25 and on Androgel

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
1

Hello to all of you and thank you for taking the time to read this.

Background -

I was diagnosed recently as having Lyme Disease for at least 5 years. After going to a 4th doctor (since the previous three had told me that my symptoms were all psychological and I was basically a hypochondriac) about erectile problems, fatigue, lack of focus etc.;

My test results came back that I had Lyme, low T, high cholesterol, low vitamin B, and was a borderline diabetic (which scared the crap out of my because I am not obese). I was then given a serious 5 week course of intravenous antibiotics and told that ALL of these symptoms were due to the severity of my Lyme.

PS My new “shop around” Doctor is great and I would recommend getting checked for Lyme if you have low T at a young age not that its guaranteed to be the case but it is often over looked.

about 3 weeks after the course I have had say 2 morning erections and actually participated in sex with my SHAGF (smoking hot Asian girlfriend) without the use of prescription aids such as Cialis

Now my second round of test results are in and this is where I would like some help.

My T level has dropped even lower and my doctor has prescribed me Androgel. I was all excited about it yesterday when I picked it up, I said to myself; “Here is the cure to my problems!”
After reading around this and other forums I’m a little scared. I don’t want to be on a substance forever I want my levels to return.

Questions-

Can Androgel or Another T replacement regiment raise my levels for a short time, so that, the level is then maintained by my body’s own production rate?

Should I insist on injections rather than gel?

Will I need to use T replacement forever? being that I am 25 this is a prospect I do not look forward to. I know I should have asked more questions of my Doc I was just so excited I didn’t do my homework.

I applied half of a full dose of AndroGel this morning after a shower as per my doctors orders. Maybe I shouldn’t use anymore wait a month and see if my T level rises on its own.

I know this was a bit long and possibly rant-ish but with such Low T it would be no surprise to me why I was babbling like a woman HAHAHA jk jk

Sincerely, my thoughts go out to any of my fellow men that SUFFER from this and similar conditions

  • Rich
2

Can Androgel or Another T replacement regiment raise my levels for a short time, so that, the level is then maintained by my body’s own production rate?

No. HRT is lifelong - unless you can find the underlying cause and fix that and then somehow ‘restart’ your system, but I have not heard of many (or anyone really) who has been successful with that yet.

Should I insist on injections rather than gel?

some are fine on the gel, others don’t absorb. If it works for you great. If not, then injections E3D (every three days) is recommended to avoid hormonal swings.

Will I need to use T replacement forever? being that I am 25 this is a prospect I do not look forward to. I know I should have asked more questions of my Doc I was just so excited I didn’t do my homework.

yes, HRT is forever.

you should test your Vitamin D3, Thyroid, Cortisol, DHEA-S, Progesterone, Pregnenolone, etc. to see if some other system is off and is dragging down your T. If so, and if you can fix those underlying issues, you may be able to boost your T naturally without HRT.

What are your actual blood test results?

What did the doctor check out?

What other supplementsvitamins/medications are you taking?

3

I will get back to you with that information, they said they will fax it over today.

I am only taking Slomag as of now which is a magnesium supplement and no other prescription drugs currently.

4

Ps I know that I was on Vit D capsules for 8 weeks after being tested so before I get this fax I would say its safe to say that was low as well.

5

[quote]PureChance wrote:
Can Androgel or Another T replacement regiment raise my levels for a short time, so that, the level is then maintained by my body’s own production rate?

No. HRT is lifelong - unless you can find the underlying cause and fix that and then somehow ‘restart’ your system, but I have not heard of many (or anyone really) who has been successful with that yet.

Should I insist on injections rather than gel?

some are fine on the gel, others don’t absorb. If it works for you great. If not, then injections E3D (every three days) is recommended to avoid hormonal swings.

Will I need to use T replacement forever? being that I am 25 this is a prospect I do not look forward to. I know I should have asked more questions of my Doc I was just so excited I didn’t do my homework.

yes, HRT is forever.

you should test your Vitamin D3, Thyroid, Cortisol, DHEA-S, Progesterone, Pregnenolone, etc. to see if some other system is off and is dragging down your T. If so, and if you can fix those underlying issues, you may be able to boost your T naturally without HRT.

