Young and new to trt

[ldon2203]

I've been on trt for close to 2 months now, I started on the 20th of December. My doctor is an older man, very hard bad hearing so it's hard to talk to him and ask him questions but I don't think he would be able to answer them anyways. He's a urologist but I don't think he knows a ton about trt, well not as much as some of you guys here. Anyways I'm sure some of you guy saw the word young and that got you guys curious so I'll give you some background info.

I turned 20 at on the 5th of December, and I have been in a rough time of my life. Before I went on test, I felt like shit all the time. I wouldn't get out of bed for hours because I had no energy and I would just lay in bed all day, listening to the radio and going on the computer.

I had seen two doctors before I was able to get treatment. The first time, my family doctor referred me to a doctor my test levels were at the bottom end of the range and even though I felt like complete shit the doctor didn't want to treat me because of my age I'm guessing. I waited a couple more months and talked to my family doctor again and she referred me again after getting another set of blood tests. This time my levels were out of the normal range and I was feeling even worse.
The doctor that I'm seeing know agreed to put me on trt on my first appointment, he wrote me a script and I got my first bottle of test a week or so later. He started me out on one IM injection of 200mg of depo-test every two weeks. The first injection I felt great for the first couple days, I could actually get out of bed and I had energy which I haven't had in a long time.
This lasted for a couple days but after the first couple days, like I'm sure you guys would all guess, this feeling went away and slowly got worse, by the end of 2 weeks I was feeling just like I was before I took the shot, like complete shit. We kept on this schedule for another one or two injections, I brought up the idea of one injection every week and I switched to that.

Fast forward to now. I'm feeling better than I was but not as good as a "regular" male my age should feel. Currently I'm taking 130 mg every week and thats it. No AI or HCG , just the test. I brought up the idea of an estrogen blocker last appointment I had because I thinking my estrogen levels are going up and I'm pretty sure from that I've read you should be on one regardless if you are on trt. He said he would look into the estrogen blocker. My next injection is on friday so I thought I would ask you guys what you guys think about taking a blocker and/or HCG or if there is anything else I should be taking.

Right know I feel pretty good the day I get my injection but that doesn't last very long, a couple days at the most. When I got my blood taken I got my test, free test and some other things taken but I don't think I got my e2 or anything else checked so I'm thinking it would be a good idea to get a full blood test done to see where I'm at so I can get a good protocol. I seen a sticky that had all the things that I should get tested before you go on trt but I can't find it, I'm going to keep looking for it, if anyone knows what I'm talking about please post it here.

I'm sure you guys will ask about my medical history and lifestyle so I'll put some stuff down now. I am not currently working out although I have in the past. Right now I don't have the energy for it but after I get my shot I'm going to push my self just to see what I can do which I'm sure is going to be very embarassing. My diet is what you'd expect for a male at my age although that's something I'm working on. Trying to eat more veggies and I'm taking some supplements like vitamins, fishoil. I had an injury to my testicles, I'm not exactly sure what did it but one of them has shrunk in size alot, while the other one seems to have gotten bigger in order to compensate. I've had an ecg done on it, atleast I'm pretty sure thats what it was. Doctor said there's no immediate reason for concern and that I should get it checked out once a year or so. I've never ran a cycle before but I'm currently on methadone maintenance treatment, not that they're even somewhat related. I haven't really been drinking lately, I think I've had one glass in the last month or two. Marijuana is the only other drug that I used to do regularly but I haven't smoked any in months. If there's any other questions that you guy's have, let me know and I'll do my best to answer.

Sorry my post is so long but whenever I read a post you guy's always ask them specific questions so I figured that I would do my best to give you guys all the relevant info.

[Trific]

I think what you want is in this thread:

http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...-TRT-Physician

[ldon2203]

yeah I literally just found it before reading your reply. thanks man.

I also found a paper that I quickly jotted down my test and free test levels.

First blood test
total test - 9.8 nmol/L
free test - 17.1 nmol/L

Second blood test
total test - 8.1 nmol/L which works out to 238.14 ng/dL
free test - 12.2 nmol/L I don't have what it works out in ng/dL but if anyone asks I can get it.

[kelkel]

So was it confirmed that your testical injury caused your low T and that you're primary hypogonadal?

[ldon2203]

No my doctor never said anything like that.

I don't know if you seen the edit in my second post so I'll repost it here -

I also found a paper that I quickly jotted down my test and free test levels.

First blood test
total test - 9.8 nmol/L
free test - 17.1 nmol/L

Second blood test
total test - 8.1 nmol/L which works out to 238.14 ng/dL
free test - 12.2 nmol/L I don't have what it works out in ng/dL but if anyone asks I can get it.

[kelkel]

That's low either way. So, back to my question. Your doctor never pin pointed an exact cause but started you on TRT. Not good. You still need complete BW. In the Finding A Doctor Sticky thread is an example of BW to get. If you have any more BW please post with ranges. LH/FSH maybe as they can indicate primary or secondary.

Now, the fact that your doctor started you out on a two week protocol shows that he does not really understand hormones or the half-life of testosterone , which is 5-7 days metabolism dependent. Test will peak normally in 48-72 hrs or so. Now that your on a weekly schedule it should be better. I don't recall how long you've been on but BW should be done after about 6 weeks on an injection protocol. Make sure you get what's in the sticky thread and be sure your E2 panel is a sensitive one. If you use Labcorp I can give you the exact proper codes so they don't screw it up.

