Panic Attacks Sparked by Test Blast/Estrogen Crash

Pharma
1

Greetings everyone,

Let me introduce myself. Male, 22 years old, throughout my childhood i had bouts of anxiety and hypochondria, as in i was afraid to drink water or eat because i was frightened i would suffocate etc. I uswd to obsess with death when i was a kid too. But i was generally fine throughout my teen and young adult years, except for occasional fits of rage that i managed to overcome as i finished puberty.

So, at the beginning of march i have started a steroid cycle consisting of 500mg of testosterone enanthate per week. Things were going fine until about 3 weeks in i crashed my estrogen. My heartbeat went up significantly during the day and i felt really nervous. Also experienced tightness in my chest which i obviously thought was some kind of heart problem (i later found out it was all connected to anxiety and panic) and of course went to the ER. Pulse was hanging around 100-110 and blood pressure was elevated, 140/90, but the docs said that of course it is elevated due to fast heartbeat.
I told them about steroids and they said that high levels of testosterone stimulate my nervous system causing it to go into overdrive.

I seemed to calm down after the ER visit but problems started again when i introduced masteron (drostanolone enanthate), a dht like steroid, very similar to dihydrotestosterone. I experienced bad panic attacks to the point where i eventually lowered my dose to 200mg per week of masteron. I would walk down the street, experience what seemed like a sudden clamp on my chest, shortness of breath and extreme panic mode. I tried to stay cool the whole time but it was still rough. I couldnt sit at the table to eat for example. I just felt the need to get up and start racing back and forth. I felt threatened from within.

Testosterone was constantly at 500mg per week. And generally i was fine, ocasionally i would have panic attack (chest would feel tight and i would get this fear thwt i am about to die) and i did feel nervous often (it is the kind of nervousness where you constantly feel that something bad is going to happen to you, a heart attack or something like that).

Fast forward till now, i am a month off from the cycle and back on my cruise dose of 125mg of testosterone enanthate per week. The problem is that i still have bouts of uneasiness and panic, just like i did when i was blasting high testosterone.

I still get this feeling that something bad is about to happen to me, i get tightness in my chest and feel the need to get up and start walking, i simply cant stay relaxed, lying down or sitting when this happens. I have to get up and start walking.

And i seem to obsess over my ability to breathe lol.

From time to time i need to take an aromatase inhibitor, exemestane, to keep my estrogen down, even on this replacement dose.
My anxiety and panic seem to INCREASE after i take aromatase inhibitor, even though this is necessary to prevent health problems stemming from high estrogen like water retention, high blood pressure, erectyle dysfunction etc.

So, my question to you is, is there a certain hormone or a chemical which would trigger panic attacks and this extreme hypochondria-like nervousness?
Adrenaline?
Cortisol?
Depletion of serotonin in the brain (steroids can do that)?
I can feel those panic attacks coming out of the blue, i have absolutely no control over them. It is clear that steroids did something to my brain chemistry.

I have to say that this is very atypical, most people who use these amounts of androgens do not experience anything like this. In fact, most feel like supermen. And at the beginning, and at timmes when panic was absent, i felt really good, especially at the beginning. Sense of well-being, high libido strength going up…everything was there.

I must say that valeriana and passiflora tea did help me relax before sleep during the time i had the worst episodes of panic. I am also about to start taking ashwagandha again, it seemed to help me with stress before.

Anything else i could try?

I am not going to take benzos or whatever they are called.

Edit: Now when i think about it, my mother is susceptible to panic attacks. A lot of times when she gets upset, she starts panicking that something is happening to her and that we need to call an ambulance. So this is definitely in my genes.

2

Do you actually experience ED?
Estrogen is heart protective just like test. Low levels are bad, and way worse than any perceived high level. Bottom line, AI’s are for serious symptoms, like ED. Not numbers. Higher E2 is actually better for you to a point.

3

You need a psychiatrist or psychologist. CBT is really effective for panic attacks (I have had great success with it). Taking drugs to address something like this is, well, kind of dicey. Try to do some of the work yourself first and then you’ll know if you need anything else.

Yeah, probably, but you were obviously not healthy before you used them, either. Which means the problem won’t go away on its own.

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4

You said you ran a cycle. Then you mentioned your now on your cruise a month later?

Which is it?

