How TRT Helped Me Recover After a Near-Deadly Car Crash
- by Mike Lee
- As told to Jordan Smith
- Medically Reviewed by James Staheli, D.O.
- December 13, 2023
Taking the back roads to avoid rush-hour traffic seemed like a great idea. It was 4 p.m., and I was anxious to get to my friend’s house as quickly as possible. I was driving 55 mph as I began to crest one of the last hills on the route.
A driver headed in the opposite direction tried to pass the car in front of him on a double line. He ramped up to 100 mph, came into my lane, and hit my F-150 head-on. I later learned our combined speed was about 160 mph.
I fell unconscious at the impact. I didn’t realize that my truck had caught on fire, and was rolling down the hill. A good Samaritan who had been driving behind me pulled me from my truck. When I came to, I could see that the hood of my truck was on fire and smoking was pouring into the cab.
I was in bad shape. Both of my feet were broken, along with one of my femurs, my back, and all of my ribs. My pelvis broke in three places and my right foot was dislocated. On my left foot, broken toe bones had pierced the skin. My spleen was lacerated and I had some pulmonary embolisms.
I’ll be eternally grateful to the driver who pulled me from my truck and the doctors who saved my life. But in terms of my recovery, I believe the biggest influence was the testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) I had started a few months before the accident.
Starting TRT
In March 2021, about three months before my accident, I saw an ad for Hone on Instagram.
I was 49 at the time and hadn’t felt like myself for a few years. I had been an avid runner, regularly logging three to five miles a day but almost overnight running had become a chore. I had brain fog, and my energy levels had tanked. Watching the video on my social feed, I thought: “holy shit, that’s me.”
I ordered and returned the test, and met with a Hone physician. He told me my testosterone level was 300 ng/dL, well below the average for a guy my age. I started taking testosterone shortly after.
The accident happened about a month later. The TRT had only just begun to work, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it had a positive impact on my recovery from the accident.
My Road To Recovery
I was hospitalized for five weeks after the car accident, During that time I lost over 50 pounds; when I got home from the hospital on June 14, 2021, I weighed 145 pounds. My muscles had atrophied; I wasn’t prepared for how weak I felt.
Over the next few months, I had six surgeries, including a total reconstruction of my left foot, having rods installed in my legs and emergency surgery following an infection.
I believe that the anti-inflammatory effects of TRT helped me bounce back more quickly after each procedure. [Editor’s note: some research shows that testosterone may regulate inflammation.]
I lost so much strength in the hospital that when I got out, I had to learn to walk again. My care team said I wouldn’t walk until the holidays, but I took my first unassisted steps in September. I think that the TRT, combined with the exercises I was doing to build my strength while bedridden helped this.
Checking your T levels is easy with Hone’s at-home assessment. You can knock it out before your AM coffee.
If you have low T, our physicians can help you find your “after.”
I Believe Testosterone Helped Me Heal From My Injuries
Once I was able to start walking, the gains came rapidly. I started doing upper-body strength work with dumbbells. The first day, I was so weak I almost dropped the 10-pound weights. But eventually, my strength-training regime was better than it was before my accident.
Today I am back up to 200 pounds and continuing to recover strong from every surgery and surpass milestones set for me by my healthcare professionals.
I believe that there’s a zero percent chance that my recovery would have been as good as it has been without TRT. I’ve been able to build back muscle faster than anyone anticipated. I have more energy and my mood is generally great, despite all that I went through. My focus has improved—I’m able to really hone in on my exercise and rehab process—and I’m able to sleep better.
If you’re thinking about TRT is, get tested, do your homework on TRT and if your levels are low? Go for it!
Checking your T levels is easy with Hone’s at-home assessment. You can knock it out before your AM coffee.
If you have low T, our physicians can help you find your “after.”
