TRT but sides on dips are bad. Want testes back to normal but what effects would HCG

[Notpretty]

Longterm TRT. I struggle with dips on far end of injections. I get negative, down and depressed sometimes severely. I also am bothered by shrunken testes. They are vertually gone. Can I take HCG and get my testes back? What affect would taking HCG have on my testosterone blood tests the doctor does? Can it make the score higher? I don't want to suddenly appear like I am taking too much. Can I take hcg longterm? What risks does that add. Arethere other safe or safer drugs to take to reduce teste shrinkage? As for depression...any ideas othwr help. Fact is my life is depressing and the dips just trigger those realities. Im working on them...counseling etc. Sometimes I take more testosterone injections sooner to avoid dips and low levels.

Am...

[kelkel]

Hello NP. What is your injection protocol? If it's more than app 7 days then you're riding a roller coaster with your T levels and will cause the feelings you are having. Your levels need to be relatively stable and having highs then extreme lows is a terrible way to go and something any good doctor should avoid.

HCG will effect testosterone levels and it will help to bring your boys back. No guarantee as to what extent but progress will be made. Read the sticky thread by GD at the top of this forum on HCG for more info. Yes, long term is fine and there are really no risks with proper dosage. No on safer drugs long term for this purpose. Your mimicking LH with HCG. Something your body is not producing while in HPTA shutdown as you are now.

Fill us in on your entire protocol please.

[Notpretty]

I inject e7d. I dropped to e3.5d, but felt the affects of the testosterone deminnished over time. But it could have been the low level my doctor gives me. 200mg E2WKS. Iwent to e3.5d and tried to stay at her 200mg total for a total of 8 wks, but it just wasn't enough. Sex drive was gone and i was constantly depressed. Since then, I am at more like 300mg e2wks. Maybe a bit more as I avoid dips and inject a bit early...a day or two.

So to say adding HCG which is really LH...won't shut other hormones off...like testosterone does?

[Notpretty]

Also, I read the stickie on hcg and I like the plan to take it in tbe dip to avoid the low. Still wondering what a typical protocal of hcg will have on my T score if I add hcg. So, if I add hcg and keepnat 300mg e2w and im seeing t scores of 350 to 425... what mght it change to? Best guess...how long does hcg take to affect your T and how quickly does it stop?

[kelkel]

You need to understand the half life of testosterone . So does your doctor. Matter of fact, you need a new doctor quite honestly if they don't understand basic half lives. Test's half life is app. 5-7 days metabolism dependent. It will peak after injection in app 48-72 hrs. So, if you took your 200mg (assuming you self-inject) and injected 50mg every 3.5 days you will have stable levels with less E2 (estrogen) issues from such large, infrequent injections. Less injected at one time = less spike in E2. Upping your dose is NOT the answer. You will get the opposite result unless you're a hyper-metabolizer.

If you don't have a libido you may have other issues rearing their head. First and foremost you need full Blood Work done specifically including a sensitive estrogen assay and a prolactin level. High estrogen (or to low) can kill your sex drive as can many other things. Take a look in the Finding a Doc Sticky at the top of this forum for examples of proper blood work. It really is where you start.

I assume since your doc does not prescribe HCG he doesn't do proper blood work and prescribe AI's if needed as well, correct? Spend some time here reading the stickies and self-educating. It will pay off in the end for you. Just like finding a better doctor will ASAP. Click on the link for LowTestosterone.com and the top of this forum while your at it.

[Notpretty]

I get the half life and reason for the dip and no my dr doesn't do AI or hcg ....kaiser insurance. Simply the worst. I asked for several blood tests...they said no...and said those are not necessary. I have brow beat an estrogen score and prolactin score out of them... both were dead center normal for "Kaiser" standards. So I don, t think im fighting E2 or have an AI need. Given my insurance limits I thought hcg might be wise given each timeim past the peak of 72 hours and especially after that I get stupid nuts. I'm grabbing at straws. I totally admit that, but I have to work within kaiser. I can barely afford this computer and data plan to talk to you muchless pay for hcg, but if hcg helps ill prostitute my self if necessary? Jk..sort of.

Edit....FYI, I am convinved my mental issues pattern the injections and when my blood T level begins to drop. But, im also pretty sure some other factor is involved with how severe the dip is. Im a low back spinal mess... needed a three level fusion and currently must lay down about 65 percent of the day. And "Active" for me is walking...seeing a movie...or taking out trash. If I CAN get aerobic at all it has enormous positive affects on my mood and these dips. I also take thyroid replacement medicine, but it is stable a seems fine. I take narcotics for low back pain and it is the cause of my low LH and the cause for my TRT.

But all that aside, I think since my core need for TRT is driven by narcotic use that lowers my LH then why not replaced the LH via HCG. Logical? So again how much does it bump testosterone levels when you initiate it and how quick does it work and fade in the system?

[Notpretty]

Anyone?

[Vettester]

My journey started with the Kaiser machine in So Cal when I first started this journey. Time to move on, or you will just be stuck with their nonsense.

Yes, HCG will transmit the LH analog signal to the testes, but your endogenous production will be suppressed in your pituitary, which will also include FSH, just in case you were thinking anything for fertility down the road. I'm not sure if I'm covering something you already knew, if so, sorry for any redundancy.

[Notpretty]

Okay... Specific questions....forget all the above.

1) If I inject 250mg of HCG on Monday how rapidly does it take affect?

2) How long does that same injection remain affective?

3) I want my testes to return to normal size despite my 300mg e2w. I want to take as little as I can but still work...how should I plan my injections of HCG?

4). I bought some HCG that appears to be from Serbia. It says on the box ij....not iu....? It does have 5000 but then ij? Do I have the right stuff? To be exact... Says manufacturer is Schering Plough Pregnyl 5000 ij/1 ml....Prasak I rastvarac za rastvor za injekciju. Horionski gonadotropin. The vials look right. One with dried block of powder. The others are bacteria static water...

Thanks