My re-test Total T was 234. I'd only applied the gel to my legs for four days prior. The 2050 test obviously was wonky.
When I was on the patch and got down into the 220s, they switched me to the gel. I don't know how low my numbers can go before they switch me to the only remaining alternative -- injections -- but I'm probably pretty close.
My total Test was 103 then I was diagnosed. Which shocked me because I didn't suspect I had any hormonal problems. It had come on gradually enough that I thought the state of my energy level and weight gain were normal consequences of aging. So my initial reaction was to beg off on injections. I have no fear of injections but I'm not keen on the idea of sticking myself. And I also had reservations about the hormonal fluctuations and the logistic complications of living with hypodermics.
After I'd got broke in on the patch, even though Total T was only 220, my energy and well-being were noticeably better (placebo effect? who cares?). On the gel, it's been better still.
In the last seven months, I've gone from borderline high blood pressure back to where it was when I was 20, 110/70. I'd had a lingering case of irritable bowel syndrome (the IBS was KILLING ME because I couldn't drink beer), but I'm now symptom-free for the first time in years. I've lost 15% of my bodyweight and my cholesterol and hemoglobin A1C are back down to 'normal' levels, even though I still eat pretty much whatever the hell I want. In fact, I'm eating a bit more on account of I'm back to bicycling for two hours, six days a week, which is more endurance than I could muster when my Total T was down to 103.
So the patch was a boost. And the gel was a bigger boost. So if there's yet another boost to be had from switching to injections, I'm to the point where I crave that further improvement enough that I'm willing -- eager even -- to take on learning to stick myself, and to live with the mood swings and all the rest.
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