Hey everyone! Respect to all forum members for the invaluable information.
A little bit about me:
24
6’2 ft
195 lbs with around 15% bodyfat.
I have been working since 7 years but only have seen major progress after TRT and a cycle i did a year ago. I was diagnosed with secondary hypogonadism by the way.
These days i am bulking up and consistently workout 3-4 times a week.
I am facing some significant mental challenges, struggling with concentration, specially social interactions, decision-making, and an overall unease in social situations. The constant brain fog is affecting my cognitive clarity, and there’s a noticeable dip in my energy levels. I have experienced a decrease in libido and a major lack of happiness. After TRT for about 3 years, I have recently observed a decline in sharpness and street smarts, impacting both my vitality and social energy. My self confidence level is tanked right now.
Being a low Shbg guy (12-16), I have been using 12mg Test E every day for the past few years with significant benefits under the care of Defy. All my earlier lab tests have been pretty much fine throughout this time. However, i am still struggling mentally. More than Pre-TRT I would say when i was more of an extrovert. It feels like as if i have developed ADHD.
Recently i got my labs done in the US for the first time and i have attached the results. I have upcoming appointment with Defy and i would appreciate any feedback regarding the labs and highlighters that i should be discussing with the Doctor.
Too much Test can be as bad as not enough. One should always run ferritin labs 6-12 months after starting TRT, because some men burn through iron stores faster on TRT.
I had many of your symptoms at 80mg/wk. It finallly got so bad I wasn’t sleeping hardly at all. I backed down to 63 mg and I have had adjustement problems. Some things better some just as bad. Sleep is hit and miss. Biggest issue right now is nausea along with sleep. It’s like I was numbed for 6 months and now my brain is clicking faster so concentration sucks.
I don’t know if reducing 20% was too much or not but my body was used to hormones at a level for a year and so I’m struggling. Trying to be patients but too low mimics too high symptoms so it’s feeling and test after 6 to 8 weeks. Anxiety is also bad right now and shaky after eating.
Hey man, i hope you start feeling your best soon. Going below 80 on TRT sounds too low but then again free testosterone is way above the normal. I will discuss about lowering the dosage with the doctor tomorrow. I have the exact same feeling, my brain is numb and it always feels like i cannot bond with anyone at all because i don’t feel anything. You mentioned some of your symptoms improved, can you
explain them? What about your energy levels? Idk if this is TRT or what but being awkward in social gatherings has made me an
@systemlord i never got my ferritin levels checked. I’ll get it tested. Sleep is not my major concern though. Low social energy, lack of emotions and happiness, and everything mental related are. I don’t feel any adrenaline rush like i used to when working out etc. Can it be related to neurotransmitters like low dopamine and serotonin? i do have a history of dht blockers use but that was a long time ago.
My clarity is much better since I lowered but being numb for so long it has made me anxious like too much stimuli right now since lowering. It’s like I woke up after being groggy for 6 months. My balance is better and I am engaging people better not near as combative and much nicer to my wife. My sex drive was out of control and I was always looking which gets creepy after time. My headaches are gone. I am more present and my workouts are feel better. I got to where I seemed fatigued all of the time and would say “fuck it” more often than usual. No change in strength either.
I just feel more normal in some ways but have sleep issues, anxiety, some twitches, and nausea waves and it’s like I have to crap 3 times a day or more. Anxiety is worse after I eat. Weird stuff I wish I had some sort of explanation for and I asked my doctor if it was some type of withdrawal. My doctor said once my levels reduce then I have to give it time to adjust and because it’s a long ester with cyp and the amount of time I was on my dose it’s going to take time. It’s hard to get into the mode that this will get better and not panic some.
I can’t answer to your below 80 is too low but your levels are high and you are are on 84 mg/wk. Not sure the percent test in test E. I am trying to go by feeling then check levels so I can match them. My only recommendation is that IF you lower I’d do it slow so the shock it less.
