Psychiatrist and trt

[devildog1967]

Went to my Psychiatrist with the early results on taking self medicated trt (as doc will not prescribe) As you know from early threads , my levels were considered too normal and in range to be given trt even tho i had all the symptoms of low T. The Psychiatrist had took me off all meds 8 weeks ago as it looks like trt worked . ( BEEN OFF AAS FOR 4 WEEKS AND ALL SYMPTOMS HAVE RETURNED ) So now Psychiatrist asked me to go back on so he can monitor me some more, he wants to write a paper on it as he thinks trt would help more people even without low T , As he thinks some people may need to run higher T levels than others . AGAIN UK REGS WILL NOT ALLOW HIM TO PRESCRIBE UNTIL FINDINGS ARE OUT FOR ALL TO SEE.

Im now a human guinea pig! But hopefully it will be a good thing for me and others out there that suffer ,and it just falls on deaf ears by docs .

[SlimmerMe]

This is exciting.....

[steroid.com 1]

There are numerous documented studies showing how TRT protocols have relieved or eliminated the negative sides of depression in men. Feelings of well-being are well noted. Nothing new to most of us actually...

[warchild]

trt relieved my depression

[devildog1967]

The uk do not recognize much to do with hormones in men .. Only with low T then its a uphill struggle to get TRT . Depression in the uk and other symptoms related to it are just treated with shed loads of antidepressants and talking therapy .

[zaggahamma]

There are numerous documented studies showing how TRT protocols have relieved or eliminated the negative sides of depression in men. Feelings of well-being are well noted. Nothing new to most of us actually...

..x2..

[jimmy79]

.x3.

[Jredwine]

Devildog I am in your same boat. I am looking to get off my SSRI's too, and go the TRT route. When I am on I feel great, when i am off I need my SSRI. Have you seen the study that Harvard did on this recently? Here's a link: http://www.webmd.com/depression/news...-depressed-men

When Harvard does a study like this, you cant help but feel like there is going to be a breaking point where Testosterone is going be mainstream and society is no longer fooled into thinking supplemantion of this vital hormon is "the devil".

My thing is people get botox, lipo, other various dangerous surgeries to keep themselves young and all carry way more risk than TRT/HRT.

Chicks have breast implants, men should have TRT.

Just my .02. Good luck getting off the meds and onto something "natural"

[devildog1967]

Thanks jed Just to update you i have now cut my mood stabilizers (lamicatal) From 150mg to 50mg and still feel on top of the world. All the other CRAZY MEDS are gone . Not one bout of depression sex drive fantastic , so its all good . I took my test dose down from 150mg down to 100 per week as i have to be careful as uk docs will not do my bloods as they know im self medicating . (Im a bit worried about RBC thats why i took it down a touch .) No other bad symptoms form the test cyp just all positive. Like i say iv got to keep up with the self med untill my pyc is 100% on the results then he can push for TRT on the NHS . I suppose im playing Russian roulette at the mo..lol

Yes you correct there are plenty other worst things doctors prescribe for peoples well being . MAY BE I WILL ASK THEM FOR PEC IMPLANTS..lol

[zaggahamma]

Devildog I am in your same boat. I am looking to get off my SSRI's too, and go the TRT route. When I am on I feel great, when i am off I need my SSRI. Have you seen the study that Harvard did on this recently? Here's a link: http://www.webmd.com/depression/news...-depressed-men

When Harvard does a study like this, you cant help but feel like there is going to be a breaking point where Testosterone is going be mainstream and society is no longer fooled into thinking supplemantion of this vital hormon is "the devil".

My thing is people get botox, lipo, other various dangerous surgeries to keep themselves young and all carry way more risk than TRT/HRT.

Chicks have breast implants, men should have TRT.

Just my .02. Good luck getting off the meds and onto something "natural"

although that i agree with you...that article reads 2003

[Jredwine]

Ha yeah it does! Of course that is recent to me. Hell when i graduated in 1996 still seems recent to me! :-)

[Corpsman]

10 years ago I went through a period of time where all I wanted to do was sleep. When I was awake I felt so uncomfortable in my own skin that I would either get into a repeated sit down / stand up cycle or just lie on my stomach. My wife made me go to the doctor. He put me on SSRI's but they did nothing for me. On one visit back to the doc it just popped in my head to ask for a check of my testosterone . The doctor laughed a bit and said he would be concerned about that being the problem if I was 60. But he said he would humor me and do it. He called me a week later and apologized. After trying the patch that made my skin break out and the gel that made my skin shed, I convinced him to let me give myself my own injections. Finally after a few weeks I got motivated again. Not to mention that it helped with my back pain.

