Karen,

Some of us "guys" on the forums have had to be put on testosterone replacement therapy after treatment due to some of the side effects of radiation & opiate pain medications. Androderm is a steroid that will help gain weight/lean muscle mass and is readily available by prescription by your GP.

What they will do is test your testosterone levels (normal range is 250-800) and if you are low they'll give you an option of either muscle injections or the dermal patch.

Now there could be several factors to consider if Alex is testing low on his testosterone. First he's just out of treatment and it can take a while for his body to heal on it's own. Heavy pain meds will cause the body to stop or constrain it's natural testosterone production and even after he's been off the pain medications he could still test low until his body adjusts.

Radiation can also damage the hypothalmus and pituitary gland which are responsible for testosterone production in the body but as a man ages his testosterone production will decrease as well.

Before making that decision I would make sure you know what the testosterone tests show because adding a steroid into the mix will have it's drawbacks.

First and foremost if you are introducing a testosterone replacement into your system, your body will stop producing it on it's own. 2nd you'll get ALL of the gifts that come along with adding this hormone to your system.

Andro or any steroid will help put on weight, I packed on 50 lbs in just a few months and looked awesome...BUT I was a hormonal wreck at the same time. Steroids will cause all kinds of emotional issues not just "Roid Rage". Once you start taking a replacement if you ever want to get off of it, it's a process much like getting off of a pain medication and you will go through the withdrawel process.

I'm helping a friend of mine right now who's trying to cope with her husbands testosterone replacement induced mood swings and side effects, they are not pretty.

Personally I've never felt better and I've been off the patches for six months or so. My body iw finally feeling "back to normal" and I'd rather never have to go back to them.

Anyway hope that helps.

Eric