Absolutely! And I shared my other improvements to my lifestyle choices as they relate to diet, etc. I stupidly believed that the dr would see all that and say “hey this guy is doing all the right things and why not work with him on this.” I will never….ever…sit down with a mainstream MD again and plead my case as it relates to T.
Hormonal fluctuations is what causes nipple sensitivity, you don"t have gyno.
Gyno as in they’re bigger. Noticeable without my shirt.
Big enough that the endocrine guy offered me a mammogram to which I refused. They’re not needing a bra but they’re enough to wonder what’s happening.
Arimidex wont stop gyno, and I also doubt its gyno. A mammogram? Really? This Doc is making a fool out of someone. Ok take a pic with your shirt on and lets see. Every time I ask for proof, the gyno suddenly disappears.
Not this time. One sec.
2 yrs ago, was much more flat or “normal”
That’s a bummer. I’ve been there and it ain’t fun. But it can get better.
I’d recommend a SERM until you get your trt protocol squared away. And then after that, if it were me, I’d start researching surgery options.
Yeah it sucks. And the endocrine guy did recommend a surgeon to take care of it. A guy I know at the gym said that if I get back to lifting like I used to and really working that area, I’d burn some of it away. Lol. I honestly think the surgery is wise. I’ve seen before after pics and they look good.
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Lol indeed
100% worth it
Pretty sure “fix diet and exercise” fits in there somewhere, quite a ways before surgery, and likely before adding new meds.
Like Swoops said, that’s not how it works. However, your diet and training has only ever gotten a passing mention in any of your posts, and what I saw in older posts wasn’t a good plan.
Starting a thread to lay out exactly what you’re doing on those fronts will let us fine-tune and get everything coordinated together. Tackling the issue from only one side is short-sighted, at best.
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Agreed, diet and exercise should be top priority. I mistakenly assumed that goes without saying.
But also having had dealt with gyno myself, I’d still recommend running a SERM until you’re confident you’re no longer in a situation that’ll contribute to growth of the breast tissue.
Similar to putting out a fire immediately, then addressing what caused the fire in the first place and how to prevent them in the future.
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You’re right. Thanks for pointing that out.
I’d appreciate any feedback:
Current:
I’m 47, 5’11, 198ibs.
Health issues:
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Beginning at approximately mid 20’s, I had ED issues. Specifically, I noticed a diminishing sensitivity there. Yet I had a healthy feeling sex drive. When I became aroused, it would only last a short time, 2-4minutes maybe. I describe it this way: there was nothing to keep it erect…as if the nerves weren’t there. I went to my Internist at that time and told him what was happening. He told me that I was having performance anxiety. I disagreed. I know myself. He did test my testosterone level. While I don’t remember the test level, I do remember him telling me I was low end of normal. He decided to do nothing. Found another Dr who agreed to try me on Testosterone. He gave me 100mg injection every 2 weeks as I remember it. I remember feeling a benefit after the second injection. I felt the sensitivity coming back. And with that I noticed the morning erections we’re back. But I learned how every 2 weeks was not beneficial for me whatsoever. The benefits of the T crashed by the end of each week. I knew I wanted a once a week protocol. (I had always felt confident in sexual situations. I cannot remember ever feeling less than confident. That Dr was 100% wrong.)
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The second health issue was social anxiety. Whenever I found myself in a room or a party or at a mall…any situation that numerous people were bound to be, I felt anxious. As I played baseball as a kid up until my late 30’s, I was used to being around people and having people yell various things, lol. (I mention this anxiety because as I took testosterone, I noticed that anxiety lessened.) Not sure how but it definitely lessened.
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I’ve had sleeping issues for sometime. Found it hard to initially fall asleep. Always thinking about complex problems at work or strategies or my work day and how I could have made it better, etc. again, testosterone helped me here. I also began taking some supplements that were recommended by someone from this site. Those helped as well.
I take 4000iu vitamin day (2000 morning and 2000 at night.). I tested very low at one time and the most recent test was around 35 I believe. I take Doctor’s Best high absorption magnesium 200mg tablet once a day. -
Highly LACTOSE sensitive. 1/4 cup of milk is enough to cause extreme gastritis and all the rest. One slice of cheese is enough to cause the same. Yet I can eat a pizza and suffer very mild effects. Any medication that contains lactose is enough to cause severe gastritis. So I avoid milk.
There have been two periods where I stopped taking testosterone. Both periods lasted maybe 2-3 yrs or so. Big mistake….a mistake I will t repeat. The why really doesn’t matter. While not taking testosterone those symptoms quickly returned.
I’m now back on testosterone Cypoinate. I currently have a dr who has a clinic in the Bay Area. I feel better about her, as she’s committed to going up to around 800 free T based on what I’ve told her. I went with her because to be frank, she’s the cheapest Dr / clinic I could find. Pretty dam amazing price.
