Hey HouKN98. I live in the Sugar Land side of town. I just got diagnosed with low T. I’ve been reading your posts. Thanks for all the info, bud! I’m gonna see what my GP will do for me, but he doesn’t work out I might need the name of your doc if he ends up being good!
Thanks
Kcrn, I live there too. My new doc isn’t a “perfect” TRT doc, but he’s open minded. Let me know if you want his name when your doc isn’t helpful.
Waking temps still 97.9-98.0. Still not budging after the increase to 25 mg iodoral.
Decided to do another iodine skin patch test, and I found that the iodine on the skin is being absorbed very quickly, even faster than last time. It seems that I still have an iodine deficiency, despite having been taking Iodoral daily for almost a month.
Is it possible that my iodine stores are being used up even faster than I am supplementing?
Kind of dropped the ball on IR and vitamin supplementation. Was sick for a week, and was on vacation for another week. Time to get back on the horse, so to speak.
Have continued T-cream and HCG daily, however. Not much change in how I feel. Next labs in August should be interesting.
On another note, I have been working on the psychological aspect of low libido / lack of erections. I now realize that I was/am addicted to pornography. I decided to stop any and all use of porn (due to its addictive effects, simulation overload with dopamine and seretonin that can mess with prolactin and possibly other hormones). I went to the first hit on google search “your brain on porn” and read through the site. I think this is a big part of my problem, aside from low T. I have not used porn in 3 weeks at least (but I still masturbate, just without porn).
So I am fighting this problem on two fronts: physical and psychological. Stay tuned.
Reporting in once again. I asked my wife if she sees a difference in my emotions / personality since starting my new TRT protocol (T-cream + HCG). She said there is a big difference. I am more emotionally stable and consistent, less emotional, more analytical, clear minded, and act more like a man. Had successful sexual relations with her twice in the last 3 days, so that’s also a positive sign - for both TRT and kicking the porn addiction.
I’m curious about my E2 levels, but no signs of gyno or anything like that. As I said, next labs should be very interesting. If T levels aren’t above 500 or 600, then I may push for T injections (subQ).
I have also discontinued IR. Although I haven’t been taking body temps recently (I get the same number every time so I just don’t bother), I don’t feel cold anymore. If anything, I feel warm or hot much of the time. It’s summer in Texas, so I can attribute partly to that… but I’m also less concerned about my thryoid function than a couple months ago. I don’t think it’s an issue at least for now.
Glad your wife sees the positives 
. Hoping labs turn out good for ya!!
Good luck
Labs came back. Disappointing results.
TT: 245 (348 - 1197 ng/dl)
E2: 9.9 (7.6 - 42.6 pg/ml)
TSH: 4.6 (0.45 - 4.50 uiU/ml)
Hemoglobin: 15.8 (12.6 - 17.7 g/dl)
Hematocrit: 46.2% (37 - 51%)
Here’s an iron panel results… if anyone cares:
Iron binding capacity (TIBC): 330 (250 - 450 ug/dl)
UIBC: 256 (150 - 375 ug/dl)
Serum Iron: 74 (40 - 155 ug/dl)
Iron Saturation: 22% (15 - 55 %)
Hemoglobin A1c: 5.4% (4.8 - 5.6 %)
And finally, Vitamin D:
Vit D25-hydroxy: 54 (30-100 ng/ml) → hey, at least there’s an improvement from 46 last time I was tested.
So… I’m confused. Totally puzzled. Baffled. How can the positive change in sexual symptoms and general well being completely be at odds with what my labs are saying? (been having more sex, harder and firmer erections, resulting in a happier wife, and improved general well being, better sleep, etc)
Looks like IR did not help with my thyroid. And it seems to be preventing the absorption of the T-cream. And I don’t like my E2 being so low for so long because it’ll affect my bone density in the long term if left unchecked.
So… What The F??
So you are using test creme? Your T is really low. What about injecting? I didn’t read the whole thread so I don’t know if this was brought up already.
Yes, using the cream. Labs say my T is really low, but how I feel right now totally belies what my labs say. I thought my T was up. I just don’t understand.
Doc wants to see me in a follow up. Might move to injections then.
[quote]HouKN98 wrote:
Labs came back. Disappointing results.
TT: 245 (348 - 1197 ng/dl)
E2: 9.9 (7.6 - 42.6 pg/ml)
TSH: 4.6 (0.45 - 4.50 uiU/ml)
Hemoglobin: 15.8 (12.6 - 17.7 g/dl)
Hematocrit: 46.2% (37 - 51%)
Here’s an iron panel results… if anyone cares:
Iron binding capacity (TIBC): 330 (250 - 450 ug/dl)
UIBC: 256 (150 - 375 ug/dl)
Serum Iron: 74 (40 - 155 ug/dl)
Iron Saturation: 22% (15 - 55 %)
Hemoglobin A1c: 5.4% (4.8 - 5.6 %)
And finally, Vitamin D:
Vit D25-hydroxy: 54 (30-100 ng/ml) → hey, at least there’s an improvement from 46 last time I was tested.
