26yr old-5 months on TRT. The good & bad.

[frankj]

Hello all. First time posting here. I hope that my info can help someone, and maybe I can receive some guidance in return. The email is lengthy, but I think it could help a lot of people that battle the same issues. Honesty for all to see.

All test results will be at the bottom. Order is first test to last.

26 year old male.
Married with a child.
204lb. and 6ft tall.
Weight has always been around 185-200
No idea of body fat. Worn 32in pants for a long time.

Impecable diet.
(Meaning, I literally do not eat out. I make everything myself. 6 meals a day 45p/10c/10f on off days, and bump carbs to 40g a meal on lifting days)
I live off of only pasture raised meat. Oats, rice and potatoes. Fats are from nuts. I've had 4 cheat meals this year. I don't miss a meal, ever.
Never miss the gym.
I've gone to the gym for 9 years, but never gained much weight. I was always the skinny fat.

Long story in a few words: life has been full of more battles than I thought I would fight. (I realize I'm not alone and that most quit reading here) I certainly never thought I would fight so hard in my early 20s. (Supposed to be a fun time, right?) I mentally, emotionally, and psychologically had the crap beaten out of me, repeatedly… and then again later on.

The result has been a plethora of random illnesses from copious amounts of stress. (Having to get married, having a child, losing $60,000, losing a business, changing a job, car wrecks, etc.) I developed digestion problems, a skin condition in my ear canal and naval, benign growths in my chest (gyno. not the fatty kind but painful tumors. Had surgery to cut it out. hurt so bad.), and hemorrhoids. I've had more than 30 doctors visits in the past year. I went to a doctor of internal medicine to see why I was having all these issues, and the answer was stress. I've been put on anti-depressants, but I got off that quickly.

I quit wanting to live. For the past 7 years, I have truly given up and have been in a dark place. The hate, pain, fear of failing again, and disappointment has been consuming and all encompassing. Everyday was a dark night.

My uncle asks me if I've ever had my hormones checked, and I say no. Turns out he has to take shots weekly for his. My father and grandfather had low T levels, too. I get that checked, and my T is at 266 of 292-1052 at 26 years old.

My physician is OK; he doesn't know a lot about this, but he works with me some. I don't know a lot either. He looked at me and said - you have muscle mass, you have a kid, and you are young. You can't have low levels. The test results were different, though.

So, he starts me on Fortesta gel. I do it for awhile, but the practicality of it doesn't work. It takes 30 minutes to dry every AM, and I have to be out the door early. Plus, most of it would rub off on my clothes. So, since my Uncle takes injections, I asked to be put on that. He didn't want to, but complied.

He started me at 200mg of Test Cyp every 2 weeks. The first couple of weeks, I felt great. I took another blood test 6 weeks later and I was around the 500 level. So we continued as is.

Then I crashed, and kept crashing. I would be driving and have to pull over because I would hit bottom so hard and so fast. So, I went back in and had another blood test, this time it was back down to the 300s even while taking the 200mg.

He sent me to get my pituitary gland MRI'd. All came back normal. So then we started 200mg every week, and that is the last blood test below. I've been doing injections in my quad every week now for 6 weeks. Now it says I am in the 700s. I feel better on this schedule and haven't crashed any.

Here's where I am now -

Mentally the fog has been lifted. I haven't been this alert in my life. I wake up ready to go. I process things quickly and I am actually pleasant to be around now. I am extremely effective on my job. I laugh and enjoy my family for the first time ever.

Everyone else screams about the sex, I don't have that issue. My sex drive has actually decreased. I can get hard and stay hard, but mentally, I am not wanting it. (Frustrating.)

I haven't lost the soft fat that people talk about. I hold water.

I have gained some muscle mass.

My testicles have not shrunk, but they ache. It feels like I am flexing the muscle that you use to urinate all the time. It is uncomfortable and can hurt. It gets old.

Overall, it has been a night and day experience. I recommend everyone get their blood work done and see where you are at. My main issues was in my head. (the one on my shoulders) I literally couldn't function on the most basic level. Everything was difficult for me. I couldn't make a decision over anything. Now, I am ready to go.

I hope some people on here can look and give me some guidance if there is something I could be doing that could help me out more. I've come a long way, and want to do this right. I would like to get the testicle pain and sex drive in order.

