Does Testosterone ever Return after Hormone Therapy?

Hello Seeking Clear Horizons 

Let me say at the start of this reply we are all different and we all react differently to medication.

My original diagnosis was HT for life - reduced by oncology to 3 years - in those 3 years, I had terrible hot sweats (now controlled by Sage Tablets), ED and I put on 3.5 stone.

I came off HT the first time in early December 2024 - testosterone cane back without any help by mid February 2025 and I know it was back and didn't need any test.. In the 3 years on HT i put 3.5 stone on in weight.

Due to an increase in my PSA I am back on HT since October 2025 and testosterone has gone again . As oncology don't want me to put on anymore weight I am on the weight loss jab Ozempic and it's working.

But we are all different - this is just me - I hope this helps.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hi Seeking Clear Horizons , you had your last HT jab in September, so if you were still on HT your next jab would be due in March 26 and therefore I would suggest that you are effectively still on HT until then.  Once you stop (in March) the jab doesn’t instantly stop but tails off slowly so realistically you won’t see much happening until late summer I suspect.  Obviously we are all different and I have seen quoted somewhere that HT can take the same time you were on it, to fully recover.  

Thank you for getting in touch. Your comments are very much appreciated. It makes sense, and helps me put things into perspective.

Thank you for getting in touch. Your comments are very much appreciated. It makes sense, and helps me put things into perspective. You have opened up new understanding for me. Thank you!

It's clear that responses to treatment are as varied as is the disease. 

In 2021-23 I spent c.2 1/2 years on decapeptyl 1/4ly injections before and after standard 20 day EBRT. Yes, as warned, I gained some breast tissue and for the first time a little on the waist line  -  for the first time in nearly 60 years I could no longer wear 30" waist Levis and had to go up to 31"! 

Hot flushes were confined to mild warmth, nearly every evening and nearly always between 21.00 and 22.00!

I continued my c.100 miles cycling per week throughout, if slower.

My libido returned so I assume testosterone recovered.

Unfortunately pronounced recurrent with a vengeance last August. Now on decapeptyl again plus darolutamide and testosterone of course has plummeted. Not yet noticed any weight gain, but definitely increased tiredness and yet slower cycling! And libido to nil!

Plan is doublet HT unto death  -  or when stops working (much the same as far as I'm concerned). So I'm not expecting any return. What it might do to weight over time I know not.

It's all very difficult to generalise or predict.

Somewhat to my surprise there seems to be no correlation between side effects and efficacy.

Good luck, Dave.

The problem with this particular subject is that there is no real answer. In some people testosterone and libido return quickly.

Others very slowly, or even not at all.

Hot flushes tend to fade with time. Let it be said that I have hot flushes but am not especially bothered by them. I have decided not to care about them. Indeed, after some discussion with my chiropractor, who was enquiring about how I was feeling, he suggested that he would view them with joy, because they were an indication that the HT was working, and my cancer was being starved.

When you stop the HT things change. They may change very slowly indeed.

I suspect that much depends on your overall health before, during and after the treatment.

How YOU react to this is something that your body will decide.

One thing did occur to me. I would not know whether, or how far, my testosterone had recovered because I don't know what it was before treatment started. Now I wonder if anyone days. Is this a common check that is done during diagnosis?

Hi Seeking Clear Horizons 

As others above have emphasised, we are all different but here is my experience.

My last HT jab was 23rd October 2024, it was a three month version of Prostap. Like you I was hoping for some improvement in Testosterone by the middle of last summer, the hot flushes to be almost a thing of the past then or soon after and my weight gain to start to go the other way along with a reduction in the erectile disfunction.

NOT SO! Having followed this forum for some time and asked for advice sometimes. I was advised to ask my oncology team to prescribe Tadalafil 5mg which they did in May 2025. As a starting point, the result of a Testosterone test in April showed a figure of <0.4!

Now moving on to this January the hot flushes have diminished considerably but not gone completely, my Testosterone figure is now 13.1 the ED is nearly a thing of the past but I am still struggling to get/keep my weight down. I put the improvement in all of those things down to both time and the Tadalafil which I still take daily.

So no you are not out of the ordinary, all the side effects of HT can last for well over twelve months.

You are welcome to read the protracted diary of my journey in my profile by clicking on my name or avatar above this entry.

Rod

^Steve: "One thing did occur to me. I would not know whether, or how far, my testosterone had recovered because I don't know what it was before treatment started. Now I wonder if anyone days. Is this a common check that is done during diagnosis?"

I certainly do not recall any ref to testosterone levels, nor sight of such readings in bloods, etc, back at time of original treatment. It has now featured in pre- and post- start of double HT treatment. Fell to suboptimal level very quickly  -  too quickly for my liking.

Good luck, Dave.

Hello mstev,

Like you I wasn't aware of my testosterone levels prior to treatment & they haven't been tested for in any of the follow up blood tests I have had since.  Personally I would have thought it a good idea to be something that was tested for as it may help with peace of mind.

Whilst I did lose my libido while on HT  (9 months) I fortunately didn't suffer with any ED, the consultant having told us ''use it or lose it'' 

Best Wishes

Brian

I started HT on Nov 1st and did have testo checked by Oncology before commencing with a few other tests. I certainly was curious before- it happened to be higher than a 20 year by some ranges quoted. Certainly  don't need a test to know it isn't that now.