{ "title": "Testosterone in young men without low T: fertility and recovery evidence", "checked": "2026-10-20 (ET)", "sources": { "bhasin2001": { "pmid": "11701431", "quotes": [ "61 eugonadal men, 18-35 yr", "Energy and protein intakes were standardized", "weekly injections of 25, 50, 125, 300, or 600 mg of testosterone enanthate for 20 wk", "mean nadir testosterone concentrations of 253, 306, 542, 1,345, and 2,370 ng/dl", "Fat-free mass increased dose dependently in men receiving 125, 300, or 600 mg of testosterone weekly (change +3.4, 5.2, and 7.9 kg, respectively)", "Sexual function, visual-spatial cognition and mood, and PSA levels did not change significantly at any dose", "whereas changes in fat mass and plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were negatively correlated" ], "dose_mg_week": [ 25, 50, 125, 300, 600 ], "nadir_ng_dl": [ 253, 306, 542, 1345, 2370 ], "ffm_kg": { "125": 3.4, "300": 5.2, "600": 7.9 } }, "liu2006": { "pmid": "16650651", "quotes": [ "data from individual participants in 30 studies published in 1990-2005", "1549 healthy eugonadal men", "aged 18-51 years", "underwent 1283.5 man-years of treatment", "about 90% of all published data from individuals using androgen or androgen-progestagen regimens", "The median times for sperm to recover to thresholds of 20, 10, and 3 million per mL were 3.4 months", "The typical probability of recovery to 20 million per mL was 67% (61-72) within 6 months, 90% (85-93) within 12 months, 96% (92-98) within 16 months, and 100% within 24 months", "higher rates of recovery with older age, Asian origin, shorter treatment duration, shorter-acting testosterone preparations" ], "recovery_curve": { "6": 67, "12": 90, "16": 96, "24": 100 }, "median_months_20M": 3.4 }, "who1990": { "pmid": "1977002", "quotes": [ "271 healthy fertile men", "ten centres) in seven countries", "200 mg testosterone enanthate weekly", "157 men (cumulative rate at 6 months 65%) became azoospermic", "The mean time to become azoospermic was 120 days", "was 3.7 months (3.6-3.9) and to the subject's mean baseline sperm concentration was 6.7 months" ] }, "who1996": { "pmid": "8654646", "quotes": [ "Three hundred ninety-nine normal, healthy, fertile men", "15 centers in nine countries", "1.4 (95 percent CI, 0.4 to 3.7) per 100 person-years", "fertility was demonstrated in 33 couples" ] }, "wu1996": { "pmid": "8774299", "quotes": [ "range 21 to 45 years", "The most common side effects were painful injections, acne, fatigue, and weight gain", "Gynecomastia and prostate problems were detected in 24 and 9 men, respectively", "high-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased by 14% to 18% in non-Chinese", "decrease in testicular volume (by 26.2% at 360 days)", "increased levels of hemoglobin (by 7.6% at 360 days)", "reversible within 6 months of stopping injections" ] }, "bhasin1996": { "pmid": "8637535", "quotes": [ "We randomly assigned 43 normal men", "The efficacy of these substances for this purpose is unsubstantiated", "600 mg of testosterone enanthate or placebo weekly for 10 weeks", "greater increases in fat-free mass (6.1 +/- 0.6 kg)", "bench-press (9 +/- 4 vs. -1 +/- 1 kg, P < 0.05)", "Neither mood nor behavior was altered in any group" ] }, "yates1999": { "pmid": "10023498", "quotes": [ "between the ages of 21 and 40 years", "testosterone cypionate (100 mg, 250 mg, or 500 mg) for the next 14 weeks", "One noncompleter on 500 mg of testosterone developed a brief syndrome with symptoms similar to an agitated and irritable mania", "our study may significantly underestimate the psychological effect of steroid use in the community" ] }, "coviello2008": { "pmid": "18160461", "quotes": [ "Hemoglobin and hematocrit increased significantly in a linear, dose-dependent fashion in both young and older men", "The increases in hemoglobin and hematocrit were significantly greater in older than young men" ] }, "rasmussen2016": { "pmid": "27532478", "quotes": [ "37 current AAS abusers, 33 former AAS abusers", "elapsed duration since AAS cessation: 2.5 (1.7; 3.7) years", "14.4 (11.9-17.7) nmol/l vs. 18.8 (16.6-22.0) nmol/l", "27.2% (13.3; 45.5) of former AAS abusers exhibited plasma total testosterone levels below the lower reference limit (12.1 nmol/l) whereas no control participants", "erectile dysfunction ((27.3%)", "decreased libido ((40.1%)", "received unrestricted research grants from ‘AntiDoping Denmark’" ] }, "kanayama2015": { "pmid": "25598171", "quotes": [ "Twenty-four male former long-term AAS users and 36 non-AAS-using weightlifters", "with five users showing testosterone levels below 200 ng/dl despite abstinence from AAS for 3-26 months", "anabolic-androgenic steroid-withdrawal hypogonadism appears to be common, frequently prolonged and associated with substantial morbidity" ] }, "alhashimi2022": { "pmid": "36065528", "quotes": [ "We enrolled 520 patients with a confirmed history of AAS intake within 1 year of presentation", "most patients (89%) started treatment, but some (11%) continued observation only", "Among the 94 patients who presented with infertility (18%), 61 had oligospermia and 33 had azoospermia", "only 14 (15%) achieved successful pregnancy at 12 months while all azoospermic's patients continued to have infertility at the end of the follow-up period" ] }, "pope2014": { "pmid": "24423981", "quotes": [ "the vast majority of PED users are not athletes but rather nonathlete weightlifters", "We also need randomized trials to assess therapeutic interventions for treating the adverse effects of PEDs, such as the anabolic-androgen steroid