I attached the 4 blood test results. I put it in a PDF. It seemed to be the best way to view it. I can't paste the text here, or the formatting is illegible. Let me know if I should post it another way.

Thank you for your time.

-Frank

[Brohim]

Bro your estrogen is sky high no wonder you don't feel like sex. It's like 10 times to high. lol You need an AI from your doc. Ask for HCG as well...this will help with your nut aches. Good luck

[bass]

first of all, sorry you had to go through so much pain, but i am glad you are feeling much better now. i looked at your blood work and your problem is high E2 and SHBG, at 200 mgs ew you should be at around 1600 on total test and about double or more on your free Test. high e2 can cause loss of libido, water retention and many other sides. i take it your only doing testosterone?! no AI and hCG? these two meds can reduce your e2, raise your testosterone and reduce your SHBG. welcome here, we will do what we can to guide you to receive a better and more proper protocol. keep in mind that a complete TRT protocol consists of testosterone, AI and hCG.

[SEOINAGE]

first of all, sorry you had to go through so much pain, but i am glad you are feeling much better now. i looked at your blood work and your problem is high E2 and SHBG, at 200 mgs ew you should be at around 1600 on total test and about double or more on your free Test. high e2 can cause loss of libido, water retention and many other sides. i take it your only doing testosterone?! no AI and hCG? these two meds can reduce your e2, raise your testosterone and reduce your SHBG. welcome here, we will do what we can to guide you to receive a better and more proper protocol. keep in mind that a complete TRT protocol consists of testosterone, AI and hCG.

Sounds like E2 is the problem. Hope you can get this worked out.

[dtrader]

Your estrogen is way too high like the others have said. My lab reference range was 0-54.. and my Estrogen was above 50.. my doctor wants it as close to 30 or below as possible.

Mid cycle blood work ( I take the pellets ) showed my estrogen was 31, and my Test was 1100.. and my doctor LOVED the results and said this is where I should be.

I would also suggest having your cortisol checked. Find a doctor that treats adrenal fatigue and do a timed saliva test ( you do this at different points in the day and then mail it to the lab ). Long periods of stress can cause cortisol to drop and stay low until you supplement with Hydrocortisone to give the adrenals a rest. The key to all of this stuff is finding a great doctor. What state are you in?

[Brazensol]

Your estrogen is way too high like the others have said. My lab reference range was 0-54.. and my Estrogen was above 50.. my doctor wants it as close to 30 or below as possible.

Mid cycle blood work ( I take the pellets ) showed my estrogen was 31, and my Test was 1100.. and my doctor LOVED the results and said this is where I should be.

I would also suggest having your cortisol checked. Find a doctor that treats adrenal fatigue and do a timed saliva test ( you do this at different points in the day and then mail it to the lab ). Long periods of stress can cause cortisol to drop and stay low until you supplement with Hydrocortisone to give the adrenals a rest. The key to all of this stuff is finding a great doctor. What state are you in?

But how do YOU feel?

[dtrader]

Brazensol,
I felt incredible.. but the problem is I am new to TRT, and I didn't see the warning signs of dropping T levels towards the end of my first cycle.. and by the time I got back in for more implants, I was feeling sluggish. I think it's a learning process and the next time I will be sure to spot symptoms and make an APPT for more implants sooner.

- I had much less aches and pains upon waking
- Higher sex drive
- Increased energy and mood, very noticeable LATE in the day when I would usually be ready to sit all night
- Better sleep, and feeling more refreshed upon waking with only 7 hours.

Those were the biggest things I noticed.

[frankj]

Wow. I want to apologize to everyone who responded to this. I never got alerts or emails that anyone had responded, so I didn't know you all did. Thanks so much. I'll respond to each question below.

[frankj]

To Bass -

I tried to quote your response, but the forum wouldn't let me.

I only take the 200 mg a week from the Doc. I asked him about an anti-estrgen (misspelled the word because the forum wouldn't let me post it if I wrote it properly), and his response was just lower my dosage of Test. I don't really want to do that. My brain (on my shoulders) would shut down.

[frankj]

Your estrogen is way too high like the others have said. My lab reference range was 0-54.. and my Estrogen was above 50.. my doctor wants it as close to 30 or below as possible.

