Got some good news this week – I’m not diabetic! Doctor had me come in for a 2 hour glucose test, and the results were that I was maybe pre-diabetic, but only by 1 point. So I guess I can’t blame any of my sexual issues on that, yet…
Recent blood tests show I’ve got some things to work on though with my cholesterol and Vit-D again:
Liver is still looking good since I lost the weight and reduce my Fatty Liver Deposits:
AST: 20 (0-40)
ALT: 27 (0-44)
Billirubin: 1.0 (0-1.2)
Sexual function has been really good since I upped my Testosterone dose to .38ML twice weekly + .50MG Arimadex for several weeks now. Took the wife on vacation recently, and sex was a 10 every time. Added a little Cialis to make sure, and it turned me into an absolute beast which it had never done in the past when I was not dialed in hormone wise. I am starting to get a little lower back pain from the Arimadex possibly making my E2 too low, so I’m going to get blood drawn to see where that is so I can make adjustments. As long as I can stay feeling this good on just T and Adex, I won’t start HCG if I don’t have to…
Had another great week where things improved even more. I broke out with acne all over my entire body, and had to start taking Minocycline again for that after I hadn’t used it in over a month. Became hypersexual, and was having MW’s rated at a 9-10 every day. Sex with the wife was a 10, and no need for any PDE5 inhibitors, etc… Even while using Xanax after a flight, I was a beast in bed – when that has given me ED in the past. So weird! Wondering why sometimes I get these periods where the sexual health comes on full blast with a rush of acne?!
I believe at this point the optimal dosing for me is .38ML every 4 days + .50MG Arimadex every 4 days at time of injection. I figured this out after missing a dose and falling a day behind for a couple weeks in a row, and realizing that I was feeling a lot better. Some theories behind that, but more data is needed.
[quote]pacificnw wrote:
Just wanted to say ‘thanks’ for this thread – I some similarities to my TRT situation and this info gives me some good food for thought…
[/quote]
Always glad to hear there are others out there struggling with similar issues! Misery loves company, but this does seem manageable if you get it dialed in…
Just a quick update – It’s been a couple of months, and I’ve felt mostly good. Definitely feels like I got my dosing figured out. I’ve had periods that last for a week or two where I am hypersexual, and getting erections when walking past the Victoria Secret at the mall, and I’ve had periods where I thought I was falling off – but the wife could easily arouse me, and we’d have great sex regardless…
I have had some inconsistency lately though, and it seems to have come during periods where I am not sleeping well. Really makes me think that a big component of this is the brain, and that if you aren’t getting good rest – it’s not doing it’s part to improve your sexual performance. I also noticed that on my new dosing schedule, when I take Xanax for a flight (I fly often for work, so take a .5mg before flights often as a best practice) – I seem to have great morning wood the next day. I also seem to get spontaneous erections better for a couple days. Something about putting the brain in that somewhat sleepy mode that seems to really simulate what it’s like to wake up half in a dream, and become sexually aroused. I still take Cialis occasionally to try to give myself an extra boost, but it only seems to work well sometimes, and other times I feel like it probably didn’t do anything for me.
Still on .38 of T + .5 of Adex every 4 days. New blood tests coming next month!
Noticed something weird again… On same regimen, I began feeling not as well after injecting and taking Adex, but would improve throughout the week. Last week I was camping and actually missed my shot on day 4. Woke up with great MW on day 5, and after injecting and taking Adex I felt better than I had in awhile,. Because of this I’m considering extending my dosing schedule out to 5 days, but I’m struggling to understand why… Is it the Adex wearing off and allowing my E2 to creep higher into the sweet spot? Or is it my T wearing off, and giving me a better T to E ratio? Hmmmm…
Got blood results today after feeling like I’ve declined a bit over the last month, although Cialis has helped greatly and given me sex with a rating of ten out of ten 90% of the time! Here are latest blood tests. Looks like I will be cutting my Adex dose in 1/2 again to get my E2 back up! I’ve got little to no MW most days right now, and I believe this is why! Considering whether I even need Adex at this point. Also need to watch my blood, seems to be getting thick again… Liver is functioning well, even though I’m allowing myself as much red wine and beer as I want these days, with even a little hard stuff on special occasions.
