How to Lower estrogen in men on Testosterone Replacement Therapy / TRT

One of the most common side effects of testosterone replacement therapy is high estrogen levels. Men on TRT who experience elevated estrogen levels may experience high estradiol side effects. This is one of the most common side effects of taking testosterone replacement therapy. Lowering estrogen or estradiol levels in men is also one of the most controversial topics in TRT due to the medicines used to help lower the estrogen levels in men.

High Estrogen Estradiol E2 Side Effects on TRT

Some of the symptoms that men report experiencing when they start TRT and their estrogen levels become elevated are listed below.

• Increased Water Weight
• Bloating
• Fatigue
• Lower Libido
• Erectile Dysfunction
• Moodiness
• Irritability
• Gyno / Gynecomastia

Why does Testosterone Replacement Therapy Raise Estrogen Levels in men on TRT?

For men who are experiencing negative side effects from having too high estrogen levels, the most common treatment provided by doctors and TRT clinics are Aromatase Inhibitors. These prescription medicines essentially inhibit the additional testosterone from converting to estrogen through a biological process called Aromatization. The process of Aromatizing testosterone to estrogen typically takes place in fat cells. This is why it is very common for men who have more fat cells to aromatize more testosterone and have higher estrogen levels on Testosterone Replacement Therapy. With that being said, The aromatization process does take place in other tissues in the body. So even men with lower body fat percentages can still experience high estrogen or estradiol levels while taking testosterone replacement therapy.

Using Aromatase Inhibitors to lower Estrogen, Estradiol, E2 in men on TRT

The most common medicines prescribed by doctors and TRT clinics to help men lower the estrogen levels in their blood serum are called Aromatase Inhibitors. The most common Aromatase Inhibitors prescribe to men on TRT are Anastrozole commonly known as Arimidex and Exemestane commonly known as Aromasin.

While both of these medicines work in different ways, they essential solve the same problem which is to lower the amount of testosterone that can convert into estrogen and produce negative High estrogen side effects in the man.

Aromatase Inhibitors were originally created to treat women with breast cancer. In certain types of breast cancer, Estrogen helps feed the cancer cells. The Aromatase Inhibitors (Arimidex and Aromasin) are designed to essentially remove almost all of the estrogen from the female patients body to essentially starve the breast cancer.

While these Estrogen Blocking medicines were very effective at what they were designed to do, they are not without side effects. Aromatase Inhibitors side effects can be pretty serious and have negative side effects in the body. But when cancer is the only other option, these side effects may not seem as bad.

But when cancer is not present like for men simply taking testosterones replacement therapy to raise testosterone levels, are the side effects of Aromatase Inhibitors worth their estrogen lowering benefits?

Are Aromatase Inhibitors safe for men on TRT Long Term? Long Term Side Effects of AI on TRT?

As you may have guessed, medicines that were designed to essentially wipe out almost all of the estrogen from someone's body comes with some serious side effects both short and long term. While men on testosterone replacement therapy are typically taking much smaller doses of Aromatase Inhibitors commonly known as AI (Arimidex & Aromasin.) They also don't have cancer that needs to be starved of estrogen. So these powerful medicines can have drastic effects if a patient takes too much.

Short Term Effects of Aromatase Inhibitors

In general these symptoms occur when a man either takes or is prescribed a larger then needed amount of Arimidex of Aromasin by a clueless doctor. When a man takes too much of either of these medicines the effect is the same as a female looking to eradicate estrogen levels. The mans estrogen levels will basically crash and he will experience what are commonly know as Low Estrogen Symptoms.

Long Term Effects of Aromatase Inhibitors

While women with breast cancer take larger dosages of these estrogen lowering levels, they typically only take them for a few years at a time. Typically a year or two once the cancer has gone away. So at most women are usually taking these medications for 3-5 years. But men on TRT may end up taking these medicines for 50-60 years depending on when they start taking testosterone replacement therapy.

Unfortunately there are no long term studies on Arimidex or Aromasin in men. So we have no idea what 50 years of taking an aromatase inhibitor looks like in terms of health.

