[Hylaversicolor]

I am 60 years old and have been using Androgel for a little over a year. Shortly after I started my MD did a blood test and found my level to be back in the normal range, so we left it at that. Now my insurance is changing and I will be paying a LOT more for this treatment. This motivates me to look at any other options.

Several questions have come to mind:

1. Is there any way to stimulate the human body to produce more testosterone itself? Are there any diet or other changes one can make to increase the body's production? There are a lof of crackpot web sites advocating dubious approaches, but are there effective non-pharmaceutical approaches to try? What I have read indicates there are several different causes possible for low testosterone but we did not try to ID the reason for my situation.

2. Why do these various testosterone compounds cost so much--over 250 USD a month? Is it that complex to make? Is there a less costly gel or patch I could switch to?

3. What are the pros and cons of injection instead of transdermal? I can learn to do that myself.

I will soon re-visit my GP to discuss this, so any information you can offer will be useful to me right away. Thanks.

[UroDoc]

Your right there are a lot of websites advertising natural testosterone supplements, some could be potentially dangerous others will cost you money without the results.I would caution you not to go down that road. I have some patients who get injection because their insurance company will pay for that but not the gel, something to check out with your insurance company. In regards to the cost, I have no idea why the pharma's price drugs the way they do. Good luck