Short answer: The Depo-Testosterone label lists side effects seen with androgens without giving percentages: breast enlargement, frequent or long erections, acne, oily skin, male-pattern hair loss, fluid retention, nausea, a rise in red blood cells (polycythemia), headache, mood changes, and pain at the injection site. Its warnings cover blood clots, blood pressure, heart risk, liver tumors with long high-dose use, and abuse. It has no boxed warning.
What Depo-Testosterone is approved for: Depo-Testosterone is approved as testosterone replacement in males with symptoms from low or absent natural testosterone due to primary hypogonadism (testicular failure) or hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (a pituitary or hypothalamus cause). The label says safety and effectiveness in men with age-related ("late-onset") hypogonadism have not been established (Indications and Usage).
Source
DEPO-Testosterone (testosterone cypionate) injection, prescribing information. Pfizer (Pharmacia & Upjohn). DailyMed, version published August 20, 2026. DailyMed setid cfbb53d4-b868-4a28-8436-f9112eb01c39
No. The current Depo-Testosterone label has no boxed warning.
These are the label's own numbers from the Adverse Reactions section. Where the label compares with placebo (a dummy treatment), both columns are shown, so you can see how much more often a reaction happened on Depo-Testosterone.
| Body system | Reactions the label lists |
|---|---|
| Endocrine and urogenital | Gynecomastia and excessive frequency and duration of penile erections. Oligospermia may occur at high dosages. |
| Skin and appendages | Hirsutism, male pattern of baldness, seborrhea, and acne. |
| Cardiovascular Disorders | myocardial infarction, stroke. |
| Fluid and electrolyte disturbances | Retention of sodium, chloride, water, potassium, calcium, and inorganic phosphates. |
| Gastrointestinal | Nausea, cholestatic jaundice, alterations in liver function tests, rarely hepatocellular neoplasms and peliosis hepatis. |
| Hematologic | Suppression of clotting factors II, V, VII, and X, bleeding in patients on concomitant anticoagulant therapy, and polycythemia. |
| Nervous system | Increased or decreased libido, headache, anxiety, depression, and generalized paresthesia. |
| Allergic | Hypersensitivity, including skin manifestations and anaphylactoid reactions. |
| Vascular disorders | Venous thromboembolism. |
| Special senses | Rare cases of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). |
| Miscellaneous | Inflammation and pain at the site of intramuscular injection. |
The label says these reactions "have occurred with some androgens" in males. It gives no percentages and no placebo comparison.
Hemoglobin and hematocrit (to detect polycythemia, too many red blood cells) should be checked periodically with long-term use. Serum cholesterol may increase.
Oligospermia (low sperm count) may occur after prolonged use or excessive dosage. If it, priapism or urine blockage from an enlarged prostate appears, the label says the androgen should be stopped and, if restarted, given at a lower dose.
The Warnings and Precautions part of the label lists these. Each line gives the label's heading and what it means in plain words.
Blood clots. Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism have been reported with testosterone products. Leg pain, swelling, warmth or redness, or sudden shortness of breath are checked for clots, and testosterone is stopped if one is suspected.
Heart risk. Long-term trials of heart outcomes have not been done, and studies so far are inconclusive about the risk of heart attack, stroke and heart-related death with testosterone.
Blood pressure. Testosterone can raise blood pressure, which can raise heart risk over time. Blood pressure is checked periodically, and testosterone is not recommended with uncontrolled high blood pressure.
Liver tumors. Long use of high doses of androgens (mainly the oral 17-alpha alkyl type) has been linked to liver adenomas, liver cancer and peliosis hepatis, all potentially life-threatening.
High calcium. Calcium can rise in people who are immobilized; if it does, the drug is stopped.
Prostate in older men. Older men on androgens may have a higher risk of prostate enlargement and prostate cancer, though the label says conclusive evidence is lacking.
Fluid retention. Swelling, with or without heart failure, can be a serious problem in people with existing heart, kidney or liver disease.
Breast enlargement. Gynecomastia may develop and sometimes persists.
Abuse. Testosterone has been abused at doses above those approved, often with other anabolic steroids, which can cause serious heart and mental health problems.
Benzyl alcohol. The preservative benzyl alcohol has been linked to "gasping syndrome" and death in infants. Normal doses deliver much less, but the label flags it.
Teen growth. In young people with delayed puberty, androgens can speed bone maturation and reduce final height, so bone age is checked every 6 months.
Not for athletic performance. The label says it has not been shown to be safe and effective for enhancing athletic performance and should not be used for that.
From the Information for patients (Precautions) that comes with Depo-Testosterone:
Dose Track has a side-effect log. Each entry records the symptom, a severity (none, mild, moderate, severe or life-threatening), the date and an optional note, and can be tied to a specific dose or logged on its own. The history screen shows what you logged over time, which makes it easier to tell your prescriber when a reaction started and whether it is easing. The app records what you enter; it does not judge whether a symptom is serious. For anything on the label's call-your-doctor list, call your doctor.
This page is what the FDA label says, in plain words. It is not medical advice. Follow your prescriber, and ask them or your pharmacist about anything here.