New to Forum, TRT in General, VERY Confused, and Hoping for Guidance

[Titleesq]

Good Afternoon,

I just recently discovered this site during my research for sources of information on TRT. At first glance, there seems to be a treasure trove of information regarding the practices surrounding TRT and proper protocols, but there also seems to be many conflicting arguments surrounding said protocols as well. This is causing my head to spin.

I'm a 38 year old male, 5 foot 6 and 190lbs., married with two beautiful girls. After years of suffering from an entire laundry list of symptoms, including depression, lack of motivation, extreme fatigue, loss of libido, ED, etc., I had NO luck with any of the popular psych meds and combinations thereof.

Finally, when I was at the end of my rope, I was referred by a friend to schedule a consultation at the University of Maryland Medical Center, Department of Integrative Medicine. I set-up an appointment, and based upon my symptoms, they immediately ordered labs to measure my total T. The results came back and my total T was 252ng. She prescribed me injectable Test C @ 200mg every TWO weeks. I didn't want to take the risk of transference with the gels/creams, and I heard that the TD's were not that great. I have taken two shots so far (the second (without the docs knowledge), only 5 days after the first as I thought more is better, and that I needed a proper "loading" dose). Anyway, I'm due for another shot on Thursday and that will put me back on my every other week schedule. I have so far noticed ZERO difference.

Johns Hopkins is located pretty much in my backyard, and as soon as I received the diagnosis of low T, I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Adrian Dobs, who is supposedly Hopkins' best when it comes to the issue of male hormones. The earliest that I could be seen as a new patient is October (Unbelievable). Does anyone have have any information regarding Dr. Dobs? Am I taking the correct steps in getting a second opinion?

This morning I went to Quest Labs and had about 30 different tests performed. I guess that upon receipt of the results of these labs, my protocol will be fine tuned (at least I hope it will). But as I said, I'm a total newbie, I'm confused, anxious, kind of scared, and not sure where to turn for correct info and advice. I plan on sticking around here for the duration, and learning as much as I possibly can. Thank you all for being here and providing guidance, support, and education to all who are lucky enough to find there way to this forum.

I know this may be a dumb question, but what do I do now?

Ari

[steroid.com 1]

Welcome and don't be scared. Everyone here, for the most part, is in the same boat and we've all had learned experiences to share.

First, read, research, read and research on you own. Google is your friend.

Read the Important stickies at the top of the forum.

Find a doctor that understands TRT (looks like you did but October is pretty long to wait).

Know; More is not better in the case of testosterone replacement. If your e2 levels are high (and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they are) then the test you are injecting is converting to E2 making you worse. It may take a few weeks before you see any results so slow down...but you need to have your E2 checked.

Your protocol should include the following (depending upon your labs):

1. Weekly injections of Testosterone (Not 200 mg every two weeks but 100 mg every week and learn to inject at home if not)
2. HCG taking a few times a week to offset that you are in HPTA shutdown (there are lot of posts here regarding HCG and trust me you will need it)
3. Depending upon your estradiol levels you may will need an Aromatase Inhibitor to prevent your test from converting to bad E2

If the Docs you are seeing now are not discussing these things with you that's a bad sign.

Go to Borders Book Store and look for a book called Testosterone for Life by Dr. Abraham Morgentaler...it will do you good. It's an easy read and very educational.

Remember, once you start TRT it is for life but what it does is nothing short of a miracle.

Post your labs and protocol once you get them and you'll get great feedback from the guys here. We want to see, at a minimum, things like:

1. Total Test
2. Free Test
3. Bio Available Test
4. E2
5. SHBG
6. Albumin
7. TSH
8. Free T4 and T3
9. PSA
10. Among others that the guys will chime in on.

Keep reading the posts on here, do searches and like I said, educate yourself and manage your healthcare and you will see unbelievable results in how you feel, how you look and your zest for life...I kid you not.

gd

[38jumper38]

welcome,
there is a lot info around here, you will find all your answer, I'm on trt as well a lot off others members.

