How Does Compound Medications Work for Men’s Health?

One of the most well-loved advantages of compounding Pharmacy is their sheer variety. This variety extends not only to the different medications you can have customized but to the different healthcare-related fields as well. Men’s health is undoubtedly one of the few where compounding as a whole is gaining traction as evidenced by the prevalent popularity of personalized hormone replacement therapy centering on testosterone and other health issues that affect men regardless of their age. 

Continue reading to know how these medications play their pivotal role and why they’ve proven to be indispensable in treating male health issues.

Male Health Issues that Compounding Pharmacies Can Effectively and Easily Address

Sex-related conditions usually go together with age-related ones. If we’re going to point out the conditions that encompass both, we don’t need to look further than hormone-related ailments. Hormonal imbalances alone can bring about a slew of symptoms in men, especially if it’s concerned with their main sex hormone, testosterone.

Its symptoms can lead to decreased energy levels, depression, loss of libido, lowered strength and muscle mass, insomnia, erectile dysfunction, and heart disease. Even now, the latter is the number-one health issue that most men have next only to cancer. 

Clinically, the formal condition ascribed to males who can’t produce enough natural testosterone is hypogonadism.

Regarding Testosterone Hormone Replacement Therapy

When we mention hormone replacement therapy, especially in compounding pharmacy circles, it often carries the ready connotation of being concerned mostly with addressing menopause. Well, there’s definitely a male version of it, and its treatment route is often no different from the female version.

In most cases, compounding pharmacies will offer either synthetic testosterone or bioidentical testosterone. A few pharmacies will claim that the latter is better in that it’s a more “natural” approach to treating testosterone deficiencies. 

True enough, there are studies that do prove that bioidentical hormones tend to produce less or even zero side effects because they’re readily recognized by the body. However, there’s also research that underscores the fact that the benefits of bioidentical hormones are marginal and no different from synthetic hormones. 

What Are the Most Commonly Compounded Medications for Men?

Naturally, the issues are mostly related to testosterone imbalances, so you’ll come across many men relying on testosterone supplementation for their needs.

Testosterone Creams and Gels

Instead of testosterone pills, they’ll be able to take their needed doses via testosterone creams (or T creams, in short) and gels. 

Of course, the dose will always be based on the individual needs of the person. The T creams will usually need to be applied daily and the patient should wait for it to dry to ensure optimal absorption of the topical solution. Some men report subpar results if they immediately wash the area they applied the cream on, after all. 

Obviously, that’s one downside of topical application. Still, topical supplementation of testosterone has been extensively studied, with one study highlighting the marked improvements in energy levels (by up to 75%) and sex drive (by up to 70%) by hypogonadal men who underwent the said treatment in a controlled environment. 

Injectable Testosterone

Another compounding pharmacy route that men can take is by injecting the exact testosterone levels that their body needs. These carry the advantage of being the quickest way for testosterone levels to be boosted in men, allowing them to enjoy symptom relief and the positive effects quicker. 

Another advantage is you often wouldn’t have to worry whether the supplemented dose was absorbed or not. People also don’t have to apply them regularly. In some cases, you can even just inject testosterone only once a month, and you can still enjoy the same benefits as traditional capsules taken daily! Lastly, they can be self-administered at home. 

However, these also have their own disadvantages. For one, they may produce serious side effects in men because they’re harder for the body to metabolize, especially in older males

Compounded Testosterone Pills and Capsules

Men may also consider compounding the oral medications they take. Again, the main benefit behind going this route is that these pills and capsules can be formulated based on the personalized dose that the individual requires. Not only that but they can also determine whether the medication’s effect will be slow-release or close to instantaneous.

How Are Compounded Medications for Men’s Health More Advantageous than Standard Treatment Options?

• Besides the perks of the different forms of testosterone supplementation that we have mentioned above, we also can’t deny the following facts when comparing relying on compounding pharmacies over more traditional pharmacies. 
• The most obvious is the personalization facet of compounding solutions as a whole. You’ll only be taking testosterone doses that will be guaranteed to be safe and non-toxic to you. Since you’ll be taking the exact dose, it saves you plenty of time and effort, too.
• Most men report having shortages of testosterone injections, capsules, and patches in their local pharmacies. In such cases, compounding pharmacies are the only way they can make sure that their treatment course won’t be interrupted. 
• Some testosterone patches simply don’t work on certain individuals or can bring about a lot of adverse effects to the point that they overshadow any advantage they provide.
• Men will have more control over how they medicate themselves. Usually, testosterone supplementation is a long-term (if not a life-long) process. Being able to get as much freedom as possible in how you treat your condition can be empowering.
• Just ask a lot of men out there, and they can attest that having their testosterone supplements compounded has allowed them to save a lot of money in the process.
• Compounding pharmacy often prioritize the convenience of their clients to the point that they make it easy to refill prescriptions through online orders and offer home deliveries

Bay Life compounding Pharmacy

There’s no replacing the value of a standard compounding pharmacy in providing potent remedies to conditions that typically affect men. Its approach is often holistic and targeted at the same time, as a result of the innate versatility of its solutions. At least, we at Bay Life can say as much for the ones we offer to our male clients.