question from a user
I know a lot of guys get anxiety symptoms when on TRT. What do you find causes that? And what do you do about it?
AlphaMD's Answer
Low testosterone is a known cause for anxiety. For many men, TRT improves their anxiety significantly, or resolves it completely. In fact, the science backs this up:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22972022/
https://www.drg-diagnostics.de/files/jin_ispne-zuerich_2017.pdf
There are certainly reports of men on TRT getting anxiety. This has been proven to be due to estrogen. In fact, there is no study that has been done that shows testosterone itself causes anxiety, except in women (higher T in women has been proven to increase anxiety). Read for yourself:
"In boys, elevated estradiol was associated with elevated depression (OR=4.75 [1.95, 11.56]) and anxiety scores (OR=2.43 [1.01, 5.84]). In linear regression, estradiol was positively associated with depression (difference/10% hormone increase (β=0.45 [0.15, 0.75]) and anxiety scores (β=0.42 [0.13, 0.72]). Higher cortisol levels strengthened the depression association with estradiol in boys (β=0.54 [0.12, 0.96]), and with testosterone (β= -0.19 [-0.35, -0.03]) and DHEA (β= -0.12 [-0.22, -0.02]) in girls
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34375211/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306453017304195
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29107881/
As you can see, testosterone is a mood stabilizer for men, and can be curative of both anxiety and depression. Estrogen levels, either too high or too low, are the source for anxiety.
This means, in men who develop anxiety with TRT, there is a very good chance that they are aromatizing too much, and have an elevated estradiol level as the cause.
Ready to get answers?
Ask your own question today.
Get $30 off your first month’s order
Enter your email address now to receive $30 off your first month’s cost, other discounts, and additional information about TRT.
Legal Disclaimer
This website is a repository of publicly available information and is not intended to form a physician-patient relationship with any individual. The content of this website is for informational purposes only. The information presented on this website is not intended to take the place of your personal physician's advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Discuss this information with your own physician or healthcare provider to determine what is right for you. All information is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. The information contained herein is presented in summary form only and intended to provide broad consumer understanding and knowledge. The information should not be considered complete and should not be used in place of a visit, phone or telemedicine call, consultation or advice of your physician or other healthcare provider. Only a qualified physician in your state can determine if you qualify for and should undertake treatment.