Mid cycle blood work ( I take the pellets ) showed my estrogen was 31, and my Test was 1100.. and my doctor LOVED the results and said this is where I should be.

I would also suggest having your cortisol checked. Find a doctor that treats adrenal fatigue and do a timed saliva test ( you do this at different points in the day and then mail it to the lab ). Long periods of stress can cause cortisol to drop and stay low until you supplement with Hydrocortisone to give the adrenals a rest. The key to all of this stuff is finding a great doctor. What state are you in?

I did a cortisol blood test, and it was ok. I know the saliva is more complete, so I'll do that soon.

I am in Texas.

[frankj]

Bro your estrogen is sky high no wonder you don't feel like sex. It's like 10 times to high. lol You need an AI from your doc. Ask for HCG as well...this will help with your nut aches. Good luck

Thanks Brohim. I am also in Houston. My doc won't give an AI. He said to just lower my Test usage.

[Brohim]

Thanks Brohim. I am also in Houston. My doc won't give an AI. He said to just lower my Test usage.

you need an AI either go to ar-r.com and buy some liquidex and take it yourself or find a doc that will prescribe an AI and some HCG as well. Did you try ICON wellness in clearlake?

[bass]

To Bass -

I tried to quote your response, but the forum wouldn't let me.

I only take the 200 mg a week from the Doc. I asked him about an anti-estrgen (misspelled the word because the forum wouldn't let me post it if I wrote it properly), and his response was just lower my dosage of Test. I don't really want to do that. My brain (on my shoulders) would shut down.

It's okay to lower your T dose, after all its the high end of TRT, usually it's around 100 mgs ew. It's better to lower your dose than deal with high e2 sides, I do 100 ew and my total T is around 900, and my free T is way above normal.

[frankj]

you need an AI either go to ar-r.com and buy some liquidex and take it yourself or find a doc that will prescribe an AI and some HCG as well. Did you try ICON wellness in clearlake?

Thanks Brohim. Never heard of it. I can be there in 15 minutes. Are they a normal clinic/dr office? Really sick of this. Thanks again.

[Brohim]

Thanks Brohim. Never heard of it. I can be there in 15 minutes. Are they a normal clinic/dr office? Really sick of this. Thanks again.

They specialize in HRT. You have to go to one of their health briefing before you become a patient which they have twice per month. Call them and see when their next one is.

[steroid.com 1]

I don't know why I didn't see this post when it was originally posted because I missed it.

A man your age who has suppressed Testosterone serum levels needs to rule out all pathologies as it's not age related androgen deficiency.

I can't believe that your Doc didn't say anything to you about your Free T4 or T3 assay and want to investigate further...both of these are red flags on your lab report!

T3 is the hormone secreted by your Thyroid called Thyroxine 3. It's the form of Thyroxine that your tissues can use.

When this is low it can be a sign of Hypothyroidism. You would need more tests especially Reverse T3 (RT3), Thyroid Anti-Bodies plus T4 and Free T3.

You need to know that Hypothyroidism can cause Secondary Hypogonadism which leads to low serum levels of Testosterone and other hormones.

Your E2 is elevated because of your exogenous Testosterone.

If I were you I would get more thorough testing done of your Thyroid by a specialist in this gland. Most Doc's don't understand the Thyroid very well and just go by TSH levels and reference ranges on labs...and you don't want that.

If you do have Hypothyroidism and you get it corrected most likely your Testosterone levels will normalize as well.

Also note, Hypothyroidism has many of the same symptoms as low Testosterone and why you feel like you do even with your TRT protocol.

[Sisonpyh]

Seems many questions have been answered, just want to throw more out there for your knowledge. This is more about psychology than anything, someone on here mentioned cortisol, I wanted to put my brief input on that as I don't know if you got the saliva test. The Hypothalamus releases a chemical called CRH+ which goes to the pituitary gland, in response to this the pituitary releases ACTH+ to the adrenal glands which release cortisol back to the hippocampus and the amygdala. Now normally the Hippocampus will stop the feedback loop but the problem with a lot of stress (which you have had more than enough) is that the amygdala (fear system in the brain) disregulates this negative feedback system and keeps producing it which can have several effects after much production.

NOT something you should neglect!

[dreadnok89]

Feel for you man. These asshole doctors tell me my 98 estrogen is normal and not high