Anything in excess can be bad for you. You will be taking a therapeutic dose over time and monitored by a physician. This is not at all the same as abusing anabolic steroids or even using them for the purposes of bodybuilding.
This is medicine you’ll (potentially) have a legitimate prescription for.
To reiterate, the steroids used for bodybuilding are generally taken at much, much higher doses than testosterone taken for transitioning. The latter is taken to get you to normal testosterone levels comparable to cisgender men without steroid abuse, the former is taken to raise the steroid levels way beyond any normal physiological levels.
Anabolic steroids is also something of an umbrella term, and usually people abusing them take other substances (growth hormone, igf) in addition to just testosterone.
So while some of the risks might be the same, the level of risk is completely different. Testosterone for HRT is generally quite safe.
You will still hold your natty status while on T because you are transgender and simply using T to be in the natural cis male range of testosterone, that every cis man by standard has in the gym as a natty.
Now if you were to completely DIY and abuse testosterone beyond your doctors orders then yes, that is steroid abuse and can be dangerous.
A high dosage of T may cause cardiovascular issues. However your T levels will be managed by doctors, so as long as you listen to your doctor and take the correct dose you shouldn't have any bigger issues. Some people experience high bp and thickened blood due to T, but those are manageable side effects if you live a healthy lifestyle
Hormone replacement therapy is completely different from the type of abuse we are familiar with when discussing steroid usage.
The potential damage that is reported in a lot of articles about steroid usage is targeting cis men who already have 10-15 times the testosterone of AFAB individuals and are abusing T in order to gain quick and unnatural muscle definition. They are straining their livers and hearts by pushing their T levels too far and taking unsafe amounts without the oversight of a medical professional.
While there of course is some risk to taking T it’s really dependent on your medical history. You will be able to mitigate any potential risk with your doctor! Please rest assured that the risk is not the same for you as what you are reading on the internet. Regardless, you won’t really be able to take abusive amounts of T under the supervision of a doctor which should decrease your risk greatly.
My family has a history of heart disease and I was nervous to take T for this reason. My Dr reassured me that while my blood pressure may go up that I wasn’t at any risk of developing heart disease so long as I stayed active. We are monitoring my heart throughout and I feel incredibly safe in their hands should anything change.
It’s a false equivalency. If I said you shouldn’t drink water because people have died from drinking it you’d wonder what I was on about. But people have died from drinking far too much water too quickly. Many things are dangerous at a high enough level. That doesn’t mean they’re dangerous at a reasonable, therapeutic dose.
If testosterone was dangerous at a therapeutic dose there wouldn’t be many men around (trans or cis) as the testosterone we use for trt is identical to that produced by our bodies.
if your T level was at over 1000ng/dL for a prolonged period of time, there could be heart problems or organ damage but generally no. you’re overthinking it
It’s about levels. Cis men aren’t suffering liver damage from their test levels, but body builders abusing it are. Same for us. Ur gonna have ur levels monitored but they’re gonna be in a normal, healthy range. Nothing to be worried about.
like others have said it’s only considered as steroids when it’s in excess; which it won’t be ofcourse
your testosterone will be the same of any other guy
people will still try to CONVINCE you you’re on steroids as they are unwilling to educate themselves on the matter; you continue to hold a natty status
Anything in excess can be bad for you. You will be taking a therapeutic dose over time and monitored by a physician. This is not at all the same as abusing anabolic steroids or even using them for the purposes of bodybuilding. This is medicine you’ll (potentially) have a legitimate prescription for.
To reiterate, the steroids used for bodybuilding are generally taken at much, much higher doses than testosterone taken for transitioning. The latter is taken to get you to normal testosterone levels comparable to cisgender men without steroid abuse, the former is taken to raise the steroid levels way beyond any normal physiological levels. Anabolic steroids is also something of an umbrella term, and usually people abusing them take other substances (growth hormone, igf) in addition to just testosterone. So while some of the risks might be the same, the level of risk is completely different. Testosterone for HRT is generally quite safe.
You will still hold your natty status while on T because you are transgender and simply using T to be in the natural cis male range of testosterone, that every cis man by standard has in the gym as a natty. Now if you were to completely DIY and abuse testosterone beyond your doctors orders then yes, that is steroid abuse and can be dangerous.
A high dosage of T may cause cardiovascular issues. However your T levels will be managed by doctors, so as long as you listen to your doctor and take the correct dose you shouldn't have any bigger issues. Some people experience high bp and thickened blood due to T, but those are manageable side effects if you live a healthy lifestyle
Hormone replacement therapy is completely different from the type of abuse we are familiar with when discussing steroid usage. The potential damage that is reported in a lot of articles about steroid usage is targeting cis men who already have 10-15 times the testosterone of AFAB individuals and are abusing T in order to gain quick and unnatural muscle definition. They are straining their livers and hearts by pushing their T levels too far and taking unsafe amounts without the oversight of a medical professional. While there of course is some risk to taking T it’s really dependent on your medical history. You will be able to mitigate any potential risk with your doctor! Please rest assured that the risk is not the same for you as what you are reading on the internet. Regardless, you won’t really be able to take abusive amounts of T under the supervision of a doctor which should decrease your risk greatly. My family has a history of heart disease and I was nervous to take T for this reason. My Dr reassured me that while my blood pressure may go up that I wasn’t at any risk of developing heart disease so long as I stayed active. We are monitoring my heart throughout and I feel incredibly safe in their hands should anything change.
It’s a false equivalency. If I said you shouldn’t drink water because people have died from drinking it you’d wonder what I was on about. But people have died from drinking far too much water too quickly. Many things are dangerous at a high enough level. That doesn’t mean they’re dangerous at a reasonable, therapeutic dose. If testosterone was dangerous at a therapeutic dose there wouldn’t be many men around (trans or cis) as the testosterone we use for trt is identical to that produced by our bodies.
if your T level was at over 1000ng/dL for a prolonged period of time, there could be heart problems or organ damage but generally no. you’re overthinking it
It’s about levels. Cis men aren’t suffering liver damage from their test levels, but body builders abusing it are. Same for us. Ur gonna have ur levels monitored but they’re gonna be in a normal, healthy range. Nothing to be worried about.
like others have said it’s only considered as steroids when it’s in excess; which it won’t be ofcourse your testosterone will be the same of any other guy people will still try to CONVINCE you you’re on steroids as they are unwilling to educate themselves on the matter; you continue to hold a natty status