Been lurking around in this form since the middle of last year, this is my first post. I wanted to give a Thank You to all of the knowledgeable members / contributors to this forum. If I wasn’t fortunate enough to have found this forum, I seriously doubt that I would be on the positive road to recovery / improvements that I am on now.
I am not at 100% yet, but I am confident that I will eventually get there with the knowledge I’ve gained from this forum.
Like a lot of the guys here, I had the classic symptoms, felt like my life was falling apart, been treated for and prescribed meds for depression, adhd/add, narcolepsy, etc. None of which made a difference. I was fortunate enough to have one of my docs suggest getting tested for low T. To make a long story short, my T though not rock bottom low, though it was on the lower end of the spectrum.
I was prescribed androgel, and within a few days, I felt alive again. This lasted for a few weeks, after a while, after increasing the dosage, prepping application sites with scrub pads and loofahs, trying different applications sites all over the body, the effects totally faded away and I was back to feeling like crap. I knew this was the cure for my problems, as when it was working, I felt like living life again while it did work. After researching this forum, I had a really good idea of what I needed as a protocol.
I went back to the doctor that prescribed the agel, (I’ve also tried axiron) and explained that I wanted injections. Of course he didn’t prescribe them, and I tried explaining to him the modern day trt protocol and required blood tests, he admitted that this was well beyond his expertise and referred me to an endo.
Anyway, there is a lot I left out regarding my dealings with doctors, though I am sure a lot of you probably know what kind of nonsense I’ve had to go through, so I won’t waste your time with that. So I called around to a couple of local compounding pharmacies, and they openly advised me of the doctors in my area that prescribe injections. I scheduled an appointment with the closest doctor, explained what was going on, and told him that I didn’t think I was absorbing the agel anymore.
He had me do a blood test which confirmed my belief, we even found that my TT was lower than it was before I started therapy. He prescribed test cyp with no argument, and asked if I wanted to self inject.
My current doctor isn’t up to speed on modern trt, but I am fine with that as I feel that I know what I need as I’ve learned here. I am only prescribed test, nothing else like adex or hcg. I’ve asked him about it, and he referred me to an endo. I’m not interested in looking around for doctors, as I’ve been through so many already. I saw short lived benefits from the injections, but began to feel bad again.
From what I’ve learned here, I assumed that my estrogen levels are starting too high causing similar symptoms I had before trt therapy. I ordered some anastrozole and just implemented that into my therapy. I’ve only been on it for about 4 days, but it seems as though things are starting to get better already. I feel better overall, libido is not back yet, but I can feel some urges.
Woke up this morning with morning wood for the first time in about 5 weeks, and I feel much better mentally. If wasn’t feeling better, I wouldn’t have the energy or desire to submit this post.
I think I am on the right track, and I will post what little blood work I have if this helps. I understand from the stickies that I’ve read what is needed, but I haven’t been able to convince my doctors to request the appropriate labs.
Right now I am 60mg test cyp e3d. I’ve also just started .5ml of liquid anastrozole on the same day of my injection. I’ve only had 2 doses of the anastrozole so far.
First labs prior to TRT: Nov. 2011
TT: 384 Range 175-781
SHBG:34.5 Range 13.3-89.5 nmol/L
Free Androgen Index: 38.62 Range 24.3-110.2 %
2nd lab / new doctor: Jan. 2012 On 4 pumps androgel. (Doc only requested TT with a variety of other tests. I’m not sure what he was testing for, but the name of the other panel was listed as “Hematology” He switched me to Axiron.
TT 304 Range 175-781
3rd lab / Another new doctor April 2012 Prescribed T cyp 100mg week after this test
FSH: 2.5 Range 1.3-11.4 miu/ml
LH: 2.8 Range 1.2-7.8 miu/ml
Prolactin: 9.3 ng/ml Range 3.0 - 30.0
TT: 161 Range 292-1052 ng/dl
SHBG: 44 Range 16-94 nmol/l
Free T: 2.5 Range 4.8-25 ng/dl
4th lab / Test 5 days after injection of 100mg Test cyp June 2012
LH 0.1 Range 1.2-7.8 miu/ml
TT: 531 Range 292-1052 ng/dl
SHBG: 44 Range 16-94 nmol/l
Free T: 9.4 Range 4.8-25 ng/dl
(TT finally up, felt better for a short time, but went away. Doctor raised dosage to 150mg every week. I started injections e3d at 60mg instead trying to keep e down, I also added anastrozole as I was thinking that my E was prob too high. I found a lab where I could pay out of pocket for an estradial test, I’m still waiting for the results. I feel better since starting .5ml of anastrozole, so I think I am on the right protocol.
As far as vitamins I take ZMA before bed, a B complex with breakfast, fish oil, 10,000iu of Vit. D, and a sublingual pregnenolone tablet at 25mg in the morning.
My height is 6’. 38 years old. My weight before starting on the test cyp was 270lbs. In the 2 to 3 mos I’ve been on it, my weight is up to 292 lbs. My frame is large, big bone, big arms big chest, big legs. I eat healthy, lean meats, veggies. My weight training is on and off, but its generally 2 to 3 times a week.
I also do cardio, jogging about 6 to 8 miles a week, and I play sports in a couple of local leagues with weekly games. (soccer, softball). I try to stay active when I can, I have a large fairly muscular build, but I’ve never been able to get rid of the fat around my lower stomach / love handle area.
The point of this post is to show my appreciation to the knowledgeable members of this forum. I can honestly say this place has helped me. I’m still trying to get to 100% and realize it takes time, but I can honestly say that in all I’ve done as far as treatments in the last 10 years, I’ve never felt anywhere close to as good as I’ve felt while things were good on TRT therapy.
I’m confident that things will get better once the anastrozole brings my E2 levels down. I haven’t received my labs back from the estradiol lab, but I’m confident it will be high. If anyone has any input or opinions on the labs that I posted, please feel free to do so. As of today, I am on 60mg of test cyp, E3D, and .5ml liquid anastrozole E3D, same day as injection.
I’ll post estradiol labs whenever they come in.
Thanks again