TRT at the Low-T Center

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
1

Hi All;

I began TRT at the local ‘Low-T Center’ a little over a year ago, I began as a guy who just wanted to feel a bit younger, looking to restore the drive/energy I had in my 20’s. I had become alarmingly irritable and wasn’t sleeping very well. At this point I am starting to question the decision, but first… here are my test results as provided by Low-T, they appear to be a bit less than some of the more extensive testing I see other post…

        2/17/2014	5/22/2014	8/18/2014	11/20/2014

Total T 176 300 375 470
PSA 0.75 0.93 1 0.9
Estradiol 14.7 13.3 28.1 26.9
Hemoglobin 13 13.9 15.3 15.7
Hermatocrit 39.3 41.3 44.3 46.1
T Dose 150 170 200 210
Calc Free T 9.52 12.2 15.2

My T dose is every 10 or 11 days.

40 yo
5’ 10"
`180#
BF ~20%
I have a full head of hair, receeding slightly
My beard it pretty thin, body hair is minimal, although my legs are pretty hairy.
I carry belly fat, and some on the back of my thighs.
I workout 3/4 days a week on avg, 15min cardio 45min of weights/machines
I sometime wake in the night with an erection, but I don’t really get morning wood.
Depending on how tired I am (directly related to sleep, kids/work limiting) we usually have sex ~3 times a week (with a week off every month). This is down from every day, sometimes multiple through my mid-30’s… although that may be due to too much porn and having been married over 10 years now… LOL. 3 kids doesn’t help.

Now it’s pretty obvious that my t was pretty low… but it doesn’t seem that they do much other testing, other than to sell you the treatments. I feel pretty good overall, not a dramatic change, and I suspect that my commitment to exercise (which I started about the same time) has more to do with my decreased irritability and better sleep. My libido didn’t really increase and building muscle is going pretty slowly.

I did have pretty severe testicular atrophy, and after reading a bit on here, I convinved the guy to prescribe some hCG, but he’s only given me 250 IU a week! I don’t think I’ve seen anyone taking that little. My poor little grapes have firmed back up a bit, but are still much smaller than before TRT.

How can I get more hCG? and how much should I take for

  1. returning my nuts to size
  2. maintaining after ‘recovery’.

Please do not turn this into a debate on whether I should or not, I have read a bit of these, and am convinced I’d like to keep my boys full.

Also, what are your thoughts on my labs, what else should I be looking out for?

Your impressions of the Low-T center and it’s methodology are appreciated also.

I guess I am questioning my decisions, because it seems like it’s once TRT, always TRT, and who knows if I’ll be able to maintain the therapy my entire life…

Thanks for any help/opinions/info you feel like offering up.

2

Formatting on the tetst was buggered

2/17/2014

Total T 176
PSA 0.75
Estradiol 14.7
Hemoglobin 13
Hermatocrit 39.3
T Dose 150
Calc Free T

5/22/2014

Total T 300
PSA 0.93
Estradiol 13.3
Hemoglobin 13.9
Hermatocrit 41.3
T Dose 170
Calc Free T 9.52

8/18/2014

Total T 375
PSA 1
Estradiol 28.1
Hemoglobin 15.3
Hermatocrit 44.3
T Dose 200
Calc Free T 12.2

11/20/2014

Total T 470
PSA 0.9
Estradiol 26.9
Hemoglobin 15.7
Hermatocrit 46.1
T Dose 210
Calc Free T 15.2

3

We have some reading for you, these stickies: [there are 7]

  • advice for new guys ← NOTE FIRST PARAGRAPH
  • protocol for injections

100mg T cyp/eth per week, self inject as 50mg twice a week
250iu hCG SC EOD - no need to front load as higher doses can create problems
anastrozole as needed at time of injection - you may not need.

Injecting once a week is not enough, 10-11 days is not good. Blood levels change severely and then your lab results are useless as the result is more a matter of lab timing than anything else.

Low-T shops are just that, they are not looking at low-T as a symptom of a problem.

They will Rx more hCG, ask.

4

How long after the injection were the blood tests taken?

Injections should really be lower doses more frequently, otherwise you get large fluctuations. At least once a week, if not more frequent.

5

Tests are on the 10th day.

Hmmm, thinking maybe I should ditch Low-T and get a doc to write the scripts?

I already pay out of pocket for the hCG, not too bad considering the low dose, my current pharmacy gets $65 for the 5000iu, all supplies included, syringes/water/wipes. EOD at 250iu is 40 days, roughly 6 week… that could work.

I only pay $3 per visit to Low-T right now, more when they run labs.

6

Had another appointment, he doesn’t want me to get more hCG. Probably going to look into getting a GP to write the scripts, I’ll go to him for blood tests quarterly. I hope I can do it that way, even at 10 days getting to the low-t is a hassle. I’m already self-injecting the hCG.