How closely do you help monitor blood tests with the patient?

AlphaMD's Answer

In general, a licensed provider orders blood tests for all new patients or accepts recent lab work in place of that. If they're an established TRT patient & can provide proof of previous testing or current treatment, the provider can accept that as well. (If a current TRT patient gets tested, their levels are just going to be high/normal.)

After the initial testing, the provider overseeing your care adjusts re-testing needs based on dosing & symptoms. As long as someone is under 200mg/week Testosterone as a treatment and they're feeling good, frequent testing typically isn't required. This is due to 200mg/week or below being the generally safe treatment area due to precedent with the DEA & how well most patients do at this number. Providers may check as needed after that, but it's per patient.

Once a patient moves above 200mg/week, that's considered "experimental" by the DEA standards. Since Testosterone is a controlled substance, providers want to make sure they stay right by those standards & keep patients safe. As doses go up, the frequency and depth of required testing increases. Things like Estrogen, Cholesterol, CBCs, hematocrits, etc are things a provider would want to take looks at.