Men taking testosterone as a gym supplement are unwittingly putting themselves at risk of heart attacks, experts warn.
Doctors say the danger comes from men not realising synthetic versions of the male sex hormone are a steroid.
Testosterone levels typically decrease with age, with some men in their 40s and 50s getting supplements, called testosterone replacement therapy, to boost their mood, energy levels, libido, and exercise performance.
But taking too much, typically from vials being sold online, can come with a host of dangers, including a heightened risk of cardiovascular problems and testicle shrinkage which can impact fertility in the future.
Despite being illegal to sell in the UK without a prescription, vials of synthetic ‘T’ or ‘test’ are ubiquitous on social media.
A TikTok account run by Finbar Marshall-Hawkes, claims testosterone can ‘cure’ depression while offering some users ‘pharmacy grade sources at cheap prices’
In the comments section of his videos Mr Marshall Hawkes offers to connect customers to supplies of steroids including testosterone
MailOnline found doses of testosterone for sale on multiple websites for as little as £30.
Some present it as a gym performance supplement, whilst others have claimed it could help thwart depression.
Dr Jeff Foster, a GP specialising in men’s health at H3 Health, told this website men wanting to use testosterone as shortcut to building muscle were playing ‘Russian roulette’ with their health.
He said many such men misunderstood the seriousness of what they were doing.
‘(Testosterone) is a steroid, it is a steroid hormone,’ he said.
‘If you don’t need to take testosterone because you don’t have a medical deficiency you are simply taking a recreational drug and that comes with significant health risks.
‘You will feel great at this time, and you may think you can get away with it, the problem is you won’t know.
‘You may not know the damage it has done to your heart, you may not know the damage it has done to your fertility for many years.’
Dr Foster said confusion partly stemmed from T being a natural hormone crucial to men’s health which gave some men the false impression that the more you take the better is is for you.
‘It’s going to make your muscles bigger, so it looks good, people like that idea,’ he said.
‘There’s this misconception that if you have more muscles and you’re fitter or faster, it must be better for you.
‘But, of course, that’s not the case. Like with any drug, if used in the wrong way it becomes unhealthy.’
Dr Foster added that the levels of testosterone taken among muscle-keen men have soared in recent years.
‘The volume of testosterone a lot of people are taking on the recreational side is so much higher that what it was 20 to 30 years ago,’ he said.
‘People look almost un-human.
‘If you’re an impressionable younger bloke who doesn’t necessarily know the risks you think “well, I want to look like that”, and take this enormous dose.’
There are multiple risks of taking too much testosterone.
Dr Foster said one the most serious is that, as testosterone increases blood production, it raises the risk of dangerous blood clots and other cardiovascular health problems that in turn heighten the chance of heart attacks and strokes.
Another is testicular shrinkage as the testes, which naturally produce testosterone, atrophy as the male body attempts to compensate for the artificially high levels of the hormone it is being exposed to.
This, Dr Foster explained, can leave men suffering fertility problems, sometimes permanently.
‘It comes back to bite them years later,’ he said.
Dr Foster said it was critical to remember that for a specific group, men with abnormally low levels, testosterone treatment at safe doses is a ‘life changing drug’ that provides massive boosts to mood and sex lives.
‘This is only for (patients) who haven’t got enough, and a doctor has told you that,’ he said.
‘Otherwise, you’re basically just taking drugs.’
Brits are also being sold on the benefits of taking T on social media platforms which are frequented by young men and boys.
UK TikTok accounts brazenly brand themselves as ‘steroid coaches’ able to connect potential users with testosterone suppliers.
Some accounts also make dangerous claims on the benefits of testosterone, touting it as a ‘cure’ for depression and recommending sufferers ditch NHS recommended medication for the mental health condition.
One such account is run by Finbar Marshall-Hawkes who boasts of having ‘pharmacy grade sources at cheap prices’.
Mr Marshall-Hawkes, who also runs a Minecraft gaming channel on YouTube, says he has used steroids for six years and coached people on how to use them for five.
In a video to his 40,000 followers earlier this year, Mr Marshall-Hawkes claimed taking testosterone could cure depression within two to three weeks.
Labelling the steroid ‘the best antidepressant for men’, he called SSRIs (the drugs NHS medics routinely prescribe for people with depression) ‘the devil’, claiming they cause the mental health condition to get worse.
‘All these guys I’ve helped, within two weeks of starting the testosterone cycle they said their depression had completely lifted and gone, and I was able to taper off the SSRIs they were on,’ he said.
‘So, if you’re having issues with depression and have low testosterone and the doctors won’t help you give me a message.
‘It’s worked every single time for the clients I’ve had over the past few years so defiantly get in touch with me.’
Testosterone, while known to boost mood, is not a recognised treatment for depression by the NHS.
SSRIs, the full name of which is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are a controversial form of medication, with respected experts warning they can damage sex lives years after people stop taking them.
However, medics urge patients taking antidepressants not to quit without talking to the medical professional responsible for their care first. This way they can ensure patients are adequately supported as they come off the drug.
Clinicians can sometimes offer an alternative dose, a different drug, or prescribe another medication to combat side effects.
Dr Foster said some of the medical advice on the supposed benefits of testosterone being spread on social media was ‘worrying’.
‘You’re having someone, untrained in true medical knowledge, giving advice that’s generic to a wide range of people,’ he said.
‘If you’re genuinely thinking “where do I get my medical information from” TikTok has got to be at the bottom of your list.’
He added that while there were definitely cases of men on antidepressants coming off them following testosterone treatment, encouraging patients with depression to change their medication regime was ‘crazy’ without consultation with a medic.
‘Potentially you’re making things an awful lot worse,’ he said.
It comes as legitimate interest in testosterone treatments is at an all-time high, according to NHS backed-prescription data for England.
A total of 38,614 testosterone prescriptions dished out by the nation’s GPs as of the start of 2024, the latest available data.
This is almost double the number of prescriptions recorded five years prior.
Such prescriptions will not only include male patients being treated for low testosterone but also females receiving the hormone for menopause driven libido issues or trans men wanting to change gender.
Source: Mail Online
