I started having an issues a few weeks ago with maintaining erections during sex. I could get it up just fine but half way through I would start losing it, and then of course that starts a downhill spiral where the ego and the mind starts a battle that leaves you holding a limp rope.
I gave Dr Calkins a call and he asked me a few questions like… Do you lose sensitivity (a little yes), does it come back with aggressive stimulation (yes but still difficult to maintain), do you experience any joints that are clicking (not any more than normal, but I’ve always had joints that pop easily), anxiety (only when my dick goes soft in the middle of the act!)…,.
We talked for about half an hour and told me that he suspected that I am extremely sensitive to small estrogen changes, and that every day Nugenix might be pushing me just a tad too low. He recommended that I just take the DIM on injection days and lay off the rest of the time.
I have to say this seems to have done the trick! After about a week of doing this my issue went away and life has been good since.
Just wanted to pass it along in case it helps someone else. I never knew that a person could be that sensitive to very small changes in estrogen, but apparently I am. I was having anxiety issues when I first changed protocols and my E2 was only low 30’s. Nugenix Estro Regulator containing 100mg DIM helped a ton so I kept taking that. I’ve lost a couple more pounds of fat in the meantime and now it seems that the DIM put me just a tad too low.
I’m really glad I didn’t fuck with an AI for my particular case… In light of what I am seeing with just DIM, I could have had a very bad ride with AI.
My wife and I got out the camera a little while ago to play with some lighting in the basement. I figured it was time to post a progress pic since I haven’t done that in a while. Here is one from today.
Thank you man I appreciate that. I’m assuming you are asking about changes physically? If so, this is where I started. 212lbs and BF% in the high 20’s to low 30’s.
The before pic was taken around Sept or early October of last year, just before I started TRT. This is around 8-9 months progress.
I wish I had taken pics before I even started working out again. Before I started TRT, I had been pushing weights and trying to clean up the diet for a year and a half, so that starting pic was really a 1.5 year progress pic from where I truly started.
It takes so damn long! Lol I guess anything worth having is worth working for though. I won’t complain. I’m super happy that I’m finally starting to see a glimpse of what I can truly do if I just keep staying the course.
This is why I like daily injections, very precise control. I realize not everyone desires to inject daily but the benefits are obvious. I believe daily injections is the reason why libido is so high, estrogen isn’t bouncing around all other the place, I seem very sensitive to fluctuations.
I benefit less on TRT when levels are fluctuating, plus sleep quality is incredible on daily injections.
Ironically enough, in the last two months since I made that post I dropped DIM altogether and everything just seems to have worked itself out. Turns out that I was really sensitive to was the DIM, and more so of E2 levels dropping too quickly. As I let it self regulate, my body seems way more happy.
I also had a extreme response to DIM, my experience was no different on AI’s. My erections would get soft 30 minutes after taking the DIM. I wouldn’t be surprised if through DNA testing I turned out to be sensitive to most things.
The short version is I’ve been doing pretty damn good. I had the experiment with the HCG and decided I was better off without it. Still doing 150mg per week on the same schedule. Last labs showed Free T @ 19, so I’m going to talk to Dr Calkins about maybe bumping a little on the next consult. I would be interested in seeing if there was anything to gain with Free T at 20-25. We’ll see what he says.
On a better note, I hit a new PR on flat bench press today. @NH_Watts may need to check my math here, but I did a solid 10 reps with 225lbs. By my calculation that puts my new 1RM at 300lbs. If I’m not off on the numbers, that puts me up quite a bit higher than I thought I would be.
I’ve been doing lighter weight, high rep (15-20 rep range) sets twice a week. Today I decided to load up and go for 10-15. Did 2 sets @ 10 reps each using 225lbs and a burnout on the third, 18 reps with 185lbs. Totally took me by surprise! Lol
My wife snapped a pic while I was doing some celebratory pull-ups
Congrats man you are looking good. I am on a new PC so I don’t have access to many of my files. The top of the LabCorp Free T is 18 I believe. So 19 is pretty dam good for a trough measurement.
I feel my best with a Free T of 30 but that brings on all kinds of bad side effects to deal with. HCT too high, too many blood donations, crashing ferritin, E2 thru the roof dick quits working
((( in mid stroke ))) OMG so embarrassing. The wife gets the idea I am no longer attracted to her. That is the worst side effect of all. Its hormones honey its hormones, I promise. Here let me eat your pussy for the next hour and daddy will make it all better. Duh! haha.
I feel your pain here brother. Fortunately, my wife and I have been down this swinging hormones road enough times where she knows that it isn’t her when this happens. It’s not a major issue anymore, just more like you said…embarrassing for me mostly but I make sure that she gets hers if that happens.
It doesn’t happen often anymore, but it it still will every great now and then, which is one of the reasons I would like to see if pushing the test just a tad higher would have any benefit. E2 seems to have a very tight range for me. I typically don’t do anything at all about it, just let it ride. If I have issues that last for a week or two, I’ll take DIM EOD for a week and then I’m good to go. If I take it longer than a couple weeks, my joints start popping and I know I’m pushing too low. Weird, but I guess I’m just super sensitive to fluctuations in E2.
Nah I don’t think I’ll test it like that. I’ve tested the calculated 1RM enough times in the past to trust that it’s pretty accurate. Once I got past a calculated 1RM of 265 I quit testing it because, even though I know my muscles can push the weight once, I’m not sure that at 42 yrs old my joints and tendons would appreciate it very much. My ego is just not worth the risk for me.
