TRT Causes Men to Cheat?

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
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Back in 2018, we published this article by Dr. Christopher Senger:

It was a great piece. In a nutshell, Dr. Senger wrote that many men are over-prescribed testosterone at some “aggressive” men’s clinics. They’re quickly put on 200mg of testosterone per week. Most only need half that to bring their testosterone up to a normal healthy level. This causes them to suffer from unwanted side effects: cholesterol issues, water retention, and “potentially life-threatening” hemoglobin issues.

But We Left Out Part of It

As the CCO of T Nation, I have to come clean: we cut a few lines of that article out. Paraphrasing from memory, Dr. Senger suggested that these over-prescribed men, who are now sporting supraphysiological T levels, had a tendency to cheat on their wives or girlfriends. I believe he said that he’d seen marriages fall apart.

I ran this by @TC_Luoma and he agreed that it was a little much, and it distracted from the article’s message, so we edited that bit out.

But I’ve been thinking about the issue ever since.

A Nuanced Take on the Topic

My thoughts: Men in bad marriages who are already “on the verge” of cheating could possibly be pushed over the edge with all that bonus T.

They’d certainly be hornier. Combine that with a frigid spouse who doesn’t like you, add in the attention of a third party who proposes a fling, fuel it with more confidence and a better body, and, well, it could happen.

Ethically, of course, it’s still cheating. You can’t place the blame on 200mg of T or overlook the personal responsibility for ones own actions and choices. Most happily married men would just chase their wives around the kitchen a little more when they have high T and never think of cheating. But what about those men in bad marriages?

Hormone levels (too high or too low) do affect us mentally. They may play a role in the cheating equation. Or maybe not? It’s an interesting thing to ponder. And the “answer” is nuanced, for sure.

What do you think?

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As an aside to this topic, I heard a fitness “influencer” on a podcast talk about her boyfriend cheating on her. His excuse, she said, was that he was taking testosterone (and perhaps other steroids) and his sex drive was just too much for one woman.

Was he driven over the edge by the drugs, or was he just a D-bag making excuses? Hmm…

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maybe. makes you more of what you already were.

if you were already leaning that way, you’ll fall over.

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I think people in bad marriages will find reasons to cheat, whether on TRT or not - I don’t think this is an interesting/uncommon perspective.

I do think that age plays a role here, empirically speaking. If you’ve been married 20-30 years and both are now in your 50’s-60’s, marital relations have probably dropped off significantly - if they happen at all anymore. A lot of this is is probably caused by Menopause and Andropause.

  • Men seem to have a higher likelihood of getting this fixed via TRT - obviously enhancing libido.
  • Women on the other hand seem less likely to pursue correcting their hormones to feel better/increase libido.

So if a husband starts wanting physical intimacy with someone due to TRT increased libido, and his wife isn’t interested/isn’t undergoing HRT - I think there is only so long that this need can go unmet without causing issues.

By no means does this excuse the act of cheating; it is a choice and as adults - we are always in control of our actions. I don’t think it’s setting someone up for success if one partner’s libido is through the roof and the other’s is non-existent. Obviously this is a give-and-take, like all other things in marriage.

Nailed it right here.

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That’s an interesting observation. Hadn’t thought of that aspect of it.

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More testosterone can lead to taking more risk. Most guys aren’t in a position to have an affair without risk (I don’t think).

As you said, if they are leaning that way, they might now be willing to take the risks involved to find someone to cheat with.

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No worries, the T mill will fix this issue easily. Just add on top another 100-200 mg/week of nandrolone. The husband can want it all day long but wont be able to seal the deal. Ok maybe barely.

A little pro tip for the concerned spouse. Deca-Deterrence Method.

Brings new meaning to “feels like Deca”.

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I have been with my wife now for over 10 years an during our tenure I was running far above TRT doses and never had the desire or urge to cheat.

I agree that you must already be leaning that way / just a person that can’t keep their word.

If you are to the point of cheating, why not just break it off and go do what you want? I have never understood this.

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Good point. I forgot about that effect of high(er) T.

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Good question. I relate this to the “death by cop” phenomenon. You know, where someone has suicidal thoughts and just does something to get shot by the police (common trait in mass shooters). From what I’ve read, it’s often women who use the “divorce by cheating” approach vs. just getting out of the unhappy relationship. Not the wisest way to do it of course.

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Ouch!

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Hilarious to see this. How times change. @RT_Nomad 's base test dosing for 8 week cycle (70s-80s) is now supposed standard “TRT” in some circles today. Thanks Youtube and TOT smooth brains. Guys getting programmed on Youtube just like their kids on TikTok.

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Guys want sex, women want the emotional connection.

When either is lacking, grounds for cheating is ripe.

TRT or not.

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The risk is minimal, at first. You’d be surprised at how it starts as a sneaky link. Ends up as Fatal Attraction.

I’ll lay it out.

Fat 40 something me works in an office of 40 something women. I am invisible to them.

A good deal of these women are divorced/separated and bored. perma single and invisible to the dating market outside of pump and dumps. Think posting selfies on insta and making tik toks.

I get on trt. I make use of the trt and totally change my body. which of course totally changes my attitude, ego and confidence. My sweat is now a pheromone.

They begin to compete amongst themselves for my favor and attention. They begin to bring me food. They ask about my wife, to gather intelligence. Next thing I know my afternoon walk, the same walk I’ve taken for years, is no longer alone. She is also meeting me in the morning to walk.

I enjoy this ego boost after being invisible to them and my wife for years.

My work wife and I spend time talking, walking, and connecting in a way that I no longer do with my home wife. I make it clear I’ll never divorce or cheat. My actions say otherwise, my work wife only sees this as a challenge.

My home wife has no clue. She is saying things like what has gotten into you, so passionate lately, she doesn’t know I’m thinking about my work wife.

One day instead of a walk, you take a drive…

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Can’t it be both?

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Possibly! Like a said, nuanced and tricky stuff.

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It makes sense: wife or GF may be able to keep up with low libido of their low-T guy, but once he gets that libido raging again, she has to step up or he may step out.

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I relate this. Although, I think that ego boost is there regardless of the status of the relationship with the wife.

It is actually something I think I kinda struggle with a bit. The need for validation from women. It’s a huge ego boost to have that woman at work be extra flirty with you, or get hit on at a bar or something. Still riding the high from being cat called on Saturday by a couple of women on their deck, they wanted my snapchat.

I think this is where I don’t connect. Perhaps because I am a little younger. Most of the women around my age are in happy relationships. Even the ones I feel are flirty with me. I’d feel weird hanging out with them outside of a group setting. Which is good, and at this point I’d have to probably initiate any sort of 1 on 1 hang out. But perhaps as I get older the women get more aggressive and I have to watch out more? I have noticed older (40s) women are much more forward with me than younger ones.

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Kinda related: Some studies show that when one spouse loses weight and the other doesn’t, it can cause the relationship to fail.

This isn’t always seen as a bad thing because, as the researchers said, a woman who gets fit gains the confidence to leave an already-bad or even abusive relationship. And the weight loss doesn’t cause problems in an already-good relationship.

So it’s weight loss (or high-dose TRT in this case) in the context of many other factors.

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give it time :rofl:

the guy gets fat and/or lazy. few more years of dirty dishes, laundry on the floor, toilet seat up

or something changes in their lives.

absolutely. they are on it. like running out of time aggressive.

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