According to recent medical studies, news reports, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) product notices, testosterone products prescribed to treat low testosterone (or low-t) conditions allegedly have some serious health risks and side effects.

Since their introduction into the North American drug market over the past decade, testosterone products including testosterone gels, testosterone creams, patches and even testosterone shots have become popular prescriptions allegedly sought out by middle aged men wanting to mitigate some effects of aging including decreased libido, loss of muscle mass, and fatigue.

However, the issue of safety when using these testosterone products has been called into question by the larger medical community.

As a result of the reports of adverse testosterone product side effects, the FDA convened a committee, which recommended that low-t medications and other testosterone products should undergo more rigorous restrictions.

The FDA testosterone product panel advised that strong distinctions needed to be made between naturally occurring  low-t levels and true hypogonadism conditions.

In this same recommendation, the panel stated that testosterone therapy was only appropriate for men suffering from medical conditions such as pituitary and/or testicular diseases that result in low-t levels.

Patients seeking testosterone products to treat the natural decrease in testosterone that comes with aging should not be on testosterone therapy treatments, according to the FDA panel.

Some physicians have apparently advised men taking testosterone products to treat low-t levels not resulting from pituitary or testicular problems to stop taking the testosterone medication in order to avoid some dangerous side effects, including clots, strokes, and heart attacks.

Testosterone Product Side Effects

A number of testosterone gels, creams, shots, and patches in the American drug market have been heavily marketed toward middle-aged men, allegedly promising to rid them of some natural effects of the aging male body.

The testosterone product manufacturers allegedly promoted their low-t drugs by marketing testosterone therapy as a way to increase libido and energy and maintain muscle mass. However, these same companies may have neglected to inform male consumers of possible, serious testosterone product side effects.

Some serious testosterone product side effects include:

• Blood clot
• Enlarged prostrate
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Death

There have been recent studies reporting that spouses and children of testosterone product consumers can allegedly be injured by secondary exposure to the testosterone hormones.

In response to these reports, the FDA issued a black box warning in 2009 regarding all testosterone product prescriptions. This FDA warning advised men to take into account when using testosterone products that they may be exposing their family to testosterone hormones.

There have been reports of virilization of children allegedly due to secondary exposure to testosterone gels and creams. There have also been reports of fetal damage when pregnant women experienced secondary exposure to testosterone products.

As a result, many individuals and family members have filed testosterone product lawsuits or are pursuing testosterone product class action lawsuits against the makers of these products.