• Physician Supervised · Labs First
Low energy is a symptom. Let's find out of what.
Side Health provides physician supervised hormone replacement therapy for men, including testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). We start with comprehensive lab work, not a checkout page. If your levels are normal, we will tell you, and we will keep looking for the real cause.
No prescription without labs
Two morning draws before diagnosis
The full panel is listed further down this page. Nothing gets prescribed until your clinician has read all of it.
— Symptom check
The symptoms men usually write off.
Persistent fatigue that sleep does not fix
Erectile difficulty
Gaining fat around the midsection
Low mood or flat motivation
Poor sleep
Low sex drive
Losing muscle despite training
Irritability or a shorter fuse
Trouble concentrating
Reduced strength or endurance
Any one of these has a dozen possible causes. Several of them together, in a man over 35, is worth testing for.
— Where we stand
We are not a testosterone vending machine.
Plenty of online clinics will prescribe testosterone after a two minute questionnaire. That is not medicine, and it is not safe.
A real diagnosis of low testosterone requires two things: symptoms that match, and confirmed low levels on blood work, drawn in the morning, on more than one occasion. Levels swing throughout the day, so one afternoon draw proves very little.
Testosterone therapy also has real consequences. It can raise your red blood cell count, affect your prostate, and it can suppress your own production and your fertility. Those are manageable with monitoring, and they are not manageable without it.
If your labs come back normal, we will say so, and we will keep working the problem. Fatigue and low libido come from thyroid disease, sleep apnea, depression, medication side effects, anemia, and metabolic disease at least as often as from low testosterone.
— The lab panel
What we test before we prescribe testosterone replacement therapy.
Thirteen markers, drawn in the morning. Read together, they tell us whether TRT is the answer or a distraction.
Total testosterone
Free testosterone
SHBG
Estradiol
LH and FSH
Prolactin
Hematocrit & CBC
Complete blood count
PSA Men over 40
Comprehensive metabolic panel
Lipid panel
Hemoglobin A1C
TSH & thyroid function
Vitamin D
Confirm full panel
Every one of these tells us something. LH and FSH tell us whether the problem is in the testes or the pituitary. SHBG tells us how much of your testosterone is actually available. Thyroid and A1C catch the conditions that mimic low testosterone. Hematocrit and PSA establish the baseline we monitor against.
— Treatment options
Treatment built around your labs and your life.
Injections
The most common and typically the most cost effective option. Self administered at home, weekly or twice weekly depending on your protocol.
Topicals
Daily gel or cream. Steadier levels, no needles, with precautions around transfer to others in your household.
Fertility preserving options
If you plan to have children, testosterone alone may not be the right choice. Medications that stimulate your own production can be a better fit. We raise this before you start, not after.
Supporting medications
Estrogen management and other adjuncts where your labs indicate a need.
Non hormonal approaches
Sleep, body composition, alcohol, training, and medication review. Sometimes these move your numbers on their own.
— How it Works
Five steps, and two of them happen before any prescription.
1
Intake
Symptoms, history, medications, and goals.
2
Labs
Morning draw at a lab near you, or we can arrange a phlebotomist to come to your home.
3
Consult
Your clinician reviews your results with you line by line and tells you what they mean.
4
Plan
If treatment is appropriate, you start on a dose calibrated to you. If it is not, you get a different plan.
5
Recheck and adjust
Follow up labs and visits, then ongoing every three to six months.
— Monitoring and safety
Five steps, and two of them happen before any prescription.
Men on testosterone therapy need regular lab work, permanently. We recheck testosterone to confirm you are in range based on your personalized needs, check hematocrit to catch red blood cell elevation, PSA to monitor prostate health, and estradiol to manage conversion. We also monitor blood pressure, since testosterone products can raise it.
If a program does not require this of you, that is a warning sign about the program.
What we recheck, and why
Testosterone — confirm you are in range for you, not for an average
Hematocrit — catch red blood cell elevation early
PSA — monitor prostate health against your baseline
Estradiol — manage conversion
Blood pressure — testosterone products can raise it
— The wider picture
Testosterone is one piece of it.
Side Health treats men's health as a whole rather than as a single number. The same visit that addresses your hormones can address your blood pressure, your metabolic risk, your weight, and your sleep, because those systems are connected and treating one in isolation rarely works.
Obesity Management
Remote Patient Monitoring
Functional Medicine
Sleep Apnea
— Straight answers
TRT questions we get asked most.
What testosterone level is considered low?
Most guidelines use a total testosterone below roughly 300 ng/dL on two separate morning draws, alongside matching symptoms. Where you feel best within the range varies, which is why we treat you rather than the number alone.
How long until I feel different?
Libido and mood often shift within weeks. Body composition changes take months. Anyone promising a transformation in days is selling something.
Will this affect my fertility?
It can, significantly. Testosterone therapy suppresses your body's own production, including sperm production. If you want children now or later, tell your clinician at the first visit and we will build the plan around it.
Is TRT the same as steroids?
No. Therapeutic testosterone restores levels to a normal physiologic range under medical supervision. Anabolic steroid abuse uses doses many times higher. Different doses, different purposes, different risks.
Do I have to stay on it forever?
Usually, if you stop, your symptoms return, because the underlying deficiency is still there. Some men do come off with a structured plan. Your clinician will discuss it honestly.
Does insurance cover this?
In most cases, yes.
Do I need to visit an office?
Only for your blood draw, or we can arrange for a phlebotomist to come to you. Visits are virtual.
Get the actual numbers.
Book a consult, or start with lab work and go from there.