What are your actual blood test results?

What did the doctor check out?

What other supplementsvitamins/medications are you taking?[/quote]

Gonna have to agree with what he is saying… However there are many new and old things out there that so many people over look that can both boost T levels and help with SO many different things as well…

First off for many people (myself included) if your diet is off it can majorly throw your hormones out of whack… The addition Of DAA (d-aspartic acid) and zinc can GREATLY improve free T and total T levels… Raw gland adrenal caps are also good and a lot of times make up some things we are short naturally or may be lacking in our diets…
Coming from someone who has recieved TRT i will tell you dont go to a normal MD if this is something you want to continue… I would see an endo… Even then make sure its a good one… The use of outside sources of test will not only shut down what little you have but also raise estrogen, which will lead to other problems down the road… (cholesterol, BP ect…) Anti estogens are often needed and regular blood test done to check all these carefully… Many of the supplements i mentioned work great and are highly reccomended around the BB communitee… DHEA is another supplement that is a precursor hormone you may want to look into…

Shoot me a PM if you have any other questions…

6

Or you could read the stickies.

So someone joins this forum and and states "Shoot me a PM if you have any other questions… " the same day. He is a trainer and has asked to be PM’d in two out of three posts.

“”“Littleme is a purely fictitious character played by a fictitious person… Nothing Littleme says should be taken seriously… (Profile pic is a client not me) “””

Endos are the worse offenders.

7

“Can Androgel or Another T replacement regiment raise my levels for a short time, so that, the level is then maintained by my body’s own production rate?”

No. After five days of using the gel, T level returns to baseline.

“Should I insist on injections rather than gel?”

Use the gel and see how you do with it.

“Will I need to use T replacement forever? being that I am 25 this is a prospect I do not look forward to. I know I should have asked more questions of my Doc I was just so excited I didn’t do my homework.”

You didn’t tell us what your diagnosis is. Did the doctor verbally diagnose or write in his chart “hypogonadism”. If you have low or normal FSH and LH values, and your T value is abnormally low, then you likely have secondary hypogonadism. If you have abnormally high FSH and LH, then you have primary hypogonadism, which indicates that there’s possibly something wrong with the testicles. Then your doc might want to figure out what’s caused this condition. If there’s no known cause, it’s “idiopathic” hypogonadism–which is what I have [idiopathic hypognadotrophic hypogonadism (IHH)].

If you have hypogonadism, it’s forever.

“I applied half of a full dose of AndroGel this morning after a shower as per my doctors orders. Maybe I shouldn’t use anymore wait a month and see if my T level rises on its own.”

What good is not following doctor’s orders?! Especially a willing doctor who’s helping you. I never understood this, willfull non-compliance. I just don’t get it. People have a condition, get help, then endlessly ask questions or do things (or don’t do things) based on nothing (goes for diet and training too)!

I’ve been hypogonadal for almost nine years and have used Androgel this whole time with success (last number was 779 ng/dl with 10 grams of gel).

My best advise is to see a urologist who’s savvy with hypogonadism and TRT or a urologist with a fellowship in ANDROLOGY (Most of those guys deal with a large clientele of hypogonadal people and are up to date on TRT protocols and fertility, which is somethign you might want to look into as well if you want a fam one day.)

Again: I don’t get it. You tested low, get medication, used the medication once, and then think perhaps you shouldn’t take it.

8

I also had the same problem with dumbfuck doctors telling me my problems were “in my head”. Yeah, I really wanted to be impotent for a year at 22 yrs old. It was a blast. “In our heads” my ass. I tested infertile at the time, naturally so because the gonadotropins are suppressed. Yeah, sure, “in my head”.

