Almost 48 and have been low libido and energy for several yrs .I had bad back injury several yrs ago and after a few surgeries started trying get back in shape. I have a opioid therapy for chronic pain and read that it could reduce natural testosterone . anyway went to my doctor had a talk they did full blood workup plus thyroid and testosterone .everything came back perfect except my t level it was 253 doctor said I should start trt. so off to the clinic tomorrow for first injection if I understood correctly it will be a injection every 2 weeks. I work out regularly and honestly not in bad shape for my age I’m 6ft weight is 205 and can bench 300 for few reps and 275 for full sets of 10. I was honestly surprised of my t level was that low anything I should expect at ask when I go for my injections tomorrow.thanks in advance
It’s clear your doctor is an idiot and has no idea what he’s doing, most doctors have no clue how to replace a man’s testosterone. I advise you to seek a hormone specialist because you are headed down a path that could only lead to a hormonal roller coaster.
SHBG should have been measured and will determine dosing and injection frequency, injections once every two weeks doesn’t work. Your SHBG level will override the half-life of the hormone you’re injecting.
Most men inject two doses per week, low SHBG men have to inject small doses EOD or every day because low SHBG men excrete testosterone into their urine.
SHBG prevents you from clearing out testosterone too quickly, most of the doctors in the medical community, doctors who take insurance don’t know how this TRT game is played because they don’t teach this in medical school.
You must go private to get quality care, most of the success stories are from those that have gone private.
What’s your SHBG?
Given your testosterone levels and the fact you are on COAT (chronic opiate analgesic therapy) likely indicates that you have secondary hypogonadism. May I ask which opiate you were taking. Tapentadol specifically is an opiate that seems to have a far lesser impact on testosterone compared to others, therefore if you are on palexia with TT levels like this primary hypogonadism is also a possibility.
Out of mere curiousity how are you able to bench 300 with chronic pain (I’m not doubting you have chronic pain) just thinking about it because when I had chronic pain lifting weights would cause unbearable pain, even with opiate analgesia!
An injection every 2 weeks is very sub-bar in terms of TRT. Peaks and nadirs will be very prelevant, think of it like a roller coaster, with he highest part being after injection and the end being before the next injection. The rollercoaster effect can create unpleasant side effects due to constant fluctuations in hormones. 1-2x/wk is much better, sometimes even more frequent if you have low SHBG.
Also @systemlord he stated he is going to a clinic for the shots, aren’t most trt clinics/ anti aging clinics private?
That’s not particularly surprising if it is confined to the lower back. I want to know if he can squat and/or deadlift.
Unreal24278
You would be amazed at what you can get somewhat used to when you have to. I simply refuse to lay down and give up but there are a handful of days and sometimes weeks during flare ups a month I’m forced to do just that. The opioid is Percocet 10/325 4x daily I take few other things that are nerve blockers .was in bad accident several yrs back that sent me down this road I can’t do exercises that will load my back but I work around with the upper body best I can.I just keep moving best I can ive always been pretty strong but age is catching up. Like I stated I was surprised at the low t level and all my testing and the upcoming injections are being handled by my family doctor. I only know the t level of 253 they told me it should be between 250 and 1100 seems like a huge spread to me.
No clue on sgbc wasn’t told
That’s because this clinic is playing a game and doesn’t even understand the rules of the game they’re playing, these aren’t doctors who can diagnose and treat you. A doctors spend many years in medical school, an when they are done know almost nothing about hormones as it pertains to replacing and properly monitoring a patient taking hormones.
The doctors that know what they’re doing have been doing it for decades and have a skill most doctors do not, so they can charge what they want and don’t have to deal with petty insurances companies.
If you aren’t confident in your ability to vet local clinics, you could always do tele-medicine. There are a lot of people on here who say good things about Defy Medical.
Pecocet is oxycontin… Oxycontin will do it (as in cause low testosterone). It is among one of the stronger painkillers available, being more potent than morphine MG for MG. Sorry to hear about the accident. 250-1100 is a huge spread because it is based off the general populace ranging from the bottom to top 2.5 percent of men, therefore if your testosterone production is lower than 97 percent of men it is still considered “normal”. Another thing to know is that the general “healthy” populace (which the reference ranges are based for) is still overweight, sedentary and have bad dietary choices, these factors dramatically lower the threshold for normal. Normal levels of testosterone for young, healthy, lean, un-medicated men are more likely to be between something like (I’m pulling this number out of my ass) 700-1400.