[Bigfoot66]

I've been on a SSRI augmented with Wellbutrin for years before TRT. I will admit i feel a lot better since TRT added but getting off a SSRI is hell. I almost fear the outcome....what if the SSRI is necessary? How will I know bw the TRT and the withdrawal? Sort of a slippery slope.

[zaggahamma]

I've been on a SSRI augmented with Wellbutrin for years before TRT. I will admit i feel a lot better since TRT added but getting off a SSRI is hell. I almost fear the outcome....what if the SSRI is necessary? How will I know bw the TRT and the withdrawal? Sort of a slippery slope.

yes ....some really need...BUT...doctors have been passing the shiat out like jacko did candy

[devildog1967]

I was on one ssri that started to yellow my eyes up and also made me like a zombie (HENCE I STOPPED THEM). I would of stated to drink again if i wanted jaundice lol .. these doctors cant see what's in front of there eyes sometimes . As i say i feel 100% better now since i started TRT .

[APIs]

Great thread. However, I think it needs stressing that "some people" do need SSRI meds as JPK already mentioned. It's a very individual situation & requires consultation with your Doctor. SSRIs and the like should never be demonized...

[zaggahamma]

Great thread. However, I think it needs stressing that "some people" do need SSRI meds as JPK already mentioned. It's a very individual situation & requires consultation with your Doctor. SSRIs and the like should never be demonized...

good post api as usual....would you agree that ssri's are over prescribed albeit the benefit/necessity to some?

[devildog1967]

i know what your saying. Iam under my pyc with the withdrawal of the SSRIs and knows everything im doing . But again he is over the moon with the results so far . Considering they treated me for bi-polar , and since me self medicating there has been no depression or bouts of mania. Life is good , I just wish my doc would prescribe TRT so i get all the benefits of the support and blood tests. But i will hang in there until my pyc and me convince the doc that it WORKS .

[kelkel]

Best of luck dd! We got your back!

[Bigfoot66]

Sometimes I wonder if specialization has caused a lot of this. I'm fortunate to have a MD who is a family practitioner that administers myTRT and SSRI. He's man enough to admit when he's at a loss on what to do next, but he always researches the situation, consults with those experienced, and cones back with a solution. And he shares all of this with the urologist who started me on TRT.

Shame u can't come here for help!

A good pharmacist doesn't hurt either.

[devildog1967]

The tend to just shove SSRIs at people in the hope they will go a way as the just follow suit from other doctors , Dont get me wrong SSRIs DO have there place but i think they should look at every angle before over prescribing meds that could and can do you more harm. I did not want to be a zombie for the rest of my life so i took action to see if there is any other ways to sort me out. ( YES I DID AND AND DO LOTS OF RESEARCH)... What works for one might not for the other so i dont want people to just do the AAS road like i did thinking it will work.

[APIs]

good post api as usual....would you agree that ssri's are over prescribed albeit the benefit/necessity to some?

I don't know. I bet they are over prescribed in some instances just like any med can be. These drugs just get more attention. There's no doubt though, the development of SSRIs & advances in the knowledge & treatment of mental illness have helped millions of people. If you look at it, SSRIs & Mental Illness have a stigma attached to them just like TRT does. This stigma alone can complicate everything associated with a given treatment. We see this on a regular basis with our TRT don’t we?

The science of understanding how Serotonin levels affect mental well being (and other conditions) is still a relatively new & growing science. If you recall, the original breakthrough drugs in this area like Prozac & Zoloft for example aren’t really that old. During the treatment of a given condition, Doctors may need to try various SSRIs to see what works best, as each drug & its active ingredient demonstrate different affects on people. Personally, I can see how this process of selecting the correct drug combined with the "stigma" mentioned earlier can appear as over-prescribing by the general public.

