Hey all,
I’m a complete noob here. I’m in my 50s and started TRT a couple months ago due to a really low T count (about 1/3 of what it should be at my age), and mostly for fatigue due to that. The sexual boost was secondary to me to just feeling better overall. I’m not a bodybuilder but I’m not out of shape either. Just a normal guy with a normal physique, who wanted to see it TRT could help me.
Well, I gotta admit I’m getting scared by all of the news reports of the last couple of days, linking TRT to heart attack risks, even in men under 65. I wonder if I can get some informed opinions here about all those. Would like to see what your take is on them.
I’ve been experiencing some interesting side effects since going on TRT:
For a couple days after injection, I shiver more easily when it’s the least bit cold.
Lately I’ve felt some tightness around my left chest area. That really concerns me. Sometimes I’ve wondered if my heart is OK. (Will get tested soon as part of a physical checkup.)
A bit of restlessness at night. Not getting quality sleep, sometimes. Then I wake up feeling super horny.
TRT gives me some weird gas problems on the day of injection and sometimes one day after. Just gas buildup, farting, not sure how else to describe it, lol, but it’s annoying. Then it subsides after the 2nd day.
My main concern is that if this stuff doubles or triples the chance of heart attack in older guys, then damn, it seems like it has to be a little hard on the heart for even healthy guys, then. It might not be double or triple, but it has to be some amount of potential harm, no?
Maybe I’m wrong. Would like to hear from you guys on this.
Oh, yeah…NO, this is not a “troll post.” Just in case some may think that. Everything you read above is just my own experience so far. I’m on the fence about this stuff and just looking for some informed people to chime in, that’s all. Thanks!
I’m just getting around to reading some of the stickies.
I’m seeing, “doctors = idiots”, with absolutely no good explanation in the accompanying text as to why they are considered such.
I’m seeing, “if your doctor is an endocrinologist or a urologist, then he’s probably the worst kind of idiot.” Again, with no real factual basis to back up that opinion.
My TRT doc is a urologist who’s been doing this for a long time. If he’s considered an idiot here, I want to know exactly why.
Read the stickies then look at what you are doing:
feeling cold: do you have thyroid lab work? Read the advice for new guys sticky and check your body temperatures as suggested and eval your historic intake of iodine from iodized salt and vitamins that list iodine. If you have low body temps and have been using iodized salt forever, get this lab work: TSH, fT3, fT4 [NOT T3, T4]. We can help with results. If temps low and you have not been taking iodine, the sticky suggests that you fix that with iodine replenishment. You might doubt that this applies to you. However, most guys who show up here have some thyroid and/or iodine problems.
your doc should be testing PSA, liver function [ALT/AST], FT, TT, E2
-heart, family history, BP and pulse, CRP is often tested for cardio health, that is not cardio specific, it is a general inflammatory marker. Homocysteine is a cardio specific marker that is indicative of arterial disease. Note that men with lower T and or DHEA have worse prospects for heart attacks and survivability after a heart attack or stroke. You are getting info about an alarmist and deeply flawed study, stuff the media likes to wave in the air.
Keep reading, all will be revealed.
Are you self injecting? - if not, your doc is an idiot
Are you taking hCG so your balls to not shrink and your scrotum pulls up like a little boy’s?
Is your doc checking your E2 and will manage your levels at an optimal level?
Read the advice for new guys sticky and post labs with ranges and a lot more data. ← jargon defined there
Read the protocol for injections.
Please keep all of your posts about you in this one thread and keep coming back to this thread. We need your background for reference to help you over time.
My body temp actually isn’t low – I just feel cold. My salt intake is low, and I take no multivitamins that have iodine. I’ll check on the lab tests with my doc.
He is testing for PSA, liver function, etc.
No heart problems or family history of heart or blood pressure problems. The doc thoroughly checked that first. And thanks, I figured that the latest studies were deeply flawed; they certainly seemed to be.
I’m self-injecting. So I guess my doc isn’t an idiot. Was that the only criterion for whether he is or isn’t? Seriously? And why would that make a difference? The needle doesn’t care whose hand is plunging it into my thigh.
Not taking HCG – too freakin’ expensive. Been trying damiana with good results, though.
98% certain he’s checking for E2; will confirm at appointment this week.
OK, stupid question: Where can I find all the stickies? I linked to a couple of them from another thread, and read those. But they’re not obvious when I just go into the top level of a forum. All I’m seeing is the latest posts. Where are the stickies? Can’t believe I’m having to ask this question, but…
Been digesting more of the stickies. It’s a hell of a lot to absorb, but I’m grateful for them. I’m trying to condense most of it into something that I can take to my doc at my checkup in a couple of days. Wish me luck.
The “E follows T” thing was of direct interest to me. So far, I have felt negligible benefit from TRT. The problem is that the only AI that I ever tried, PES Erase, really messed me up with gastro problems, and probably more important, it made my joints ache pretty badly. I still have most of the bottle of Erase, unused, because of my bad experience.
So, if I can’t take an AI supplement without these side effects, what do I do? Are there any alternatives other than these supplements? Am I going to get any benefit at all from TRT without taking an AI?
The adrenal fatigue stuff also interested me. I have been feeling many of the symptoms of adrenal fatigue – I just didn’t know that until now. I took the quiz on Dr. Wilson’s site and ended up with a 45 rating, which is considered “mild fatigue.” Going to try an adrenal supplement and see how that goes.
Feeling a little overwhelmed trying to digest and compile all of the stuff I should ask my doc at checkup. I just hope I get it right and that the doc is able to answer these questions. We’ll see.
Sorry if my thread is jumping all over the place from topic to topic. I’m just studying a bunch of stuff at once.
Am looking at Nature’s Way DIM Plus, and Calcium D-Glucarate, for estrogen control. I can’t eat a bunch of cabbage and broccoli because those foods mess up my stomach (I have a mild form of IBS). So, this combo looks like it might be a good choice.
All this stuff is getting expensive, though. I definitely can’t afford HCG, so that’s out of the question. TRT cost itself isn’t too bad, but between the checkups, blood tests and anti-estro supplements, this could end up being a more wallet-draining venture than I first thought.