34 Yr Old With Low T... Hit Me Out of Nowhere!

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
1

Hi All! I’m new to the board, and just wanted to say thanks for providing such a great resource. I was diagnosed with low T about 2 months ago, and have since been on 200MG injections every 2 weeks. I’ve been struggling to find resources on this topic, as it still seems very taboo in our society, and I’d like to talk with other guys who are going through what I’m facing.

I was a very healthy 33 male last year, when all of the sudden during a routine physical my doctor found that my liver enzymes were quite elevated. Within a few weeks of my physical, I started to have major upper right side abdominal discomfort, and in bed at night I couldn’t even sleep on my right side (It felt like I was laying on a baseball!)… Weeks went by, and doctors had me tested for everything in the world via blood (I was convinced I had cancer and was going to die)… and then they decided they thought I had gahlstones, so they sent me in for an ultrasound which showed no stones – just a swollen liver.

Amazingly enough, my liver returned to normal functioning on it’s own within about 10 months of the beginning of this ordeal, and no doctor can tell me what the cause was (They’ve theorized maybe some kind of virus, but not HEP A,B,C, or even HIV – They tested me for everything under the sun…) — but I continued feeling down, waking up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat, and my labido slipped away slowly over time – to the point where 2 months ago, I had complete ED where for the 1st time in my life, I couldn’t host the flag or maintain anything worthwhile at all – not even in the morning!

I went back to my doctor, and he tested my thyroid, prolactin, T-levels, etc… And everything is normal except my T levels are very low… Around 180.

I’m wondering if anybody has any ideas what can cause this to happen, and if there is a natural way to recover from it?

I’ve been taking the injections every 2 weeks, and for the 1st month I felt really awesome, but they’ve started to lose their effectiveness on me. Even with an increased dosage, I’m feeling pretty down this week and having some ED – and I have almost a full week until my next shot.

Is being on some kind of T therapy just going to have to be a reality for me for the rest fo my life, or is there anything I can do at this point? Feels like something in my body is blocking T, but no idea whta or why… In the past 12 months I’ve also broken out in a rash on my face, which a dermotologist tells me is eczema, and I have low Vitamin D.

My doctor is refering me to an Endocrinologist next week on my request, because I want these questions answered by a pro… But I have little confidence in our medical system!

2

Did you rule out digestive disorder?

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What digestive disorders contribute to low T?

It’s funny you say that, because I was having major digestive issues during the whole liver flare-up… I was having Diarhea (cha cha cha) for about the whole 8+ months, I was having major pain (Like a Gahlbladder would do) after eating fatty foods, and terrible gas that would wake me up in agony some nights. I was worried that I had colon cancer or something, but the doc felt around and never found anything of concern… He continued to think it was the GB the whole time this was happening.

Those issue have now resolved themselves, however. I took some GNC probiotics for 30 days 3 months back, which seem to have cleared up the last of the digestive problems. I had started to feel better on my own, but when I took the probiotics – I was pretty amazed how effective they were – I started feeling almost 100% again digestively in literally 3-4 days. Ever since, I’ve been a new man digestively speaking.

I have noticed from reading some of the stickies that Vitamin D helps with testosterone absorption, and I’ve read elsewhere that a poorly performing liver can cause low Vitamin D… So I’m wondering if those 2 issues don’t go hand-in-hand somehow? I’m going to start taking perscription Vitamin D pills from the doc today (Twice weekly), and I’m hoping those will help. He gave them to me a year ago, but I didn’t take them because I was so concerned about the rest of my digestive issues that are now gone.

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BTW – A little more info. I had slightly elevated triglycerides and pretty low cholesterol (I believe around 140) on my last blood test. I am 5’9, 190 lbs.

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There are some stickies at the top of this Forum thread that will be very useful for you.

I can tell you that 200mg every two weeks is not likely going to help you. You probably feel great for the first 4 - 6 days after taking it and then you feel shitty again. My doctor switched me to 100mg every week and I seem to have stabilized. Honestly I take 120mg dose and I feel great and all of my blood works stats have been great. But that’s just me, definitely read through all of the sticky notes at the top. Good luck and don’t assume you’re doctor knows what they’re doing, read for yourself.

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I don’t know the reasoning behind the EOW regimin but it seems very jackassian and I’m almost amazed this is followed. If there is a reasoning for it that’s medically related, I’ve heard no explanation.

There are several on this board who can give you advice on your issue otherwise. Tomorrow you should get some “chatter”.

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Thanks for your reply Jaynick! You nailed it, I feel pretty good for the first 4-6 days, and then I feel shitty again. I stop waking up with morning wood, etc… The shots worked great and lasted almost the entire 14 days for the 1st month that I was taking them, but then their effectiveness seemed to drop off rather quickly.

I’ve been reading the stickies, and there is definitely a lot of informtion offered there. I’m shocked that docs just don’t know much about this stuff… Like when I asked to be referred to an Endo this week, my doc was like, “Well, I will do that sure, but he’s going to basically offer you the same services I can… there are creams, and patches, etc” – and I was like… “Dude, you just don’t get it… I want to know WHY this is happening to me… I don’t want to be taking injections and creams for the rest of my freaking life!”

