Methadone suppreses LH/FSH?

[cad78]

I've got a friend that has had a drug problem for many years. He is currently taking 65mg/day of methadone, to get off of his pill addiction. He hasn't had alcohol in 18 months. His new wife has complained about his lack of libido. I convinced him to get his blood work done to confirm his test levels. He is 45 years old.

He had a 159 total test with a 348-1197 scale.
LH was 2.9 with a 1.7-8.6 scale
FSH was 3.3 with a 1.5-12.4 scale
Estradiol was 12.5 on a 7.6-42.6 scale

Is the methadone suppressing his test production? His sex drive before using oxycodone was pretty high, and he has been overall healthy until then. Is he a candidate for TRT or does he have to come off of methadone first, then try a restart?

[Times Roman]

this is outside the normal parameters of what we are normally dealing with.

why isn't your "friend" asking his own questions?

what does your "friends" doctor say on this subject?

[lovbyts]

I took methadone for a while to help with back pain after surgery, also hydrocodone and morphine. Never had any ED issues except taking longer to finish sometimes.

None of the stuff is good over the long run so of course he should try to get off them asap. It's not good to trade one addiction for another and we all know they are all addictive.

[cad78]

Not sure why my "friend" is in quotes. He is a brother of a real close friend that I've known for 20 years. He is currently unemployed, single dad of two boys and without health insurance, so times are real tough for him. I paid for the privatemdlab $53 hormone test, because I felt bad for the guy. He used to only see a doctor to get a pill script, hasn't really seen one in 10 years. I'm just trying to give him some guidance, not really treat the guy. He is slowly removing the methadone, stepping down the dosage every few weeks, he started out almost double the dosage.

Personally, after 17 months of TRT and finally getting close to dialed in, I feel pretty damn awesome most of the time. He is aware of my life change, and was wondering if it could do the same for him.

Looking at his LH levels, I was wondering if HCG mono therapy could be an option?

[APIs]

OP's friend has enuff problems being on Methadone IMO. He has no business even thinking about TRT while living in active addiction. He will first need to begin a program of recovery, get off the Methadone & attempt to get his life back. Really, you can't substitute one dragon for another without having established coping skills...

[Bonaparte]

Yes, all opiates lower testosterone production.

[Times Roman]

Not sure why my "friend" is in quotes. He is a brother of a real close friend that I've known for 20 years. He is currently unemployed, single dad of two boys and without health insurance, so times are real tough for him. I paid for the privatemdlab $53 hormone test, because I felt bad for the guy. He used to only see a doctor to get a pill script, hasn't really seen one in 10 years. I'm just trying to give him some guidance, not really treat the guy. He is slowly removing the methadone, stepping down the dosage every few weeks, he started out almost double the dosage.

Personally, after 17 months of TRT and finally getting close to dialed in, I feel pretty damn awesome most of the time. He is aware of my life change, and was wondering if it could do the same for him.

Looking at his LH levels, I was wondering if HCG mono therapy could be an option?

apologies.

I jumped the gun by thinking methadone was only for addiction and not pain management

---Roman

[michael30]

Op i have more knowledge and experience with this subject then probably anyone on this site. Except hrt specialists. First thing you need to do is talk to your friend and find out if he plans to our needs to be on methadone for the rest of his life? If he does then he needs to make a choice if he wants to be on trt the rest of his life.(which could greatly increase his quality of life) or if he plans on getting off i would strongly urge him to hold off on trt. I would not personally listen to anyone that tries to advise you that doesnt fully understand methadone and "all" of its uses.

[michael30]

I took methadone for a while to help with back pain after surgery, also hydrocodone and morphine. Never had any ED issues except taking longer to finish sometimes.

None of the stuff is good over the long run so of course he should try to get off them asap. It's not good to trade one addiction for another and we all know they are all addictive.

Im not calling you out, but so you know your second statement is incorrect and there are studies proving it!

[cad78]

Thanks for all the replies. I reviewed his results with him today and he intends to be off of the methadone in 18 months or less. I told him its probably best to wait for then to see if he can recover naturally. He said OK and trusts me enough to do that. I told him I would ask here for opinions about hcg or Clomid as a possibility. He is grateful to at least have a reason why his libido is non existent.

[michael30]

Cad78 please tell your friend if he can manage to start working out and a good diet, this will help him come off faster. Even if he starts out very slowly! It will become much more difficult for him to drop once hes below 20mg. But tell him to stick with it and go slow and steady. Also im not sure what his dose is but theres a very good chance as he drops his dose. His test levels will start to come back up. Especially if he starts working out and eating good!