I am on the fence on if I want to pursue TRT. Always had some issues with motivation, depression, lack of energy. Nothing horrible but it was there. Fitness and diet was on and off over the last decade but I stay pretty active with Muay Thai and BJJ. I do not smoke and I drink maybe once every two weeks. Below is a rundown of what I can remember from the last decade to present.
early-mid 20s (23 or 24 I believe) I got my test levels checked. My total T was 270. I cannot remember my other stats but I was 180 in decent shape with an ok diet. Was doing 5/3/1 at the time. Doctor told me they wouldn’t consider TRT that early so I let it be.
2nd time I checked (around 27) Total test came back in the low 300s. Can’t remember exactly what it was. I was a little more out of shape this time around. Moved and was working a new job and making excuses to not be active.
This time I got it tested (33 now) and it came back 410 total (more Details below). Started really working out again a year ago. 5,7 195lbs. Got a bit of weight around the waist line, down 15 lbs. Diet is meat, yogurt, greens, fruits, oats, potatoes, white/brown rice.
T3, free - 4.1
T3 Uptake - 33
T4 Total - 7.3
Free T4 - 2.4
Albumin - 5.0
Total Test - 410 ng/dl
Free Test - 9.78 ng/dL (calculated. Per third post did not see on paperwork)
Estradiol 21 pg/ml
SHBG - 20
Vitamin D - 26 (on a Vitamin D supplement now.)
IGF 1 and LC/MS show as pending so I need to ask about that.
Right now I still feel more or less the same as my 20s. Still the lack of motivation, depression, general fatigue, lack of recovery, near stagnant/slow fitness progression. Again, nothing crazy, just a general sense of something not being in place.
I’ll ask and see if I missed it. I updated the stats with Albumin. Calculator puts free T at 9.78 ng/dL. Assuming I should take a calculated number with a grain of salt.
I generally stay asleep through the night. Get about 7-8 hours on average. I’ll get a little sleepy at work later in the afternoon but a lot of that is boredom due to emails slowing down.
I honestly can’t remember the last time I had a solid morning wood. Libido isn’t terrible. No erection issues.
I went on with similar numbers. To me, it was a trade off. Did I absolutely need it, probably not. Do I have to pin the rest of my life, yes. Do I have to worry about turning fertility back on potentially, yes. Did it solve my concentration and energy issues, maybe a little, but not much. Do I have a body that is much easier to get on trt, for sure.
Howdy,
If you’ve been told you snore, I’d ask your doctor about a sleep study. Esp because you’re still pretty young. Essentially I’d try everything I could to make sure I needed the treatment the idea being that later on when you’re older and looking back you are comfortable with the descision.
That said, don’t wait until you’re just dying before starting if you think you need it. My totalT was like 170 and free T was around 2, same units as above and I was just a walking zombie, couldn’t think, couldn’t lose weight, no energy to exercise, etc. Had been like that for maybe 10 years before I really did much about it, probably could have started 15 years prior if I’d realized what was happening. I think a roll over auto accident with a TBI was a major contributor.
Do whatever you need to do to so you’re okay with the descsion and if that’s the way the hand is delt start treatment. Technically you can always stop. In my case when I saw the test results ware, “Oh, thank god”, that explains a lot and it’s treatable.
Personally I’d rather be damned for something I did than for something I failed to do.
I can provide additional labs if needed (lipids, rbc, cmp, etc.) - doc is suggesting
Testosterone Cypionate (200mg/ml): 100mg SQ qwk – pt. to inject 50 mg two times per week
Clomiphene Citrate 50mg: ½ tab qd – dispense one month supply, with (3 or 5) refills.
Anastrozole 1mg: ½ tab qwk – dispense one month supply, with (3 or 5) refills -
Does this seem like a good approach based on lab values. I’m 37 y/o male. Probably about 10-15lbs overweight for my body type. Main reason was lack of libido and fatigue.
This is more than like going to interfere with your quest to regain your lost libido.
Your protocol looks like a cookie cutter protocol and is going to greatly complicate dialing in. A lot of guys do fine with higher estrogen, so the AI is being prescribed prematurely.
You will be missing out of part of the benefits to TRT, that being estrogen because the Clomiphene Citrate will block the affects of estrogen in the brain curtailing your efforts to find your lost libido.
One of the most common complaints of men on clomid is little or no libido.
It would seem a lot of these T clinics are scrambling to find replacement for HCG do to the new law, and clomid is being used in its place and if anything it will lose them to lose business because the side effect profile is rather bad.
I would just start TRT in isolation without all the frankenstein drugs.