I’m 43 and started Trt at the beginning of April. My ENT recommended it after dealing with bad sinus infections for over a decade, I researched it for a year and decided to go for it after I read how people had an overall better outlook on life while on it and a much better libido, my libido wasn’t great before. So I started and felt great!.. everything I did was easier from walking up stairs to lifting weights to holding conversations with a person I barely knew. And my libido was on fire… Sex felt better than it had in years, my erection was fuller and almost an inch longer and I was much more affectionate with my SO than I had been in a while.
Then toward the end of July all good feelings started going away and I started getting ringing in my ears (never had that before in my life) and anxiety on an off. My mind feels cloudy and troubled, I can’t seem to make a decision on anything, my vision sometimes gets blurry (not often, but never happened before in my life) I’m pretty much emotionless and my libido is back to where it was before Trt.
I was having amazing morning wood, now I’m maybe half mast one or two days a week. I can still get an erection but sometimes go limp during sex. I knew my testicles would shrink a little when I started trt and they did by about a quarter of original size, but now they’re less than half of what they were and have sucked up to my body and when I ejaculate only a small about lightly drops out. Also, overt the past month I smell way worse when I workout and have zits all over my upper back, which I didn’t have the first few months on trt.
I do lift and/or do cardio 5 days a week and am active outside hiking biking or skiing at least two days a week, so I get plenty of exercise. Also, I eat a lot of lean protein fruits veggies and complex carbs… but I do eat A Lot of Crap too… cookie, donuts, and other junk food (my cravings have gone up on TRT).
After reading some other posts I’m thinking something in my blood is off. Any ideas what it might be, or is Trt not for me? Or do I need just need to Really improve/nail down a consistently healthy diet to feel better? My Dr said I need to get my red blood cell count checked soon so I think I’ll have a full panel done this week to, hopefully, see what’s going on. I’m pretty baffled as to how I went from feeling so great to feeling just about as bad as I’ve felt in my life so fast.
I’m injecting 100 MG every 7 days, alternating it into my quad muscles.
Any Helpful input any of you might have would be greatly appreciated!
sorry for the long post…
Go to discountlabs (dot) com and search trt wellness panel. It’ll list a bunch of labs. Write those down (including the ones it recommends you add) and take them to your doc and have him run them. If he refuses you can just do it yourself (albeit out of pocket). No one can help you without seeing blood work and knowing what you are actually taking (w/ amounts). Also, if you really want to get into it look up their full thyroid panel and get those labs as well.
One thing you can do immediately that will help (but will take a little time to take effect) is to split your dose into twice weekly, every other day or daily (what I do). That alone may fix your issues. There are many people that have problems when injecting only once weekly. Could also be you need a higher dose but don’t change that until you get blood work done.
Got it, thank you for your input!
100 mg of testosterone into muscle every 7 days (thinking of splitting the dose in half every 4 days as I feel a little to ‘up’ the first day and a little to ‘down’ the last day or two)
Do you know the full terms for those acronyms, or will a google search pull them up easily?
Honestly looking at the pharmacokinetics of cypionate I dont see how one can feel optimal with once per week injection. Maybe only if his levels before were really poor, so anything better is good enough for him.
Well, this seems to be super common, Ive read this on the testosterone reddit board several times, the issue is always estrogen rising too high with time, they usually almost always fix this with AI.
But now, people are telling me e2 is great and the higher the betters, so I have no idea.
The more often you inject the better man and twice a week is the minimum you can get away. Also 100mg in total is enough for a relatively small percentage of people but this is very individual.
Have you checked your thyroid? Problems there can make you feel like that
Here E2 can bee to high in relation to testosterone due to a shitty once per week protocol, but we are only guessing. For sure ED injections will lower his estrogen, also RBC that I doubt will have elevated much with 100mg…
Yea hopefully, thanks. I definitely don’t feel good at all when I eat like crap and don’t work out since I’ve been on trt, in a way I’ve never felt before
AI is aromatase inhibitor
E2 is estradiol
MOST guys on TRT inject once a week and do just fine. Seriously. Half-life of cypionate is roughly 9 days, your levels do not vary a lot over a week - certainly less than natural production does.
You took about 3 months to shut down completely and stabilise - as a guess. Your dose is too low, it was higher initially because it was in addition to slowly diminishing natural test. Your E2 is probably high as well. TRT tends to provide a higher than natural E2 level in most guys, and is usually not a problem. The sugar cravings are a cue there. Get your levels checked, and then up your dose to 120 or 130 mg a week and life will probably be wonderful again.