Your 22 you don’t just blast and cruise then stop steroids. I mean you can but it’s not a good idea.

Are you going to be on trt for life?

5

Just from reading the first paragraph or so I can tell you the last thing you need to be doing is self medicating. Find the appropriate mental health professional and get help with that before you end up hurting yourself or someone else.

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6

About 4 years ago I was walking into my kitchen and had a random panic attack out of
Nowhere, ever since then I get these re-occurring attack’s every now and then about random things. Sometimes just worrying about panicking in a situation will make me have one, sometimes it seems like it’s getting better and sometimes it feels worse, but it has never gone away since that first time. From my understanding a lot of mental illnesses set in in your early-mid twenties, maybe you triggered something? Either way it doesn’t matter, but you should get checked out sooner rather than later. I wish I had

7

This has nothing to do with the testosterone; if anything my psychiatrist was the one who suggested I start managing my depression & anxiety by taking testosterone (I had low T and it totally worked), it’s your E2. It can take weeks to recover from low E2 for some people, stopping the AI for the time being is what I would do and monitor my E2 very closely.
I also have really bad anxiety when I crash my E2, a normal person that crashes his estrogen will feel anxious so someone like you and I who have an anxiety disorder would be 10x more sensitive. I can relate alot to the way you feel because I’ve also had panic attacks when in my younger years due to childhood trauma/PTSD. Honestly the best way to get rid of this problem is to just stop using an AI if possible. You could possibly still be suffering from low E2, have you got your E2 checked since crashing? Masteron would make your low E2 problem worse, I’m super sensitive to anything with AI properties like DHT derived drugs (Masteron & Proviron) to the point where I would get crashed E2 symptoms at 25mg of proviron a day on my T replacement dose.

One thing I’ve done to not have to take an AI is I maintain a low bodyfat year round (10-12% max), I’ve never had to use an AI with this at replacement to high-ish doses (up to 200mg)

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I have to say that valeriana/lavender/passiflora tea helps tremendously, as if i simply dont care about anxiety.
As i said, i am starting again with ashwagandha as that helped me be more mellow in the past.
Anything else herbal?
I am thinking kava kava.

9

Yep, i lowered my ai dose (actually didnt take ai for a week and my estradiol was 109 (reference 11-43) pg/ml and prolactin was 411 (reference 86-324).
No gyno symptoms though.

10

Ok so this is interesting, this used to happen to me during a blast. Yesterday I injected 1cc of test e because i started dieting and about 12 hours later while i was asleep (and yes this used to happen to me before) i woke up feeling nervous and in a pile of sweat. Its interesting that it is 12 hours post injection, right when there is an initial spike in test levels.

Anyone else experience that? Night sweats from test lol.

11

Damn it, i had another massive panic attack, this time in the gym, had to cut workout short. Thankfully i managed to do all but one exercise, lateral raises, i can do them at home tomorrow.

But i am fu***ng pissed!!! After every single set i felt pressure in my chest and was constantly in a state of mild panic. Then all of a sudden my heart rate went up significantly, i couldn’t breathe and for a brief period i did think this is it, but i stayed surprisingly calm, as in well if it has to be this way then may it be, i am not going back to the #$@#$@ beanpole look. As in quitting working out for good, becoming a hippy, vegan and moving to tibet (not that there is anything wrong with that, its just that i cant imagine mysekf like that).
And now after the workout is done i am in a constant stste of mild panic.
Anyway, guys, lets try to be analitical over here, because i dont see how can this be resolved. The last 5% of my brain that is still healthy cannot fathom how in the Universe can Testosterone Enanthate, straight from a pharmacy, containing 250mg of testosterone enanthate in every ml of purified olive oil, coming in fused glass ampoules, cause these damn psychiatric effects?!

I mean, seriously?! And I am 100% positive the source of this lanic attacks is chemical sh1t going on in my brain and what drives me crazy is the fact that i cant find out which little bugger of hormone/neurotransmitter/whatever is causing this.

Last year I ran Xi kt by iron legion, transdermal 11-ketotestosterone, and remember having ONE panif attack. At that time i didnt know jack sh1t about panic attacks so i thought it was some kind of temporary imbalance in my brain.