Tests: (1) CBC/Diff Ambiguous Default (977709)
WBC 8.3 x10E3/uL 3.4-10.8 *1
RBC 5.40 x10E6/uL 4.14-5.80 *2
Hemoglobin [H] 17.8 g/dL 12.6-17.7 *3
Hematocrit 49.7 % 37.5-51.0 *4
MCV 92 fL 79-97 *5
MCH 33.0 pg 26.6-33.0 *6
MCHC [H] 35.8 g/dL 31.5-35.7 *7
RDW 13.3 % 12.3-15.4 *8
Platelets 243 x10E3/uL 155-379 *9 Effective June 16, 2014, the reference interval
for Platelets will be changing for 13 years and
older to: 150 - 379
Neutrophils 69 % 40-74 *10
Lymphs 23 % 14-46 *11
Monocytes 6 % 4-12 *12
Eos 1 % 0-5 *13
Basos 0 % 0-3 *14
! Immature Cells *15
Neutrophils (Absolute)
5.7 x10E3/uL 1.4-7.0 *16
Lymphs (Absolute) 1.9 x10E3/uL 0.7-3.1 *17
Monocytes(Absolute) 0.5 x10E3/uL 0.1-0.9 *18
Eos (Absolute) 0.1 x10E3/uL 0.0-0.4 *19
Baso (Absolute) 0.0 x10E3/uL 0.0-0.2 *20
! Immature Granulocytes
1 % 0-2 *21
! Immature Grans (Abs) 0.1 x10E3/uL 0.0-0.1 *22
! NRBC *23
Hematology Comments: *24
Tests: (2) Hepatic Function Panel (7) (322755)
Protein, Total, Serum
7.3 g/dL 6.0-8.5 *25
Albumin, Serum 4.9 g/dL 3.5-5.5 *26
Bilirubin, Total 0.6 mg/dL 0.0-1.2 *27
Jesse N Mills MD ( TUCC ALL )
Lab Report: CBC/Diff Ambiguous Default, Hepatic Function Panel (7), Test … ( 06/05/2014 )
Bilirubin, Direct 0.15 mg/dL 0.00-0.40 *28
Alkaline Phosphatase, S
68 IU/L 39-117 *29
AST (SGOT) 19 IU/L 0-40 *30
ALT (SGPT) 30 IU/L 0-44 *31
Tests: (3) Testosterone, Serum (004226)
Testosterone, Serum 560 ng/dL 348-1197 *32
! Comment: *33
Adult male reference interval is based on a population of lean males
up to 40 years old.
Tests: (4) Estradiol (004515)
Estradiol [L] 7.1 pg/mL 7.6-42.6 *34
Roche ECLIA methodology
Tests: (5) Ambig Abbrev HFP7 Default (977213)
! Ambig Abbrev HFP7 Default
*35
I saw my Andrologist, and he did recommend I cut the Adex as expected – So I cut my Adex dose in half again taking just 1/4 of a tab every 5 days with a shot of .37 T. He also recommended I started taking a baby aspirin a day because of the FDA notice on DVT’s being slightly higher in guys who are on TRT. I have been on the lower dose of Adex now for a few weeks, and started the aspirin regimen about 3 days ago.
I can honestly say I hit a sweet spot again in the last 2 days. Not sure if it could be the E2 rising slowly back into the sweet zone, or if the aspirin is helping thin my blood since I was running pretty thick again recently – or a combo of the two, but I’ll take it! I’ve also got acne firing up again for the first time in awhile, and that usually comes with increased sex drive for me.
