Taking Testosterone Illegally Helped Manage Depression (Article)

[EDCG19]

Pretty good read here if anyone is interested
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/x...-my-depression

At 19, I was diagnosed with major depression. I spent the next 14 years searching for the holy grail of antidepressants. In that time, I've been on more than two dozen psychiatric medications. I've tried all the well-known SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors), like Prozac and Zoloft, as well as NDRIs (norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitors) like Wellbutrin. I've been on antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics like Abilify, a drug I was on for only two weeks because it made me so tired that I slept through my alarm every morning.

I've been on mood stabilizers, anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax and Ativan, ADHD meds like Adderall, and more than a few treatments not approved for depression by the FDA. Every single drug I took ended up not working, only working for a short time, or producing unbearable side effects, like when the antidepressant Remeron made me puke for three days straight.

I'm 33 today, and my mental health deteriorated earlier this year in ways it never had before. Despite the three drugs I had been on (Paxil, Wellbutrin, and Lamictal), I became so depressed that staying awake for more than ten hours became nearly impossible. I lost interest in sex. (I'm in an open triad relationship, and my boyfriend Jeff, who writes for VICE, can confirm this had never been a problem before.) I started wishing that I was dead. Work became a nightmare. It was the most intense period of depression I'd experienced in my life.

It was around this time that I decided to take matters into my own hands and start illegally purchasing and injecting myself with testosterone .

I was 25 when a doctor first suggested I get tested for low testosterone , explaining that men with "low T" mimic depression symptoms: lethargy, low mood, general loss of interest, and low sex drive. My test results revealed that my testosterone level was 225 ng/dl. Low testosterone is medically defined as occurring in men who test below 200 ng/dl. Although I was borderline, because I didn't fall into the official low T range, my doctor wasn't comfortable prescribing me testosterone.

This February, after being let down by yet another cocktail of medications, I started thinking about testosterone again. Over the past decade, low T has become an extremely controversial diagnosis. Drug manufacturers stand to make a fortune from drugs that can treat it, but modern studies have had mixed results when it comes to its efficacy for treating depression, my problem. A study of testosterone's effects in men over the age of 65 found that "testosterone was associated with small but significant benefits with respect to mood and depressive symptoms"—but that's for older guys, not 33-year-olds like me.

[cousinmuscles]

225 and doc didn't prescribe? What an idiot. It could have been other factors like his previous meds and lifestyle but to not acknowledge that 225 is too low is just retarded.

[EDCG19]

225 and doc didn't prescribe? What an idiot. It could have been other factors like his previous meds and lifestyle but to not acknowledge that 225 is too low is just retarded.

He went to multiple docs since he was 19 and nobody was interested in the discussion about Low T with him and this seems to be a common thing in the medical industry. Almost as if a man with Low T is expected in society..

That's another thing, docs wont prescribe T cyp to someone but will be opening their scripts up for any psychotic drug they can get someone on

Also, interesting everyone starts at 200mg as a TRT dose, by now we all know that should be dropped a bit lower for stable bloods etc..

What i found truly odd was that other doctors wouldn't try to go over his medical work after he says test cured his depression and other issues. The docs out there really won't touch this and come out and admit low T is one of the worst things out there for a man..

[calgarian]

225 and doc didn't prescribe? What an idiot. It could have been other factors like his previous meds and lifestyle but to not acknowledge that 225 is too low is just retarded.

oh you have no idea how "scared" doctors are especially in US to prescribe Test (i ended up switching 2 doctors after they switch my dosage , one told me that I should take it every 3 weeks) They are having hard time understanding that I will be on TRT for the rest of my life. Its just frustrating.

[cousinmuscles]

oh you have no idea how "scared" doctors are especially in US to prescribe Test (i ended up switching 2 doctors after they switch my dosage , one told me that I should take it every 3 weeks) They are having hard time understanding that I will be on TRT for the rest of my life. Its just frustrating.

I'm in Sweden, feminism's world capital, it's worse. Though I found an urologist who didn't know much but agreed 10nmol (300ng/dl) was too low, didn't retest, didn't mind LH bottomed out, and said he'll let me pick any interval I want for Nebido after 4 first injections, that's luck my friend.

[hammerheart]

I felt kind of lucky in that I was allowed TRT straight away being as low as 150 ng/dl, though I've also heard about many others in Italy getting refused with about same levels - "you are fine!". It just doesn't matter to some medical professionals.

[RaginCajun]

Did anyone see the triad relationship?

[MuscleScience]

225 and doc didn't prescribe? What an idiot. It could have been other factors like his previous meds and lifestyle but to not acknowledge that 225 is too low is just retarded.

He went to multiple docs since he was 19 and nobody was interested in the discussion about Low T with him and this seems to be a common thing in the medical industry. Almost as if a man with Low T is expected in society..

That's another thing, docs wont prescribe T cyp to someone but will be opening their scripts up for any psychotic drug they can get someone on

Also, interesting everyone starts at 200mg as a TRT dose, by now we all know that should be dropped a bit lower for stable bloods etc..

What i found truly odd was that other doctors wouldn't try to go over his medical work after he says test cured his depression and other issues. The docs out there really won't touch this and come out and admit low T is one of the worst things out there for a man..

Mine was lower than that at times in my early 20’s. They just told me I was to young, or could be bad test results or this or that. Suffered through it for years unnecessarily.

I'm in Sweden, feminism's world capital, it's worse. Though I found an urologist who didn't know much but agreed 10nmol (300ng/dl) was too low, didn't retest, didn't mind LH bottomed out, and said he'll let me pick any interval I want for Nebido after 4 first injections, that's luck my friend.

Haha, that’s the funniest shit ever. Also Ironic, thr land that once had the hardest of the hardcore warriors is now the land of the floppiest of wrist males.

[charger69]

225 and doc didn't prescribe? What an idiot. It could have been other factors like his previous meds and lifestyle but to not acknowledge that 225 is too low is just retarded.

I was at 169 and doc didn’t prescribe. “The risk was not worth the benefit” said my female endo.
Really, do you know how I felt? I had low T before cycling and I thought it was just old age (at 40).


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[hammerheart]

I was at 169 and doc didn’t prescribe. “The risk was not worth the benefit” said my female endo.
Really, do you know how I felt? I had low T before cycling and I thought it was just old age (at 40).


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They just don't know the research. Low T is positively associated with CV disease much more than AAS abuse.

[EDCG19]

I was at 169 and doc didn’t prescribe. “The risk was not worth the benefit” said my female endo.
Really, do you know how I felt? I had low T before cycling and I thought it was just old age (at 40).


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My doc at kaiser wouldn't even allow to run test/estrogen blood work
I asked for it during a checkup and only thing they allowed me to run is lipid panel....

Docs don't care and don't know what they're doing. Some TRT clinics are alright, but I kind of feel like you can learn more about gear from actually reading the stickies and researching certain things

I heard its because insurance doesn't cover T but that sounds like bullshit, i'm sure a lot of "senior" guys on here are prescribed test by their primary care...