Overweight, looking to turn my health around....
Hi, I'm a 57 year-old male, 6'1", 252 lbs, mostly around mid-section. Probably press 50 lbs. You would definitely kick sand in my face if you saw me on the beach.
I "discovered" T when I read an article about HRT leading to unexpected weight loss over the long term for male subjects. Further reading suggested that T also helps with clarity of thought, energy levels, self-confidence. Sought out help from my Dr. and got an Rx for Axiron, 2 pumps.
I felt great for about 3 days, including actually wanting to exercise. (I exercise regularly, but it is a real struggle, and I don't manage as much vigor as would be beneficial -- as evidenced by my pathetic gut and wimpy arms/shoulders.) Curiously, it got much easier to do my work (computer programming)!. Everything just made sense, and my memory worked better. I think my brain functions much better with more T! Now, I'm as subject to placebo effect as anyone, but I also know my body and my mind. I had 3 days of unmistakable, dramatic, improvement.
Of course, my body quickly turned down native T production, and likely started converting the exogenous T to estrogen.
Talked to Dr; switched to Androgel 1.62%, 3 pumps. Each pump has 20.25 mg of bio-identical T, so that's ((3 x 20.25) * 7) = 425.25 mg of T per week. But, I read that only about 10% of that actually gets absorbed through the skin. So, ~40 mg/week. Still, I only felt marginally better. Remembering the first 3 days on TRT, I know that my body / brain can respond much more strongly. I suspect that my endogenous production was just turned down by the amount I was rubbing in.
Switched doctor in 3rd month, seeking a more effective dose. Here is my blood work, taken while on the 3 pumps Androgel, as submitted to new doctor. I was also taking an over-the-counter anti-estrogen:
- Testosterone, total: 860 ng/dL, reference: 240-950
- Testosterone, free: 34 ng/dL, reference: 9-30
- Estradiol: 34 pg/mL, reference range: < 20-47
(There were lots of other things tested, I figure these are the 3 critical values for this discussion group?)
New Dr. has prescribed:
1 -10 cc vial of Testosterone Cypionate200 mg/ml- $145
1 -10 cc vial of Nandrolone Decanoate 200 mg/ml- $240
90 tabs of Anastrozole .5mg (Anti Estrogen)-$270
Syringes (for the testosterone)- $8
$65 Dr. Fee/Shipping
Total:: $728
I injected 1 CC each of the test cyp and nand dec 6 days ago. I take the Anastrozole every day. Again, I felt pretty good for a couple days. Critically, I felt like exercising, and did. But, it has gone back to being a struggle for the last few days.
I am about to inject my second week's dosage, 1 day early, in the hope that the tail-end of the first week's dose will complement the 2nd.
My goals are just to be able to live and work well:
- be able to do both strength and endurance training, vigorously. Feel like doing it!
- reduce fat, gain lean muscle.
- feel confident and clear-headed.
I'm trying to figure out whether I should ask for a higher dose of T, higher dose of anti-estrogen, or whether I'm already at optimal doses, and I should just be happy with my "sometimes I feel better than I used to" status...
Please comment on dosages, alternative steroids that might help, even on the amount I'm paying for what I'm getting.
Thanks in advance,
