Coming off TRT

[pjbandit]

Hello All,

To make a long story short - I thought I was having a heart attack and turns out I had a panic attack a couple weeks ago. Doctor said was caused by stress. But I decided to stop taking eveything I was (vitamins, and trt w/hcg). I was not taking anything else. The other reason is I do want to have kids in a couple years and I thought this might be a good excuse to stop trt now. I have had my sperm checked previously while being on trt and it tested normal. It has now been a couple of weeks and I can definitely feel the difference without the testosterone (My erections and morning wood havent been close to what they were). I did start to incorporate the hcg back in just to see if that helps get me back to what I was previously (my original baseline was 520 test prior to starting TRT. I probably shouldnt have started on trt but that is another story.

Do you guys believe that HCG monotherapy is enough (250 2/week) and if so, for how long?

Is there anything else I could do? Any other thoughts and/or suggestions?

Thanks for your help.

[APIs]

Yeah, dont simply stop treatment on your own. Explain your reasoning & do it under the care of your Doctor. You need to incorporate some type of PCT and dosing the HCG alone without proper guidance will likely keep you shut down. Others will chime in...

[Low Testosterone]

Assuming you're under a doctors care, I would imagine you started TRT based on a Free testosterone reading. Honestly, no one should really start TRT based on a Total testosterone reading. Granted, if your Total testosterone is in the dirt you're Free's going to be too, but that's often irrelevant.

Further, HCG should be more than enough to keep you fertile while taking testosterone. In fact, many men (perhaps a majority) are more fertile when on TRT that includes HCG than men who are not. Moreover, if you have low testosterone issues down the road, this is often accompanied by a loss of fertility or at least a severe reduction in potency.

[pjbandit]

I have heard that varying viewpoints regarding HCG while on TRT and that is one of the concerns. I do want to have kids and I was always told on TRT its reduced greatly, regardless of HCG. Does it also matter how long you are on it?

I do not believe my doctor was a very good doctor who did my original baseline. My original baseline for Total T was 543 (241-827) and my Free T was 96 (47 - 244).

Is my thought process off here? Should I continue the T until I discuss with my doc or until I find a proper PCT?

[Low Testosterone]

As alluded to above, it's good to remember that infertility is one of the many results of low testosterone. One thing that's always stood out to me, when men start TRT two of the biggest most common concerns are infertility and hair loss. However, both are true and very commonly true when you have low testosterone, but more often than not this falls on deaf ears. It doesn't make sense to us that it could be the case in both directions, but that's why the phrase "hormone balance" has a lot of truth to it. One of the most common things I've heard over the years is the gasp from men on TRT after they get their girl pregnant...it happens constantly. Too many assume testosterone is a quality birth control, and 40+ years ago it was thought it might be a suitable form of male birth control. However, that's been proven false time and again but it's always stayed stuck in people's heads. That seems to happen with a lot of things. Take for example prostate cancer, there is no correlation between TRT and prostate cancer. In fact, men on TRT have proven to be less at risk, yet the stigma survives and prevails.

"Proper PCT" just my opinion, the best phrase would be "lucky PCT." If you truly do not have the ability to make enough functional testosterone on your own, the best you can hope for with a PCT is returning to where you were prior to TRT. Granted, during PCT you may be up in your numbers a bit but that therapy will discontinue at some point. From there your numbers will more than likely drop and slowly creep back up towards baseline at best. Granted, if you're a very young guy the results of a PCT might be better but, again in my opinion, people tend to put way too much faith in PCT's, far too much.

Things I would consider and ask:

How old are you?
How did you feel before TRT?
How long had you been experiencing symptoms prior to starting TRT?
Do you have a past history of steroid or other drug use? If so, how extensive?

[pjbandit]

I understand what you are saying but I do know before I was on TRT I was fertile. I showed to you my baseline before TRT so what would you recommend in this case? I have been told on this very site that HCG does not help keep you fertile while on TRT and I have heard the exact opposite. So not sure what to believe sometimes?

What do you mean by lucky PCT? I understand that my numbers are not as good as being on TRT but do they warrant TRT?

As far as your questions:

34 years old
I definitely had some symptons but if you look at my numbers, would it be attributed to Low T? I obviously felt better on TRT but goes back to the fertility issue
Probably 2-4 years prior to starting TRT
I have never done a steroid in my life prior to TRT

What would you suggest? If a PCT for someone that has been on TRT for 2.5 years now, what would you suggest? Or do you think it wise to continue with TRT? Would you think the TRT could be attributed to my panic attack?

Thanks for your help.

[j2048b]

Ah i had this same crap happen man, wonder whats going on? I went in to a few panic attacks, and my last test shot was 200 mlg, but routinely only 100 per week, notsure wth is going on w me either in that aspect, got put on xanax, and quit trt cold turkey... It blows, but hematologist wants my hematocrit to drop below 50, and then i need to monitor my trt better and start giving blopd if i can.... I hope u feel better op! Panic attacks are weird, and have been told its part mental