18Y/O on TRT. Brain Fog, Low Libido, Fatigue. Could Use Some Help

Pharma TRT
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Well shit. I guess I inject myself every morning I don’t see why not take one more tab. I’ve just had an odd gut feeling to avoid thyroid meds. I agree something is up with my thyroid… the best I’ve felt on TRT was the first two weeks of an Iodine replenishment protocol, taking iodine, vit-c, selenium, and megadosing tyrosine. I was beginning to think that too much testosterone dosage may be dragging my thyroid function. I don’t think there would be any harm in picking up the script and trying it for a few days. I would know if thyroid meds were working for me within a day or two, correct?

My script is for Nature Throid btw. Just curious, is this (or some other NDT) what you take? How soon did you notice the effects?

Also, thank you for sharing your experience. Sounds like I have the same symptoms you’d had.

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I really think the issue is to do with my Thyroid, and enackers has made a convincing argument for this. Again, the best I’ve felt thus far on TRT was during iodine replenishment with the same protocol I use now. Do you have any advice for me in this regard? Should I try thyroid meds for a while before committing to lowering my dose and dealing with some more symptoms for a few weeks?

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Armor thyroid is what I take. We up our dose until our fatigue goes away. That’s if labs show a need. You can do 1 grain am and better do another 8 hours later. After a while if that puts a dent in the fatigue you can add more if it’s not 100%, do 2 am and 1 pm. If you still have issues when waking up you can do 2 am and pm. I’m on 2 and 2 feel fantastic. I can’t explain how great thyroid makes me
feel.

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I didn’t see your thyroid levels but stopthethyroidmadness (dot) com has all the info about thyroid you could need as well as what to take and how much. Check it out

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So I picked up the NDT and have been taking 1/2 grain per day as prescribed. Day one I tried to have sex with no luck, even with Cialis. This was a little worrying as, with cialis, I haven’t had erection problems for the past month. Today is day 2. I didn’t sleep too well last night and probably totaled 3 hours of sleep. Even though I slept so little, I have more energy this morning walking to class than I would’ve had a week ago after getting 9 hours of sleep. I recognize this energy from a while ago when iodine replenishment was going really well.

I think these meds will turn out to be in my best interest, but do any of you have a possible explanation for that ED yesterday? Should I be worried? Could it be my body just getting used to the meds? Very weak libido and little sensitivity last night. I may skip my AI dose today because of that.

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It’s way too soon to be noticing anything, sure some are sensitive, but it can takes months for some to actually feel the effects of thyroid medicine. Then you have people respond poorly to a particular thyroid medicine for whatever reason.

It’s no different than TRT, you have fast responders and slow ones.

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That’s what I was thinking. I’ve just read online about people noticing effects almost immediately. I will say I definitely noticed fatigue has gone. A fatigue I didn’t even realize I had because I’d grown so used to it. I can woke up in the morning this morning and took my thyroid medication and didn’t need a nap mid day or anything. Energy was consistent throughout the day. I’m very hopeful in this medicine though. I haven’t noticed anything negative from it thus far. I’ll keep checking in as the week goes on. I’m prescribed 1/2 grain for first week and 1grain ED following that. I’m going to email my doctor tomorrow to ask to Up the dose. Today I took a full grain (1/2 morning 1/2 mid-afternoon) and have had consistent energy, but not like a stimulant where it would keep me up at night. Tomorrow I’m going to take a full grain in the morning and see how I feel throughout the day.

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@beak118 how are things going with your thyroid? Following this thread closely because I am in the same boat…

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The NDT was great for about a week. That ED I experienced early On was from E2 dipping too low. After starting the NDT, I cut my AI dose in half and haven’t had any high e2 troubles.

The benefits I first noticed are gone, I think it’s due to my thyroid slowing down and getting adjusted to the meds. I’m taking 1.5 grains a day, which my doctor is saying is the max dose I can take, but I’m going to try to get more.

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Do you still have low libido and ED even on 1.5 grains? You probably need to be on 2-3 grains to really see all the benefits.

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That’s the thyroid meds. You need to take it twice a day. 8 am and 4pm or 2 or 3pm. Not a big deal.

Half a grain is weak sauce. But stick to it. In 1-2 weeks raise that dose to 1am and 1pm.

You will have issues sleeping for a few days but it will go away: today’s Saturday so by Monday I hope you feel better.

This energy and focus is thyroid. I love it.

Take melatonin at night time. Add 1 pill until it helps you sleep. Melatonin has its own properties to help your body.

