Doc taking me off TRT, need help.

[theque]

Hello everyone,

I do not want to be too long winded here, but I have a tendency to ramble a bit and give more information than is necessary. So here we go...

About 4 months ago I went to a new doctor here in Maryland due to a hand injury. She was pretty nice and suggested that I have a physical as I have not had one since I left the Army (over 15 years ago now). I really hate doctors but said I would come back.

When I came back a week later for my physical I brought with me a nice check list of things I figured I would address with her while I was there. Unfortunately, ED and poor sex drive was one of the things on my list of items to talk about. She suggested that I have my testosterone tested as the symptoms were that of Low T. I honestly did not care as Dracula was pulling blood anyhow.

In the 2 week between then and my return I did a little research on low testosterone and took some notes with me back to her. The blood results showed a 384 total, SHBG of 17 and Free of 99.48. She also tested my PSA level to ensure I was not at risk for prostate cancer, it came back at 1.35. To be honest, she was on the fence as to prescribing me testosterone but decided we would give it a shot. She put me on 100 mg / week of testosterone cyp.

5 weeks later (7/24):
Total: 734
SHBG: 23
Free: 183.85
Estradiol: 40.17

4 weeks later (8/20):
Total: 574.2
SHBG: 17
Free: 148.23
Estradiol: 44.70

4 weeks later (9/18)
Total: 915
SHBG: 31
Free: 205.88
PSA 1.39


When I went back to see her about the labs last week, she stated that she did not feel comfortable continuing my TRT as my PSA has risen and my Total was out of range. There was nothing I could say to change her mind on this and she suggested I see and endo if I wanted to continue treatment.

In the 4 months or so that I have been on TRT, my life has absolutely changed for the better. My sex drive is back. My ED has gotten better, not 100% yet. My mental state has improved dramatically (I did not even know there was a problem here). I have felt so good physically that I have been exercising and I have lost 25 lbs in these 4 months. I feel on top of the world, and now she wants to stop my treatment.

I looked online and it appears as though finding a good doctor willing to prescribe TRT is hard to find. When I have called around to a couple "Low T" centers or "Age Clinics" I basically get the same story that I will need $500+ for the initial consolation and then an additional ~$250 a month for services then I still have to out of pocket for the testosterone cyp (not a huge deal it's like $80 for 4 months worth with coupon at Rite Aid).

Does anyone know of a doctor in the MD / DC / VA area that is willing to prescribe testosterone to someone like me? I have 1 (maybe 2) more injections worth on my testosterone and my next shot is on Friday. Optimally I would like to have this addressed soon enough that I do not lapse in my dosage. I do not want to go back to my old life.

Just ridiculous that she would give me something that would change my life for the better, and then just stop.

Some things may not be able to be said in the public forum and I understand that I do not have enough posts for PM's. So I activated the ability for forum members to email me. Please feel free to email me with any information or questions.

Thanks in advance,

-Ray

[jasondd1]

If i were you Id call around to GP's and urologists and ask if they handle TRT patients. I'm betting inside of 10 calls you get a winner.

[theque]

What exactly am I asking them on the phone?

Do you handle Testosterone Replacement Therapy patients? Theoretically don't all endocrinologists do this? I am not playing dumb here, I am just looking for some types of questions I could ask to get a good idea. Do I ask these of the nurse that answers the phone? Sorry for so many questions, I am just worried that this thing that has dramatically improved my life is about to go away for no good reason. I just did not know how bad I felt (mentally, physically and sexually) until it came back with the TRT. I really don't want to go back to the old me now...

-Ray

[Moonjumper]

You could try calling pharmacies and ask which doctors prescribe testosterone and estrogen blockers in the area. Bonus points if they also do HCG . I've heard of folks having very good results with going that route. I eventually found my doctor by asking a pharmacist buddy.

[Simon1972]

investigate local compounding phrmcies s they tend to issue alot more test than the averge pharmacy- ask the pharmacist for a dr that they can reccomend to you s you are "new "to the area and wish to find a local dr instead of the one you went to in ""another state.""

[theque]

Well, I hope I have found a good doctor. I called around to a few places and I decided to give Dr. West at The Washington Endocrine Clinic.

I hope this works out.

[jasondd1]

GP's and urologist handle trt as well. kelkel has said in the past that some urologist seem to have a better grasp than endo's

[Simon1972]

Be prepared to be disappointed. Endos have no idea, you might be lucky. Try the a4m website for a Dr if yours doesn't pan out

[Richard Head]

Have you thought of Lowtestostrone.com.

[kelkel]

Just ridiculous that she would give me something that would change my life for the better, and then just stop.

I can't stand hearing stories like this. She's stopping as she's out of her league with hormone therapy. Your numbers look good and will fluctuate due to time of testing vs time of injection. When it comes to psa, there's nothing wrong with yours at all. It barely rose and with the implementation of T therapy it usually WILL rise temporarily and then settle back down. That's absolutely normal but she doesn't understand that. IF your total T is out of range then she's looking at an old range. Current range is about 348 - 1197.

When it comes to doctors, I'd take a Uro over and Endo any day. That being said, title doesn't really matter, just find one that knows hormones. Read this link, maybe it'll help:

http://forums.steroid.com/hormone-re...physician.html

[Fetch]

I've had terrible Endos and terrible Uros. The most thorough and versed doc I ever had was a 'Reproductive Endo.' Might try searching for one of those, they typically do a lot of fertility treatments and know about all of the relevant hormones.