Testosterone Deficiency

[livingwith]

I am 54 yrs old and have been experiencing a growing fatigue, blue mood and cold hands and feet condition. My doc specializes in endocrine function and I was recently diagnosed with a low testosterone level and low thyroid hormone level (t4). My doc has started me on the patch for the testosterone and is waiting to see what it does to my low thyroid levels. He told me that the thyroid and pituitary glands can have an effect on the testosterone levels. The thyroid gland also controls body tem...Read the full article

[regular_guy]

You should be feeling a lot better now that you've been taking that patch, but watch out!

That patch can cause severe rashes in some people. For me, I broke out in all the places I had put the patch in the past month. If I had put a patch in the one place more than others, it made that area blister! I was an absolute mess after the first month... I felt better, but I looked like $#!t. They put me on the gel after that, Testim 1%.

The reason they try the patch first is because the insurance companies insist upon it. The gel is more expensive, even the generic Testim. My doctor actually told me to watch out for the rash; he expected it to happen. When it did happen, I had to stop all medications for two weeks until my skin cleared up.

Given the history of this patch, I think it borders on criminal that the insurance companies make doctors try it first! Given what my doctor said and what I've read on this forum, it appears the adverse reaction rate of the patch is far to high to be acceptable!