Phew. Ok going to just put it all out there. So much to say. Hope you'll read fully.
Took Propecia in mid 20's. Went from average testosterone level of 900-1000 naturally, to (what felt like) nothing. Kept taking it anyway. Numerous problems with prostate pain. Debilitating migraines. Testicle ache. And ultimately sky-high estrogen. Ignored it for fear of losing hair. Took it for 3.5 years until I couldn't tolerate it anymore.
Age 25-30 I knew I had knocked myself down a lot. Libido wasn't anything like it used to be. Instead of averaging 900-1000 naturally I was now averaging 600. For me this was a drastic change in quality of life. But I could function fine, so I did nothing. No major health problems related to it. I remember seeing a urologist complaining that my sperm volume was "the size of a dime". I used to be Peter North. He told me I was fine and to go home. I really dislike doctors...
Age 30-35. I'm sure my chemical castration, combined with natural aging had its effect. By 35 my interest in sex was marginal at best. Workouts were fairly fruitless. Tested myself and was averaging about 475. I wanted back to at least 600, but couldn't justify it in my mind. For the most part I wasn't miserable. Just literally spent age 25 to 35 with the libido of a 60 year old.
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Then things got ugly. I had sex with a girl who ended up telling me she had HIV. Thankfully it was within 7 hours of the exposure. Unprotected. Twice. I raced to the hospital and was put on Post Exposure Prophylaxis. Unfortunately my doctor was an idiot and put me on the infamous "AZT". You know ... the drug that killed tens of thousands with HIV in the 80's. Yeah. They still prescribe it. I knew nothing about the stigma of the medication until I began taking it. It damages mitochondrial function in cells throughout the body. It destroys DNA replication. It suppresses bone marrow production, and thereby crashes the immune system for a period, followed by immune inflammatory reactions.
I spent 2 years miserable, with tons of unexplained symptoms including fatigue and much, much more. But now, my system is fried. Debilitated. Crippled in some fashion. Probably mitochondrial damage. Maybe viral reactivations. Maybe immune reconstitution syndrome (IRIS). Nobody knows. But now my testosterone is shot.
My hair started thinning. This is actually what triggered me to test my hormones, because low T can actually *cause* hair thinning. When I got the results back, I found that I was at 230. Not surprised. I felt like an old man.
HIV negative 2.5 years after exposure.
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I remember visiting here when I was in my 400's and wishing I could justify the "leap" to TRT. But now I am at 230 and there is something different at play here. Now I have a damaged system on my hands. My entire system is not functioning up to par like it was before the medications. So I am not surprised my T is also struggling at a much lower level. I could begin TRT, but this would not address my problem. And science hasn't excelled enough to identify my problem anyway.
I am able to manage a higher libido. Sort of. I can eat chocolate, and peanuts, and other foods that do give me a tiny "boost". I found that if I only masturbate once every 3-4 days, I am able to get my hormones up a little bit, naturally. But it only goes so far. Workouts are sh*t. I am fatigued for 2-3-4 days after every workout.
Im single and 39. I know for a fact that 15 years of "blah" libido has played a huge role in not "getting out there" and meeting a girl. I just don't have that "pull" that most guys have. Haven't, for a long time. Then I went and took poisons that did something to my body. Now, taking TRT would probably help. And at 240 its warranted. But I feel like its more a symptom of a crippled endocrine / adrenal / immune system. At best, it would be a band-aid. But I don't know what else to do. I know sudden low T is a biproduct of chronic disease. And there may be something brewing (many who took AZT ended up with lymphoma, cancers, etc).
If I did this, I would just push myself into the 500 range probably. And leave it there.
I don't know. I don't expect you guys to know what to do. I've seen 15 doctors and all my results are normal, aside from low T, low immune markers, high natural killer cells, high CD8, VERY low sed rate (1 and sometimes 0). Reactivated CMV, EBV, etc. Everything else is normal. And I've had at least 70 tests done. Cancers, Autoimmune tests, EMG's MRI's ... all normal.
Wish there was some way I could get myself into the 500's naturally.
blah.
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Originally Posted by theheat
