That study used fixed doses from an autoinjector and allowed pretreatment serum concentrations as high as 300 ng/dL in hypogonadal men thus providing a confounding factor of significant endogenous testosterone secretion to data interpretation. Recent reports indicate that SC administration of testosterone esters may be an acceptable alternative to IM injections in hypogonadal men and FTM transgender patients 13–16. Men and women need the proper amount of testosterone to develop and function normally. Testosterone therapy does not appear to increase the risk of prostate cancer, but it can stimulate the growth of prostate cancer cells. One patient moved out of state prior to initiating study blood draws. Fourteen patients met inclusion criteria and signed consent to participate. Hormone levels were compared between the two preinjection samples (7 days apart), as well as the first preinjection sample and the 6-hour sample by two-sided paired t test. Intra- and interindividual variation in hormone measurements was assessed as CV (%). Continuous data were described as mean (standard deviation) or as median (range), as appropriate; categorical data were summarized as frequencies (n, %). These issues highlight the need for close monitoring by a healthcare provider. In some cases, TRT may increase appetite, leading to higher calorie consumption. It often depends on other factors like diet, physical activity, and overall health. At the same time, some individuals may notice fat loss while on TRT. A testosterone blood test is the withdrawal and assessment of your blood. These data in combination with previous reports of efficacy and safety of the SC route of testosterone injections in hypogonadal men and FTM transgender patients confirm that the SC route is an acceptable alternative to the IM route 13–16. Whether the variability observed in serum testosterone concentrations in our study is more or less than that with IM testosterone injections is uncertain because pharmacodynamic studies of IM injections reported only mean and not individual data 2, 3.
