Different perspective - Hormones for Orthopedic surgeries...
 

My experience with Testosterone and rHGH is minimal, but I do think Test and hormones have their place medically, when overseen by a competent MD - especially in orthopedic/tendon-to bone surgeries, where a high rate of bone turnover, bone morphogenic protein production and collagen production is required for surgical success. I used both following both my shoulder surgeries (totally off label) while rehabbing (massive tears), under the supervision of my Doc. For me it was a miracle cure.

Contrary to what some people think, not all shoulder surgeries go well even if performed by the most skilled of surgeons, especially if you're beyond 40 years of age, and suffer massive tears (>5cm). Failure rates are as high as 50%
http://www.shoulderdoc.co.uk/article.asp?article=1378

Tendons/muscles just don't heal well when sewn back to bones. The actual healing takes quite some time, especially as you age, and as BMP production and bone turnover declines. To fix a rotator cuff tear, recipient troughs are ground into the top of the humerus where suture anchors are secured to hold the muscle an tendons in place. The healing part is what takes a while, requiring the bone to grow back into the tissue. If your bone turnover is slow, and bone morphogenic protein production and collagen production is low, chances are the surgery won't be a success. That's where Testosterone and rHGH come into play, it augments the process by increasing bone turnover and remodeling. And a plus is that it makes you feel 15 again :D

Below are some interesting studies:

http://shoulder1.com/news/mainstory.cfm/68/6

http://ajsm.highwire.org/content/32/...ports;32/4/934

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8...?dopt=Abstract

http://press.endocrine.org/doi/full/...ndo.139.9.6211

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...-gha120303.php

http://www.meds.com/conrad/acs/burns.html

I have seen the back and forth on this for years, there is always going to be a study that supports or does not support the use of every damn thing in existence. I have cycled through test 6 times over the last 10 years, my blood work is good, I'm healthy, I still run around outside the wire in Afghanistan at 8k feet with ODA's at 47. I believe it works when properly taken, I have known dozens of other men in the same situation with the same outcome. I believe the retarded amount of running I did on active duty will have more long term negative effects than test will. If you are going to use than you should use under a Dr's care, it is more expensive but it's legal. If you do not have a job that requires you to stay in shape then do not use it. If you're unable to get a hard on go to Bogota for a weekend.

What Hacksaw said.

Indeed! Required since 1-1/2 of the boys is still in a ditch in Kajur, Afghanistan.

For those interested, it might be worth trying to raise T levels naturally before going the medical route.
Read about a guy who tried this by changing diet and lifestyle.

Total T went from 383 ng/dL to 778 ng/dL and free T went from 7.2 pg/mL to 14.4 pg/mL in 90 days (4 months later total T was 826.9 ng/dL).
Despite a diet high in saturated fat, his cholesterol levels were excellent, too.

The page won't link, but the article can be found with a google search: art of manliness testosterone

In addition to the stuff he did, I've heard mushrooms and pomegranates have strong aromatase inhibitors in them.
This could be helpful to those carrying excess body fat.

Natural route might not work for everyone.
But, it's certainly a low-risk experiment.

Good read.

I was a heavy drinker until 15 years ago and after I quit I immediately noticed a difference in my energy level. ;) Experimented with Tribulus but found that after I used it for awhile I had to take more and more to get the same results. The side effects are noticeable too.

I agree with the author that Testosterone levels can be raised naturally by loosing weight, exercising more and changing your diet. I'm suprised he didn't mention eating raw oysters because they contain a lot of zinc.

Good to see your mug back here brother

Stop eating soy. You might be surprised how many products contain soy.


LHC

Hear, hear.
Soy oil, soy protein, etc.

It's in everything.
I don't let my 6 and 13 year old boys eat soy products.