Hi,
I just wanted to introduce myself and say how much this forum has helped me.
I’m a 44 year old member of a regional rescue squad. I’m a combat veteran and I have been active my whole life. I’m pretty healthy and my job requires a certain amount of strength and confidence. Over the years I have plateaued at the gym and on the track. I chalked it up to being “old.” My annual bloodwork had been showing low hemoglobin, borderline low hematocrit, and high glucose. My doc would say that I needed to cut sweets and work out more. My diet is pretty good (other than my occasional enjoyment of whiskey), I don’t eat sugar, very low carbs, high protein, and I work out regularly (long run day, lift day, sprint day, rest, repeat). I started to really struggle with belly fat and poor metabolism. Again, I just thought I was getting old.
The one thing that really bothered me was this lingering feeling that “something is wrong.” I was never settled or content. I wasn’t brave like I used to be and my mind was foggy. I didn’t feel like myself. I thought I might need to look for a new job if I couldn’t get past this. I would be a liability to my team.
One day I shared this with one of my teammates and he told me that he had low T and that he was on androgel. I asked my doc about it and convinced him to check. He called me back and said my “T was only 53” and I needed to come in. He put me on 200 mg test cyp every other week.
I started feeling like myself within the first week. It was great. The main thing – above anything else - was that I didn’t feel anxious anymore. That was great. I felt like I got my brave back. I started to drop some belly fat and for the first time in years, I actually started to improve in my workout program.
The only problem was that I felt crummy at the end of the second week before my next shot. After 6 months on TRT, 200mg EoW, my bloodwork came back as:
A1c – 5.8%
Mean plasma glucose - 129
Total T – 556 (250-1000)
Free T – 141.9 (35-155)
Bloodwork taken 7 days after shot with 7 days remaining before the next shot.
My doc said he feels like 500 is as high as I need to be at my age, but couldn’t justify why.
After reading this forum, I asked my doc if I could take 100mg weekly and he agreed. That seemed to help a little with the end-of-week anxiety for the time.
After a few months, the symptoms started to creep back. Fat, slow, foggy, unmotivated. I wondered if my total numbers were down and since my natural production was shut down, I wasn’t getting the same effect. So, I started taking 140mg every week and I have felt great ever since. No symptoms of gyno or anything. Still some occasional ED, but Viagra has been a huge help.
I can’t imagine if I had to spend my life feeling that way I used to feel. I felt like I was trapped in someone else’s body, and now I’m back to myself. Reading this forum has made a world of difference for me. I’m thankful for the advice you all have shared here. Hopefully I’m on the right path now.
Thanks!