sufficient testosterone could result in osteoporosis.
Similarly to estrogen, Testosterone favors an increase in bone density, especially in the spine. The longer Testosterone is used, the greater the boost in bone density.
Body composition
Testosterone is known to play a significant role in helping to prevent obesity. One way it does this is by controlling the pathway of pluripotent stem cells. These are immature cells that can take a pathway to become either fat cells or muscle cells. With sufficient levels of testosterone, these cells take the pathway to muscle, rather than fat. Testosterone also prevents the conversion of such cells into fat cells.
With age, men tend to accumulate fat in the abdominal area of the body. The deep-lying fat in the abdomen, known as visceral fat, is the most dangerous fat found in the body. This fat is labile, meaning that it’s constantly being broken down. When that happens, the fat is transported to the liver, where it’s converted into cholesterol. Visceral fat is also associated with diabetes, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease.
It turns out that one reason why men begin to accumulate abdominal fat is because of a downgrade of adrenergic fat cell receptors in the abdomen. This downgrade is related to a lack of testosterone. When testosterone is provided, the dormant beta adrenergic receptors open up again, and men lose fat in the abdominal area, along with a concomitant reduction in health risks related to having fat in that area. Fat loss in the abdominals usually shows up after 3 months of supplemental testosterone use in deficient men.
Testosterone and lipids
Although many doctors refuse to prescribe testosterone because of a belief that it promotes cardiovascular disease, in fact, the opposite is true.
Testosterone begins to lower elevated cholesterol levels in about a month after starting usage. The average significant drop happens in about 3 months.
Serum triglycerides also drop after about a month. Low density lipoprotein (LDL) takes a bit longer to drop, averaging 3 months, with maximal effects occurring by the two year mark.
As far as high density lipoprotein (HDL), which is considered protective against CVD, some studies show a rise, others a drop. Since much of the effect of testosterone on HDL levels depends upon conversion into estrogen, if you also use an aromatase inhibitor drug, which blocks the conversion of Testosterone into estrogen, the beneficial effects of Testosterone on HDL may not be as apparent. Recent studies with Arimidex, a popular AI drug, show that this effect isn’t as common as previously believed. HDL increases follow the same time frame as that of LDL with testosterone.
Testosterone and blood glucose levels
The incidence of diabetes is increasing alarmingly world-wide. In most cases, this is due to a combination of obesity and lack of physical activity. But since testosterone also helps to control bodyfat levels, especially the type of fat most linked to insulin resistance (visceral fat), it makes sense that testosterone may help prevent diabetes onset through ameliorating some of the early symptoms of the disease, such as insulin resistance.
Testosterone helps to lower elevated blood glucose levels, but doesn’t affect normal glucose levels. It also lowers insulin levels (which itself helps you lose fat). These effects show up in 3-9 months, according to studies. In fact, the lowering of elevated blood glucose and insulin resistance can show up after only a month on testosterone, especially if you also exercise. Testosterone can lower elevated glucose in only one week!
Blood pressure and CVD effects
A lowering of diastolic blood pressure by Testosterone happens in 3-9 months. A drop in resting heart rate occurs after 40-44 weeks of Testosterone therapy. Testosterone also lowers arterial stiffness, a prime cause of CVD, in only two days.
Testosterone relieves angina pectoris, linked to atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries, after 14 weeks, and increases exercise capacity in heart failure patients after 3 months.
Testosterone and inflammation
Excess body inflammation is now known to be the cornerstone of most major diseases. Low levels of both Testosterone and estrogen are associated with higher levels of overall body inflammation. Testosterone lowers cytokines, or mediators of body inflammation, in about 16 weeks. But it lowers elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation, in only 3 weeks. Other markers of inflammation drop after a month on Testosterone. T lowers the levels of a chemical produced in the body that blocks synthesis of nitric oxide in only 10 days.
Other effects
Testosterone boosts libido or sex drive in an average of 3 weeks. It provides beneficial effects on erections after 3 weeks of use. Depression is relieved after 3 weeks, along with a significant mood elevation. Anxiety goes down, while self-confidence goes up after a month on Testosterone. Fatigue drops after a month, too.
So there you have it. As noted earlier, these listed time effects of Testosterone are based on giving the hormone to deficient men. The times will vary if Testosterone is used by younger men not deficient in the hormone.
The starting place for any hormonal optimization or peptide program is a thorough evaluation including seeing a physician and blood draw to see if you are a candidate for therapy.
RenewFX Health is currently accepting new patients and offers a comprehensive evaluation, blood test and state-of-the-art screening. If you are interested to slow down the aging process, and to look and feel young again, our Bio-identical Hormone Therapy programs might be the piece to the puzzle that you are missing.
Call us today to schedule your consultation at 713.936.4103
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