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I take 2 grains your docs not very experienced.

get off the AI. You won’t have high estrogen symtoms. The only symptoms you’ll have his hormonal symptoms All men get when they start trt. It takes time for the body to adapt. Maybe the receptors aren’t accepting of all the hormones and it’s passed into the body as a toxin and overtime as more receptors volume is available the more is absorbed. If that’s the right terminology. You can find Scott howells video on YouTube about androgen receptors

I created a post about estrogen and it’s a long ass post. It was locked due to lots of arguing, but it shows both sides of the argument. You have guys who say don’t take ai or control estrogen at all. Lots of great info coming from that group. Lots of great info that can be backed up with logic. Then you have a group that’s the same but they aren’t sure if high e2 is harmful in the long run or not; but they agree 99% of men will never need an ai:

Then you have guys who think estrogen symptoms are real and e2 is harmful. What studies did they post? Of sick men with diabetes ; obese, and dog and rat studies. Nothing that pertains to Trt and men.

Until then there’s not much we can do it you stay with this ai junk.

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Your thyroid half life is about 8 hours brother. Take it am and pm like I do.

I take 2 grains am and Pm. By the time I wake up I feel much better because I still have meds in the body. Where previously on 1 grain I felt like death in am.

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There are statements being made by your doctor that suggests he is the wrong choice to manage your thyroid treatment. You need to find a more knowledgeable doctor so you are not left to stumble in the dark.

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@anon8512651 I’m pretty confident that that libido deal was a case-basis thing. My guess is that starting the thyroid meds sped up my metabolism, which meant that I didn’t need as much AI to halt E2 conversion because E2 was being filtered out faster, resulting in low E2. You can find this same info online, but my personal experience with low E2 involves zero penis sensitivity. Its as if all the nerves on your dick shut off. And that’s how I felt that one night.
Was like I wasn’t even having sex. I wouldn’t go into this much detail about my personal life if this forum weren’t anonymous, but I stopped taking AI for a few days after the ED incident to allow my E2 to recover. Sensitivity in my penis came back immediately and I didn’t have problems with it since (was REALLY sensitive, finished in like a minute). Completely uneducated hypothesis though. Regardless, my libido hasn’t improved greatly so far on 1.5 grains but I haven’t run into any similar issues as that first night and have been getting by fine with the help of some Cialis. The thing with my libido this whole TRT process, though, has been weird. I don’t really feel strongly aroused ever throughout the day, but then when the time comes and I’m with a girl, I have a very strong libido. Cialis, even though its non-hormonal, has led to some random spontaneous erections just from random shit grazing my pants, and then while I’m erect I have a pretty strong libido, interestingly.

@enackers Do you take 4 grains a day, 2 in am and 2 in pm? or 1 am 1 pm? I just emailed my doctor asking why there is a max dose and, if thyroid labs in a week or two showed it to be safe, if I could increase my dose further. I’ve had no trouble sleeping so far. The benefits I first noticed have weakened significantly, but the first couple days on NDT I felt great. I felt my own age again. I could get out of bed. I had a good clean energy. I used to take a bunch of caffeine to get spark myself up, but with the NDT I had a clean energy all day. I wouldn’t compare it to a stimulant, though, because I had no trouble going to sleep at night. Overall, felt very healthy at first. Now, things are returning to normal slowly, but I feel that with a higher dose, I’ll be good to go.

Regarding the AI, I’ve already cut the dose in half. If I can get more NDT from my doc, I’ll drop the AI completely. If not, I’ll drop the AI and lower test dose a bit. I haven’t had the chance to check out your thread about estrogen, but I’ve heard all about its huge role in libido, positively and negatively, and I agree that AI’s really shouldn’t be used. I’ve learned a lot about this recently and have just been very hesitant to drop as, previously, with high E2, I just went nuts.

@systemlord I’ve pretty much known since day 1 that this doctor wasn’t the most knowledgeable at all on any kind of hormone replacement therapy. A year ago when I started TRT, I was desperate for symptom relief, and he was the first option available to prescribe. I’ve just stuck with him since then since he’ll write a script for just about anything I ask for and his fees are dirt cheap compared to any other place I’ve looked at.

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I think you are right on that to be honest, makes complete sense. Curiously, do you have a varicocele on your testicle(s)?

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This sounds normal to me.

I also think once you drop the AI and give it a couple months , your libido and everything else will improve

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What you do is absolutely insane at your age. Completely irresponsible doc who puts you on TRT with a single T test. AI usage and self administration of thyroid hormones with dosing based on grains is a terrible way to start into your 20s.

You are setting yourself up for a dangerous ride.

1 Like
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He should definitely watch this pubmed video. Very informative for when he enters the danger zone

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I think so. I’ve never got it confirmed with a doctor, but I have a visibly noticeable collection of veins on my left testicle. I’ve never gotten pain or anything from it, but its there and I can see it if I take a look. Do you ask because we are in similar situations, including both having a varicocele? Or have u seen any improvement from getting one removed?