I have been suffering from all the classic symptoms of Low Testosterone such as aches, pains, depression, no drive, constant tiredness, no energy, stopped thinking about anything that would get me in the mood, although no ED in fact very good ones although morning wood is a bit all over the place. I guess in regards to being intimate I felt like I was just doing a job with the Mrs as opposed to being present and enjoying it.
Anyway after many years of suffering and many different tests my T levels were checked on 2 occasions by my GP who then referred me to a urologist who then referred to an endocrinologist. Tests were repeated in total 5 times after which I was put on Testogel. Which is great however, I have one concern. Not one of them mentioned that taking external medication can stop your own natural production and also effect your fertility. (I have only found out about this through reading amazing websites like this)
I have been using Testogel for approximately 3 weeks and am definitely starting to feel so much better. However having read through a number of articles and books on the matter it appears that for someone suffering from secondary symptoms due to low LH it is better to try increase your own natural production through better sleep, heavier resistance training, clean eating and various natural herbs as a first port of call. Next I believe is to try a clomid restart (Again wasn’t mentioned) Then if need be start on TRT.
Now don’t get me wrong I am very grateful for the opportunity to have TRT but I feel that I really need to try and see if I can get my own natural production back up to healthy level first. (This is a personal choice for me and something I just need to do)
So my question is I’d imagine that after 3 weeks natural production would have recently shutdown, therefore if I stopped cold turkey would my natural levels (Pre Testogel) come back? If so after how long? (I understand I will feel low for a few days or so)
I have also read on other sites about something called PCT but don’t quite understand the concept. Could someone please explain this to me and is this something I would need to do? If so how do I go about it?
Evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. Thyroid hormone fT3 is what gets the job done and it regulates mitochondrial activity, the source of ATP which is the universal currency of cellular energy. This is part of the body’s temperature control loop. This can get messed up if you are iodine deficient. In many countries, you need to be using iodized salt. Other countries add iodine to dairy or bread.
KSman is simply a regular member on this site. Nothing more other than highly active.
I can be a bit abrupt in my replies and recommendations. I have a lot of ground to cover as this forum has become much more active in the last two years. I can’t follow threads that go deep over time. You need to respond to all of my points and requests as soon as possible before you fall off of my radar. The worse problems are guys who ignore issues re thyroid, body temperatures, history of iodized salt. Please do not piss people off saying that lab results are normal, we need lab number and ranges.
The value that you get out of this process and forum depends on your effort and performance. The bulk of your learning is reading/studying the suggested stickies.
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, it’s appreciated.
Ok I’ll try to answer your questions as best as I can.
I am based in the UK and my problems started to occur gradually over a few years (I believe due to lots of stress) then kind of sped up over last year or so. I also banged my head a couple of times but MRI show no damage.
Pre TRT
Testosterone = 7.4 nmol//L (Ref Range = 9.20 to 55.80 nmo/L)
Oestradiol = 48 pmol (Ref = 95 to 223)
LH = 2.9 iul (Range = 1.7 to 8.6)
FSH = 2
Prolactin = 253 mIU/L (Range = 86 to 324mIU/L)
SHBG = 29 nmoI/L (Range = 16 to 55 nmoI/L)
I will have to speak to my doctor to get info on body temperatures, thyroid and iodized salts as they haven’t provided me with that info. To be honest I’m not even sure if they have tested for body temp and salts etc. Don’t know if it’s standard practice in the UK.
I’ve never known anyone to make a huge course correction (in the 100-200’s) in turning their low T numbers around dramatically even if they had an undiagnosed thyroid issue unless you had a thyroid and other issue causing your low T issues. My numbers were similar to yours and I thought I could turn it around through lifestyle changes and resisted TRT for months while losing all my muscle mass, there’s no point to preserving sub optimal numbers.
You need to get those oral body temperatures yourself. You can’t do that at docs office as you need to be at rest and not taking or exerting your self and having not been eating or drinking for a while. Also need to do this soon after you wake up and mid-afternoon.
Many in UK are iodine deficient. in UK one is expected to get iodine in dairy foods, even as iodine levels in dairy foods is dropping. Most shops do not stock iodized salt, but some do. Find it and through out any non-iodized salt that you have. Doctors do not ask about iodine even though iodine deficiency was one of the largest health problems 100 years ago.
You need to do these things yourself and not have any expectation that a doctor will care of understand. You cannot be passive, if you die quickly, that improves the NHS budget.