So… I’m confused. Totally puzzled. Baffled. How can the positive change in sexual symptoms and general well being completely be at odds with what my labs are saying? (been having more sex, harder and firmer erections, resulting in a happier wife, and improved general well being, better sleep, etc)
Looks like IR did not help with my thyroid. And it seems to be preventing the absorption of the T-cream. And I don’t like my E2 being so low for so long because it’ll affect my bone density in the long term if left unchecked.
So… What The F??
[/quote]
The mind is very powerful. You probably truly believed you were absorbing the T and you experienced the positive benefits that come with that.
It’s happened to me before. I switched from androgel, which I applied to my shoulders and was absorbing, to a compounded cream applied to my thighs. I thought everything was fine until I had another blood test, which showed I barely absorbing it at all.
Injections. Takes all the guesswork out of how much T you’re getting.
I live in the Sugarland area also and would be interested in your Dr.s name as well if you don’t mind. Very difficult to find a Dr. knowledgeable on this subject.
Good luck with your treatment and please keep updating as your journey is very similar to mine.
[quote]Kaynon311 wrote:
The mind is very powerful. You probably truly believed you were absorbing the T and you experienced the positive benefits that come with that.
It’s happened to me before. I switched from androgel, which I applied to my shoulders and was absorbing, to a compounded cream applied to my thighs. I thought everything was fine until I had another blood test, which showed I barely absorbing it at all.
Injections. Takes all the guesswork out of how much T you’re getting.[/quote]
Ha, that does make a lot of sense. Except I already had sex with my wife once since I saw these labs, and got a nice hard erection this morning.
I can’t help but think of this one Simpsons episode where Homer sends Bart away to a camp for the whole summer, and he loses a lot of weight and feels great without his son around. Then Bart does something crazy and gets on TV. Homer sees Bart on TV, and he instantly regains all the weight he lost and looks like crap.
You would think that since I’m feeling great, the second I look at these recent labs, I instantly gain 20 pounds, go limp dick, brain goes into a mental fog, my tongue sticks out like a mental retard.
So far, that has not happened… knock on wood, haha Just making light of this situation… I rather feel great on lousy labs, than to have perfect labs and STILL feel like crap (which we see sometimes here).
[quote]Cooper1test wrote:
I live in the Sugarland area also and would be interested in your Dr.s name as well if you don’t mind. Very difficult to find a Dr. knowledgeable on this subject.
Good luck with your treatment and please keep updating as your journey is very similar to mine.[/quote]
Dr. Shaffer. He doesn’t know everything, but h’s open minded, you’ll like him. Are you on injections right now?
HouKN98 - thanks for the Dr. name. I am currently on injections (Low-T center) but have done both injections and gel. I am thinking about switching back to gels because quite honestly, even though my numbers are better on injections, I just feel better on the gel. More energy, more lean muscle mass, and seem to think clearer. One thing to consider about your most recent test results is did you get your blood taken before putting on the cream or after because this would definitely influence the numbers.
Cream before blood draw. And it was in the morning, too. Maybe it’s just an aberration… I don’t know. I could ask for a 3 month “trial” on injections and see how I feel.
How often and how much did you inject? I considered the low-T center but the problem is that they inject their patients every 10 days, which is way too long between injections. Ideally you inject twice a week in divided doses, which makes T levels more stable.
Low T Center will do every 7 days. I have been doing 150mg T.cypionate every 7 days plus they do prescribe an AI if needed. but you do have to go there for injections which may or may not be issue. However if you are feeling good and not having any issues then I would not be so concerned with the numbers - main objective is to feel better. At the very least you may want to have retest done to confirm numbers before considering switch.
[quote]Cooper1test wrote:
main objective is to feel better. At the very least you may want to have retest done to confirm numbers before considering switch.[/quote]
Noted. I mean, if it ain’t broke…
Have a theory as to what’s going on. Looking at the progression of my labs, before I started on the compounded cream, I was on androgel and my TT was 377 (FT = 7.1), and a few weeks after the switch (but before HCG), my TT went up to 427, and FT went up to 11.7.
It appeared that my T was on its way up, but then there’s the issue of summer heat, more sweating, and the variation of my thyroid function.
So, on some days, I’m absorbing well and I’m feeling good. On other days, I don’t absorb as well, but I still feel good because the positive feelings and general well being from previous days carry over onto days even when I don’t absorb. So the good well-being masks the random fluctuations of my T absorption, and I don’t notice the bad days… labs happened to catch me on a bad day.
As lots of other guys say, transdermals are hit or miss. For me, some days are a hit, other days are a miss, even with the same rx.