Advice Please

[new and confused]

OK. here is my story. i'm 43, 5' 9.5" tall and used to be a pro boxer up till i was 24. clean all my life, that means i did not take anything except a few vits and creatine powder. over the last 6 or 7 years i've fallen off a cliff. knee surgeries, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and worst of all several bouts of weight gain. gain 30 lose 20 gain 40 lose 30. long story short i blew up to 300 lbs from 185 in 1 damn year.

for the last 5 months i've been working out again and my diet is on point but my recovery time has been slow as crap. i managed to beat my type 2 diabetes totally and have normal BS now, i have lost weight down to 240 and id say i'm about 34% body fat or so, i have put on just a tad of muscle BUT not like i used to AND i am weaker than i would have imagined and gaining strength back slower than i ever have before. Bench Press = 255 yada yada, but used to be 405x1 and i've always gained back fast when i was de trained until this time.

I decided to have my testosterone tested because of these symptoms and low and behold it was tt 122. now this is bad low i know but i have to admit that i was tested at 5pm which i know has a small effect, also i had been sleeping like crap for 2 weeks due to over training, maybe 5 hours a night and not good sleep and like i said i am far overweight so i know that lowers it as well. in addition i have been over training a bit as my recovery is so slow and i'm a stubborn old man and don't want to admit i don't go like i used to.

So doc put me on 100 mg a week testosterone cypionate to start. i jumped at the suggestion of trt over the phone as that low of a test scared me and i took my first shot Friday but now i have been reading and have scared myself. so here is what i need from some of you smarter guys if you would.

First, is it possible my test was that low only because i've been sleeping etc bad and would normally be middle of the road? or is that not likely since it was that drastically low.

Second, i am not versed in this stuff. how hard would it be to use this for a year or so to help me make right what i have broken and then go off and see what my natural levels are? i have read enough that i am worried so think you guys probably know since you are not new like me.

Third, should i just maybe not take anymore so i don't mess my boys up till my next appointment in 3 months or is it already to late and my buddies are shut down?

Fourth, because my test is so low atm am i just being a woman and worrying about this crap too much and i should just enjoy the ride. Thanks for any info you would give me guys. i really was clean and know next to nothing about steroids

[Obs]

Welcome. Its all gonna be a decision you make on your own, bro. I would personally stay on the test c. I hope you get down to your goals. 115 lbs of fat gain in one year is a lot. I would say its all gonna boil down to how much drive you have and how you hold a good pure diet. I hope you stick around and learn here. I dont think you are being "a woman" in being concerned about your health. At your stage you need to push yourself harder than you ever have. I believe the testosterone will aid that process. Vitamin D can help raise your natural levels. Sitting still and not being active decreases levels. I personally would stay on hrt. At least stay on till your next appointment because your natural production is shut down more than likely. If you stopped suddenly before your next appointment your natural production will be off and you will go through three months of hell before your appointment. Good luck man.

[Obs]

Do you think you are retaining water?

[new and confused]

na, not yet. only been on this stuff like 2 days though lol. i have no doubts about reaching my goals on or off of testosterone . once i set my head i bull through till i win or i'm unconscious. the diabetes and what not scared me strait mate. i just worry about the health effects of low t and thought it would help me lose and build faster as well, but in the end yea ill be 15ish bf again within the next year come hell or high water.

[Obs]

Oh, I miss interpreted... you probably could stop after only one injection of 100 mg. I doubt I would chance it anyway. I would wait for the appt. By retaining water though, I mean do you think part of the weight you have gained is from water retention?

[new and confused]

oh lol. na it's good ol american i don't give a fudge cheeseburger fat. my theory here is PERHAPS my t got lower somehow than what i am used to and i started eating more and wrong for the first time in my life, got a lil depressed from the low t and didn't care much about my body and wham bam next thing ya know 300 lbs lmao. i was probably consuming 7000 or more calories a day lol. Mcdonalds etc every day breakfast lunch and dinner plus snacks of a bucket a ice cream and midnight snacks of chocolate kinda added up don'tcha know lmao

[Obs]

oh lol. na it's good ol american i don't give a fudge cheeseburger fat. my theory here is PERHAPS my t got lower somehow than what i am used to and i started eating more and wrong for the first time in my life, got a lil depressed from the low t and didn't care much about my body and wham bam next thing ya know 300 lbs lmao. i was probably consuming 7000 or more calories a day lol. Mcdonalds etc every day breakfast lunch and dinner plus snacks of a bucket a ice cream and midnight snacks of chocolate kinda added up don'tcha know lmao

Well bud good job getting back down to 240. I would talk to your doc about other options but personally i would be staying on trt/hrt. You are making tracks man. I want you to succeed. I like your determination too. All i can do is give my opinion and say what I would do.

[Mr.BB]

If you were at 122 ng/dl you were already shutdown, you just down know from what reason, at least from your post it seems you doctor did not pursue the reason for hypogonadism diagnostic.

If I have to guess I would say that the trauma and/or medications during your accident and recovery are probably the cause, still it probably should have been investigated.

Dont understand why you want to stop. If you stop you will go back to the testosterone values you had before which is very unhealthy. And yes, most likely your HPTA is gone. You can try to restart it, but I would only try it when you are healed and back in good shape.

Try and eat healthy. We are what we eat, if you eat like a 300lbs person you will look like a 300lbs person.

