TRT guys. Talk to me.

Bloodwork has been triple checked and it's confirmed I have the test levels of an old woman. Now I'm exploring my options here. Obviously the clinic wants to go all in. I actually know a lot about Test/Juice even though I don't use it due to knowing a lot of weight lifters/fighters and their doctors. But my knowledge really pertains to cycling. The people I know are somewhat biased in this regards and have been trying to get me on test for years based based on monitoring my fitness. I just refused to get the bloodwork done since I kind of didn't want to know. They mean well, and deep down I know they are likely right. But for some reason I'm just hesitant here.

I know on paper it really shouldn't be a hassle, but for some reason I'm just not really to commit. Anyone been on TRT long term and care to comment?

 

Arginine. You won't be able to twist the skin on your crank with a pipe wrench.

 

How old are you?

 

36. For reference, my total test levels were under 200 ng/dl and free test was under 7 pg/ml. The couple clinics I have called have just sounded too much like used car salesmen.

 

Lol. Dumb thing is I easily have the knowledge and resources to dose this myself, which is why the ones I have spoken to aren't making me feel comfortable. They seem to struggle with technical questions. But it still feels intimidating for some reason to commit to it.

 

I've heard injections of bull semen will cure you up right.

Use the syringe method, don't let the bull do the injecting.

 

I believe that if I sleep with a lot of younger women I can actually steal their youth. Don't know if there's any science to back that up, but I'm willing to keep trying... for research and shit.

 

Report back your results, some of us old married dudes will have to live vicariously through you and Cortez.

 

There was at least one other long ass thread on this... here's the cliff notes:

from guys on TRT: do it!
everyone else: you're a pussy and/or vain

 

I was about to ask what your numbers looked like but yeah that's bad. Make sure when you talk to a doc/endo that you have them look at your overall hormone profile. I'm assuming you got everything checked right, not just total and free T (E1/E2, Prolactin, SHBG, thyroids, FSH, LH, etc)....if not you really should. Your hormones all have a cascading effect on each other so you need to know where everything is at if you want to take an more elegant approach to fixing things rather than just throwing as much test at it as you can to try to fix the problem.

I actually just had my levels checked like a week ago and while my total test is just fine at 720, my free test is on the low end of normal (for this lab) at 10. My problem as far as I can tell is that both my E2 and SHBG levels are too high (E2 causes the SHBG to rise) which is kicking my free test in the nuts. As far as I can tell I don't need TRT (even though if you just keep raising total test it will eventually drive SHBG down and cause total test to come up, I still have the high E numbers to deal with. My plan is to hopefully nix the high E which should hopefully bring the SHBG down and allow the free test to come back up to more midrange level.

Like you, I'm pretty technically versed in this stuff so I feel like its REALLY important to talk to a doc that attacks these things with an elegant approach to deal with the cause not the symptoms and knows what's what rather than, as I said, just throwing T right at the problem. Also like you I'm very much hesitant to begin using exogenous testosterone if I don't need it. Once you get shutdown internally and have to rely on regular injections to keep your test levels up it kinda suck to have that dependence. Hence why recommend finding a doc who will try to find and internal fix to your test production if it is feasible.

 

Yup, I really don't want to head down the direction of total T shutdown and relying on injections forever. But I do want to get my test back up and fight the aging process as best as possible for athletic reasons. Sounds like you need to find a balance with an AI and your free test should come back up, but it also sounds like you have a handle on it. My situation is odd, I figured there would be more issues with other hormones, and there are, but are pretty mild and a bit of a head scratcher in comparison to the test counts. That said, I'm going to build on my current education and seek out more opinions here before I give up and go for the big T approach.

 

It worked for me for quite a while...

 

Eh, don't fight it. More T is always a good thing.

 

I know it kinda goes without saying but I'm assuming all your baseline stuff is already in order yes? All your micro/macro nutrients in order? (no vit D or zinc deficiencies) getting enough sleep etc.

 

Online I always hear about two places, Defy Medical and Excel Male. When I look at their web sites, they also seem to me to be like used car salesmen.

Good luck.

 

Jeebus...what are the signs of low-T? Like Braun said, as long as im pulling chicks 20yrs younger than me, then i think im good to go.
I beat on rocks for a living and race bad ass motorcycles....how the hell you gonna have Low T with a resume like that?

 

Yeah, I've been a fitness enthusiast for going on 20 years now. I get tested regularly for all the usualls and stay on top of my nutrition, workouts and sleep pretty religiously. I finally relented on full bloodwork after everything else simply didn't add up. I kind of knew what it was going to tell me honestly and have just been avoiding it. I figured there might be something else going on though, since my libido is fine. But everything else pointed to some hormonal problems.

 

The most common symptom is getting old. But at 36, with my activity level, I shouldn't struggling with some of the physical issues that I am regarding fatigue, muscle loss, fat, muscle/bone injuries, slow recovery periods etc. Knowing everything else is in order, I finally decided to dig deeper and get to the bottom of it.

 

Gotcha. I'm 47, but have had a laborious occupation my entire life that has either kept me in decent shape (never smoked, quit drinking 10 yrs ago Jan. 7) or has broke me down and it hasn't hit me yet. I did strain a shoulder a year and half ago that still bothers me...cortizone shot every 4-6 months.

So what i get from this thread is, you can be in great shape, watch your diet, and still have Testosterone issues? That sucks to know.