effects of androgel?

Mt boyfriend is 24 and was recently tested as having low testosterone. He has a level of 341. We have had many problems in our year long relationship, all relating to his lackof sex drive. He has little to no desire for sex. He enjoys being with me, but there has been no sexual contact since his test. His doctor gave him a prescription for androgel and he has been using it for about 2 1/2 weeks. He says he feels no change in libido at this point. He does say he feels healthier and i have noticed a change in his mood. How long does it normally take for a change in libido to occur. I know that everyone is different. The information packet said at 3 months there was an almost certainty there would be an increase. I assume it happens before that. Right now we both love each other and are just waiting to see if the medicine an help us have a relationship. I am in love and feel i have found my soul mate...i just want to know how long I should wait before we both have to admit to ourselves that things with us may never work out due to this issue. So any guidelines as to how soon it should work would be appreciaited. Anyone else out there in these types of drugs your help would be appreciated also. He is taking androgel 5%. Thank you all.

Hi Amy,<br> <br> Three weeks would be about the earliest he would see changes. He should give it the full three months before deciding that the treatment isn't working. In the meantime, the two of you should check out our "symptom tracker" -- by filling out this questionnaire and saving the results each month, you both can see if there are real changes going on. Here's the URL: <a href="http://www.seekwellness.com/andropause/ams_quiz.htm" target="_blank">http://www.seekwellness.com/andropause/ams_quiz.htm</a><br> Good luck and I'd love it if you kept us posted on his progress.

If anyone else has more info, or has used androgel please feel free to respond. I am looking for as much information as possible. This is really hard because I do not know what to expect. Any onformation would be appreciated.

I HAVE BEEN ON ANDROGEL FOR AWHILE AND HAVE NOTICED INCREASED ENERGY AND MOOD, BUT IT HAS DONE NOTHING FOR SEX DRIVE. THIS SEEMS SIMILIAR TO YOUR BOYFRIEND. HE MAY WANT TO ASK TO TRY THE NEW TESTIM. GOD BLESS

EPH..I am just wondering how long you have been on the androgel? Meaning longer than 3 months, or longer than three weeks. Also if you would not mind sharing your age and what your level was approx. before you started taking the androgel. I really want this to work for us. It is hard to discuss it with him though. I guess it is hard for a lot of males in his shoes. Just looking for advice. Thanks so much!<br>

Is there a difference between testim and androgel. From what I saw in the literature for both they seemed very similar..if not pretty much teh same drug. Am I missing something? Are they basically the same drug or not?

When these two products were studied head-to-head, the Testim "produced approximately 30% higher serum testosterone levels" in a single-use study. In another study that took place over 90 days, the increase in total testosterone was similar with both drugs when the dose was 50 mg/d. When the dose was raised to 100 mg/d, however, Testim produced a 300% greater increase in total testosterone compared to AndroGel. You can read the whole report here:<br> <a href="http://www.medreviews.com/pdfs/articles/RIU_5suppl1_s34.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.medreviews.com/pdfs/articles/RIU_5suppl1_s34.pdf</a><br>

The study seemed to discuss adroderm and not androgel. It mentioned androgel, but then went on to compare testim to androderm. I am also wonder if how much a man masterbates is effected by low testosterone. Should I be concerned if he is materbating to internet porn about every other day from what I can tell...but still has no desire to be with me physically? I am just looking for answers. He has always materbated while we have been together. Could that be effecting the results of the drug as far as him wanting to be with me physically??

If your boyfriend is masturbating every day, he has plenty of libido/sex drive (and probably doesn't even need additional testosterone.) You seem to have more of a psychological issue going on here. Common sense suggests that something is not right here. Would he go to a therapist or marriage counselor with you? <br>

I don't think that he would be open to that he does not think that looking at porn on the internet and masterbating says anything about "us". He says he just does it when he is bored. I agree with you though. He loves me and I know that. I just am tying to sort things out. Find out what is going on and if I can be part of it or even attempt to fix it or help fix it.