Thank you for creating this thread. Please keep us posted. As for me, in the same boat. Been on TRT for about 4 months. E2 spike about 1 month in, started Adex and HCG.
Sex was awesome up until 2 weeks ago when everything ground to a halt. Now MW 2 out of 10. Libido 1 out of 10.
Just got blood drawn today, we’ll see how T/E2 looks when the results are in.
Posting an update 3 weeks later: Still feeling better than I have in a long time. Everything is working. I’m really starting to think that the daily aspirin therapy is what helped. Since I started that at the same time I cut my Adex dose to 1/4 tab, I may never know. Not much else has changed.
Still getting spontaneous erections now and then, and morning wood isn’t always a steel bar – but at least it’s 50-75% present, and can become actionable with little effort. Tried 1 Cialis (5mg) in the last 3 weeks during a long weekend with the wife out of town. Worked like a charm, and the effects may have lasted for as many as 5 days. Was getting SE’s all day every day for like 4-5 days, just from looking at the wife.
Funny how I had really started to worry that it wasn’t possible for me to feel this good again. Guess it just goes to show that you should never give up hope with this disease. Never stop fine-tuning, and trying things. Don’t give up on yourself…
[quote]grappler wrote:
Thank you for creating this thread. Please keep us posted. As for me, in the same boat. Been on TRT for about 4 months. E2 spike about 1 month in, started Adex and HCG.
Sex was awesome up until 2 weeks ago when everything ground to a halt. Now MW 2 out of 10. Libido 1 out of 10.
Just got blood drawn today, we’ll see how T/E2 looks when the results are in.
[/quote]
You should feel better once you hit the E2 sweet spot on your way down. When I had high E2, I felt better the morning after I took my first Adex tab.
Quick Update: Was feeling great until a couple weeks ago. Went through some stressful family times, and don’t know if that contributed to another crash or not – but I started feeling funky and lost my MW for a couple weeks mostly. Depression and stress can play such a large factor in TRT, and I don’t think the effects are fully known at this time. Cortisol is definitely toxic, and we should avoid letting our bodies release it in stressful situations if we can. I have noticed that using a little Xanax does seem to help when I’m going through these stressful times, and can even bring back some MW the next day (sometimes)…
I was down to 1/4 of a Adex tab anyway, so my Doc had recommended I try going without it last time I saw him. I decided now was the time, on the off chance my E2 was still too low. So far, so good – as the MW has returned to good levels, and SX has been good. Wondering how many guys out there manage their AI based on feel like I do? Sure underscores the need for a portable TRT blood test kit that could give you T and E #'s on the fly…
Only thing I feel negative so far after stopping the AI is that my testicles seem to be tighter than normal, and somewhat uncomfortable. I had a vasectomy a year ago or so, and when it gets like this – I swear I can feel the surgical clamps (Little metal things that look like staples) poking against the inside of my skin. Not sure if it’s related to stopping the AI or not, but just thought I’d note it here for now.
I’ll go back for more blood work after a couple of weeks of being off the AI o see where my T and E are at, and will note it here.
[quote]rfish1966 wrote:
Jesse N Mills MD, this is my urologist as well, he uses pretty cutting edge protocols. He might eventually help me out with my GH therapy…[/quote]
Easily the best guy in the Rockies to see for TRT, and not afraid to try drugs and strategies that other Docs simply don’t understand. Highly recommended.
1 Month Update after stopping the AI – I’ve had no major noticeable change, and have been able to maintain a pretty steady quality of life. I think doing 5MG of Cialis here and there is having more impact than before I quit the AI. Sex drive / Sex performance may be slightly improved also.
