2 Questions about Starting Therapy

[skatz]

Hi Guys,

New to the forum. A couple of quick questions about T therapy (injections), which I'm about to begin getting every 2 weeks or so. My questions:

1) How quickly does the body stop producing it's own T after starting therapy? 2 treatments? 10 treatments? Curious about this because I'm a little apprehensive to start something then stop it, because of a side effect or something, to find out that my body has stopped producing it on it's own due to therapy.

2) A friend recently told me that T replacement therapy messes with "other hormones" in the body. Is this a concern? What should I keep monitored during the course of therapy?


I am going to start therapy in hopes of relieving chronic depression (the "duhpression" variety) mingled with agitation and anxiety (sometimes quite severe). My T level is 299.

Thanks in advance for any insight and help!

 

[DreDay187]

Hi Guys,

New to the forum. A couple of quick questions about T therapy (injections), which I'm about to begin getting every 2 weeks or so. My questions:

1) How quickly does the body stop producing it's own T after starting therapy? 2 treatments? 10 treatments? Curious about this because I'm a little apprehensive to start something then stop it, because of a side effect or something, to find out that my body has stopped producing it on it's own due to therapy.

2) A friend recently told me that T replacement therapy messes with "other hormones" in the body. Is this a concern? What should I keep monitored during the course of therapy?


I am going to start therapy in hopes of relieving chronic depression (the "duhpression" variety) mingled with agitation and anxiety (sometimes quite severe). My T level is 299.

Thanks in advance for any insight and help!

1) suppression will happen immediately but also gradually. It's also dose dependent so giving you an exact number of shots is impossible. You will get side effects but most if not all are manageable like elevated estradiol, elevated hematocrit or RBC, etc. Once you start you shouldn't really stop, consider your alternatives before beginning. Are you primary or secondary?

2) it does and comprehensive blood work consisting of LH, FSH, total test, free test, E2, and more should be done by your doctor.

 

[skatz]

Thanks, DreDay...

I was thinking of telling them to administer half of what they prescribed, at first. Sorry, I'm new to all of this so I'm not sure what you mean by "primary or secondary". Can you explain?

You've got me thinking about another couple of questions now:

- How long does it typically take for the body to start producing it's own T again after stopping therapy?

- Are there some viable "natural" alternatives (diet, exercise, supplements) to raise T significantly? The trouble with this approach is that the depression makes it very difficult to get these changes going.

 

[DreDay187]

Thanks, DreDay...

I was thinking of telling them to administer half of what they prescribed, at first. Sorry, I'm new to all of this so I'm not sure what you mean by "primary or secondary". Can you explain?

You've got me thinking about another couple of questions now:

- How long does it typically take for the body to start producing it's own T again after stopping therapy?

- Are there some viable "natural" alternatives (diet, exercise, supplements) to raise T significantly? The trouble with this approach is that the depression makes it very difficult to get these changes going.

Even at half the dose it will cause suppression. I should say that many TRT patients feel better with biweekly dosing vs weekly or every other week. A short explantion is primary means your testicles don't work. They receive the signal to produce testosterone but they are not able to. Only thing here is TRT. Secondary means the testicles work but the problem is at the pituitary level which means it doesn't make LH to signal the testes to produce testosterone. Options here are an attempt at a restart or TRT.

It all depends. You could forever stop your natural production or it could come back in a matter of weeks. It's very individualistic and why you should consider everything before going down that road.

Not really natural methods but clomid and/or HCG, HMG, etc could aid in a restart. But again it would depend if you're primary or secondary.

 

[skatz]

I see. Thanks. There's nothing that would indicate I'm Primary, from what I've been told by my doctor. Seems that I would fall into the Secondary camp.

 

[DreDay187]

I see. Thanks. There's nothing that would indicate I'm Primary, from what I've been told by my doctor. Seems that I would fall into the Secondary camp.

Without your test results it'd be impossible to tell. You're doctor didn't tell you which one it was or give you copies of the lab reports?

 

[Megatron28]

I would encourage you to start by reading this. It will answer many of your questions.

http://www.steroidology.com/forum/testosterone-replacement-therapy/662394-basic-trt-overview.html

 

[DreDay187]

I would encourage you to start by reading this. It will answer many of your questions.

http://www.steroidology.com/forum/testosterone-replacement-therapy/662394-basic-trt-overview.html

I don't know how I forgot about the write up you took time to write out.

Skatz I would definitely read the thread that Mega linked.

 

[Megatron28]

I got tired of writing the same answers to the same questions.

 

[skatz]

Ah great - I'll read that link, obtain my lab data and report back. Thanks a bunch, guys.

 

[jomamma007]

you need to inject AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, ideally TWICE.
EVERY TWO WEEKS WILL HAVE YOU FEELING WORSE THEN BEFORE BY WEEK 2
CAPS WERE NECESSARYYYYY

 

[skatz]

you need to inject AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, ideally TWICE.
EVERY TWO WEEKS WILL HAVE YOU FEELING WORSE THEN BEFORE BY WEEK 2
CAPS WERE NECESSARYYYYY

Got it, thanks. I really hope this helps my anxiety and doesn't make it worse.

 

[methos0123]

It will. I had/have the same problem...but it's getting better since trt. I wouldn't expect a quick fix however.