withdrawal syndrome" ] }, "fda2016": { "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20161027052404/https:/www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm526151.htm", "quotes": [ "Posted 10/25/2016", "usually at doses higher than those typically prescribed and usually in conjunction with other AAS", "heart attack, heart failure, stroke, depression, hostility, aggression, liver toxicity, and male infertility", "depression, fatigue, irritability, loss of appetite, decreased libido, and insomnia", "placed AAS, including testosterone, in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act" ] }, "nypost": { "url": "https://nypost.com/2026/10/20/health/young-men-are-injecting-testosterone-to-be-more-masculine/", "published": "Oct. 20, 2026, 6:59 a.m. ET", "quotes": [ "Young men without diagnosed testosterone deficiencies are increasingly taking testosterone to accelerate their gains, a trend known as “testmaxxing.”", "After three hormone cycles over two years", "admits to not getting “proper blood work” in the past", "Henry met a backdoor supplier", "a fit professional in his 30s", "After turning 30", "a product labeled Pharma Test 250, which lists testosterone enanthate 250 mg/mL as its active ingredient", "I haven’t spoken to a doctor because I didn’t want to be talked out of it", "You also turn off sperm production", "Testosterone and sperm production can take months or even years to return to normal after stopping" ] } }, "x": { "checked": "2026-10-20 ~8:05 PM ET (2026-10-21 00:05 UTC)", "nypost_post": { "url": "https://x.com/nypost/status/2112499375071010831", "created_at": "2026-10-20T11:01:14Z", "impressions": 967032, "likes": 998, "replies": 425, "quotes": 239, "reposts": 88, "bookmarks": 595 }, "trending_story": { "url": "https://x.com/i/trending/2112681488273850697", "name": "Young Men Self-Inject Testosterone for Masculinity and Muscle Gains", "updated_at": "2026-10-20T23:12:31Z" }, "counts_utc_days": { "query_narrow": "(testmaxxing OR \"test maxxing\" OR (testosterone (sperm OR fertility OR \"shut down\" OR shutdown OR \"without a prescription\" OR \"no prescription\" OR \"young men\" OR nypost))) lang:en -is:retweet", "narrow": { "2026-10-14 (from 04:00)": 66, "2026-10-15": 74, "2026-10-16": 104, "2026-10-17": 89, "2026-10-18": 55, "2026-10-19": 60, "2026-10-20": 140 }, "query_broad": "testosterone lang:en -is:retweet", "broad": { "2026-10-14 (from 04:00)": 2349, "2026-10-15": 3042, "2026-10-16": 3190, "2026-10-17": 2718, "2026-10-18": 2696, "2026-10-19": 2661, "2026-10-20": 2905 } } }, "clinicaltrials_gov": { "query": "(\"anabolic steroid\" OR \"anabolic steroids\" OR \"anabolic-androgenic\" OR \"anabolic androgenic\") AND (withdrawal OR misuse OR abuse OR abusers OR users OR \"induced hypogonadism\" OR dependence)", "pulled": "2026-10-20 ~8:10 PM ET", "records": 24, "categories": { "randomized placebo-controlled drug trial to treat steroid-induced low testosterone (letrozole + hCG)": 1, "randomized behavioral harm-reduction trial for steroid users": 1, "observational study of steroid users": 4, "observational (addiction cohort)": 1, "observational (gym users)": 1, "observational (androgen cohort)": 1, "anti-doping test study": 3, "off-topic (not about people using steroids)": 12 }, "by_record": { "NCT05205837": "randomized placebo-controlled drug trial to treat steroid-induced low testosterone (letrozole + hCG)", "NCT07039539": "randomized behavioral harm-reduction trial for steroid users", "NCT03862235": "observational study of steroid users", "NCT03450837": "observational study of steroid users", "NCT05599438": "observational study of steroid users", "NCT05178537": "observational study of steroid users", "NCT04908410": "observational (addiction cohort)", "NCT07061509": "observational (gym users)", "NCT00150163": "observational (androgen cohort)", "NCT04757532": "anti-doping test study", "NCT02611154": "anti-doping test study", "NCT04166786": "anti-doping test study", "NCT04028115": "off-topic (not about people using steroids)", "NCT02999802": "off-topic (not about people using steroids)", "NCT07563855": "off-topic (not about people using steroids)", "NCT04067479": "off-topic (not about people using steroids)", "NCT06497426": "off-topic (not about people using steroids)", "NCT07275996": "off-topic (not about people using steroids)", "NCT02491957": "off-topic (not about people using steroids)", "NCT06592144": "off-topic (not about people using steroids)", "NCT00259298": "off-topic (not about people using steroids)", "NCT03038919": "off-topic (not about people using steroids)", "NCT03461614": "off-topic (not about people using steroids)", "NCT02077348": "off-topic (not about people using steroids)" }, "treatment_rcts": { "NCT05205837": { "name": "LUCAS (Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet)", "planned": 60, "enrolled": 8, "status": "TERMINATED", "why_stopped": "Lack of recruitment", "start": "2021-11-24", "primary_completion": "2023-08-15", "has_results": false } }, "separate_search_post_cycle": { "query": "\"post-cycle therapy\" OR \"post cycle therapy\"", "records": 1, "NCT07568574": { "sponsor": "Enhanced Emirates Limited", "allocation": "NON_RANDOMIZED", "planned": 60 } }, "pubmed_rct_search": { "term": "(anabolic steroid(s)/anabolic-androgenic [tiab]) AND (withdrawal OR \"induced hypogonadism\" OR cessation [tiab]) AND randomized controlled trial[pt]", "count": 8, "note": "hand-read: 1 tests treatment after steroid use (Al Hashimi 2022, single clinic, 89% ended up on treatment); the rest are not treatment trials for coming off steroids" } } }