Running into the typical run around with Dr’s and insurance companies. My primary Doc gave me a gel scrip but I cannot afford $300 a month out of pocket. I am 36 yr old male with TT at 289 one month ago. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I am new this TRT thing but just want to feel normal not looking to turn into He Man.
insurance?
Yes , I have insurance but require prior approval from Doc for gels and patches. They will cover injection but running into road block as no doc will allow in home injections. They all want an office visit to do the injection there. My deductible is 3k a year. Thus the reason to find a way to do injections myself without going underground. There must be somebody on the Atl area that will work with me?J
Go to pharmacies in your area and ask them for referrals to doctors that have filled test prescriptions for patients in their pharmacy.
Try Robert P. Goldman MD. He has a practice in Alpharetta, Ga and seems to be very sharp and UTD about TRT.
Badrad 123
How did you come across Him? Have you been seen by him?
Hi Mac79,
I had my first appointment last week and he seemed to be very “up to speed” on all the TRT protocols. I received his name from a friend at work that is seeing him for TRT. It took about a month before I could get in to see him because of his schedule. The first appointment he asked all the questions and then did a ton of blood work including E2. I have my followup in 2 weeks since he’ll be on vacation next week.
In the first appointment he talked more about TRT and asked more questions about me than my PCP did in the past 4 visits. I’m currently on 4 pumps of androgel but my levels are still below 200. He showed me a few ways to rub in the gel better but he said most likely I’ll need a compound gel or weekly shots.
Good luck.
Badrad123,
Thanks for the referral. I took a look at his website and your are right on he appears to have it together. I have an apt with him Sept 4. A little longer than I wanted to wait but not much you can do he is busy for a reason. I will keep things posted on here on how it goes. Do you think he would allow you to do your own injections? I am not sure gels or patches will work very well my job. Thanks again for the help.
Good to hear. Yes, he said if I do shots then I could do on my own or have my wife do it.
Good luck.
Not sure Dr. G is the answer. Ran all the bloodwork but like to use compounded cream and does not appear to use the rest of the protocol. I think I am going to look elesewhere. Thanks to Bad Rad for the info provided about another option is a post below.
Another doctor in that area, actually Roswell, is Dr. Forrest Smith. I am prescribed and on a program that is fairly standard - Test+HCG+AI
Thanks BadRad 123 for the following
Let’s try this again. Yes, I’m still seeing him and as you said, he does not like to use HCG or arimidex. Since my next follow up isn’t for another 5 months, I decided to look for another doc that might follow the T+HCG+arimidex protocol or at least willing.
I found the Agewell Men’s Institute in Alpharetta. http://www.agewellmensinstitut…
770-559-5834
He takes insurance and uses t+HCG+arimidex. The only thing, they like you to come in each week so they can administer the shots and then after 6 weeks they will give you a month’s worth of prefilled syringes. I was able to get him to let me self-inject from the beginning. I just have to go in each week for the initial 6 weeks.
Give it a try. It?s a good second option.
Good luck
I second Mac79.
I saw this post on July and had an appointment with Dr. Goldman. He was awesome on the first visit. Asked a lot of questions, ordered a lot of tests. He said he wanted to find out why I have low T before he would prescribe anything. I was very happy.
But on the second visit, he was a different doctor.
My E2 was 42, my testosterone was 320. (I have been on 100ml/week for few months now).
He zeroed in on the fact that I gained 20 lb in the last 3 months (while I was on testosterone threapy, which he ignored it as irrelevant) and that I’m a vegetarian. He assumed that I must be eating a lot of carbs (while in fact, I have been watching my carb intake during the whole time) and that’s the cause for high E2. He refused to consider any AI, didn’t want to talk about HCG.
Avoid this guy like a plague. I’m now considering whether to go to Dr.Forrest Smith suggested by Gold_Dog.
Man, I hate this low testosterone and TRT. I have put on more weight, have had severe headaches on it, have shortness of breath (high RBC count), etc. And to top it off, it’s so hard to find a doctor who knows his/her shit.
Anotherhawkeye
You are correct about Goldman pretty much same experience with me. I did try Agewell men’s institute and they will with a similar protocol though I did not get the impression they would Rx for home injection. I think they will give up a couple of prefilled to take home. They can be expensive without insurance. I would suggest calling and asking generic questions the girl pretty much tells you exactly how they operate. I am in limbo at the moment and have another thread" No difference since starting trt" there is some info there as well.
Anybody have any suggestions. As big as ATL is i cannot imagine there is not a few Doc who know their stuff. I am comming up on the end of RX and need to get a refill. Not sure I care to see Goldman again, nut may have to.
As I suggested above, you may want to visit Dr. Smith - self-injected T at home, prescribes HCG, Naturethroid for thyroid issues. She is also into other supplements and various alternatives, but does not push it too hard if you do not want to go a particular direction.
Hi Gold_Dog,
Does she give you a month worth of prescriptions or up to 3 or 6 months ? Just curious if you need to visit each month for the scrip. I know she is considered “out of network” per my insurance so the cost is what has prevented me from visiting her and staying with Goldman for the Test Cyp. I’ve just recently ordered HCG via overseas since Dr, Goldman won’t offer. Thanks for the info.
Called Dr. Smith office they do not accept insurance but will give you the documentation for you to submit. From what I could make, first office visit is approx $250 plus meds and labs. Second visit is approx 6wks later with more labs if things are stable and on the right track they will do every six month follow up. They submit RX to a compounding pharmacy out of Florida and the meds are sent to your home. An option but sounds expensive.
Thanks Mac79. It does sound expensive so I’ll need to find out how much my insurance will cover when it comes to the visit and meds.
I have given up on Dr. Goldman and considering going with either Dr.Smith or Agewell institute. I’m not particularly fond of going with Dr.Smith because of lack of insurance. Dr. Snyder (Agewell) is in my network, so I’m leaning towards him even though it’s a pain to visit every week for 6 weeks.
Mac79, badrad123: Any updates on Dr.Smith or Agewell institute?