To TRT or not to TRT for low testosterone?

Clinically low testosterone can lead to a range of issues, including low energy, depressed mood, and brain fog, and it can be treated with TRT. However, a growing number of men are turning to testosterone therapy not for medical reasons but to maintain their physique and productivity. Can it help?

Research has shown that if a man’s testosterone levels are too low, the body’s main stress response system, known as the HPA axis, can become dysregulated. File picture: iStock

FOR MUCH of his early 30s, Aidan*, a Cork-based factory worker, was finding himself plagued by social anxiety.
“I couldn’t leave the house, even to go to the barbers or go into town for food,” he recalls. “I was trapped at home, and life was just going by without me.”

He was prescribed antidepressants but things only began to change after he spotted a story about Robbie Williams claiming that his mental health had improved after starting testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), a therapeutic treatment administered via injections, gels, and patches, which aims to artificially boost levels of the hormone.