Testicular Shrinkage and Testosterone Therapy are two phrases that always go together.
Because you can’t have the therapy unless you’re willing to deal with the testicular atrophy.
But can a man reverse the harmful effects of TRT and increase the size of his testicles?
Well, first of all, testosterone therapy is intended to be a low-impact solution for various symptoms of low testosterone, including mood swings, lower energy leves and reduced libido.
I say intended, because like so many other go-to treatments from big pharma, the actual impact can be serious.
Among the many side effects (see below), it can (ironically) make your testicles shrink.
That’s the bad news.
The good news here is that Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) is often unnecessary, and that you can reduce the damage with natural treatments to increase testosterone.
Let’s look at how.
What’s So Bad About TRT?
Testosterone Replacement Therapy is basically giving you extra testosterone from outside your body to make up for the lack of testosterone your body produces on its own.
Think of it as similar to how a type 1 diabetic injects insulin because his pancreas no longer makes enough. Sounds good in theory, right?
Sure, in theory.
Thing is, your body produces testosterone in response to the levels of testosterone it detects.
In a healthy body, you produce enough testosterone to meet the demand, then stop until levels are low enough to demand more testosterone.
If you’re taking TRT, it creates a destructive feedback situation.
Your body isn’t producing enough testosterone on its own. You inject testosterone, raising your internal testosterone levels.
Detecting the extra testosterone, your body produces even less than it did before.
Which means you have to increase your doses. Which makes your body produce even less (source).
Rinse, repeat.
Among the things that happen when your body more or less shuts down its production of testosterone, is testicle shrinkage.
That’s right. Your balls get smaller. Other common side effects of TRT include:
- Rash and itching, at the site the testosterone is applied
- Water retention
- Mood swings
- Estrogen spikes
- Gynecomastia (the dreaded “man boobs”)
- Blood clots
Ironically, you’ll notice some of these symptoms are the exact same things that TRT is intended to prevent.
Abnormal prostate growth, prostate cancer, congestive heart failure and sleep apnea are among the more serious, but less common, side effects.
To make matters worse, once you’re on TRT your doctor will keep you on for life.
The same vicious cycle I mentioned earlier means you need to stay on the stuff because it shuts down your ability to make testosterone naturally.
If your start the treatments at age 30 (a common age for onset of low testosterone), and live to the average male life expectancy of 78, you’ll be using drugs continually for nearly 50 years.
That’s the bad and the ugly about testosterone replacement therapy. So what’s the good?
You Can Reverse the Impact Of Testosterone Therapy And Testicular Shrinkage
Drug companies aren’t stupid. TRT makes you need TRT for the rest of your life, because it kills your body’s ability to make its own testosterone.
Unless you do something about it.
Specifically, you can reverse testicular atrophy with Clomid, HCG, or both.
Clomid (clomiphene citrate)is a fertility drug taken by both men and women who are having difficulty conceiving.
In men, it increases fertility by stimulating your testicles to produce more testosterone.
This has a cascading impact on libido, sperm production, sperm motility and sperm quality.
It works by blocking estrogen production at the hypothalamus and pituitary glands.
Lower estrogen doesn’t create more testosterone, but makes what testosterone you do have more effective.
Because of these impacts, Clomid has been prescribed as an alternative to TRT in recent years.
Note that Clomid is currently only FDA approved for female infertility, though studies from outside the USA confirm the impact in men.
HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotrop) is a hormone which mimics the luteinizing hormones partially responsible for healthy tissue and function in your testicles.
It’s also used as a treatment for male infertility, causing a similar increase in testosterone production albeit via a different method than Clomid.
Until recently, some doctors believed that HCG worked only on younger men, since 2006 research has shown it to be effective at all ages.
It’s not all sunshine and roses here, though. Side effects of Clomid include blurred vision, permanent vision damage, tender nipples, headache, depression and sleep trouble.
Side effects of HCG include headache, mood swings, fatigue, depression, swelling in the feet, ankles and hands, and Gynecomastia.
It’s not usually a great idea to replace an invasive Big Pharma protocol with a different Big Pharma protocol.
The Better Plan For Increasing Testosterone Naturally…
Is to skip the TRT altogether, opting instead for natural routes to appropriate testosterone production and healthy testicles.
