You are as 99% of men are “normal” with regard to thyroid function but with symptoms so we call it “sub clinical” hypothyroidism but the endocrine society doesn’t believe in it there are no codes for it. Just treat the symptoms. I personally take 2 grains (120mg) twice per day and my levels were “normal” before I started
With your particular numbers and family history I would have put you on thyroid the minute you left the office. I would have started with a grain in the AM and one in the afternoon and them adjusted it 4 -5 weeks later based on your labs and your symptoms. If tolerated you will most likely feel best when your TSH is suppressed below .5 (definitely less than 1) but of course I am not basing dosage on TSH but instead free T3 and symptoms and typically a free T3 in the 4-6 range works nicely
Your labs could be in any of the men I see on a weekly basis. They are absolutely typical of what I see to the number. My approach in men ? Get all the other hormones optimal especially testosterone. If a man is still symptomatic when that occurs and there has been sufficient time for the hormones to exert a response ( the equation for success is A + B = C. A is getting enough of the hormone to exert a response which most never do. B is time…patience! As it takes months not weeks. C is improvement In clinical symptoms related to the hormones deficiency. Hormones will only improve the symptoms related to their deficiency. They won’t improve symptoms related to stress, a bad marriage, a bad job you hate, or lack of sleep etc…) then I will add thyroid. Typically the men still complain of being cold, tire, fatigued*, weight gain, and brain fog*, as well as some continued ED. I will then start them on a trial of thyroid supplementation. If they have a lot of afternoon fatigue I will use a morning dose and then another 8 hours later. I will then adjust based on symptoms and free T 3 along with stressing to them they adequately address all lifestyle factors that could also contribute to their symptoms. Now some men I start thyroid right off the bat depending on their symptoms. Especially if their TSH is over 2 or so. Your numbers are truly typical of what I see and I usually recommend getting the testosterone optimal and then addressing thyroid after but that is not a concrete rule. I have a discussion with the patient and let them make the decision.
I will leave you with This and I want everyone to repeat it when they hear someone say testosterone doesn’t work (testosterone works from a physiology standpoint in everyone no matter if you are a 80yo female or a 30 yo male and I have both).
“There are symptoms we want hormones to improve, and then there are symptoms hormones are going to improve…and they are not always the same”. If a person has been given enough, given it enough time to work, and then they still have symptoms…those symptoms are not related To the hormone.
Quick update…I took my last Danazol Monday and started daily injections Thursday (2 days ago). Could be placebo but I already feel way better. The colors in the world are starting to come back. Had great sex last night and could have gone again this morning — it’s been months since I could say that.
Like I said, this could be placebo. Could be the bump in T dose. But I am really wondering if it was the Danazol that had me feeling off and if I’m starting to feel better as it leaves my system. My SHBG may have been over-suppressed, causing or at least playing a role in these issues.
What do you think were those ‘rides’? I’m still not clear on where they differed in opinion.
Love these lines — how could anyone combat this logic? If you need a medication to be healthy, you need it — period! Wrap your heads around it, folks.
The main thing I noticed is that not only do they ignore estrogen altogether (which I don’t think is a good idea in ALL circumstances), but the philosophy is to keep pushing testosterone levels until you feel great.
The problem with this approach, at least in my mind, is two fold.
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You can push testosterone to full cycle levels and feel great, but what else are you really masking here, and at what costs health wise long term?
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Unless you are going to pay the extra costs of creams, which your body may or may not lose absorption abilities over time, where in the world can you get a LEGAL prescription in the USA to push injections to those levels? You really can’t because a doctor can lose his license for prescribing above the manufacturers maximum safe dosage recommendations.
Both of these points are not entirely wrong, but without EXTREME clarification (and case by case scrutiny), it leads the average lay person into a very Grey area, where he or she is being told to do things that can’t be done legally, and at some extremes even safely, so they take it upon themselves to start going the “UGL” route to follow this line of thinking…That in and of itself is a very dangerous proposition imo. You can’t really verify without your own degree in chemistry, and a shit ton of expensive laboratory equipment, what you’re actually injecting into your body.