But two things do stand out in terms of long term side effects that can be seen with short term and mid term use. Lower bone density and a negative effect on  lipid profiles. Both of these side effects have been seen in men and women using Aromatase Inhibitors.

Bone density loss was one of the main negative side effects for women taking these medicines for breast cancer. This is an especially bad side effect for women who typically lose more bone in older age. So this is kind of a double whammy for women.

One thing that is different in men taking Arimidex to control estrogen on TRT, is that they are taking testosterone which in general helps to increase bone density over time. Is the testosterone able to completely counter act the loss of bone density that may occur from taking Arimidex for long periods of time? We simply done know.

The negative effect on Lipid profiles AKA cholesterol is much more concerning for men who are taking this estrogen lowering medicine because they are on TRT. Testosterone Replacement Therapy has a similar negative effect, though seemingly less negative than AI's. But taking testosterone still has a negative effect on both HDL and LDL cholesterol. Testosterone typically lowers HDL (Good Cholesterol) and raise LDL (Bad Cholesterol.) It can also spike Triglycerides in the first few months to a year for some men.

The combination of the testosterone and AI medicines like Arimidex and Aromasin on cholesterol are definitely not an ideal combo when it comes to something like cardio vascular health.

This is why we recommend trying to lower your weekly testosterone dosage to a point where an AI is not needed to help manage estrogen levels. If necessary we recommend trying the natural estrogen management supplement No AI.

Crashed Estrogen Symptoms from Aromatase Inhibitors - Arimidex & Aromasin

Just like most things in life, there is almost always too much or not enough. This is the case with most hormones in the body. With both testosterone and estrogen not enough and too much both come with certain side effects.

In this case we are discussing the side effects and symptoms that happen when a man crashes his estrogen using Arimidex or Aromasin. They have gone from possibly having too much estrogen in their body to definitely not having enough.

This happens to way too many guys when they are starting out on TRT or it is their first time using Aromatase inhibitors. Both Arimidex and Aromasin are extremely powerful at reducing estrogen levels. So if you happen to take a little too much or way too much, your estrogen levels are going to be very low.

Low Estrogen Side Effects and Symptoms for men on Testosterone Replacement Therapy

Interestingly enough, the side effects of low estrogen in men is very similar to the side effects of high estrogen caused by TRT, but with a few extra bonuses.

Some of the common side effects of both low and high estrogen are listed below.

• Fatigue
• Lower Libido
• Erectile Dysfunction
• Moodiness
• Irritability

Some additional side effects of having low or crashed estrogen that don't typically occur with higher estrogen levels are.

• Dry and Achy Joints
• Brittle Hair and Nails
• Muscle Soreness

Some of these side effects are stronger with lower estrogen when compared to high estrogen. So sometimes guys make their situation even worse and even feel worse after they have crashed their estrogen trying to avoid the side effects of high estrogen.

This is the cat and mouse game of trying to manage estrogen levels on TRT by using extremely powerful medicines used to eradicate estrogen in women with breast cancer.

Obviously taking breast cancer medicine once or twice a week for the rest of your life is not ideal if it could be avoided. But what other options are out there to help manage estrogen levels in men on TRT?

Natural Aromatase Inhibitor Alternatives for Men on TRT

Many doctors and TRT clinics that prescribe testosterone replacement therapy are so caught up in the pharmaceutical medicine scene, that they forgot about an extremely important source of remedies and treatments. Mother Nature!

There are actually a handful of natural supplements that can help with estrogen management in both men and women.

Some of these natural compounds help manage estrogen by helping the body metabolize estrogen faster, Helping to get rid of some of the nastier forms of estrogen and estrogen by products and some of them are natural aromatase inhibitors.

We will be covering all four of these natural estrogen management supplements in this article. 

Natural Estrogen Management Supplement for Men on TRT

Click on the link If you want to briefly read about each supplement and see the formula for the No AI Natural Estrogen Management Supplement No AI was designed to be the most powerful combination supplement to help men on TRT to be able to manage their estrogen levels without using powerful cancer medication and experience some of the positive health benefits that each of the individual estrogen management supplements have been show to help with in studies.