Have You Overcome TRT Induced ED?

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
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New update 03/10/23:

Thank you to everyone who offered knowledge and support related to my problem. I’m happy to say I listened to you all and changed my testosterone injection protocol from 1x/week to 2x/ per week and the ED is gone. I don’t know exactly why things are working again but I’m happy things are better. As far as the new protocol goes, I’m not feeling the same energy boost I used to get when injecting 1x/week but this protocol is new and I know you’d all tell me to give it 6 weeks before making any assumptions.

Thanks again to all of you!

Friends,
I started TRT 3 months ago and now I have ED. I didn’t have it before TRT and now I do. We could get into the weeds on whether or not TRT is the cause of the problem, but lets just assume it is. I’m talking about weak erections, not libido issues. Now what can I do? I’ve read a 100 posts about guys dealing with this. There must a ton of you who’ve successfully overcome this issue and now have a satisfying sex life. This is a game changing problem. I feel amazing on TRT and have no other side effects. I don’t want to take boner drugs, I’m perfectly healthy and will work diligently to find a solution.

I’m 50, very athletic, low body fat, lift weights and do cardio 5 days a week. I eat healthy, don’t look at Porn. I had low libido and energy issues with total testosterone numbers below 200 before starting TRT.

I inject 100ml of 200mg Testosterone Cypionate 1 x per week.

Here’s my 3 month blood tests results.
Total Test: 984 ng/dl
Free Test: 323 pg/ml
Testosterone free %: 3.3
SHBG: 15
Estradiol: 35 pg/ml
Hemoglobin: 15.6 g/dl
Hematocrit%: 47.2

There has to be some success stories out there. have you tried supplements like pycnogenol & L Arginine, have you changed your injection protocol, reduced your dose? I get rock hard boners when I sleep, but when it’s time for sex I’m not getting hard as I used to and it takes way longer to get an erection. I have high libido and I can’t think of any other problems. I now believe I’m suffering from performance anxiety. When it’s time to have intercourse or during foreplay I actually feel a wave come over my body, maybe hormonal, that stops my erection in its tracks. Thanks in advance for your advice.

NEW UPDATE 12/23/24*
Well, I’m now 3 years into TRT and every time I think I’ve found a solution to low libido it eventually comes back. All of my bloods are in normal ranges, I work out 4 days a week, cardio and weights, eat healthy, 15% body fat, sleep great, not a ton of stress, blah blah blah, the same story every other guy has.

Total T: 900
Free T: 24.6
E2: 24
SHBG: 16
Injecting 100 mg test cypionate div x2/wk.

I’ve had some amazing tips from everyone in this forum, but nothing has sustained. If there’s any new science out there that can resolve this issue I’d love to hear it. I never thought TRT would destroy my sex life but that’s where I’m at.

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An excess of androgens can do this by way of an onslaught of hormonal signaling.

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Clarify this please. You are most certainly not taking 100ml a week.

This is very high. Agree with @systemlord that excessive androgens may be the problem. You may also benefit from splitting your dose into multiple pins per week.

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Sorry, I’m injecting 0.5 mLs once weekly. So after reading these responses my question is will splitting my dose into two weekly injections actually lower my total and free testosterone levels so I will avoid such a high spike in androgens? Would it be better to just lower my prescribed dose altogether and keep injecting once per week?

Thank you,

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Splitting your injection will tighten up your peaks and valleys. Talk to your medical professional about trying this for a few weeks first and if no improvement a reduction in dose would be appropriate.

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Awesome, thank you

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When did you test blood relative to your last injection?

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Blood tested on day 4 after injection, based on my test results I may be a hyper responder

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1ml of 200 mg would be 200 mg weekly, which is at the higher end for TRT dosing and is a mild steroid cycle for some men. I don’t know of any syringes with a volume greater than 1 ml.

So you need to workout how much Test you’re actually injecting before claiming to be a hyper-responder.

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If you look at my previous reply I clarified my weekly dose is .05 mls

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Sorry, 0.5 mls

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Being a hyper responder was framed as a question, not a statement of fact. I’m brand new to TRT, I don’t claim to know anything.

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Be good to do a round of bloods at true trough.

You are on weekly dosing and day 4 is a good mid snapshot for labs but looking at labs morning of injection day could be helpful for comparison due to the lag you get with e2.

Out of interest is it consistent or does it change on days relative to your injection day?

By that I mean is it worse or better depending how close or after injection day?

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I feel better right before injection day.

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Huh?

I have used 3ml BD syringes since 1977. I do know those waste a small amount.

I had a school mate that became a pharmacist. I bought a box of 100, BD 22 gauge, 1.5" syringes and needles on one occasion.

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Ya I got plenty 5ml syringes.

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In which case is sounds like you’re probably not great when you’re T levels are at the higher part of your week.

T to E ratios have a massive impact on erections.

If it were me I’d try pinning e8d rather than every 7. It’ll bring your peak down and your overall levels a bit lower on average.

If you’re at your best at trough it would suggest you need a lower dose.

Splitting it into 2 injections would also reduce your peak but itll actually raise your trough moving you away from the levels that youre currently finding work well.

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TOT baby

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If your libido is high and you have erections in your sleep, then this might be of a mental cause.

This past year my libido took a nosedive but i routinely get erections in my sleep. Because arousal was lagging, of course things didn’t work right for sex. I discussed this with my andrologist/urologist and we went over the checklist:

Neurogenic cause for ED? Nope.
Cardio cause? Nope.
Hormonal cause? Nope. T and E all good.
Mental? Most likely.

We went over physical causes and they weren’t there. And my mind was just elsewhere over the past year: my health (gym, cooking), children, chores, friends, reading. I also had stints of horrible insomnia in the past year. I even said to my wife, “I dunno what the heck is going on. I’ll talk to the doc on my next visit.”

What helped me was cialis, which I was hesitant to take. I even told my urologist when he offered, “oh, I dunno. I feel like an old man.” He replied, “why not give it a try?”
I did and it worked. What it did for me was help my mind relax, knowing that I had an aid.

Have you considered such drugs? HCG also helps some men with libido and sensitivity according to anecdotal stories. I recently started it again and the last time I used it my libido was way up there.

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Thank you so much for your perspective, it’s totally possible that it’s mental. I do get apprehensive before sex now.

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