Dec 13, 2025
3 min read
The government refuses to give the hormone to transgender people, but is excited about what it can do for cisgender men.
The problem is, according to experts, no one listens to men.
For too long, it cannot be opened to a raw pot medical call for the reading difference it needs. Or those released this week by the Food and Drug Administration for 4 weeks.They: seized a regulated substance, the property and patients should have access to it in reputable pharmacies.Low testosterone in men is not just a scam - it is an American health crisis.
Experts on an FDA panel on Wednesday presented a unified and often rosy view of testosterone, hailing it as the answer to common ailments men face as they age: weight gain, muscle loss and fatigue.They need more testosterone to prevent disease and premature death, the panel said.Millions of men are at risk of low testosterone and are not tested.
Not all medical experts agree on these sweeping claims, and some criticized the FDA panel for making key references to the dangers of taking testosterone.Regardless, FDA Commissioner Dr.Marty McRae made it clear that the agency is interested in reviewing the current labeling of testosterone as a drug with a high risk of abuse and physical dependence.With that label come restrictions on refills and fines for having them without a prescription.
In the past, transgender rights advocates and House Democrats have asked federal agencies to ease these restrictions.This would make it easier for transgender people to access hormones as part of gender confirmation treatment.
But Wednesday's panel discussion was clear about its unique research into how testosterone improves the health of cisgender men.
“Testosterone therapy is safe, effective and preventative,” said Dr. Helen Bernie, associate professor of urology at Indiana University, where she directs the school's male sexual and reproductive medicine program.
Another expert on the panel — Abe Morgentaler, a fellow at the Blavatnik School of Health and Longevity at Harvard University — lamented that "the demonization of testosterone is a tragedy."
"In what other field of medicine does one hear your patients tell you that they have improved mood, energy, sex - and then you regularly hear, finally, I feel like myself?"said at the FDA panel."said at the FDA panel.
For some transgender men, such statements, coming from an event organized by the Trump Administration, are laughable.The White House has condemned hormone replacement therapy as part of an effort to "eliminate the biological reality of sex.""
But people rely on hormone therapy, some men too.
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“It seems like these officials know very well how important it is for people to have access to simple medications that improve their health and improve their lives,” said Zan Lussier, a 56-year-old man who lives in Washington state.“It's a gender confirmation service for CIS men.”
lssier has been on testosterone since October 1999.Back then, he couldn't go straight to a general practitioner and tell him what he wanted.It took him a while to find a medical specialist who was willing to give him money for the clastostoion and, it was removed from his medical records.
"Welcome to what some of us have been dealing with since the late 1990s," he said."But it's a lot easier for them. There were no 'Hims' commercials in 1999."
Many transmasculine and non-binary people take testosterone to ease the suffering of gender dysphoria, which can cause serious mental health problems.Recently, their access has been threatened due to politics.In late summer, Lussier saw a local clinic stop providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth because of funding threats from the federal government.Clinics across the country followed suit.
At Wednesday's meeting, Shalin Shah, CEO of Marius Pharmaceuticals, said the Department of Health and Human Services should consider testosterone therapy as an important health benefit to reduce barriers to access.The Trump administration recently finalized a rule that would prohibit insurance companies from covering gender-affirming care as an important health benefit—meaning transgender people would have to pay more for the same treatment.
Dr. Alex Doonak, a family medicine physician based in Omaha, Nebraska, often prescribes testosterone to each of his patients. The benefits are always the same in cis and carry over to men, including improved well-being and improved mental and physical health and libido.For men, benefits also include the development of a deep voice, growth of facial hair, and the end of menstruation, which eliminates the stress of sexual dysphoria.
Eliminating the Schedule 3 label for testosterone makes sense, Dworak said.Just as some patients and providers were afraid to use estrogen to treat menopausal symptoms in the early 2000s, a false sense of fear still surrounds its use as a medicine.But while he agreed with the FDA panel's discussion, he wondered who was left out of the conversation.
"If it's legal here, why isn't there anything illegal about gender? If there are cis people left, why is it bad for men?"he said.
The tone is completely different when talking about testosterone for transgenders, DWerak said.The federal government is questioning the legality of gender-based care, a research finding that condemns society.But it's the same drug, he said.
“I was struck by the hypocrisy and contradictions,” he said.
However, not all experts agree on the benefits. Dr.Adriane Fugh-Berman, a professor of pharmacology and physiology at Georgetown University Medical Center, criticized the FDA panel for disclosing the known risks of testosterone treatment for men, including high blood pressure and an increased likelihood of blood clots.
"Panelists claimed that testosterone would prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes and osteoporosis, despite a striking lack of evidence to support these claims," she said in a statement as director of PharmedOut, a research project on the effects of pharmaceutical marketing.Panelists noted that low testosterone is associated with obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, she said — but they failed to mention that these conditions can reduce testosterone levels, not the other way around.
Ashton colby, a 33-year-old trans person living life Columbus, ohio, feels that when he misses his weekly dose of testosterone.In the past, he had to go without it for months because of lack of insurance.He lost muscle mass, his acne returned, his periods returned, and it seriously affected his mental health.He felt myselfs.Gender.
Clibby Primary Care, a newly created nursing home, measures her blood pressure several times a year.The most necessary for him is the same as discrimination.If his levels go down, they increase his waste.For him, there is no difference between the medical care he receives and the things that cause fire.
"You have a productive moment with these people," said Lussier, who lives in Washington State.Most Transgender people who confirm their gender should meet with TMDA specialists, such as dealing with osphematists, including the FDA for TMJ.But they go with them.
"Because, as they say, it's the only way I can feel like myself. Without my opinion," he said.
