Dopamine is supposed to regulate prolactin, and thus be in inverse proportion, in normal function. So, yes. But, catecholmines and serotonin require free test in the brain (among other things) for production. So, you may normally run low on dopamine and get a blast of it, and subsequently a surge of adrenaline and be freaking your body out. So, if that’s the case, serotonin will calm you down. However, I don’t know that lowering prolactin will have any positive effect on your dopamine. It would seem likely that you need to ease up your dopamine and that will lower your prolactin. How do you react to things like caffeine or Adderall?
How about trying 400mg magnesium GLYCINATE. Imagine if the answer to your problems was $15.
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Sorry but i am sceptical. If 200mg of magnesium doesnt cure my panic i doubt 400 of different kind would. I mean it is still magnesium.
I am leaning more towards 5-htp.
@hardartery terrible reactions to caffeine. I drank green tea few days ago and basically couldnt calm down the whole afternoon. I felt uneasy and very nervous.
But i used to tolerate it before, as in before using testosterone. Its just that now i cant take any stimulants.
You have a lot of dopamine, and probably adrenaline, rolling around in your system. Try the 5-HTP. You will probably be okay on a month or two, you just aren’t used to having a normal amount of those catecholamines in your system.
And, as a side note, the Glycinate is a different animal. I sleep nice on 800 mg, and regular magnesium just gives me the runs.
Double the dose and the most absorbable form. It was recommended to me by the forums most respected endo when I was searching for a more complicated fix. It worked. I tried 5-htp and didn’t like the way it made me feel. It affected my sleep. Do you but when you come around to trying the 400mg magnesium GLYCINATE be sure to pass it on to the next person with the exact same symptoms that tries everything but the easiest option first. It has worked wonders for my sleep and anxiety the next day.
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@hardartery it seems that this might very well be the answer, too much adrenaline, causing my fight or flight response to go wild.
So free testosterone causes a spike of dopamine, which in turn causes a spike of adrenaline?
Yes, it’s a downhill reaction. One come from the other, and they both fire you up.
Would you recommend 5 htp or magnesium glycinate then? Which one in your opinion would be better choice to try to curb the reaction?
on a side note, masteron caused much more aggressive adrenaline response. Kaboom, i would literally wake up flying out of bed covered in cold sweat.
With testosterone it is just a build up of anxiety and panic, and then if i entertain the thoughts too much (for example think about heart palpitations, or that for example i could die while pushing this heavy weight on the bench) its game on, a panic attack.
The glycinate will help you sleep if you’re ramped up. I’d be looking at 5-HTP first to get me through the day if it has to be one or the other.
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This is something i forgot to mention. What preceeded the first episode of anxiety and panic attacks during the blast was total loss of libido few days prior.
And, on another occassion when my libido skyrocketed (around week 10-11), my panic went away for those few days when libido was very high.
Otherwise it (libido) has mostly been in the dumps.
Both times my libido increased significantly (basically only 2 times it has been what it should have been on high testosterone) was after I would drastically increase aromasin dosage, taking 25mg eod for like a week.
Damn it i just realised i cant take cabergoline for my high prolactin since norepinephrine and epinephrine are derived from dopamine.
It would definitely make my panic worse.
It sucks because high prolactin is interfering with my libido and erections.
Do you guys have any potential explanation on why this panic/anxiety/adrenaline surges didnt occur immediately at the beginning of the blast, ie. after initial shots, for the first 3 weeks?
When i started first thing i felt was increased libido from day 3 (this was after a single shot of 250mg) and then about 10 days in libido went nuts, only to disappear about 2.5 weeks in and then to be followed by panic and anxiety.
It is strange for this anxiety to occur as levels start to stabilize, one would expect to get it at the very beginning if prone.
Ok so i have been waking up every single night now about 30 minutes to an hour after i would fall asleep with intense feeling of panic, covered in cold sweat and with inability to take deep breath. I am now 100% positive it is an adrenaline rush .
And i am going to seek medical help as i am afraid of the effects of those adrenaline surges on my heart, causes the heart rythm to go out of whack.
I have high prolactin 50% above the high range and don’t have any libido problems. There is a chance it’s not prolactin causing it.
I also had major night sweats and waking up when I first started trt at 220mg/week but it went away over time. The magnesium glycinate really helped with the sleeping.
I took 400mg magnesium glycinate & 500mg tryptophan then 2.5mg melatonin. Sleeping was way better.
You see i didnt have any problems when i first started. They appeared later. And quitting testosterone wont help as panic persisted even with total testosterone in the physiologic range.
I might try magnesium glycinate though since you all seem to preach how good it is.
Before you start experimenting with SSRI’s and possibly make your anxiety even worse and more complex, did you try the simple stuff?
You’ve answered your own question several times, all your problems started when you CRASHED your estrogen, when your libido was low, etc.
Are you still taking arimidex? Are you still taking any DHT drugs (Masteron and Proviron). These CAN potentially surpress estrogen if you were crashed and cause Low E2 symptoms (Panic attacks)
Try to stop adex and any DHT drug for a couple weeks, keep your testosterone dose at minimal THEN start experimenting on yourself
edit: Realized that you also took aromasin, it’s going to take time to recover. Your best solution is either to stop abusing the AI or just get off the steroids and never do them again (PCT and everything). This is classic Low E2, I had the exact same symptoms when I crashed my E2 when I was inexperienced on TRT, please don’t mess up your situation further.
Lowering your dose for a week will do nothing good for your situation, you need to give your body time to readjust by stopping the AI altogether.
Definitely not going to take any ssri without doctors direction.
I have started injecting test e 3x per week in hopes of more stable levels. Also, i will not be taking any ai for some time.
it doesn’t sound like you are planning on taking an anti-depressant but just in case you do in the future… Make sure you understand what you are getting yourself into with the SSRIs. They definitely have their place and work but getting off is utter hell unless you taper over an extremely long period and even then you don’t get off Scott free. I have tried many SSRIs as well as wellbutrin which is not an SSRI and I got much more from the wellbutrin. SSRIs are for sheer happiness while wellbutrin effects drive and determination as well as energy. The good thing about wellbutrin is the withdrawal effects are mild if any. If you have to try something I’d say from experience try the one that won’t make you go through hell first. Good luck
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Well i really dont want to take them. My libido is bad as it is, i dont need something that will make it even worse.
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Got bloods done today. Total test is 1472 ng/dl and e2 is 17 pg/ml. The panic seems to be lower. It is still here, yesterday in the gym after every single set my brain wanted to panic for some reason but i managed to tough it out. Maybe 2x the dose of ashwagandha is helping, i am more calm, when panic starts (chest pressure, rapid heartbeat) i am like “well fu*k it, if it is the end then may it be, i am mortal anyway”.
i have actually been logging how i feel during this cycle/blast/cruise, been tracking my mood/libido/energy with different test and e2 levels.
So, with my levels stated above, here is the situation:
Mood: Happier than usual, calm (except when panic starts), much calmer than when i was natty ( no aggression outburts, i had problems with those BEFORE steroids, they went away with steroids), sociable, nice to other people, laughing a lot
Libido: no libido, no morning wood, could care less about sex
Energy: energy swings during the day, for few hours i feel energetic, then i feel lethargic for few hours, then in the evening i get euphoric
Checks out.
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