If you read 100 different websites, you’ll get 100 different answers as to the best ways to do this.
A few of my favorite, personally-tested, natural routes to healthy testosterone production include:
Getting more exercise, especially sprinting and heavy weight training
Reducing stress in your life, or at least engaging in daily stress relief activities like meditation, exercise (again) and time with friends and loved ones
Increase vitamin D, whether you do it be going outside more or taking a Vitamin D supplement
Reduce your exposure to BPAs and other agents that contain estrogenic compounds
Stop drinking alcohol or reduce your intake to moderate amounts
Get 8 hours of solid, restful sleep every night
Testicular Shrinkage and Testosterone Therapy Conclusion:
If you’re experiencing low testosterone, opt for natural routes to increasing your testosterone production and keeping your testicles hanging happily.
Do this instead of testosterone replacement therapy. If you’re already on TRT, you may have to take HCG or Clomid for a while to get your testicles performing well enough for natural remedies to work.
Once they are operating at that level, switch to just the natural methods and stay off the TRT.
Of course, you can take on the natural testicle health methods even while you’re on TRT or before you experience any symptoms of low testosterone.
They’re not only good for your testicular health, they’re good for your health in general.
Update – More Ways to Increase Testosterone Naturally
I’m just scratching the surface of all the ways you can boost testosterone naturally.
There are at least a hundred different things you can do.
Some of them cost no money, but some do. Others require lifestyle changes.
The few methods I already discussed are effective and easy to implement. I’ll give you a few more options that you can start easily right now.
Keep in mind that the more of these methods you use in combination with each other, the better your results will be.
Cut Out the Chemicals
I already mentioned cutting out anything that might introduce BPA into your body, but that’s not the only harmful chemical you should avoid.
Phthalates are another group of chemicals commonly found in plastics. They’re also found in a wide range of personal care products.
Studies have shown that these can decrease testosterone levels. (source)
Benzophenones are commonly found in sunscreens.
These chemicals have been shown to reduce the effectiveness of certain enzymes critical to testosterone production. (source)
Triclosan is found in most antibacterial soaps and other products like hand sanitizers, shampoos, and deodorants.
This is a bad one – it’s actually been banned in the EU since 2010 due to its potential harmful effects.
Plenty of studies have looked at triclosan and it has been shown to significantly reduce testosterone levels. (source)
Wondering how to get away from all these harmful chemicals? It’s doable but it requires a few lifestyle changes.
- Get a good water filter – a lot of this stuff gets into our water
- Don’t drink from plastic bottles, use glass or metal instead
- Use natural products that are free of these chemicals
- Avoid antibacterial products
- Make sure there’s no benzophenone in your sunscreen
Eat Protein – But Not Too Much
Yes, protein is good for you. But too much of a good thing can be bad, and that’s true here.
It’s critical to eat a balanced diet.
Don’t cut out protein altogether because protein malnutrition can also lower testosterone. Just don’t eat an insanely high protein diet.
One study found that when men went 10-days on a high-protein low-carb diet, their free-testosterone levels were 36% lower compared to a high-carbohydrate low-protein diet. (source)
My recommendation is to make sure about 20-25% of your daily caloric intake comes from protein. Anything significantly higher or lower than this can have negative effects on your T levels.
Stay Hydrated
Drinking water is important for a lot of reasons. It’s a critical thing for maintaining regular testosterone levels.
The reason is that even mild dehydration can cause significant cortisol production – that’s the stress hormone that blocks testosterone production.
This shouldn’t be a huge surprise. When the body doesn’t have enough of what it needs, it becomes stressed. That’s what you want to avoid.
In one study, participants had their T levels measured at various levels of hydration and dehydration.
The results clearly showed that as subjects became more dehydrated, their cortisol levels went way up and their testosterone levels dropped. (source)
Overall, simply living a healthy life is the best way to ensure your body is able to make its own testosterone.
Some simple lifestyle changes will go a long way towards healthy testosterone production.
References:
Is Testosterone Replacement Therapy Right for You?
Clomid and Athletes: Doping or Legit Fertility Treatment?
What is Clomid and How Does it Work?
How to Reverse the Main Side Effect of Testosterone Therapy
The Effects of Triclosan on Puberty and Thyroid Hormones in Male Wistar Rats