From an early age I've suffered from horrible Migraine headaches. In the treatment of this, Neurologists have found that the action of SSRIs (controlling Serotonin levels) can help in managing the frequency & pain associated with Migraine. Back in the 90's I was placed on a number of SSRIs (one-at-a-time) to see what worked best. After trial & error it was found that a small dose of Prozac helped significantly in managing my Migraines. I continued this for a couple years, until some better treatments became available. However, during that time taking Prozac I can recall the comments I got from stupid family members that found out about it. Tell someone you're taking Prozac and they immediately think you have a mental condition. Again, this was the "stigma" in action.

Anyway, SSRIs are beneficial in treating various ailments. The use of them is between you & your Doctor. The stigma that surrounds them needs to be placed aside during this decision process.

[zaggahamma]

well said bro

[Shol'va]

You'll get no disagreement from me on this. And welcome to the world of stigma. But you are also right on overprescribing. In America we comprise of 4.6% of the worlds population but we consume 80% of the worlds opiods and 99% of the worlds hydrocodone. That's one heck of a lot of prescriptions.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/prescriptio...ry?id=13421828

[Bigfoot66]

I imagine they're overprescribed just as is Adderral and the like. Funny that in today's world it's common for people to say they are "depressed" when in actuality they aren't. And they tell their doctor...and since there's no test to validate depression levels, you get an SSRI...and then the ride begins.

I NEEDED an SSRI at a younger age but there were none. I was constantly in a state of malaise and/or had the feeling of wanting to crawl the walls (now I know probably b/c of offbalanced hormone levels); he diagnosed that as bipolar and first gave me Ativan...which made me a zombie. No good effect, so he switched me to LITHIUM without any planned withdrawal from Ativan. HELL to say the least.

Fast forward...applied for life insurance after I was married and was denied b/c of the lithium. Talk about embarrassment b/c at that time there were no serious HEPA laws. Walked away from that drug till about 8 years ago when I was at the point of desperation. Didn't care what others felt either. Paxil....then Zoloft..now Zoloft with Wellbutrin.

What's amazing is that once you feel OK about telling someone you're on an SSRI others in the same situation come out of the woodwork. I haven't ever divulged the TRT..probably won't b/c it's still got some seriously negative connotations. Actually the only place I can openly discuss is here.

Point here is that I believe many people NEED this med and don't get it for various reasons, and others take it and don't need it. I need it and thank genetics and heredity for the gift. I hope my daughters never have to deal with it.

I don't know. I bet they are over prescribed in some instances just like any med can be. These drugs just get more attention. There's no doubt though, the development of SSRIs & advances in the knowledge & treatment of mental illness have helped millions of people. If you look at it, SSRIs & Mental Illness have a stigma attached to them just like TRT does. This stigma alone can complicate everything associated with a given treatment. We see this on a regular basis with our TRT don’t we?

The science of understanding how Serotonin levels affect mental well being (and other conditions) is still a relatively new & growing science. If you recall, the original breakthrough drugs in this area like Prozac & Zoloft for example aren’t really that old. During the treatment of a given condition, Doctors may need to try various SSRIs to see what works best, as each drug & its active ingredient demonstrate different affects on people. Personally, I can see how this process of selecting the correct drug combined with the "stigma" mentioned earlier can appear as over-prescribing by the general public.

From an early age I've suffered from horrible Migraine headaches. In the treatment of this, Neurologists have found that the action of SSRIs (controlling Serotonin levels) can help in managing the frequency & pain associated with Migraine. Back in the 90's I was placed on a number of SSRIs (one-at-a-time) to see what worked best. After trial & error it was found that a small dose of Prozac helped significantly in managing my Migraines. I continued this for a couple years, until some better treatments became available. However, during that time taking Prozac I can recall the comments I got from stupid family members that found out about it. Tell someone you're taking Prozac and they immediately think you have a mental condition. Again, this was the "stigma" in action.

Anyway, SSRIs are beneficial in treating various ailments. The use of them is between you & your Doctor. The stigma that surrounds them needs to be placed aside during this decision process.

