I'm thinking of trying a testosterone booster but I want to know if any of you had any luck with them before buying.
Any natural hormone booster that's available unregulated or over the counter will not have strong significant masculinizing effects. DHEA is the strongest out there, but even it is very weak and has barely-noticeable effects in only a fraction of people who try it. Anything that actually boosts T noticeably enough to produce masculinizing effects is either already a controlled substance or dead certain to become one soon.
That being said, there's a slight possibility of mood improvements, maybe some slight improvement in your muscle building capacity or energy, or a slight increase in sex drive, from a small boost in T levels. If you're confident enough about the safety of the substance, might as well try it to see if you like it.
There's also some reported side effects of tribulus terrestris - even though it's available over the counter. That combined with the fact the "natural" does cause that many noticeable effects might not be worth it.
A bit of wikipedia research:
QuoteT. terrestris has consistently failed to increase testosterone levels in controlled studies.[8][9][10] It has also failed to demonstrate strength-enhancing properties.[11] However, many supplement brands claim effects of products that combine various herbs with T. terrestris.
Tribulus has been shown to enhance sexual behaviour in an animal model.[12] It appears to do so by stimulating androgen receptors in the brain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribulus_terrestris (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribulus_terrestris)
Looks like it's not really a testosterone-booster - it just stimulates androgen receptors in the brain. In other words, you might get some of the mental/emotional effects of increased T, but not physical ones. Up to you whether that's worth the possible side effects IOTO mentioned.
Some 'pro hormone' OTC products (not talking about Tribulus here) do have an effect to an extent. however a lot of them convert to estrogen very easily and with many side effects are noticeable.
In my opinion a lot of the OTC supps are far more dangerous than the actual drugs since they are unregulated...
I bought it and I've been using it for almost 2 weeks now. I'm stacking with ZMA. I'm experiencing some acne and increased energy but I can't tell if it's because of the ZMA, the tribulus or both :P
The ZMA would help your skin if anything.....it is the Trib that is causing acne
One problem I noticed with DHEA was that after a while of taking it, my DHEA levels actually went down (by half!)
I attempted "natural transition" using TT and had a ton of negative side effects. I didn't really feel any sort of changes, it might have had a placebo effect with my confidence (as if I was doing something to improve myself).
Could someone please explain the negative side affects? Thanks.
Quote from: Andy on January 03, 2011, 09:29:24 AM
Could someone please explain the negative side affects? Thanks.
Apart from acne as has already been reported. I have known bodybuilders develop gynocomastia from it's use (increased breast tissue) not something F to M's would desire! This means that it also has estrogenic effects which is common with herbal and pro hormone substances....they readily aromatize to estrogen (convert via the aromataze enzyme).
Behavioral changes and brain disturbances have also been linked to Trib.