Side Effects of 3-4 Months TRT Use?

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
1

Hi guys - bit of a general question, and hope this isn’t considered a shitpost :slight_smile:

I have a quick and somewhat general question:

  • Would a restart after 3-4 months be the same as a restart after longer term use?

Bit of context:

I’m 36, and had been experiencing some classic low T symptoms (depression, foggy head, low energy, poor recovery, low libido, etc) with severity for at least a year (realistically much longer). Got a blood test at a T clinic. Some quick results (sorry - don’t have full lab report in front of me):

  • Total T: 458
  • SHBG: 55.2
  • Free T: 6.74
  • Estradiol: 18.3
  • Bioavailable testosterone: 158

So while my total T wasn’t terrible, my bioavailable T was a little low, so I decided to start TRT. I’m on 150mg / week Test Cyp, plus hCG (not sure of dose on that).

I’m only 3 weeks in, and I realize some of the benefits I’m seeing so far are placebo, but overall I feel good, and I’m very optimistic about next few weeks. I feel like TRT is unlocking a better life for me already.

However, I am extremely anxious about dependency on this treatment.

Possible long term health consequences, PIP, dealing with injections, these trivial things are NOT my concerns.

My concerns are things like, what if my life circumstances change drastically, i.e. job/income? What if there’s some sort of civilization collapse event that interrupts supply? I’m obviously a bit anxious, and these concerns are really weighing on me.

So I am thinking that I want to give TRT a chance for 3-4 months, and if my anxiety outweighs my life improvements, then I’ll stop TRT and do a restart. I expect that TRT will win out, and I want it to. I also expect that with a restart, I’ll have a fairly shitty crash period, but ideally will be able to get back to my old T level, and maybe by regulating my SHBG, I can improve my free T.

Thanks for reading and appreciate any input!

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A restart at you age is unlikely, maybe if you were in your 20’s, even then you would need to be stuck by lightening to end up a success story. When I saw you TT numbers I already knew to I was going to find high SHBG, if it had been lower with your TT numbers life wouldn’t have been so bad and maybe you could have fixed thing on your own through diet and exercise. You need to give TRT more than 3-4 months, if I had quit that soon I would have never known what was coming at the 6 month mark as I’m responding a little slow than most. I feel as if at the 7 month mark I’m where most are 3 months into TRT. Unlike you I have lower SHBG and I excrete most of my T through my kidneys into my urine, you on the other hard hold onto your T perhaps a little too well.

I wouldn’t worry about civilization collapse or a zombie apocalypse, I would worry about job loss. I’m sure there are programs out there designed to help those stuck in that situation. You’re depending on a natural bioidentical hormone so it’s not really medicine since the body evolved the handle testosterone, the upside is you’ll be optimal your entire life and you still have plenty of strength when you’re 80 years old. Perhaps in the near future insurance companies will come around once TRT becomes mainstream and more accepted. Your SHBG will only increase with age so think about that if you decide to stop, your free T will drop as SHBG rises.

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Thanks. Yes, considering my TT was OK, the high SHBG was a bummer, and as far as I know there aren’t great ways to mitigate that without TRT. My diet / lifestyle are already pretty optimized which is why I was quick to try TRT.

Re: anxiety about supply, yes, 99.9% of my concern is potential job/financial issues (not zombie apocalypse). But I guess that’s a concern for most people, and the question is do I want the fear of something that might never come up to prevent me from living a much better life now, and the answer is no.

Appreciate the input.

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There are guys coming in here with T levels at the top of the range naturally, but have insanely high SHBG. A real bummer! Perhaps in a few years they’ll have medicines able to raise/lower SHBG, I do know there are working on it.

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