[devildog1967]

Yes bigfoot66 i know where you are coming from there is a big stigma with mental health , But the way i handled it was to tell everyone i have it. Its good in a way as people dont cross you as the dont know what you will do..Thats the bi-polar. Like i said iv had mental problems for over 20y and its got me jailed 6 times since i was 32 . Doctors did NOT look at all possible treatments , just put me on the zombie meds in the hope i would go away..lol. Me being me i thought i would try another root thats when i stumbled on the low dose of AAS. And friends family doc E.C.T see a massive change in me for the better. People ask me what happened to the old unstable me ! and i tell them what im trying and doing as i dont give a dam what they think ..lol.. I do this for my family and me and no one else. I just wish i had started this years ago then i would not of lost so much of my life . My mum had drink and mental problems all her life and doc fed her with all the SSRIs and what happened to her ?? Took OD so many times that i cant remember. Then finally her body packed up (NOT THROUGH THE DRINK)... My brother who is 50 has mental problems and is on SSRIs and also spends most of his time drunk. So what im saying is that not all the time do SSRIs actually help.

MENTAL HEALTH IS NOT A STIGMA AS WE ALL HAVE SOME FORM OF IT SOMEWHERE IN OUR LIFE, SOME JUST CHOSE TO LOOK AT OTHERS RATHER THAN THEM SELVES .

[devildog1967]

I will add one thing on the stigma part !! I wrote a thread on this site and mentioned mental health and bi-polar , Someone did not like my comments so thought it would be funny in taking the rass out of my condition. I just hope one day that said person has a mental issue and then he might think before trying to be funny . As sarcasm is the lowest form of wit .

sorry guys it had to be said ..

[Bigfoot66]

I just PM ed u.

[devildog1967]

Just to follow up im now off ALL anti depressants and mood stabilizers ...Found out tho with my self med TRT that i tend to crash a little on day 6 .. so altered it to 100mg every 6th day to keep the hormone more stable(BUT DROPPED THE DOSE FROM 150MG EVERY 7 DAYS) . And its all working a treat. My wife is over the moon saying im a different guy and not zombie out (WIFE ALSO LOVES THE HIGH SEX DRIVE>>LOL) , Again im not saying to people on SSRIs to do as i have done but worked for me.

[bigboy67]

Just to follow up im now off ALL anti depressants and mood stabilizers ...Found out tho with my self med TRT that i tend to crash a little on day 6 .. so altered it to 100mg every 6th day to keep the hormone more stable(BUT DROPPED THE DOSE FROM 150MG EVERY 7 DAYS) . And its all working a treat. My wife is over the moon saying im a different guy and not zombie out (WIFE ALSO LOVES THE HIGH SEX DRIVE>>LOL) , Again im not saying to people on SSRIs to do as i have done but worked for me.

Thought about jsut doing 75 E3.5D? I am doing 100mg E3.5D right now and I don't go crazy high or get the bad lows either.

Thats awesome that you are feeling good man.

[devildog1967]

Thought about jsut doing 75 E3.5D? I am doing 100mg E3.5D right now and I don't go crazy high or get the bad lows either.

Thats awesome that you are feeling good man.

Im trying to keep injection levels down as taking to 150-200 per week risks the E2 levels too much .. I don't want to add a AI to the mix as it seem silly to keep taking other stuff to stop problems that don't need to be there.

[Bigfoot66]

Im trying to keep injection levels down as taking to 150-200 per week risks the E2 levels too much .. I don't want to add a AI to the mix as it seem silly to keep taking other stuff to stop problems that don't need to be there.

I am proud that you were able to get off SSRI without the typical withdrawal hell.

[devildog1967]

All i had was the brain zaps for a while .. nothing major ..

[devildog1967]

UPDATE

finally got the doc to do blood work while iv been self medicating TRT. They moaned about doing them as they thought i would damage myself ... Well looks like they took me serious.. All bloods came back and to there shock all my levels are bang on now. Only thing slightly up was my Cholesterol. So looks like I might get it prescribed as they have seen the positive affects and no negs. Got to go in on Friday to discuses it with them ..

[Anonona]

UPDATE

finally got the doc to do blood work while iv been self medicating TRT. They moaned about doing them as they thought i would damage myself ... Well looks like they took me serious.. All bloods came back and to there shock all my levels are bang on now. Only thing slightly up was my Cholesterol. So looks like I might get it prescribed as they have seen the positive affects and no negs. Got to go in on Friday to discuses it with them ..

Hi, Any update on this? Had you ever had a full-blown manic episode?

Cheers,

[zaggahamma]

devil hasnt posted since july

[bullshark99]

Unfortunate he hasnt posted, I too have been prescribed SSRI's on a couple of occasions in my life. Always resisted taking them because I was afraid of potential withdrawl if I deceided to stop them. DD has an interesting story one which I think many can relate with to some degree.