Testosterone Update: Are My Supplements Really Working?
- © Nils Osmar 2025. March 13, 2025
- This post is not intended as, and should not be taken as, medical advice.
- See full Medical Disclaimer
I take a lot of supplements. Recently I’ve started taking breaks from them — then testing — then taking them again and redoing the tests. I was curious if the testosterone boosters I’ve been taking are working, so I did a test recently to find out.
45 days ago
- I tested my T levels 45 days ago (at 10 a.m.), after taking my usual supplements for a couple of months.
- My total testosterone was 741 ug/dL, which is considered high for a man my age (72).
- My free testosterone was 12.4 pg/mL. (The optimal range for free T varies between labs depending on their assay, so can be wildly different between labs; for this lab, optimal would have been between 16-30 pg/mL.
One week ago
- I tested again last week (also at 10 a.m.), after refraining from taking any supplements for a week.
- My free testosterone actually rose a little bit but stayed in the low end of the optimal range. (It may have risen because I’ve been taking some supplements to reduce SHBG levels.)
The next step…
… will be restarting the supplements, then testing again in about a month.
My testosterone boosters
The key supplements I’m taking related to testosterone are:
- DHEA
- Fadogia agrestis
- HMB
- Cistanche
- TMG
- I’ve also recently started taking DIM and saw palmetto and a product called Super Miraforte (but I started them after my January test).
- I take other supplements, but these are the ones on the list above are most clearly associated with testosterone.
Confounding factors
- One confounding factor is that I did not refrain from sexual activity before last month’s test, but I did refrain from sex for the test a week ago. So that may account for part of the difference.
- I may try another in a few months in which I try altering this variable. For now I’m still focusing on changes to the supplement regimen.
What does it all mean?
- My goal is to have the testosterone and free T levels of a young guy.
- I’d be happiest if I could maintain youthful male testosterone levels without any supplements. But when I stop them, my levels do drop.. So it does appear that the supplements are helping.
Not medical advice
This article is not intended as, and should not be taken as, medical advice. I’m not advising that people eat any particular diet or take any particular supplement(s), just reporting on what I’m doing. Supplements, like medications and other interventions, can have side effects; I would encourage people to research both possible benefits and side effects before starting on any supplementation regimen, and consult with a medical professional about any issues which might have a medical component. See full Medical Disclaimer
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