Low T, Seeking help before it's too late - Blood Tests Included -

[seekinghelp]

Excuse the dramatic title.

First off, I want to avoid TRT if at all possible. I'm a bit scared, I've read a lot about TRT, the great and the tough things that surround it. Also, first post here, going to try and follow the rules as best as I can:

26, 5'10", 140lb, BF% fluctuated between 13%-17% over the past year.

History:

Dumb and naive decisions at 20, 3 cyc of AAS, followed each time by PCT, decent amount of off time between. Last one 2009-2010, this was all over 3 years ago, and may not play a role in this, but it's important to mention. Testies regained size every time, currently normal healthy size. Felt great for a few years following, no ED issues, no libido issues.

First noticed something was up over a year ago when I started experiencing ED. This was in the midst of a stressful time in my life, so I chalked it up to this and moved on. After awhile with no resolve, stress fading, and a lot of reading, I decided to get some hormone blood work done. Results were low t.

Here are all of my tests, references in brackets:

>Test 1 December 2012
Test: 9.3 nmol/L - (10-30)
FSH: 3 U/L - (1-12)
LH: 2 U/L - (2-12)
Prolactine: 8 - (0-23)

>Test 2 May 2013
Test: 5.0 nmol/L (9.9-27.8)
ALT: 37 U/L (10-55)
TSH: 1.26 mIU/l (.34-5.6)

>Test 3 (Endo Labs) August 2013
Test: 9.0 nmol/L (9.9-27.8)
LH: 1.0 IU/L
FSH: 2.2 IU/L
AM Cortisol: 815 (170-650)
TSH: 1.61 (.34-5.60)
Thyroxine Free: 10 (8-15)
Creatinine: 72 (60-100)

I've experienced symptoms all over the place, but ED, no libido, and muscle weakness/fatigue have stuck through most of this. Irritability, mild depression, anemia, feeling cold, and other things have come and gone.

My Endo has been supportive and seems to know what he's talking about, I have a life changing appointment on the horizon. I'm assuming my TRT program would be 100mg cyp or ene once a week, possibly 50mg 2x a week, and HCG. Again, I'm trying to avoid this at all costs.

So here we are, any thoughts or advice? Any input is greatly appreciated, I'm young for all this to be happening, but I understand I've made some dumb decisions in my life, and if it comes down to it, I'll live with the consequences.

Questions:
I've read about using Clomid and HCG to elevate levels, at a glance does this sound like an option worth trying?

Is TRT as terrible as people make it out to be for those who might actually need it at this age?

Thanks for reading, and thanks for all the informative posts around this site.

[powerlifterty16]

i may get some flack for asking this, but at 5'10 140 what have you done cycles for? were you heavier before hand and lost weight due to low t?

t
clomid and hcg can definitely help you if you have secondary hypogonadism.
if clomid/hcg don't help, trt is very managable. take 2 sub q shots of cyp per week, 2 hcg shots per week sub q, and for the most part that's it...maybe an ai, maybe IM injections, maybe hematocrit issues which you donate...biggest scares for me are balding and cholesterol issues.

[powerlifterty16]

where do you live? it's nce to see good drs.

[seekinghelp]

No problem. I was heavier back then, around 175lb, I lost a lot of the weight by choice to be honest.

Canada, and yeah I definitely feel good about my endo after seeing recommendations some drs have been handing out.

Thank you for the insight. I go through phases of acceptance and feeling like I'm going to see many benefits to my life if I start TRT, then I read the opposite and have second thoughts. I'll talk with my endo about clomid and hcg.

[powerlifterty16]

i think clomid and hcg could help since your lh and fsh are low and you have done steroids.
you wont get the same high that you'd get with pure test, but it will restart you i bet.

[kelkel]

Get an MRI to rule in/out pituitary issues. Start there.

[powerlifterty16]

it's very important before cycles to run baseline bw..this way you could know if your levels are always low, or if pct went wrong. if pct went wrong it would make sense that your t is low, but if it didnt then pituitary mris, thyroid tests etc make more sense.
even if it was a natural cause, restarts can work...i think.

[seekinghelp]

MRI is on the way, what kind of thyroid tests should I look into?

Definitely Power, I wish I had done things differently, not to mention avoiding it altogether. It would put me at ease knowing I was low before hand. My next appointment is getting close, I think I'll discuss a restart with my endo. Can anyone recommend a good restart protocol?

I'll keep this thread updated with results and findings, thanks for the input!

[jasondd1]

MRI is on the way, what kind of thyroid tests should I look into?

Definitely Power, I wish I had done things differently, not to mention avoiding it altogether. It would put me at ease knowing I was low before hand. My next appointment is getting close, I think I'll discuss a restart with my endo. Can anyone recommend a good restart protocol?

I'll keep this thread updated with results and findings, thanks for the input!

clomid 25mg eod is pretty standard. HCG anywhere from 700 iu per week to 1500

[seekinghelp]

Great thank you, how long after running something like this would you get bw to check natural levels?

[jasondd1]

Great thank you, how long after running something like this would you get bw to check natural levels?

When i tried clomid protocol i did it at 6 weeks. First 4 weeks were good then it crashed everything else. Total double to 690 but free did nothing and it crashed progesterone to a point i couldn't sleep. I was hopeful but unfortunately I wasn't a good candidate.

[seekinghelp]

hmm, interesting.

what are people's opinions on HCG only treatment, and is clomid necessary? My LH seems really low, could the lack of signal from pituitary be the only reason T production is crap at the moment? MRI would come first.