Hello everyone, first of all i will apologize for my bad english
Im having a bad time now, im using some anti depression and anxiety pills,
i used steroids 4 months ago and did a pct, but now after a blood work i noticed that my testorone levels are really low, i started to lose mass and i wanted to start another cycle by now, what i should do
Post your lab results with ranges please.
the normal range in men are 2.80 - 8.00 ng/ml
and i have 0.12 ng/ml basically i have the testosterone levels of a woman
What did you use for PCT?
I used HCG for 2 weeks 3000 ui 1 shot every week, 20mg/day of nolvadex and 50mg/day of clomid for 1 week after my last shot of HCG
That doesnāt help diagnose. Ok so we know you have low T. Whats your FSH/LH like at the time of the test? Your SHBG? E2?
Sorry but i dont know what are those, i cant find anything related on my test, do you think i should do another blood work and include those ?
Itās the only way to diagnose your root issue. You could try another restart but if your are primary hypogonadal then it will be pointless.
Technical experts, and blood tests aside 1 week with PCT is not going to do anything. 4 to 8 weeks of 20mg nolva, or 25mg of clomid (one or the other, not both at the same time).
I personally PCT until I have a decent libido, and morning wood, taper off for a couple of weeks with a half dose/day. The reality is most guys natural production is going to be less than pre steroid levels, especially when off PCT drugs.
I would do another PCT course with a serm like nolva or clomid.
I have gone back on cycle before my levels were in the normal range or very low normal. Done a longer PCT the next time and got into a decent range before starting again. People can respond differently so you need to find out what works for you.
So i should do another PCT instead of starting another cycle?
In the case i recover myself again, how much i should wait before i start another cycle?
If you want to be sure do another pct. If it was me I would just so you know if your body has responded.
The general rule for cycling is time on = time off. It works out to be 2-3 weeks more because it usually takes that long for the steroids to leave your system and normal levels start to recover, and do PCT.
These days I tend to favour longer cycles 12-16 weeks, because the same time off allows you to make sure your PCT has worked properly.
Thanks so much for the help, i will do another PCT and see what happens
I was confused because my balls are normal size, and my libido is fine (not so great as before but its still working).
Hi there,
This is my first post on T-Nation, I actually created an account to reply to this.
I felt like I should share my experience with you, as it may help you.
STATS:
I am 19 years old and I was diagnosed with Low testostrone about 11 months ago (while I was 18). The doctors sent me for repeated blood work and it seemed like my levels were naturally low.
Just like yourself, I was on anti-depressants at the time (Prozac/Fluoxetine) and Diazipam (same chemical compound as Valuim).
Cut a long stroy short, I read 100s of online pages about anti-depressants causing an increase of eastrogen and a decrease in testosterone.
There are 100s of lab reports, look into them yourself.
Me being me, I decided to stop taking them. - stupidly, I didnāt taper them down and got some bad side effects. But after a month Iāve felt better than i ever have.
I have been for bloodwork since being off them and my levels have gone from:
(im not sure what units these are, but i was told a number above ā10ā was a ānormalā testosterone level)
TEST ONE - 2.8
TEST TWO (Three months apart) - 2.7
(stopped my anti-depressants)
TEST THREE (Three months apart from test two) - 4.2
TEST FOUR (Two weeks ap[art from test three) - 6.1
TEST FIVE (again, three months after test four) - 9.3
Again, not sure on the units etc. but anything above ā10ā is good for a male, anything lower is low test levels.
Now Iām not suggesting you do the same, I do not know your medical history, but I am providing you with ONE option of what your cause of low testostrone may be.
It may be out of conicidence for myself, but I feel like any feedback is better than none when youre looking for information online.
Feel free to drop me a message
I hope some of this information helps and i hope you get sorted!
If you can get a copy of the actual test results, you should see a number like 9-28, for the range considered to be normal for men, alongside your actual testosterone level. 9 is rock bottom for an acceptable level, especially so for a young man in the prime of your life. Before I went on steroids, in my mid 40ās my test level was 14.8, which is still in the lower end of normal, probably normal for my age group.
I can get it back up around 17 after PCT, but it drops lower after PCT is over. Its all very dependent on the individual, and how old they are too.
At least your results are showing a slow but constant rise in testosterone after the anti depressants. Good luck with it bud.
Thanks for the help, first of all i did the bloodwork before i started using anti depressant, i was clean for 4 months when i did it so something is really wrong, now im taking some clonazepam for panic attacks (suffering like 1 every day), and fluoxetina (anti depressant)
Maybe my depression, anxiety and constant panic attacks is causing me a low testosterone levels. They are really low, i mean like a woman low.
In my results for men range are 2.80 - 8.00. Woman 0.06 - 0.82. Mine are 0.12, so yeah im really screwed, currently im taking tamoxifen and proviron maybe that helps, i went to a lot of endocrinologist and they didnt do shit
Youāve got the cause/effect backwards my man. Testosterone isnāt just this thing that men have so that we can have erections and muscles. Itās a massively important part of how our bodies and brains function. I would bet that your anxiety and depression are either caused or at the least exacerbated by your low testosterone. I stopped taking antidepressants after six months on TRT. Having normally functioning hormones did more for my depression and anxiety than any pill anyone every prescribed for me.
Hey there,
just came across your response to this.
Iām 4 months out from my PCT and my total T is on the bottom end of the normal range and my free T is below the scale. I was considering jumping back on because a) I had planned too and b) I feel like shit right now with no energy and no libido and donāt want to lose the hard work I put. How long does it take you to get back to normal ranges, after you hit it again the time you were below the range did you then come back into range the next time? I know itās all personal, just curious.
Iām doing trt now due to legal reasons. Otherwise I was happy cycling, and would still be doing it If I hadnāt got busted for possession.
Cycling for me was to give my body a break from the drugs, and to keep my ball functions workable and recovered.16week steroid cycle was good for me. I would do PCT longer than most guys, 8-10 weeks depending on feel, at a low dose 20mg-taper to 10mg in the last 2 weeks. If I got tested at this time, then I would have a higher than baseline T. If I waited at least 2 weeks-month before getting tested my numbers would drop, but still be in the normal range, at or just below baseline. I didnāt care as long as I got back to decent numbers just to show that my balls could produce decent T with or without PCT drugs.
Soon after I would then hop back on cycle.
If you are an habitual user of steroids I think it would take most people a long time to maximally recover and stabilise after stopping use(like a year or more). Not many people go down a cycle or two then quit for ever. They will either continue cycling or blast and cruise, or TRT.
Some people may not fully recover, and have low normal T.
Where you are at the moment after PCT, is when I would start another cycle.