[new and confused]

No my doctor didn't investigate why it was low at all or even give me a second test to confirm if i have low t, which i have read over this weekend is pretty standard to do to confirm. i didn't get a free testosterone total or estradiol level test or anything which is why i was wondering if i should stop taking on the chance that the test was inaccurate or something ya know. i mean i don't want low t but if i got it i certainly will treat it. but i started reading about all this and well ya know how it is, the more you learn the more you scratch your head and say am i doing the right thing here lol.

[Cupid]

Can't really advise you too much on the testosterone thing......all the reasons you came up with for the reading being low could potentially be true, or you might just have low testo. It was unwise not to test twice or check other levels to see where the problem is originating from or to check if there is potentially some OTHER worse problem present.....it's really about what YOUR comfortable with at this point.
Either get off the hrt, wait some time, go do other BW, consult with a more experienced doctor, potentially try a PCT, wait some more time and see if the problem will be fixed....but it will be a few months of continuing to feel shitty.
Or continue with the hrt and start feeling better, but then you have a commitment you gotta hold on to - I have read that some people have successfully restarted after even years of hrt, but not all the time, and not as high as they were before.

Is staying off the needle worth the headache of constant BW and a few more months of low T, with no guarantee that you won't have to go on HRT anyways? Only you can answer that.

Good job on dropping to 240 though.
I wen't through something similar....I am 5'6, and managed to get myself all the way up to 276 lbs, a complete blob of fat. This was 2 years ago. I have spent the last 2 years undoing my mistakes, and am now 166 and almost shredded. I'm not gonna lie, it was the most challenging thing I have done in my life so far....but I can't describe how amazing it feels to have stuck through it and won. Low T or not, stay on your course my man. Get back to being you. If you ever need any support along the way or you ever notice old habits creeping up on you again, feel free to PM me.

[yettibecsuse]

OK. here is my story. i'm 43, 5' 9.5" tall and used to be a pro boxer up till i was 24. clean all my life, that means i did not take anything except a few vits and creatine powder. over the last 6 or 7 years i've fallen off a cliff. knee surgeries, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and worst of all several bouts of weight gain. gain 30 lose 20 gain 40 lose 30. long story short i blew up to 300 lbs from 185 in 1 damn year.

for the last 5 months i've been working out again and my diet is on point but my recovery time has been slow as crap. i managed to beat my type 2 diabetes totally and have normal BS now, i have lost weight down to 240 and id say i'm about 34% body fat or so, i have put on just a tad of muscle BUT not like i used to AND i am weaker than i would have imagined and gaining strength back slower than i ever have before. Bench Press = 255 yada yada, but used to be 405x1 and i've always gained back fast when i was de trained until this time.

I decided to have my testosterone tested because of these symptoms and low and behold it was tt 122. now this is bad low i know but i have to admit that i was tested at 5pm which i know has a small effect, also i had been sleeping like crap for 2 weeks due to over training, maybe 5 hours a night and not good sleep and like i said i am far overweight so i know that lowers it as well. in addition i have been over training a bit as my recovery is so slow and i'm a stubborn old man and don't want to admit i don't go like i used to.

So doc put me on 100 mg a week testosterone cypionate to start. i jumped at the suggestion of trt over the phone as that low of a test scared me and i took my first shot Friday but now i have been reading and have scared myself. so here is what i need from some of you smarter guys if you would.

First, is it possible my test was that low only because i've been sleeping etc bad and would normally be middle of the road? or is that not likely since it was that drastically low.

Second, i am not versed in this stuff. how hard would it be to use this for a year or so to help me make right what i have broken and then go off and see what my natural levels are? i have read enough that i am worried so think you guys probably know since you are not new like me.

Third, should i just maybe not take anymore so i don't mess my boys up till my next appointment in 3 months or is it already to late and my buddies are shut down?

Fourth, because my test is so low atm am i just being a woman and worrying about this crap too much and i should just enjoy the ride. Thanks for any info you would give me guys. i really was clean and know next to nothing about steroids

First is your low test associated with other symptoms; it may have been low for a long time; and some low test results can occur by head trauma. Are your erections good, how is your mood on average; energy levels; you have indicated
weight gain.

Do you have Children do want more? You can store your boys which is important
Correct dosage and use of needed TRT will definitely improve your life. The water retention is not that bad on correct dosage.
Better to get all the tests done to make sure and be through. Ensure everything is good: did you have a CT when u were boxing ?

I use to have them regularly to keep a check. It's a full on sport and can have a toll on your body.

I started TRT at 38 which was undiagnosed for 28 years.

blood tests most of the tests are listed on here
Testes check get the endocrinologist to check them
MRI and or CT

[new and confused]

Thanks guys. i think i am just going to continue TRT for a while and see how things go i guess. my symptoms were low energy and rapid weight gain, horrible recovery time in the gym, slower muscle progress than a 90 year old man and some mood instability. My sexual function was good and i was easily aroused. i figure it like this, i probably have it. i mean how unlucky would i have to be for there to be a mistake in my test lol. probably just being silly. So when doc called and said hey you want some steroids i was like YEP, load me up, but i figured hey i can always stop taking them whenever i feel like it and get tested again. when i read it aint so easy i guess i got cold feet lol

From what i have read with PCT function pretty much always comes back to normal levels for your body but it may take time. So i reckon on my next visit i will ask for HCG so my guys keep puttin out or shriveling up and perhaps in a year when i have achieved my goals and i feel like hurtin myself i'll ask the doc for PCT to check my natural function at a sane weight and training level.
at least that's my thinking today lmao. who knows tomorrow.