r/politics Jul 15 '26

No Paywall Hegseth announces annual testosterone screenings for service members

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5969935-hegseth-testosterone-testing-dod/
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u/Desperate-Till-9228 Jul 15 '26

use of emphetamines by the Nazis

What people always fail to remember is the health affects that came with this. Lot of cardiovascular damage.

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u/Mend1cant Jul 15 '26

And no improvement in combat performance. It was a last ditch effort by a command structure (addicted to drugs themselves) who ran out of soldiers to throw into a meat grinder.

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u/Josh6889 Jul 15 '26

And there's a genetic variety to the response to both the good and the bad effects. There's super responders. There's people that don't respond. There's people that are bald and get back acne and can't make there own testosterone anymore after a year. And there's people that don't have any of the negative effects at all. It's an awful idea that we'd be hearing the health consequences of for a long time.

Then what happens when they get out? When they're used to elevated levels of T and they're suddenly gone. That's a recipe for depression.

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u/Desperate-Till-9228 Jul 15 '26

That's a recipe for depression.

What could go wrong?

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u/Josh6889 Jul 16 '26

Well veterans have a significantly increased risk of the big s, so I'll leave that calculus as an exercise for the reader.

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u/tamman2000 Maine Jul 15 '26

One of the biggest risks of trt is also cardiovascular...

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u/fullsaildan Jul 15 '26

Recent studies show there is absolutely no risk to cardio health from actual testosterone replacement therapy. It also thoroughly debunks much of the “science” the studies that did show heart problems used. There’s a reason the FDA is reducing the label on testosterone.

That said, Hegseth is a fucking idiot.

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u/Desperate-Till-9228 Jul 15 '26

There certainly is risk with amphetamines, however.