Totally hear you on that point, brother — I have wondered how many guys in that camp (which, let’s be real, aligns closely with the philosophy I’m reaching as well) will inevitably move toward the “UGL” route because they’re forced to. The system isn’t built to support TRT prescriptions reaching AAS levels, and some guys may not be able to attain what they want from their legal supply.
Your note about losing sensitivity over time is something I hadn’t considered…thought-provoking.
How to feeling today @bkb333, day 2 of the rest of your life?
I can report, I’m feeling the same, like a day after a shot. Can feel testosterone doing something good in my body. If this is how every day will be, ED shots are it!
@bcostigan41 check out this update, brother — like you, already feeling way better! So encouraged by early returns
Sorry I missed that. Amazing. Really excited you are seeing early returns… Really promising and encouraging to stay the course!
You’re feeling a lot better too, man?
Yes sir… Feeling like I used to the day after a shot when I was EOD… It’s pretty close to the same “level” of feeling it, so I wonder if I need to drop the dose some? Nott sure yet… I’ll last least stay at 22mg ED for a week or two and decide if I should drop the dose and see if I can feel the same, but with less.
Either way, I’m digging it so far though.
Day 3 of 22mg ED - 1:15pm est - like clockwork. I notice I’m starting to feel last night’s shot.
I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s almost like once the testosterone has reached a baseline in my blood, and I don’t reduce the amount, going from EOD to ED isn’t a huge change?? Not sure, but I’ve felt great every day since switching.
So you have felt great, but it wanes or you don’t feel great in the AM?
I don’t feel terrible in the morning or anything like that… But not great like I do later. They just feel like mornings. I wake up, take my armour dose as soon as possible… Get the day going and an hour after my Armour, I have coffee and go get my work out in.
After that, I just go about my business… It depends sometimes, but I start feeling almost giddy between 10-12, like I’m happy, focused, thoughts are clear and that feeling just builds and I feel good all over my body… And by 2, I’m usually firing on all cylinders. Energy, well being, thoughts all 10/10.
That usually wanes over the course of the day and I’m usually really tired after dinner and before bed, which is a good thing.
Two other physical things I’ve noticed when I was taking my shot EOD -
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The day after my shot - deeper voice, nuts pulled up tighter (better dick to ball ratio).
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The day of my shot, voice back to “normal” deepness and nuts sagging again.
Captain obvious alert - Since going ED I notice those characteristics every day now… So I’m pretty sure it’s working as it should.
If you are really this “in tune” with when you start feeling your test, then based on what you are saying I would move my workouts to the evenings.
That’s actually what I was thinking about, too, @bcostigan41 — I wonder how experimenting with your workout time would affect you. Though I’m sure the hormones are the main driver, it’s possible some of the euphoria you feel is coming from the post-workout dopamine release — I get that as well. Not sure if you have the flexibility or desire to change your lift time, but might be something to consider playing with.
Now you’re starting to get it young padewan!! Lmao
Gradually learning from TRT Yoda
Today I got to thinking about the difference between the internet world and real world. When I see photos of bodybuilders online, I tend to think, That’s exactly what I want to look like. Chris Bumstead, Sadik? Goals.
But today I worked out in a new gym in a city I’m visiting, and there were a bunch of roided-out gorillas in their 40s or 50s — I saw them and thought, I don’t want to be that guy. 1. I don’t want to gear my entire life around attaining that crazy physique (way more important things unless you’re a pro IMO), which would be required; and 2. I don’t think it looks that good to be THAT big. At a certain point, you just start to look freaky. Even classic physique has become overly extreme.
Muscular, shredded, energetic, healthy, functional, strong? That’s what I want to be when I’m 40. No need for 20-inch biceps, a 500-pound squat, or a nonexistent neck, lol.