Advice on possible TRT - long term libido issues (blood work included)

[Brenning]

Hey All,

Following advice from another member, I'm now creating my own topic. Long story short, I'm now in my early 30s and have had ED issues since I stupidly ran a cycle of steroids back when I was 18, where I was also drinking at the weekends, without an AI, and no PCT. It was a stack of two steroids, one of them being nandrolone decanoate from memory, though I can't remember what the other compound was, or the dosages, or the injection frequency. I ran it for a couple of months as far as I can remember. I did get some gyno / really sensitive nipples at the time, luckily not enough tissue grew for it to be noticeable, though I didn't realise it was happening at the time.

Libido is an issue these days, possibly from the ED. I can get wood initially but it drops exceptionally quickly, and that initial erection is not as rock hard as before taking steroids. There is a psychological element going on but I suspect that has come from the ED issues, though it won't be helping anything. Interestingly, when I used to go out drinking (up until 5 years ago maybe), the morning after drinking at night, my wood and libido would be improved, but not for long after waking up. I also suffer from a skin condition called seborrheic dermatitis, which happened at the same time as I did the cycle. No cure apparently but I'm wondering if it's actually related to hormones being out of wack in the background (Maybe E2?)

Please note I now live in Indonesia where as far as I can see, it's impossible to get blood work specifically with E2 values, and even getting basic things checked would involve different labs & hospitals, if it can even be done properly at all - so not really an option. Doctors are also completely useless here (like, really really!) - so again not an option.

Here is some blood work I had done elsewhere in 2019:

Hormone Result Unit Ref Range
FSH 3 IU/L (1-8)
Luteinizing Hormone 5 IU/L (2-8)
Oestradiol 131 pmol/L (<150)
Progesterone 1.3 nmol/L (<4.1)
Prolactin 106 mIU/L (45-375)
Testosterone 15.1 nmol/L (6.0-28.0)
SHBG-restd 39 nmol/L (15-50)
Free Testosterone 280 pmol/L (200-600)
DHEAS 6.3 umol/L (4.8-13.9)
pl.cortisol rndm 236 nmol/L (70-400)

Collection time 13:56
Fasted? No


Testosterone E / C is actually readily available here (be it UGL) and Nolva / Clomid are also available (as is Arimidex if needed). Based on the results above, I'm thinking of running a short cycle of Test Cyp, 150MG per week, for 2-3 months or less, with the correct PCT protocol afterwards. The idea being I'd like to see if anything improves with a little more test.

My stats are, 6ft 2, 70KG ish (not weighed myself recently) and I'm at around 10% BF (ish). I don't drink alcohol these days, no drugs, don't smoke. Cardio most mornings in the form of a long walk with some jogs (total around 1 hour).

I realise this is difficult without blood work, but I'm looking for some feedback from the more knowledgeable members on here about this approach. I tried HCG last year and it gave me huge anxiety, almost panic attacks, so I don't really wanna try that again.

[kelkel]

Is libido the main concern? If so I'd simply try a low dose cialis protocol first. Maybe 10 mgs per day.
I say that as I did not see you mention other issues.

[Brenning]

Is libido the main concern? If so I'd simply try a low dose cialis protocol first. Maybe 10 mgs per day.
I say that as I did not see you mention other issues.

Thanks for the reply bud. I've tried Cialis along with the other faster acting variants. All either give me a splitting headache even at lower doses or Cialis gives me lower back pain. They help slightly but it feels as though libido is the issue.

Other issues are the skin condition I mentioned, which happened either during cycle or shortly after (long time ago now so my memory is hazy) which doctors cannot explain and has slowly been getting worse over the years, and additionally I noticed in the last 5 years my hair is thinning like crazy and looks really "stressed" - something there is no history of on either side of my family.

Testosterone is mid range on my results, where as Oestradiol looks on the high side, Free T looks low IMO, but this is where I was looking for some input from more experienced members. Those results were taken when I was 31 (couple of years ago when I was still in a country where I could get blood work)