Proviron? Masteron? Forget about it. Massive panic attacks on 200 mg masteron per week. Uneasiness and a state of constant mild panic on 50mg of proviron per day. And people talk about how these compounds make them feel good. Daaaaaamn i am jealous. I felt like a beast for the first 3 weeks of the blast.

Lets think. How can testosterone spark panic attacks? Even if i am prone to panic attacks (yeah, it seems i am mentally unstable, there is no question about this), how on earth can testosterone trigger them? Or better yet, why would HIGHER levels of testosterone trigger them?
I have been living with testosterone whole my life. Granted, it has been in the range of 300-400 ng/dl for the last few years and now it is much higher, but still, why this??

It would be logical if i was taking some kind of unnatural harsh compound like trenbolone or halotestin and got oanic attacks from that. But this is beyond my comprehending capacity.

Edit: Working out puts stress on my body. It seems that stress contributes to panic attacks. Could have testosterone somehow increased the amount of certain stress hormone in my body? Adrenaline or cortisol maybe? So that i am in a constant state of uneasiness and feelling threatened?
I am tired of this.

12

You’re messing with your hormones, which means messing with chemistry in your brain. Do you genuinely not understand how that can lead to mental side effects? Maybe steroids at age 22 and an existing panic disorder aren’t exactly a great idea? Maybe you’re not built for this right now?

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13

Of course that something is going on in the brain.
But is there any possibility of finding out what?
From what we know about testosterone so far, there is no way it could cause these issues.

Steroids at 22 a bad idea? Yeah, i would not recommend them to anyone.
However i wanrpted to do them and now the can of worms has been opened, panic attacks wont stop even if i quit since dropping down to a dose which was giving me 650 ng/dl of total testosterone didnt help. I still experienced panic.

So whatever my future course of actionconcerning steroids is, panic will not go away.

And i may be wrong on this one but i wouldnt do gear (except trt) if i was 35+. I think it is more damaging to the cardiovascular health then than now (even though it is always damaging). I have the most chance of surviving right now, i wont be able to do them in a couple of years anyway.

But that is off topic anyway.

14

What does 5-HTP do to you?

15

Of course it can. The downstream effects from exogenous, supraphysiological testosterone can cause all kinds of things.

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@hardartery i am not using 5 htp at the moment.

@iron_yuppie but by which mechanism can testosterone cause panic? I am not trying to be rude sorry if i sound like that but i dont understand. I have been researching and all the other people feel much better on higher doses of testosterone. I cant find another case of panic attacks sparked by testosterone. I managed to find cases where panic attacks were caused by trenbolone and winstrol, but not testosterone.

17

I’m thinking that you are spiking dopamine from the rush of free test, or that you are generally serotonin deficient and exacerbating it. Try some 5-HTP before your shot and see what happens.

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@hardartery my prolactin has been very high at the end of the blast, 411 on a range of 86-320.
Had terrible erectyle dysfunction. Was limp, couldnt get it up for the love of my life and just leaked (sorry if its gross hahah).

I thought dopamine and prolactin were inversely correlated? So while my prolactin was high my dopamine should have been low? I still experienced panic.

I might try 5 htp. I read that steroids deplete serotonin.

So this is something i noted. I seem to get relief from panic here and there where just a weird sense of joy and well being overwhelms me. I am trying to find out what is going on when that sense of joy appears.

^^Could that be dopamine surge? Since i have high prolactin, i could be generally deficient in dopamine.
I have cabergoline on hand just didnt want to take it since it is such a harsh drug with possibility of messing up heart valves.

Edit: here are symptoms of serotonin deficiency
Eating disorder (i seemed to get nauseous in the morning)
Panic disorder (obviously)
OCD (lately i have tendency to try to correct every single typo i make)
PTSD (i dont have it, but i did develop agoraphobia because of the panic attacks at one point)
Social anxiety disorder (thankfukly i dont have it)

19

Take 400mg magnesium glycinate before bed. May need to up it up to 600mg but start with 400. I get mine from Amazon (bulk supplements powder). It works wonders for anxiety.

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I drink valeriana/passiflora/melissa tea with about 200mg of magnesium citrate and 10mg zinc gluconate before bed. Tea seems to help a little bit.
However, green tea seems to exacerbate anxiety and panic, probably because of the caffeine. Too bad since it is good for cholesterol.
I started eating large amounts of garlic instead.