Hey so I’m 32 (5’7, 170 pounds, 20% bf)and have been on trt for about two years now. Started off with androgel but doc switched me a year later to injecting. After trying various dosages i am currently on test c 150 mg weekly. Honestly I’ve hated injections because since starting them I have been unable to lose weight.
I actually tried to get off trt for two months of the beginning of the year by using clomid/Hcg but was having super high depression and anxiety that I had to get back on it. I still don’t know what caused those side effects because I did bloodwork after those two months and my test levels were still pretty high.
Ever since I got back on test, I haven’t felt 100% and I’ve been having a lot of side effects such as even more weight gain/bloating, moody, soft erections, low libido and such.
I recently went to a doc that is popular at the gym I go to because he has a lot of knowledge about gear. He did bloodwork ( attached) and said my problems are stemming from low DHEA and pregnelone so he wants me to supplement it. I also went to an endo to get a second opinion but they said nothing is wrong with my blood levels.
I workout 5 days a week, basic lifting routine and medium intensity cardio 3 times a week of 40 minutes. my diet is just calorie counting at 1600 cals with a focus on hitting my weight in protein. It’s not very clean but not very dirty diet. At one point I even hired a coach for nutrition because not losing weight was really depressing me and even he said he doesn’t know why I’m not losing a pound despite all my cardio and low cals.
I’m trying to get an opinion on what I should do or who I should listen to between those two docs? I never had any of these problems when I was on the test gel.
I’m not seeing SHBG having been measured, it is critical for designing a proper TRT protocol. The rules for low SHBG are vastly different than there are for a high SHBG guy. Some guys who have very high testosterone can actually cause problems, it through my other hormones out of balance. Let SHBG is your guide for injection frequencies.
The low DHEA is a problem, symptoms from low DHEA are fatigue, loss of strength and muscle mass, depression, aching joints, decreased sex drive and impaired immune function.
In my experience endocrinologists have proven unreliable, it’s almost like none of them know anything about hormones other than thyroid hormones and diabetes. The majority of endocrinologists treat thyroid hormones and diabetes and I think that’s the problem when a guy comes in with other hormonal issue.
They see your hormones are “in range” and your fine even though the hormone in question is a few points from the bottom. All investigation ends with in range.
Is that something i should get done right after a shot or at trough level? none of my doctors mentioned it and that one doc tested me for 60 different things so im surprised he didn’t do that.
Low DHEA is what initially thought was the root cause of it as well. It seemed to match all my symptoms. Does it also cause weight gain or making losing weight difficult? I can’t get myself to go below 1600 cals. I’m going to start supplementing DHEA either way then.
The guidelines state SHBG several times, your doctor hasn’t even tested it. Men with higher SHBG need more Total T to have the same Free T as a man with lower SHBG.
One of the problems is insurance based doctors are stress out to the max because they have 30 patients to see in an 8 hours shift, mistakes are made and there’s little time to read up on studies and guidelines.
This is one reason the sick care model is sinking, 90% of their time is spent filling out paperwork for the insurance companies in order to get paid. So only 10% of the time is spent with the patient, so they look at your numbers and see in range and realize insurance isn’t going to foot the bill and they tell you you’re fine or you’re normal.
They get paid and you’re left symptomatic and now your someone else’s problem. That’s why are ton of doctors are going private, to escape all the BS.
in your opinion what actually causes low dhea? also i read that op is doing excessive exercise and eating 1600? for your size op youre eating too little.
A damaged adrenal gland, addison’s disease. I strongly believe you have hypopituitarism, where you have a short supply of one or more pituitary hormones. This deficiency can affect any number of your body’s routine functions, such as growth hormone (IGF-1), LH, blood pressure and reproduction.
This is why I stated you can’t fix this naturally, pituitary is whacked.
I was told and from what I read online low dhea happens when you’re on trt and then I looked at the symptoms of low dhea and they all matched up.I have tried various calorie intakes and cardio styles but nothing really changed even with more calories. Currently I just took a break from low cal since it was driving me crazy not seeing results so I’ve actually ballooned up 10 pounds
I actually think my doc did put SHGB on my blood order because I received a notice from the blood lab that they missed some things the doctor ordered. Ill find out soon if that’s one of them and if not I’ll ask him to test it. Till then I guess I should just supplement the DHEA? He did also give me clomid to take which I didn’t understand why
You are deficient in DHEA and those symptoms closely mimic low testosterone. If you were to go on TRT it alone, it wouldn’t fix your problems. You might actually feel worse.
Supplement DHEA and see how it goes, you may find you feel better. Being deficient in one hormones can affect other systems.
Read this post then read everything @physioLojik has pretty much written. Since you’re new here. You don’t know that he is a competitive bodybuilding endocrinologist who helped a ton of people on this site.
