I was heavy with PEDs from 48 - 54.
I have not taken any PEDs for some time.
My current test levels were seen as normal by a blood test taken by my GP in 2022.
I am now 55. I still train and would like to get back to my competition state again.
I have noticed that my libido is rubbish at times and need to supplement with viagra or cilias.
I wake up with with strong wood although my desires are low. I have suffered a personnel loss recently too which might be affecting my mood.
I am interested to hear opinions as I am tempted to take trt level.
Cheers.
I am also prone to feeling sad more than normal.
What were they? If they are normal, what would you expect to get out of TRT?
TRT is not a PED. If you have normal levels, then you shouldn’t expect anything to be gained. I have friends in their 40s with 5-600 TT levels and normal FT that jumped on despite my attempt to persuade. None of them got a thing out of it.
Studies show loss of libido and vigor <500 ng/dL, normal isn’t the same thing as optimal. What’s normal for an individual may differ from the normal ranges.
^I endorse this post. No reason for trt If your t registers in reasonably normal range.
You know what PEDs feel like, feelings/results trt won’t produce in its dosages of likely less than 200mg/week. Higher doses change trt to true steroid use.
How would you know what’s reasonable if you don’t know the persons genetics, underlining health problems, CAG repeats?
Some experts are recommending TRT to those with signs and symptoms of low-T 350> and normal testosterone, due to the attributed benefits of treatment modulating of the androgen receptor.
The term reasonable is vague, reasonable for a person with severe insulin resistance and someone without insulin resistance, needs are very different. There have been members here who at the prime of their life, checking levels out of curiosity who are at 158 ng/dL, because they have a high sensitivity to the receptor to testosterone.
What reasonable for one person isn’t reasonable for another, therefore you can’t have one number for everyone.
This sounds like an excuse to continue being lazy. You testosterone levels won’t remain at 500 ng/dL for long being sedentary, don’t fall for that trap.
Mine floats around 550… i felt worn out from 5 days a week at the gym and boxing, just started trt although im not sure I amdr the right decision yet. I certainly dont feel great where i was at, had good days and bad days before i started…
Testosterone deficiency isn’t defined by Total T, the Free T is the single most important bio marker. Make sure when running labs to use the more accurate assays, the equilibrium dialysis method. You don’t want to rely on the direct method.
My opinion is that you should only jump into it if you:
Are done having children
have a doc, or can find a doc, that is willing to try different doses until you feel the way you want to feel, whatever that is.
If you have a Doc that is going to insist on your being in a lab range, I would not bother with TRT. If you have a doc willing to set ranges aside and treat you until symptom resolution, then it could be a hugely positive life changing thing for you.
You can only be prescribed TRT if you are low on test. From reading your post I get the feeling your personal loss is having far more of an effect on you than you realize. You have my sympathy and I hope that you will recover soon.
I’m a few months in to 40 and got on trt last fall.
I started Sermorelin in January as well, and so far it has been the real game changer for me.
My labs were decent but I found a nurse practitioner willing to prescribe by the subjective answers I gave to a low-t questionnaire. She seems to understand everyone is different and what’s “normal” for one may not be for another.
I initially tested around 750-800 ng/ml in the trough with two weekly self-injections but switched to pellets and have yet to see what that will look like on paper, though it feels more or less the same so far.
Nothing miraculous but I do feel like I have a little more of an edge in general and I recover faster for sure.
I will say the Sermorelin seems like it helps recovery more than the test did alone, at least for me. And I sleep like a baby on it.
I don’t have a concise study to link for this, but if you’re having a hard time finding a liberal doctor or testing low enough, work yourself to exhaustion at the gym for a week or two, do not eat well and drink heavily. Then go for your blood draw. Once you’re on, you’re good. Docs just transfer records around from there.
This is likely because you don’t have the fitness level to endure five days per week of boxing or you just might be someone without the robustness to endure such activity (yes, some people are just not cut out for some things).
This is not from having a T value in the 500s, which is normal. Life doesn’t change by going from 500-plus to 800 regardless of what people say.
All this past year I’ve been testing at 800 to 1000 and I don’t feel a darn difference from when I’ve tested at 500 to 700.
Great topic. Some things to consider:
After years on PEDs, our nucleus accumbens has developed a new normal for the amount of dopamine it associated with “well being”. This can cause us to feel down when our levels drop from 2000-4000 while on PEDs to 500. This is normal neurophysiology and it’s psychological impact in play. Normal. But, we don’t like it.
We need to manage hematocrit and prostate health so we need to be careful with high normal or Supraphysiological T levels.
Free T is a pertinent level to keep healthy as well.
Also, getting a balanced aerobic workout and interval training, HIIT, can support healthy endocannibinoid and endorphin levels and offset the dopamine drive we pursue with higher T levels.
Agreed. It is a challenging balance to find, but working toward this should promote our longevity in the TRT era.