A few developments to report. I was under the impression that TRT would solve my anxiety and depression, this was clearly not the case with me so I decided to treat low T and depression/anxiety as separate illnesses.
I have upped my dose of Mirtazapine to 30mg, this is more of an antidepressant dose and not so much for insomnia although my sleep has vastly improved over the 2 weeks in which I have increased the dose, I now sleep almost all night now which is half of the battle won,
I also think my mood is improving so I am looking forward to further improvements over the next few weeks. I am not entirely happy that I have to take an antidepressant again after I quit in 2017, but my mood was getting dangerously low and I started having suicidal thoughts which needed to be dealt with and it wasn’t going to get better on it’s own.
I have also started Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to try and get to the bottom of my problems and also to change my thought process - early days yet but I’m hoping this along with the medication will help me to get well again.
TRT: I have decided not to obsess about this, I was too quick to chop and change protocols and this made me very unstable, yes my E2 was quite high but I don’t think this was at the root of my problems, it added to my existing anxieties of course. Current protocol is Sustanon 40mg every 3.5 days, I have also started 0.25mg x 2 weekly of arimidex 2 weeks ago and I do feel calmer in myself and I think I can feel the Testosterone a bit more, although my libido has diminished slightly but this could be down to the Mirtazapine side effects which are making me a bit groggy and sick/headache - nothing that viagra can’t solve!
I will get my labs next week and potentially up my dose of Testosterone slightly OR adjust my arimidex dose. I have also been advised by my doc to add in HCG @ 100iu daily but I will wait a little longer before I add this into the mix, I just need stability right now and I don’t want the HCG to become another anxiety.
Sooooo, all in all I am improving and the future looks a lot brighter for me, I have a long way to go but I am now getting the right support to get well.
Sorry for the long winded answer, I just thought it was only right to update my log so people can monitor my progress.
Don’t. That is the single most useless way to take HCG. 100 IU won’t actually make a measurable difference in anything (there is a study showing this) and it’s method of action means that daily is also pointless. EOD is the max and you need at least 250 IU’s to accomplish anything that’s not psychosomatic.
Thanks for the info, it would be actually better for me if I didn’t have to inject it daily.
I’m not even sure whether to do it yet, I’m very nervous about adding it whilst I am still in a fragile state. Based on what you have just told me I would probably take 250iu eod or 3 times per week MWF
No, it’s about the same as 0 ever. 100 IU isn’t enough to do anything, and you can’t take it closer together than EOD. 250 IU every day would be no better than 250 IU EOD, and possibly less effective.
@increasemyt posted a study on efficacy and dosing in one of the other threads. Basically, the shot of HCG uses up the capacity and it takes about two days to clear it to go again, it isn’t LH and doesn’t work exactly like LH.
No need to dose more than every 72 hours due to refractory period, as @hardartery explained.
A lot of people do 250IU because of the study shippen did showing you can maintain semen parameters with that much HCG while on TRT.
I personally think anything less than 500 IU in a single shot is a waste of time and money, Doc Scally wrote about this often and this is where I picked it up. Although 250 IU maintains semen parameters, that doesn’t tell us much about function, I think stimulating it the whole HPTA system is important, not just the gonads.
They are separate, but I had too high of a dose of TRT and it caused anxiety, heart racing, shortness of breath and anxiety for me. Pretty sure it’s because my diet before TRT messed up my thyroid and adrenals and the high TRT dose exposed the weak links.
Anyway, I really think you might want to read The Mood Cure by Julia Ross. She runs clinics in California that have cured tons of people of their anxiety and insomnia through diet changes and amino acids. They also offer a virtual clinic.
I just started working with them and it’s dramatically improved my insomnia already.
I’m so pleased for you. It’ll take time for your body to heal so don’t be discouraged if you don’t enjoy instant results. You may only need the Mirtz to help you get back to a healthy place; thereafter, you may be able to ween yourself off it (under dr supervision, of course).
Interestingly, I have just received (limited) blood work which indicates v. high testosterone levels! My usage is approx 160mg a week. I’ll step this back and see if my sleep improves
Total T: 43 H (6 - 28)
SHBG: 30 (15-50)
Free T: 1154 H (200 - 600)
… I’ve currently hit the “side effect” stage of the increased dose of Mirtazapine which includes lethargy, headache and sickness. It would be too easy to give up now, I need to keep telling myself that this is an adjustment period and part of the process, I’m nearly 4 weeks in so I need to give it at least 6-8 weeks before I make any rash decisions.
I will also be starting HCG next week after 8 months on TRT, this has been advised by my doctor. He wanted me to take 3 hefty doses of 500iu x 3 weekly which I am reluctant to do considering I convert easily to E2. Lots of my TRT friends are doing 100iu every day but I dont like the idea of doing this daily for life so I am considering 250iu x 2 weekly… I’m just digging around for some info on a decent protocol.
Yes, looking at your levels you could definitely reduce dose. I am very surprised by the big dosage difference between UK and US guys, we take half the amount of what you guys take, I don’t know anyone that takes over 100mg pw!
I hope you are well bro and I will never forget the support you guys have given me over the past months!
Gee that is frustrating. Are you still sleeping well, though?
I can’t comment on HCG as i’ve never used it - I do not have any intention to have children, and I’m not concerned with ball shrinkage, so it has never been part of the equation for me.
Are you working out? As you know, I have pretty much all of your symptoms, including the extreme insomnia, lethargy, weakness, headaches, etc. The major changer for me was intense exercise. every single day. Some how the exercise has ‘fixed’ most of my problems, as in I’ve gone from a 9/10 in symptom severity to a 3/10. It took a few months but it has triggered internal healing. The TRT was a massive part of my ability to exercise to begin with so I don’t discount the contribution that testosterone has made to my recovery. Obviously my levels are now too high, but frankly, I feel great and am horny as hell. If only I could sleep a little more I reckon i’d be back to how I used to be.
Ahhh an Aussie! Sorry for the assumption you were from the US!
I started back at the gym this week after almost 18 months. I must say my strength was very surprising taking into account I hadn’t done anything for a long time. I came away from the gym feeling pretty damn good although the day after I suffered with residule chronic fatigue - I’m hoping this will improve over time. I intend on going to the gym tonight regardless of how tired I feel, I need to get my body active again.
Regarding the HCG, I wasn’t bothered by infertility nor testicular shrinkage, but after watching lots of videos about the importance of keeping the testicles alive, I have decided to take the plunge. The testicles also make hormones that are essential to good health and the HCG is commonplace over here with TRT. A personal friend just added it to his protocol and he says he feels amazing!
… my libido has vanished again, not sure if its the reduced dose of T, the AI, the mirtazapine or a combination of all of these. I should have lab results back tomorrow…
… my sleep is a lot better than it was, although i do wake up a few times through the night but luckily I am able to get back to sleep, the 30mg of mirtazapine is more activating than the 15mg so it’s a little more difficult to drop off.
I put my sleep problems down to me stopping SSRIs after 15 years and anxiety coming back with a vengeance
The introduction of testosterone to my body and starting at a high dose, more than my body could handle
High E2
I am getting there, I have addressed all the areas above and I am making progress. I thought I would never sleep again!!
