Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT): What Happens When You Stop?

Are you tired of taking testosterone replacement therapy and thinking what happens if I just. Stop taking it. Maybe you just don't want to take it or you don't think it's helping you, but you're worried about side effects or you don't understand what can actually happen if you just stop taking cold Turkey.
So a lot of people are asking the question and want to understand what happens when I stop taking testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). So what I've seen in my practice is that the levels of testosterone will start to rise again, but most people don't wait long enough to see those levels rise.
00:00 Introduction to Stopping Testosterone Replacement Therapy
01:05 Understanding the Impact on Your Body
01:44 Week-by-Week Breakdown After Stopping TRT
04:12 Concluding Advice and Further Resources
So instead of returning to their baseline or pret testosterone levels, they retest or restart, the testosterone too early. So let me walk you through a week by week scenario of what a typical person is going to feel and what's going on with their testosterone during those times when they stop taking. What happens in the first week when you stop taking trt is basically nothing.

Your blood levels of testosterone will actually be a lot lower in that first week. But at the tissue level, you're still gonna have plenty of testosterone there, and the typical person is not going to really notice. That drop in the serum in the blood because the tissues are still very saturated with the testosterone.

On week two and three of stopping testosterone replacement therapy, you are gonna start to see a decline in the testosterone levels at the tissue level, and with that, you'll probably notice a decline in your energy and any other benefits that you're getting from the testosterone.

Now, when I say energy, I also mean like motivation, cognitive performance and things like that. Maybe you'll start to see about a 25% decline in week two and three, and it's in week three and four that your levels are going to be probably right about at their lowest. This is the point right before your body starts to kick in and increase its own production of testosterone.

That tissue levels on week three and four are basically bottoming out, and you're gonna be at the height of your withdrawal symptoms and Fatigue symptoms. How soon those symptoms come on. And the severity of those symptoms is really gonna depend on how much you were taking, how high were your levels, how much benefit were you getting out of that testosterone and where you started out to begin with.

In week four and five, your LH and FSH levels are gonna start surging, and because of that, your estradiol levels are also gonna go up. Now, if you don't know, FSH and LH are the hormones from the brain that stimulate the testes to make testosterone on the LH side and sperm on the FSH side.

The FSH happens to be an aromatizer. so it also will stimulate more estrogen production. So even though you're producing more testosterone as a result of the surge in FSH and lh, a lot of it's gonna be bound up because you're making more estrogen. And it's, in that week five and six range is when most people are gonna be back to their, pret, pre testosterone treatment levels, back to their baseline, whatever that started out to be.

Now, the reason I say five to six is because there's always gonna be some variance with individuals. It's gonna depend on where your testosterone levels actually started out at, and then how much you are taking to supplement. So if you're taking a huge amount. It's going to feel a lot different than someone that was taking a very small amount to adjust their levels. Some people are gonna have more severe symptoms and feel very, very bad when they stop taking testosterone.

So it really depends on what that variation is between where you started and how much you're actually taking. And if you don't understand that from the beginning, you may want to look a little bit closer at what your levels look like Now, before you stop taking testosterone, maybe you want to just reduce your dose first for a few weeks or even a few months before you just stop cold Turkey.

There's lots of different options out there. Check out my other videos on coming off testosterone replacement therapy , and have another video on understanding your dosage of testosterone.

[syed.muhammadali]

Really appreciate you making these videos. Thank you.

[norscout]

Been on T since march. Ive gotten jacked af. Wife and i are trying to have a kid, been struggling. Got my sperm Analysis today and ive got like 0. In really nervous about getting off TRT, im worried im gonna lose muscle and gain fat. But ill do it because my wife needs me to. Pray for me brothers

[MassGainingGuy]

I'm 47 and my testosterone levels are at 398. I'm still jacked and still building muscle even with low T levels. I've been training hard for 25 years and no physical symptoms of low T. Dont lose hope guys!

[johnnydelatorre]

I have a question, stopping trt cold turkey after years of using, say 1cc of sus a week effect your heart and is there a way to keep or at the very least maintain some of your gains?

[FamilyManMoving]

After two years of 100ml/wk, I wondered how much I really needed it. Cut by half for two months. Spoiler alert: motivation tanked, fatigue increased, etc. Everything degraded enough to remind me why I went on it in the first place. I didn't even bother with new blood work - I just went back to the dose my Dr. prescribed and a few weeks later I felt normal again. I'm 50 and this is typical. I was not surprised, but I wanted to verify.

I do not suggest younger people take this stuff unless you have a serious medical condition. TRT is _restoration_ for those of us where nature (aging) shut us down. This is not a magic dose to make you more manly - quite the opposite. Taking it too young can essentially _make_ you dependent on it by lowering your natural production. If you have enough natural production, keep it.

