39 year old ex-military. Football, track and wrestling in high school. Joined Army, jumped out of perfectly good airplanes and started wrestling for the Army. Then KAPOW! Injured…end of story…spinal cord injury in 2 places (C-5 & L4-S1 with 2 more discs disappearing), spinal stenosis and both ankles reconstructed.
Fast forward 20 years and 17 years on pain killers…legal and illegal. Almost died from the methadone mixture, so I have been off of the pills for about 1 year now. All of this information for what?
Well I am waking up and realize I am a fat slob. Gained 100 lbs. Recent testing done and my testosterone was like 158! So the V.A. doc is going to prescribe injections for me. Well along with the waking up and realizing I am a fat slob, I miss working out now. I have a gym membership and I am wanting to lose my freaking fat and get back into shape. It feels like an uphill battle and I understand this will be difficult.
Basically, I am looking for any advice on how to take advantage of my injections to lose my weight, lose fat, gain muscle and to change my life forever! Yes, I have read various information from here and other web sites, so please be patient with me.
first thing is to get more blood tests if possible to give yourself a good baseline (per the blood test sticky).
testosterone in of itself won’t be much help if you already have excess Estradiol (very likely given your excess weight) or if you have issues with your Thyroid or Cortisol levels.
our bodies are complicated and more than likely it is going to take multiple medications and supplements to get your system back in balance.
There is a lot to learn. Read the stickies, advice for new guys should be read soon, come back after and post details as outlined in that sticky.
There are many dimensions to getting to where you want to go. TRT is one, but there are many other factors. Injecting T is not going to solve your problems if that is all that you do.
Also read some of the threads from other guys so you can see what goes on.
Getting your diet in order will have a more dramatic effect than just about anything else, including TRT. Check out the V-Diet on this site or either of the links below for variations on the paleo approach, which has done wonders for lots of guys without any need for low-fat or calorie-counting misery.
I lost 25 lb of fat in the first 6 weeks I was on it, and that’s not at all unusual – someone like you with 100 lb to lose might see even more dramatic results.
Were you 12 hour fasting for GLUCOSE. 111.0(H) mg/dl ?
TRT can lower total cholesterol, while HDL typically does not change. And can improve insulin sensitivity, but that may require E2 management and other sensible things.
It was suppose to be a 12 hour fast but I think I drank some Powerade with sucralose in it approximately 9 hours prior. Memory a bit hazy still.
Received my T. 200mg every week. Waiting for my syringes and a visit with the shot nurse this coming Friday. Received 1000 mgs in advance. Nurse said it would take 4 months to feel anything for the better.
I did read from another person on here that kale, lemon with hot water, cranberry juice au natural no sugar added works really well for cleansing out the liver. So will also start this.
Purchased membership to local gym. Will start this soon. Also my wife has me on a vegetarian diet. Purchased some protein powder. Will start walking for 1 hour 3=5 times a week.
Vegetarian diets are stupid for those with hormone issues…your problem is with too many carbs in your diet causing your glucose issues, so why would you want to add more carbs to it with a vegetarian diet? You should check out a more Paleo approach, or even Atkins.
Talked to my Veterans Doctor and he said that he will not order more tests. He says that I have low T and that is that!
The nurse that put me made me leave a message was flabbergasted that I would even contemplate questioning my doctor! So I will have to pay for the blood work myself.
Great news! Got rid of my old doc and I see my new one Friday! So fingers crossed and a prayer she will listen to me instead of being like that doctor…
My wife’s female doc ended up ordering me some nautral thyroid pills. Been taking them along with my T injections. I am starting to feel better. I have a long road to recovery! Will get more blood work in 2 months. Still attempting to be consistent at the gym. So I purchased protein powder, aminos, vitamins etc to force myself back into this routine. When I go to the gym I walk about 2 1/2 miles. Burn about 600 calories. I am not doing a little weights. Unfortunately I have a possible torn ligament in my left shoulder. Old war wound that I did not worry aboutbtill current. Gonna meet with personal trainer this week.
My goals…
Lose fat
Finish a Tough Mudder
Feel great about myself once again,
And be an example to my boys!
you really to run those tests that were suggested above:
test for TSH, FreeT4, FreeT3, ReverseT3, 8am Cortisol, and ferritin plus any other tests you can get per the blood test sticky.
[quote]PureChance wrote:
you really to run those tests that were suggested above:
test for TSH, FreeT4, FreeT3, ReverseT3, 8am Cortisol, and ferritin plus any other tests you can get per the blood test sticky.
[/quote]
x2 for emphasis.
You have a serious thyroid issue. There is a lot more going on here than low T. Natural dessicated may be the right treatment, or it may not. If you have an adrenal problem, that needs to be fixed first. The order of fixing is 1) adrenals, 2) thyroid, 3) testosterone.
All you know is you have a test problem and a thyroid problem (you don’t even know which particular thyroid problem you have yet). Get ft4, ft3, rt3, ferritin and 8am cortisol.
Also I would eat a high protein/moderate fat diet with as little carbs as possible (and lots of low-calorie filling green veggies). Think steak and eggs, no fries or potatoes.