Highpull, any thoughts? Systemlord? anyone else? Any thoughts on to what we are feeling at higher levels and the weird stuff like withdrawal I am feeling? I have a habit of being medication sensitive and am called a slow metabolizer. Anways take much smaller doses of oral medications but thought test might be different.
Definitely getting my ferritin checks per systemlord. Man, I’d love to be on something that functioned like cream did that mimicked natural outpouts better. At a peak of 150 free and 500 TT i was doing awesome jsut had absorption fatigue. I would go back in a heartbeat if I could get it working better. Didn’t have the luck like some on atrevis.
I also don’t have a problem pinning everyday as right now it’s EOD
I had an appointment with defy and they have added hcg and low dose pregnenlone in my protocol. On TRT, it’s common to have some mental sides given you dont produce LH so pregnenolone gets bypassed which is important for mental well being. Doctor also advised me to lower the test dose to 70mg/wk. Let’s see if anything improves in 4-6 weeks.
I have not but it’s on my radar that is for sure. I’m waiting to see how things shake out in the next few weeks as I’m in flux so waiting for it to settle down. Are you adding both at the same time? Preg and hcg? What are the doses? Wouldn’t the hcg work on the upstream hormones too?
I really think lowering the dose by 20% was a mistake for me but maybe we just have to ride it out.
@Gibbon I have yet to receive the exact prescription but it was 100iu hcg ed and i guess 50mg preg before sleeping. Hcg does give a slight increase in preg levels as it only mimics the job what LH does but oral/transdermal preg should be good to reach optimal levels.
@roscoe88 that is great to hear man. What dosage are you taking?
Please keep me updated on the 70 mg/wk and the additions. Seems like we have similiar responses. I found out my hemocrit was up to 50.9% even after i lowered my dose to 63 mg/wk but don’t know how long it takes after a dose change to see it go down. Doc was ok with it though. So I do think me lowering my dose is a good thing in the longterm I just have to ride it out.
I was taking 80.5 mg/wk and am now at 63 mg/wk. But as I was reminded by my doctor there are a few people in my family, including me, who need half to a quarter of all medications. I remember when taking atrevis I was using a quarter of the recommended and had levels in the 80th precentile. That is until I stop absorbing. Being secondary hypo and apparently never having total above 300 and for at least 10 years had totals from 140 to 170 it probably isn’t suprising when my free is 4 to 5 times higher I have benefits. My free was 26 (48 min) when I started TRT so to have a trough almost 7 times higher which my be too much for me.
I am catiously optmistic as things are improving but not in a linear fashion.
I also stopped my TRT after a lot of sides that you have as well. The mental sides are no joke. My mental cognitive functions went down, word recall, memory issues, also had anger and anxiety issues that came in waves. Some hot flashes here and there and ofc the mother of all- the BP spikes which made me feel wired, edgy, always stuck in that flight or fight scenario, or its the other way around, who knows. The chicken and the egg question. Irritability and lack of patience came in waves as well. Proper diet, cardio, workout regime, supps, sleep hygiene, no drugs, you name it, but very volatile lifestyle so huge stress for decades. Couldn’t make it work the way I like it and was just too much of a chore on the daily so I just got off cold turkey like 8 weeks ago after a year or so on trying a lot of things without much success. So now went to treat my cortisol issues and learn to manage stress better. I suspect adrenal fatigue/insufficiency so working on that now and on my gut issues after a nasty H Pylori chronic bug which fucked me up real good as well
Hang in there. If it doesn’t get better consider getting off and doing a break. Recover and see how you feel. Then attack with fresh mind feeling better, I’m sure you will find better answers and more reasonable, working solutions.
P.s. also make sure you are eating good as diet is crucial for mental health as well.
If you are asking me then as per my post above- 8 weeks Nah, not even lowering dose. Changing injection frequency, etc, etc. Just got really tired and spent 12 months trying to feel normal. Still have plenty of test left and some deca. Might revisit sometime in the future but for now enjoying being cool, calm and collected vs being overstimulated and hot most of the time. I documented my experiment over at excelmale if you want to check precise logs.
