52 & needing some advice

[drw6895]

I have been on TRT therapy for several years, including Androgel, Testim, and now Axiron. The insurance company switches their formulary every few months. My bloodwork results on Androgel 1.62 & Testim were 300 or less. I am now on two pumps of Axiron under each axilla, but the $25 cost card expires at the end of the year (drug is not covered by insurance, not in the formulary).

I need to begin working on a long term plan B, since $400 per month for Axiron is incredible. On the compounded gels, what compounded form works best? Is there a downside to the compounded gels and what is the real cost? I called a local compounding pharmacy in Ohio and was told this is very expensive. My family doctor was not enthused about compounding. Are compounded trt mixes generally prescribed by an endocrinologist?

My Doc also was not wanting to go the injection route since he thought the last few days prior to being reinjected would be fairly rough days. For those of you using injections, how bad is it.

Thank you in advance for your reply.

Drw

[Times Roman]

Welcome to the board mate

I'm 50 and have been on trt for almost 3 years. in the beginning, i was on 200mg test c every other week, and yes, I could feel there at the end my blood levels crashing, causing some emotional discomfort (moodiness, etc.). So we switched to 100mg every week, and I do NOT feel any real difference on the last day or so. My co-pay for injectible is $20, but this 10ml bottle lasts 20 weeks. Another copay for the needles/syringes that lasts just as long.

Initially, i had to go in and have the injection center do the actual injecting. But i moved to afghanistan for a period of time so i had my doctor agree to allow me to inject myself which is extremely convenient.

My total out of pocket is about $40 every 4 or 5 months or so. compared to your $400/mo, I'd think you may want to consider switching?
Let me know if you need to know anything else?

---Roman

[ironbeck]

You might as well get a 100ml bottle and give your self injections.........you will save big and get better results.

[John Andrew]

Mate, G'day, There is no way I would not inject! it's easy, safe, painless. Just watch on U tube to see how. As for $400 per month for test C. I buy 10ml bottles at 250mg per ml and they cost about 15% of that. Given that a bottle would last you 2 months its cheap.

It is quite amazing how prices can vary. When I was in hospital here with my leg smashed I could not afford to stay in because the antibiotics alone were over $250 per day. I bought them down the road for 5%. I blame Insurance companies, ( I was a broker) they do not seem to lay down rules for the hospitals. Doctors would never use a product because they were getting kickbacks! It happens all the time every where!

Anyway all the best, I hope things work out well for you. Regards. John

[Vettester]

The sad thing is that your doctor isn't telling you, the injections can be split up throughout the week and taken subcutaneously with insulin needles.

Presume your doctor doesn't do anything for E2 or testicular atrophy either? Rather common theme these days.

[MRNJ1992]

self inject-definitely better than andro. Im still waiting in BW. Make sure you do some HCG as well. Problem is most of these doctors dont give the option. My thyroid doc gave me a 12 month script which insurance pays. 120 for the year as well as 5$ copay for 10 cc of Cyp Good Luck...

[O40]

I have a 200 MG per month script. I never followed that and instead broke it up into 75 MG CYP every 3 days - not interested in crashing every month. I have been pinning myself for the last 10 years so no big deal. I stock pile the Watson Cyp from the pharmacy for future cycles and use UG Sustenon for TRT. I use 25 G 1" pins and rotate around my body. I also use HCG but don't have a script for that. You can find everything you need rather inexpensively if you want to DIY your TRT, just have to look around a bit. Good luck to you.

[ozzie43]

You can also look into getting a new doctor. There's a great sticky on finding doctors in the trt forum. Take a look for one in your area and call them prior to visiting. You can simply ask if they endorse self injections. If not, move on to the next doctor. Research the doctors as well. I had to find out the hard way that my doc was screwing me. You will learn that sometimes people have to change doc's until they find a good one. That's my case right now and maybe yours as well.

Like Vettester mentioned, you can sq your test injections or IM. That's your decision. You could do 1ml weekly or split it which is most common. Such as .5ml every 3.5 days. I would also recommend getting an AI just in case along with DHEA daily and HCG on a m-w-f protocol.

Last point and probably most important, you're in control of your health and not your doctor.

Good Luck!

[SeaPig]

I apologize for blasting in with this thread being a few months old.
It is a great read as I am also 52, and just researching at this point.
Roman, I need to find a Doc like yours as I too spend a lot of time in Afghanistan.