Hello, i recently discovered my test levels are pretty low for my age ( 26 ). My endocrinologist put me on 500iu injections every other day, with 5mg arimidex 2x weekly. My levels before were at 150ng/dl Which is pretty bad. SHBG was on the high end, and my free test was also low. Any insights on doing hcg with arimidex? I’m curious as to how long it will take, and any other things i can do to help.
There is absolutely no reason to be taking arimidex this way. Arimidex is an AI, which is great when you’re taking a substance that aromatizes. HCG causes aromatization intratesticularly. Arimidex will not stop this process in any way.
iron_yuppie is correct arimidex can’t effect E2 inside the testicles, lowering the HCG dosage is the only way to lower E2 in this case.
How high is SHBG? HCG doesn’t usually work to lower high SHBG, it would be the same as if SHBG was high with testosterone high, you wouldn’t expect much results.
HCG rarely works in the place of TRT.
shbg was 88, and why would my doctor put me on HCG with arimidex if it doesnt work ?
HCG will not work, you need to find a specialists. Larger doses of testosterone is the only way to lower overly high SHBG. You doctors is just uninformed.
She said she didn’t want to start me on testosterone, mainly because of how young I am. She wants to see if she can raise my levels by helping the testes naturally produce more.
She doesn’t want to get slapped with lawsuits, it’s as simple as that. You being young is dangerous and could be career ending for giving a young man TRT.
So then what am i supposed to do? I have a friend who did the hcg – and his levels went from 300 avg to 750 in 3 months.
Any extra testosterone produced by your testicles will get bound to the SHBG and your body will see none of it. If this doctor knew what she was doing she would know TRT is the only solution. You need to find a specialist outside of insurance, hormones specialist rarely exists inside insurance networks.
Sports medicine and anti-aging have been doing TRT for decades and is where all the specialists are located. Defy medical is such a place, it offers telemedicine and mails everything to your home. I’m a patient and can speak that Defy staffs experts in TRT.
Damn, so i’m spending a bunch of money for no reason then. Should i at least wait another month and see how it pans out with my blood levels?
HCG is more profitable than TRT and that’s how doctors make their money. Stop thinking about this as doctors wanting to help people and think of it more like a business. Time and time again the more expensive treatments are offered first rather than the least expensive and most effective treatment methods.
I often see T-Gels and HCG as the first line of defence for those with low testosterone, they happen to be the least effective more expensive treatment options.
So which route would you suggest i take? I already dished out about 450 bucks with the place im at now. So it’s hard because im already engaged with them.
You can continue to dish out money and see no results, or you can go somewhere else where doctors don’t play these games. Defy Medical is on average $100-$160 monthly including labs, medicine and visits, they don’t play games.
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What would Defy start me on? Testosterone combined with some other drugs to maintain homeostasis?
There are going to run labs to determine what protocol is best for you, SHBG is measured and a protocol is designed around this value. You will be unable to do an HPTA restart do to very high SHBG, restarts raise SHBG significantly so TRT is the only option and your current doctor isn’t skilled enough to know that.
I’m on 20mg EOD (80mg weekly) and .125 EOD, this is what a protocol looks like for someone with low SHBG. High SHBG is the opposite, larger dosages less frequently to drive down SHBG and free up more free testosterone.
I would assume 70-80mg twice weekly and the AI will depend on your E2 levels after the first 6 weeks.
Ok, i’m going to wait for my blood results that are coming in this week, and i’ll speak to my endocrinologist about that. And then i’ll make the determination to switch.
There’s your problem, an endocrinologist. They don’t normally specialize in TRT, they do thyroid, fertility and diabetes. She’s sticking to what she knows best instead of dabling into an area unknown to her.
The place i go to is called Total T. I see big ass dudes coming in and out of that place all the time. Feels unfortunate to think they won’t help me. I just want my old body back lol
Do you mean .5 mg or actually 5 mg? If the Dr meant 5 mg she would be seriously harming you and destroying all your joints permanently and creating sexual dysfunction. Great reason to get a new Dr.
You can find a urologist who specializes in hormone replacement or an Endocrinologist who does. A young guy like you should see an Endocrinologist regardless to rule out other issues.
Dr hopefully ordered labs like
Total t
Free t
LH
FSH
Prolactin
Cortisol
TSH
Free t3
Free t4
Shbg
Lipid panel
Metabolic panel
CBC
Estradiol sensitive
If Dr did not order most of these tests they no good.
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Maybe it is 5 mg of aromasin? That would be about equal to 0.2 mg of adix.
Maybe OP had high E2? Doesn’t lowering E2 lead to a decrease in SHBG?
I am currently working with Defy, and I just got prescribed a very similar protocol. My SHBG was 34 though.
HCG: 500 iu 3X per week
Adix: 0.125 mg with the HCG (so 3X per week)
Cytomel: 5 - 15 mcg starting with 5 mcg for the first week and titrating up to 15 mcg over 3 weeks (Cytomel is a synthetic T3 med for hypothyroid).
I am 30, so they wanted to see how this worked, and evaluate in a couple months. Might or might not work, but starting with less, and going to more (T shots) is not a bad way to go. The doctor said I will likely need to move to T shots, but he wanted to see what my balls could do before hand.
If the protocol doesn’t work for you, at least you will have an understanding of how AIs and HCG impact you.