[dallasbuck]

Hey doc just had a question so im going to be completely honest ive been taking test cypinate for about 6 months now and ive recently gotten blood work done annd as of now my. Levels are about 360 range i would like to stop the injections and try to maintain my levels naturally but im afraid of going back down again ive been taking 1cc a week could you give me your thoughts or recommendations on what i should do next should i continue to stay on them or get off the main reason i would like to stop is i dont want long term side effects and i suffer from acne on my face and head thanks 👍

[beginagainben]

Hey doc, thank you for this video. So if what you are saying is that if you titrate down at some point you fsh Lh will begin to trigger endogenous production even though you are still injecting a small amt of exogenous test?

[marcelotapia]

Been taking test for 6 months now and want to give my body a break…am I okay to do this cold turkey or should I get PCT?

[beugkkn]

Hey doc, thanks for the videos ❤. Please help me :) went on clomid for extended period as PCT (6 weeks), libido was ok while on the clomid for first month but then it went crash, was on trt for 6 months at a heavy dose. Stopped trt at start of April and Clomid towards middle of May, the drop in libido was really head wrecking for me and I went back on the clomid, it may improvements but again after two weeks I crashed so I’m cold Turkey with a month. It’s start of September and I’m still crawling in terms of libido and strength is way down. I went to doctor who said I should wait the three months. My question is should I try HCG injection as I have read in a number of sources that extended use of clomid can cause this ? My partner and I are trying g for a baby and what are the bounce back timeframes in terms of fertility, Thanks in advance

[beginagainben]

I wish you covered hcg and tomoxifen addition. Which is the protocol my doc said he would follow.

[eman]

Is it okay to get back on TRT after bein off for a year?

[bmanscire]

That’s helps. I’m 42 have a Mecanical heart valve and on blood thinners had 2 strokes
Was taking .7 a week and around 740 range I stopped my TRT and it’s been 11 days. I’m at 174 now and feel major brain fog and no motivation. I just want to hang on until week 5-6 and hope I’ll be ok
Im so grateful to be alive and ok but the hemoglobin levels and hemocrat levels were 18 and 54
I think that played a role with the strokes but no one knows
I just want to be able to live a long life. Sucks I’m off TRT but I’m grateful I am able to life a life still
Best of luck guys
Please be safe and check your blood and phlebotomize if needed

[TRTandHormoneOptimization]

One should *not* stop TRT. One starts TRT for a reason: low T symptoms. When you stop you go back to the same insufficient state with all the symptoms.

[romanmerino]

Great content!!! From what i understand if you take testosterone, your body will eventually return to producing it normally (as it was before treatment) after a month or two... or will it slightly decrease?

Question, if i take an average dose of testosterone for lets say 3 months. And once im off the trt.... My bidy eill produce more estrogen. Is thst permanent? Long term? Or just a few weeks short term?

[TheHallway]

Is there a risk of blood clots using TRT? We all read a lot on this subject.Also is a supplement required for the issue of estrogen?

[NathanP]

Hi Doc, I was pelleted in mid-April of this year (about 6 months ago). The doctor gave me way too much (12 pellets total, levels went above 2000), and consequently I had a number of adverse effects. I extruded 3 pellets over the last two months (yes, after the incision site had healed- 3 times over), but I am roughly at the 6 month marker and have decided not to re-pellet. I initially did not notice much of an effect, but all of a sudden I am getting super sleepy and fatigued about mid-day (this is not normal for me). My motivation at the gym has decreased slightly, but I am still able to push myself to go (and my lift is close to what it was- I am losing strength). The last pellet extruded was about 2 weeks ago. Any idea if this sounds normal, and what I can expect? The pellets that remain are super small now (the one that came out recently was at least 70% dissolved). As I understand pellets, they are essentially NOT doing anything for me at this point, but there is still a little left in them. Do they have to be completely gone before my system restores to "normal".

[TruckerJoe]

So it’s my understanding that if you live a clean lifestyle and diet, getting off a TRT is possible?? I really think it has something to do with my blood pressure spiking often?

[TheMatrixgod]

i was on the 2m patches and then i came off after 6 months and will i have the same side effects as someone who injects it?

[darrylh]

Thanks for the video, I have been on trt for about 2.5 years and am thinking about stopping for various reasons. I will likely ween myself off if I choose to do this, are there any all natural supplements you would recommended to take while coming off of TRT to help manage the hormone changes?

[ssofadd]

So guys, I know I’m gonna get a lot of hate and stuff but I’m 22 almost 23 in February. But I’ve been working out for 2 years and have always done research about peds. I was stupid at one point and did rad 140. Did not know you had to do test with it. Test was bottomed out when I came off and didn’t go back to normal for months. This was like a year ago but I’ve jus the other day decided to start a cycle of test. I did my first shot yesterday and I’m kinda having regret.