I thought I was having a midlife crisis. But I was actually running on empty.

My name is Julian Williams. I am 47, I live in Carmarthenshire in South Wales, and before starting TRT I honestly did not recognise myself. I had always been athletic, driven and active. Rugby, the gym and running had always been part of who I was. But by my 40s, I felt like I was drifting through life rather than living it.

I have a demanding job, two children and a family life I wanted to be properly present for. But I was exhausted.

Before and after TRT

Hitting dead ends

The hardest part was not knowing what was wrong. I had daily fatigue, low mood and real difficulty losing weight despite years of trying to diet and train. My weight had climbed from around 15 stone to more than 18 stone. I was still going to the gym three times a week and going for runs but my recovery got worse and nothing seemed to shift.

My wife Helen, my dad Roy, friends and colleagues could all see I was unhappy. But I felt trapped because I did not have an answer. Looking back, I was not lazy. I was depleted.

I told myself it was age. COVID. Working from home too much. Anything except my hormones.

I finally raised it with my GP, including whether it could be linked to a vasectomy I had in 2019, but the focus stayed mainly on weight loss. Blood tests in August 2024 did show low testosterone, but there was no clear route forward and my referral to endocrinology went nowhere.

The turning point

A big emotional turning point came when I reached the age my older brother Jason had been when he died from cancer. His life had been cut short. Mine had not. But I felt like I was wasting mine by drifting from day to day. I knew I could not keep dismissing everything as a midlife crisis or just part of getting older.

In September 2024 I paid privately for a blood test which reconfirmed low testosterone. After a lot of research and reading through reviews, Voy felt like the right fit. Living 50 miles from the nearest clinic, the home visit service removed a major barrier. It saved time, avoided long journeys and made the whole process feel much more accessible.

From the beginning the process with Voy felt clear and structured. They explained what to expect, monitored me properly and helped me understand that TRT was not a magic fix, but it could give me the platform to make real changes.

The changes came faster than I expected

The first thing I noticed was my libido. That was the biggest surprise because I did not even think it was a problem before I started. Within weeks, it changed dramatically.

Then my energy and motivation followed. The afternoon slumps stopped, I stopped reaching for Monster drinks, and I started sleeping better.

Once I had energy again, I could make better choices consistently. I reduced binge eating and alcohol, ate more balanced meals and trained regularly. The weight started coming off, my recovery improved and I began feeling stronger. After six months, I had lost around three stone.

The asthma surprised me most of all. I have had it since I was a teenager. In the last three months I have not needed my inhaler once. That one I genuinely did not see coming.

Three half marathons this year. And two Hyrox events. I had not run a race since before COVID.

I am there for my kids in a way I was not before. I take my daughter to her activities, I keep up with my son at football. I actually have the energy for it now. My son has seen me prioritise my health and has started doing the same. That means a lot.

At work I am achieving more. I manage 30 people and having the focus and drive back makes a genuine difference.

Compared to where I was before TRT, the difference is immeasurable. I cannot see myself stopping TRT now.

Speaking out

I want to talk about this because a lot of men keep things bottled up. I did not tell my friends at first. When I lost weight, people joked about whether I was on fat jabs. But once I explained it was TRT and low testosterone, there was genuine curiosity. Some friends and family have since had their own hormone levels checked.

TRT is not something anyone should start casually and it is not a silver bullet. For me it kick-started the journey. It gave me the energy and confidence to do the work consistently.