9

Just trying to help… Dont get offended… I have a good business… Many people like to speak privately and dont want to involve 100’s of others when they have specific questions for people… Im one of those… Im not an un educated person in this area… SO… rag on me if you want but in the end im helping… Your criticising

10

Thanks for all the comments,

To PureChance- Thanks so much

To LITTLEme- Thanks

To KSman- I’m new sorry don’t know what stickies are.

To Brick- My reasoning is this… stop now before I really start to see if my levels begin to rise at all without TRT. Being that I am only 8 weeks being diagnosed with Lyme for 5 years which is said to be the cause, I could wait a month at the very least to see what happens naturally. If I continue TRT now or in a month or two whats the difference? If it turns out to be necessary I simply comply. But if I just start TRT and continue now how will I ever know if I don’t even need it? I do want to have kids one day. I don’t ever remember the Doc mentioning hypogonadism just low t caused by over active adrenal glands caused by cortisol caused by Lyme - but I will ask and let you know. I totally get what you are saying though about keeping up with treatment. If I don’t continue at this point my body won’t have shut down producing all together.

Still waiting on the Fax they said they will send the before and afters so there will be numbers to work with.

Thanks so much

11

[quote]Bricknyce wrote:
What good is not following doctor’s orders?! Especially a willing doctor who’s helping you. I never understood this, willfull non-compliance. I just don’t get it. People have a condition, get help, then endlessly ask questions or do things (or don’t do things) based on nothing (goes for diet and training too)!
[/quote]

This would be valid if all of there were only good doctors out there. Unfortunately, there are a lot of really bad doctors who are misinformed, who misdiagnose, or who simply don’t care.

EXAMPLE - If you went to a doc and had Total T of 250, and the doc said “no, you don’t have a T problem, you are just depressed. here take this anti-depressant and go away.” Your blanket advice above says do whatever the doc says regardless of your concerns or actual medical situation.

So what makes this particular doctor infallible? Why shouldn’t you question what your doctor recommends? Why shouldn’t you do your own homework and research and then make educated decision with input from your doctor? Doctors are not gods. They don’t know everything.

Why start on T-gel to suppress what’s left of your natural T production before you fix the Lyme disease and/or a whole host of other imbalances? Why not take it slow, look for an underlying cause, give things a chance, then if that fails try HRT.

Just because something has worked for you, or worked for me, doesn’t mean that everyone else will respond the same.

12

[quote]PureChance wrote:

[quote]Bricknyce wrote:
What good is not following doctor’s orders?! Especially a willing doctor who’s helping you. I never understood this, willfull non-compliance. I just don’t get it. People have a condition, get help, then endlessly ask questions or do things (or don’t do things) based on nothing (goes for diet and training too)!
[/quote]

This would be valid if all of there were only good doctors out there. Unfortunately, there are a lot of really bad doctors who are misinformed, who misdiagnose, or who simply don’t care.

EXAMPLE - If you went to a doc and had Total T of 250, and the doc said “no, you don’t have a T problem, you are just depressed. here take this anti-depressant and go away.” Your blanket advice above says do whatever the doc says regardless of your concerns or actual medical situation.

So what makes this particular doctor infallible? Why shouldn’t you question what your doctor recommends? Why shouldn’t you do your own homework and research and then make educated decision with input from your doctor? Doctors are not gods. They don’t know everything.

Why start on T-gel to suppress what’s left of your natural T production before you fix the Lyme disease and/or a whole host of other imbalances? Why not take it slow, look for an underlying cause, give things a chance, then if that fails try HRT.

Just because something has worked for you, or worked for me, doesn’t mean that everyone else will respond the same.[/quote]

You’re a 100% correct, which is why I spoke on possible causes and what this guy’s exact diagnosis is. He also didn’t tell us if he did research on his doc. So looking back on it, I wrongfully assumed he stumbled upon a doctor who knows what he’s doing. However, if I felt like crap because of low T, and someone gave medication to resolve this, I’d take the damn gel for the meantime. And yes, gels do suppress the pituitary somewhat and that’s expected, which is what I have as well (LOW NORMAL FSH and LH and slight testicular atrophy).