Read the sticky on HCG as well as that should be a part of your routine. It can influence Test levels as well if your not primary hypo. High E2 will counter the effects of your testosterone, hence the importance of the proper test being conducted.

I really wish your doctor had done an HCG Stimulation test to see how you respond as it would have been a good indicator pre-TRT.

All that said, I encourage you to seek a more experienced doctor and make every effort to find the root cause and correct it and get off of TRT if at all possible.

[ldon2203]

I forgot to mention that I'm in Canada .I'm not sure if we have labcorp in canada but the one I would be going to is call lifelabs. i will be sure to print of all things i should get tested and take it to the doctors on friday so i can get them tested asap. tbh im not sure what else i got tested but ill get a copy. i dont even think it was my trt doc that had me get my last blood test. anyways, i should be on hcg regardless while on trt right? what about an ai? because i feel like my estrogen levels are going up should i ask my doctor if i can a script for them or should i wait till i get my blood tested?

in regards to another doctor, they just started a trt clinic at my methadone clinic and i know for a fact that i could transfer there which is something i was thinking about doing because i have to go there on the same day as my trt appointment but im waiting till i talk to the doctor there before i make my decision. one of the reasons i was thinking about sticking with the doctor i have now is because i get the feeling if i tell him what i want, why i want it and show him some studies, i think he will prescribe it. i know its not the best situation but imo its better than having a doctor that wont do shit for you because he/she doesnt know their stuff. if the doctor at the methadone clinic isnt a good option then i have no clue what i would do because as far as i know the only other way to get another doctor is to be referred by one and this is the 2nd doctor my family doctor has referred me to so she probably doesn't know many others that deal with trt since i live in a smaller city.

btw ive been on trt for close to 2 months. and although they never said it im assuming that the doctors think my low t is because of my testical injury because if it was something that could be fixed, im sure one of them would have done something about it.
i dont know if i could get my test levels to that of a healty average male, i feel like this is something that ive been dealing with for a long time now, since before my testical injury. ive never had evergy to do anything and i was always content with laying around doing nothing except for when i was young. i am asian so i dont know how relevant this is but ive never been able to grow facial hair other then some scraggly moustache but since ive started trt i have more hair coming in under chin which ive never had before.

[kelkel]

I forgot to mention that I'm in Canada .I'm not sure if we have labcorp in canada but the one I would be going to is call lifelabs. i will be sure to print of all things i should get tested and take it to the doctors on friday so i can get them tested asap. tbh im not sure what else i got tested but ill get a copy. i dont even think it was my trt doc that had me get my last blood test. anyways, i should be on hcg regardless while on trt right? what about an ai? because i feel like my estrogen levels are going up should i ask my doctor if i can a script for them or should i wait till i get my blood tested? Yes, use HCG. 250 IU's probably twice a week. AI is dependent on your sensitive E2 Panel. Hopefully you don't need it.

in regards to another doctor, they just started a trt clinic at my methadone clinic and i know for a fact that i could transfer there which is something i was thinking about doing because i have to go there on the same day as my trt appointment but im waiting till i talk to the doctor there before i make my decision. one of the reasons i was thinking about sticking with the doctor i have now is because i get the feeling if i tell him what i want, why i want it and show him some studies, i think he will prescribe it. i know its not the best situation but imo its better than having a doctor that wont do shit for you because he/she doesnt know their stuff. if the doctor at the methadone clinic isnt a good option then i have no clue what i would do because as far as i know the only other way to get another doctor is to be referred by one and this is the 2nd doctor my family doctor has referred me to so she probably doesn't know many others that deal with trt since i live in a smaller city.First I saw methadone. You are aware that it can crush your T levels, right? How long have you been on this treatment?

btw ive been on trt for close to 2 months. and although they never said it im assuming that the doctors think my low t is because of my testical injury because if it was something that could be fixed, im sure one of them would have done something about it.
i dont know if i could get my test levels to that of a healty average male, i feel like this is something that ive been dealing with for a long time now, since before my testical injury. ive never had evergy to do anything and i was always content with laying around doing nothing except for when i was young. i am asian so i dont know how relevant this is but ive never been able to grow facial hair other then some scraggly moustache but since ive started trt i have more hair coming in under chin which is never had before.

We are all different in the aspect of body hair

answers in bold above...

[ldon2203]

yes i was aware of that, thats the reason why they have restarted the test clinic at my methadone clinic. ive been in treatment for around a year and a half. although im sure my methadone has made my test levels lower, ive had problems with energy/fatigue and other problems that i think are related to testosterone since before i started on mmt. i will be getting off methadone eventually but its not going to be any time soon. i would like to start tapering my dose asap but there are something changes i need to make in my life to ensure that i dont end up back on it again and i think this is one of them. right now i dont have energy to do anything, let alone work out, go to school and have a job so i feel like if i can get on protocol that is good for me then i can start making bigger and more drastic changes to my life.

i was just rereading the sticky on hcg and pregnenolone and it said that you can get pregnenolone in a pill form. im not sure if i got this right but hcg converts to preg right? so would it be better to take preg because it doesnt have to convert? im assuming no because everyone here takes hcg from what i can tell but i was just wondering.