What happens when you quit doing something? The effect/result usually goes away, right? For instance, if you decide to stop filling your car's gas tank w/gas, eventually it stops running. If you stop eating, the sensation of satiety is replaced by hunger. In the case of stress incontinence, if you stop performing your Kegel exercises regularly, your incontinent episodes return (as many of patients have discovered on their own).
Following that same line of thinking, researchers recently decided to look into whether short-term testosterone supplementation could lead to long-term benefits. Unfortunately, while numerous studies have demonstrated the ability of testosterone to increase muscle mass (peaking at 6 months) and then maintain said gains with continued treatment for up to 3 years, in this situation, all gains in body composition, muscle strength & quality of life resulting from 25-75mg/d of testosterone gel for 6 months were lost by 6 months after cessation.
So what did we learn from this study? That just like many other situations in life, short-term testosterone is not enough to provoke long-term benefit. So if you're going to commit, be ready for the long haul. But let's be clear that long-term testosterone supplementation requires close monitoring by an experienced clinician familiar with all the possible downsides of supraphysiologic testosterone so as to be able to prevent, treat, and mitigate any potential side effects. It's doubtful that you'll receive that kind of care by answering a few questions online in order to obtain a prescription.
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