fT4 was 1.2 and mid-range is 2.6, so a wee bit below mid-range.
But some do not convert fT4–>fT3 very well.
In any case, TSH indicates that your hypothalamus is not seeing enough active hormone in your blood.
Need body temperatures.
If fT3 appears good and body temps are low, we suspect elevated rT3 blocking fT3.
rT3 can also reduce the fT3 that the hypothalamus can see with its receptors.
Very nice guy who emphasized that he was a “quality of life guy.”
He put my on 50mg of Clomid daily for the first four months. Then blood work to confirm effect, then down to EOD.
I’m going to stay on the 50mg daily for a while to see how I feel before scaling back on the dosages, as recommended here.
He also prescribed me Cialis for “quality of life” reasons even though I haven’t been having erection issues. I don’t know if I’ll bother with it.
Pharmacy just informed me that my insurance doesn’t cover the Clomid. So that’s $50/month out of pocket for as long as I’m doing the full dosage.
I’m independently tackling the thyroid issue, as Uro #2 didn’t seem interested in the high TSH level. That’s just as well to me, as I’d like to get some sort of bump up in testosterone as I work to get the thyroid straight.
Next steps:
Clomid 50mg daily for a few weeks to see how I feel
Day 3 of Clomid. My balls hurt. No idea if that’s related to Clomid usage or just the morning wood.
Big workout yesterday. Felt exactly like usual - performance dropped precipitously soon after I began - but obviously I won’t be feeling all the good effects for a while longer.
Workouts have felt better in last two days.
My balls still ache every once in a while.
Libido has gone up significantly. It’s hard to overstate this. I’m getting random erections again. I can get hard just thinking about sex.
Focus has been much improved. I have quite a bit more energy too.
Workouts okay recently.
Libido seems to have settled. Still better than before, without a doubt, but it’s not like I’m 13 or anything.
Nocturnal erections are regular and strong, no homowner.
I’ve been feeling extremely fatigued during the last two days. Wonder if it’s just the stress from work or the sky-high Clomid dose.
I feel amazing.
Athletic performance has improved drastically. Sex drive almost out of control.
Am I a Clomid unicorn?
I’m supplementing with the iodine pill. Trying to get a multi-vitamin with selenium today. Body temps have been between 97.5 and 97.7 for past few mornings.
Sex drive settling back again. Still much better than I can remember in a long time.
The neuromuscular improvements have been outstanding. I’ve dropped about half a second off my 100 meters time.
Now at about 1 month in.
Looks like my libido high is coming down. I feel pretty close to how I felt before.
However, the athletic performance is still wayyyyy up - sprinting, weightlifting, jumping is just a huge leap ahead of what it used to be.
A lot of guys talk about feeling better sexually after dropping to a lower Clomid dose. If/when I do that, is it likely that the athletic gains will dissipate?
Still at 50mg/day. Sex drive gone. Strange as well is that athletic performance is down from where it was a month ago. Weaker, much slower when sprinting.
Yes, your E2 needs to be checked. As T increases, T → E2 increases. You will probably end up on an AI in addition to the clomid. You probably should have been on it from the start given your agressive clomid (50mg/day) regimen.
Are you supplementing iodine with your high TSH number?
Your experience on clomid mirrors mine, down the the pain in the testicles. I went quickly for an AI because I had intense nipple itch which probably spared me from the other effects your are feeling now.
I won’t see my doctor until June. Should I just scare up an AI from other sources for now?
I’m also considering dropping down to 25mg/day right now, doctors orders be damned.
I’m at 12.5mg/day and it has pushed my T from <200 to 575. E2 jumped from 20 to 30 (still plenty in range).
I made another appointment to get the AI.
As far as dosages go, IMHO this stuff needs to be tuned. Dr prescribed me 25mg/day, I dropped to 12.5, and he prescribed 1.5mg arimidex/week and I dropped it to .5mg/week.
Doctor has a 2 month backlog of appointments,so I can’t see him until my scheduled visit in June no matter what. I think I’ll drop down to 25mg/day and then get some arimidex from a friend who is into bodybuilding. I’ll try the 0.5mg/week.