I’m taking 100mg, once a week. I’ve had someone tell me that I should take more based upon my recent labs. And I’m working on that with her. I do feel increased sensitivity again. Erections are definitely better. I’m not 100%. Not at all. But I feel I’m going in the right direction. My T is around 300+. And I’m well aware that is low. Low for me, I should say. I do have some gyno. I had a “fractionated estrogen test” and it showed high off the scale. The estradiol was somewhat high. And I’ve seen a comment about running a SERM, which I’ll investigate because I have no idea what that is yet.
As far as working out / exercising:
5-7 days per week I’m walking/running my favorite trail. Flat trails as well as hills. I do the trail about 1.5 - 2hrs per day. Definitely gets my heart going. 5-6 days per week I’ve been lifting weights at home, as I haven’t been back to the gym yet. 50pd free weights. Mostly bicep curls, lifts for my shoulders, etc. 1 hr in the morning and 1 hr at night. At the gym I was bench pressing once a day, free weights, the bike, etc. and I do not know exactly how much I was benching as unbelievable as that sounds. In short I like working out but I do it to stay strong and athletic. I only take testosterone to address the sexual symptoms I’ve had. I’ve never taken it to help me at the gym. There have been some periods where I stayed away from the gym, which I won’t do again. I’ve noticed that when I begin lifting weights, the muscle comes back very fast and I feel great.
One thing I forgot to mention is that I’ve had attention deficit symptoms for some time. When I’ve taken T consistently…those symptoms has lessened greatly. Again, not sure how but they have. I’ve never understood how but I normally found myself in accelerated classes as a kid into high school and an overachiever in college. How I did that with what I believe is ADD I’ll never know.
What I’ve noticed while on T:
Better concentration
Distractions are minimized
More competitive (I’ll never stop wanting to win and strategizing how to do so. And that’s naturally me.) Testosterone has brought it back and accentuated it a bit to the upside.
Sleep better
Stronger erections and lasts longer (but not to where I’m happy just yet.)
Sex drive has benefited. Feels better than before but not yet where I know I should be.
Sensitivity there is better. Again not yet to where I’m satisfied.
Hmmm…I guess worth mentioning, I’ve experimented with Anastrozole. When I took a .5mg (I believe the dose was,) I noticed that I felt less emotional that same week. I actually liked that. I fairly confident that I don’t want to take that regularly. I’ve also been advised by many here not to do so. And with the experience of most guys here, I’m inclined to take their advice.
My diet:
I eat a lot of white chicken, skinless. I tend to boil or bake it. I eat a fair amount of fish. Usually salmon. I eat vegetables twice a day. I do not drink any kind of soda, ever. I drink water as much as possible. When I run or walk my trail, I use an electrolyte powder in my water everyday and it feels great. I eat oatmeal everyday morning, plain no sugar no milk, just water. Blueberries every morning and usually one banana. I normally have some strawberries and orange juice at lunch and maybe some raisins. I also tend to make stir fry steak and broccoli or with carrots using extra virgin olive oil.
If you have any advice or anything that I can benefit from, please let me know.
Well, that’s some of me. I’m really trying to improve myself. The sexual symptoms really made it hard to seek a good healthy relationship. I feel like I’ve missed opportunities to be with certain women who I’ve felt were truly truly good women for me. I’ve also turned away some women who’ve expressed desire to see me. And I’ve done so without being honest with them as to why. I feel that I’m not where I need to be yet.
This is, on pretty much every front, no good. Nothing wrong with walking or running trails but 10-14 hours a week is a ton. And the lifting plan is… yeesh, dude. There are countless pre-designed routines you can do at home with a pair of dumbbells that’d be better.
As for the diet, it looks good on paper. Almost too good. What, exactly, did you eat yesterday? Worth noting: A bowl of oatmeal is terrible for breakfast. You should always have quality protein in each meal.
Like I said, a new thread for this side of things would be fine so you can get into more detail.
I kinda get what you mean, but that’s like saying you only drink whiskey because you’re thirsty, not to get drunk. It’s gonna work in multiple ways regardless, so put yourself in a better position to capitalize on it.
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Yesterday I had:
Morning - glass of water with 1/2 scoop electrolyte powder. A tall Starbucks cold brew (nothing added.)
A bowl of Quaker oatmeal (nothing added) and a half basket of blueberries.
Lunch - the second 1/2 of the blueberries, 2 large waters with a full scoop electrolyte powder in one of them. Sliced white chicken strips I made the night before. 1 banana.
Dinner - Wor Won Ton Soup and garlic mashed potatoes. As I was visiting a relative. And yeah she thought that combo was “interesting”. Lol.
I hear you on the protein and the testosterone comments and the lifting. As far as oatmeal for breakfast, doing that the past few months lost me the CoViD pounds I put on the past year. I basically got used to the hat regimen.
Yeah, I’m going to create a new thread and have it read very organized and succinct. For some good feedback that I can put into practice. And you’re not the first to comment on the limited type of lifting at home…you’re right. I’ll be changing that soon as I find a good plan.
As far as what I put for diet, I do heavily consume exactly what I wrote. My diet was altered during the CoViD year. I ate crappy…as I was inside so much. But I have resumed my diet. And yeah I know I need to add more protein.