Still going through a high level of stress in the personal life, which I’m sure isn’t good. Tough to deal with that stuff, other than just popping a .5 of Xanax every so often to make sure I don’t blow a gasket, and still get good sleep. Seems to work well for me so far!
p.s. – Anybody else notice their testicles tightening / becoming more uncomfortable after discontinuing Adex? Mine have seemed to be crampy and tighter than usual since the AI left my system, and I’m wondering if it was directly caused by higher E2 levels? Hmm…
Update – FRUSTRATED! I crashed again about a couple months ago, and haven’t been reliable in the sack without Cialis, so that’s a bummer. I see my Andrologist again in a week, and just got new bloodwork (No results yet), but I suspect maybe my E2 has drifted higher, and I’ll be able to restart my AI to bring it back toward the sweet spot.
Also, I’ve had horrible tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and been suffering from a blocked right ear for several months now. While I do fly frequently, and have always had problems with this ear on and off in the past – it’s never lasted this long before, or been this bad. My real worry is that my Cialis use may be contributing to it, and that it may be irreversible at this point. The only side effect my doc could find listed for CIalis was hearing loss but it was “Very very rare!” – and while I do have some hearing loss, it seems it may be Eustachian tube dysfunction, due to the pressure I’m having, etc… So I’m trying to to worry too much until I see the ENT doctor that I’m being referred to.
Easy to get depressed when you’re only 38 years old, and it feels like your body is falling apart. When it’s not one thing, it’s something else. I have been working out more at the gym, and doing lots of cardio which has helped my mood, etc – but I have been feeling down a lot lately for sure. Next update to come after I get my blood work / meet with my doc to review it.
I understand that you have issues with getting the TRT sorted, but that shouldn’t be your priority. You need to get your diet sorted out. Your lipid panels are shit. The Trig’s are about 5-6 times higher than they should be. The HDL’s are low and the LDL’s are too high. Step away from the ice cream, Snackwell’s or whatever the hell you’re eating.
Eat real food. If you had a garden, then eat the stuff out of that. Eat lean meats, make it a game to eat stuff that is not processed. The more processing a food has, the worse it is for you. Drop the sugar and pull out a huge portion of the carbs. Make the carbs that you do eat things like roots and tubers. If you’re not a Paleo guy, then have some legumes as well. If you have a particularly big workout, then some rice or something like that. Getting a diet sorted is a pain in the ass, but it’s very, very important.
You gotta get that stuff sorted out way before TRT is your main issue.
[quote]seekonk wrote:
At 800 to 20 there is nothing wrong with the T/E ratio - that’s higher than most healthy men’s, so I am a bit stumped as to why he thinks that should be treated further. It’s more likely that the problem, if any, lies somewhere else.
Both the high blood pressure and the soft erections may be the result of too high of a T dose. I can’t believe they put you on blood pressure meds instead of first reducing your T dose. I would rather significantly reduce the dose and see if these issues improve. You are not going to have any better sexual function at 800 ng/dL than at, say, 400 ng/dL (there are actually some studies showing this). It is a common misconception that libido is proportional to T dose; in reality it is more like an on-off switch that lies somewhere between 250 ng/dL and 350 ng/dL. [/quote]
I’m due for a full CBC again in January for my annual physical, but I think I’ve been doing pretty well on that front. I expect my TRI’s will be down, as I’ve lost some weight (I’m 5’10 / 180 pounds, and have a pretty flat stomach – You can see abs, etc even though I don’t do much to them. Just cardio 3 times a week mainly + lots of walking). I cut out most processed sugar a few years ago when I started TRT, because I had fatty liver at that time. I seem to have gotten rid of the fatty liver, as my last MRI showed it was clean. I credit giving up soda for that.
Look at adrenals. Do a 4x saliva test. I get mine from canary club. If you’re under a bunch of stress, it’s pretty clear what you need to focus on. If you’re lucky it will be sky high and you can take the proper steps to fix it. If it’s really low and you’re running on adrenaline to compensate, you have much longer road to recovery.
I’d start with a good adaptogen if you can’t manage the stress with lifestyle changes. Sometimes there’s no avoiding the stressor and you need to take steps to minimize the biological effects. Also make sure you’re getting rock solid sleep.
Misery loves company, but this does seem manageable if you get it dialed in…