I’m guessing there is no hope of ever getting off this stuff though huh, we just have to stay in treatment forever until a “cure” is found by modern medicine?

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If self injecting, inject twice per week or EOD. Every two weeks is insane. Your outcome is the expected.

You need E2/estradiol lab results. After you do the above, the numbers will be more useful.

Get a copy of your labs and post the numbers AND RANGES. You cannot allow docs to declare normal. You have to manage your own health care.

Endo’s are typically a waste of time+$

What about your testes and fertility issues?

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Thanks KSMan – I’ll get that E2 test done, as I’m curious after reading your sticky if that’s what I feel is “blocking” my T from being used properly… My money is on yes!

Not sure what the question is regarding testes & fertility. I’m not trying to make babies anymore, got 2 and that’s plenty :wink: Testes do ache a little (Particularly the left), but no lumps or bumps. I don’t have a testicular injury that I’m aware of… Have been examined by a doc, and he hasn’t found anything. Anything else I should be looking for here?

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TRT induced HPTA shutdown can make testes shrink tiny and the scrotum pulls up tight. Your wife might not like that. Only way to avoid is injecting hCG. That will also preserve the ability of the testes to make pregnenolone. Shutdown does cause a 24x7 ache for some.

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Your symptoms just sound exactly like my crohn’s disease (or colitis/IBD/etc), thats why I was asking.

And anytime the gut isn’t functioning properly…well nothing is going to work optimally.

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Thanks for the reply j-man… I don’t know a ton about crohn’s, but does the fact that I seem to have made a full recovery from my digestive issues matter, or is crohn’s something that would flare up from time to time? Is Crohn’s linked to low T?

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With Crohn’s and other gut issues you can flare up from time to time. The gut “normally” probably isn’t functioning properly…but you may think it is because you’ve been dealing with it for so long. Gut issues can have affects on all sorts of systems in the body…everything starts in the gut.

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I don’t have any answers. But when I was on major IV antibiotics after my surgery and post-op infections, I really felt like I was not getting any benefit from the food I ate because my gut bacterial were killed off. If took a long time for my guts to get operational again and my sense of recovery from the ordeal really tracked the recovery of my guts.

15

Thanks guys…

So I saw the doc today, and he agreed without objection to check my E2 level. I’m also having him check my Iron level, since the symptoms of Hemochromitosis are pretty much exactly what I have had, and he agreed that was a fantastic idea (He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it earlier)… I should get results in a few days, but he said until then – he’s going to increase my T dosage from 200 to 300, and has no problem splitting it up into a weekly shot if I’d prefer that.

He said he wonders if we’re just not giving me enough – Since my level was really low (180) to start… He also told me to take my Vitamin D religeously to see if that helps at all. He said he’s not concerned about Crohn’s since I’m not having mucousy or bloody stools at all. He said that while that can effect testosterone, it’s not a high probability.

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[quote]hakrjak wrote:
I went back to my doctor, and he tested my thyroid, prolactin, T-levels, etc… And everything is normal [/quote]

fyi - “normal” = cussing around these parts.

Can you post your actual test results? You do have your actual results in your own hands, right? Check out the blood test sticky for “normal ranges” vs “ideal ranges”

If you need more than 100mg of T-Cyp weekly, then there is a very good chance that there is something else wrong with your system. Taking excess T to treat your hidden problems will eventually cause you even more problems (i.e. excess T overconverting to Estradiol or DHT)

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Thanks PureChance… I will keep an eye on it. He’s got me up to 300 every 14 days now, but I may scale it back in the future if I can. Still waiting on my latest test results. I’m wondering if my issue doesn’t have something to do with the Vitamin D level, because I started taking my Vitamin D pills again about a week ago, and all of the sudden for the past few days of my 14 day cycle (My shot was due again this morning…) – I started feeling a hell of a lot better. Last night, which has usually been my worst night (Because it was my last night before getting the shot again), I was the man of steel and wore the wife out completely.

18

your E2 levels were probably dropping back into their normal range from being super high the rest of the time.

biweekly shots = one hell of a hormone rollcoaster that will eventually (more than likely) crash your whole system.

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Update:

Just got my Iron & E2 results. Iron was 130, which is on the high end of the “normal” range… I haven’t taken any multi-vitamins and cut down on red meat a lot since I had the liver problems, and so the doc said it’s entirely possible that I may have overloaded myself on Iron causing the liver problems I had last year, and they’ve come down on their own due to my cutting the iron intake on my own. Also my E2 level was 32, well in the normal range.

I asked him how high iron has to be before it becomes a problem, and he said “hard to tell”, and I asked him what is ideal for iron level, and he said “anywhere in the normal range”… So I think I still need to avoid iron for awhile, and get my iron level down a bit. Maybe I should even give blood? I’m also going to focus on taking my Vitamin D religeously to see if that helps.

So far the extra T has helped… After I got my 300 shot yesterday, I performed great sexually today. If I start to feel the “rollercoaster” kick in, he said to just call him and he’ll put me on a weekly regimen.

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300 mg? holy $$$$ let me know how long that dose lasts for you in your body.