[38jumper38]

welcome,
there is a lot info around here, you will find all your answer, I'm on trt as well a lot off others members.

[Shol'va]

My recommendation is to stick to what the doctor prescribed in the dose she prescribe how she prescribes it. She has to start with you somewhere and by following her dosages and directions she will be able to fine tune the dosage and frequency necessary for you and your body to get the levels up where they should be and regulated properly. More than likely you will end up on weekly doseings but until then do as she wants. Doctors get irritated with patients who try to self medicate beyond what they order and you could end up losing her as your doc. Once she gets you regulated down the road and you want to play around that is up to you, blast and cruise, but until she gets you fine tuned I'd play by her rules. IMO Also it will take some time to notice the difference when going on testosterone for TRT. Give it six months or so to get in your system and regulated. It's not going to fix you overnight.

[steroid.com 1]

My recommendation is to stick to what the doctor prescribed in the dose she prescribe how she prescribes it. She has to start with you somewhere and by following her dosages and directions she will be able to fine tune the dosage and frequency necessary for you and your body to get the levels up where they should be and regulated properly. More than likely you will end up on weekly doseings but until then do as she wants. Doctors get irritated with patients who try to self medicate beyond what they order and you could end up losing her as your doc. Once she gets you regulated down the road and you want to play around that is up to you, blast and cruise, but until she gets you fine tuned I'd play by her rules. IMO Also it will take some time to notice the difference when going on testosterone for TRT. Give it six months or so to get in your system and regulated. It's not going to fix you overnight.

You need to read his other post in here. He did another 200 mg of test just a few days after his initial dose of 200, which was about a week ago, and today he went in for a full BW. His numbers are not going to present a clear picture of where he is at not discounting that when his Doc sees the numbers she's going to know right away what he did.

Agree on a lot of your points, however, and yes, it may take 3 to 6 months for some to see results. Others here felt results within days. I got a feeling that he has elevated E2 based on his Total T.

[Shol'va]

Yeah I read that. There is no getting around this one. she will know something is up. And if he doesn't come clean then she will probably reorder blood work thinking the lab messed it up. It is my understanding that you are to get your blood drawn on the morning around 8 am the day you are to inject your weekly or biweekly TRT dose, before you inject it, to give then a better reading with a base to go on. Not sure just what I was told. Also that weekly TRT injections keep your doses more stable with less fluctuations in your system since the half life of test is approx 7-8 days. I'm no expert and since I don't do TRT I rely on the word of others who do. It sounds like he has enough test in his system for the start of a cycle 400mg a week is definitely a cycle dose. A low one but still in the cycle range. Hopefully his doc will be understanding and not drop him nor make him come in for his shots from now on.

[Titleesq]

Thank you all for your input. Any and all help/advice/experience is very much appreciated. Just to clear things up, I did not directly "lie" to my doctor. I just read that waiting two weeks between injects would cause the so called "roller coaster" effect, and so I took it upon myself to increase frequency of injects. Plus, unfortunately I have just always had that addict mentality that more is better. I'm not justifying what I did, and I realize how wrong I was and the mistake that I made. I came clean to the Doc, admitted what I did, and she just laughed it off and told me to stop helping her so much. LOL!!!

Thanks as always

Ari

[steroid.com 1]

Great news on your Doc taking this so well. Post your labs when you get them with ranges and you'll get great feedback. She's probably looking at your response to the Test to see what it does to your total levels. She should be looking at Free T and more importantly Bio Available as well. You need to look at E2 as well. She will this next go around to see if your E2 levels increased (at least I hope so) and if/or you need an AI.

You will need HCG so please talk to her about this because when your balls start to ache and get smaller you will be begging for help!

[GotNoBlueMilk]

Yes the addict mentality along with "more is better" will bring you down in the end. This is why a doc is so important, especially in the beginning.

But you were right about shots every two weeks sucking. Keep doing the research and learning as much as you can. Be patient because it will take a while for your body to respond.