22yo. My first TRT shot tomorrow, need suggestions and help [Will Log Progress]

[Taylorology]

Hi guys, new here as well as new to TRT and I wonder if you guys can help me out to make the right choice as well as some suggestions that I can talk to my doctor about. Even though I've done quite a lot of research on steroids and hormones but still, I have zero experience with them so I consider myself a total newb. I am eager to learn from you pros!
I will provide as much information as possible and will also log my progress and bloodwork. Thank you guys I really appreciated!

About Me:
------------------
Age: 22

• Height: 5'7 ( I used to be 5'9 back in 9th grade, I have no idea how I shrunk 2 inches. Could it be due to my low T?)
• Weight: 148lbs
• Bodyfat: 14%
• Current Testosterone Level: 368 ng/DL(Last bloodwork from December 8th, 2014)
• Had a traumatic brain injury as well as mild brain hemorrhage from a deadly car crash when I was 15 years old.(Thx to my ex's friend...)
  Was put on antibiotic for 3 straight months due to a reconstructive surgery. Had 2 massive fever in the hospital due to allergy reaction to an antibiotic that they used. Got out at month 4th, fully recovered at 17.
• Started weight training at 17. Used Pre-workouts, Fat Burners, Creatine, Protein as well as test booster(DS Activate Xtreme) and anti-estrogen(DS Triazole). Honestly I was so hooked on bodybuilding and trying out all kind of supps, but never once ran a PH or AAS. [I've thought about it but then again I told my self not to I am too young for it]
• Eat a very healthy and clean diet, 4-6 meals a day, gallon of water a day, multi-vitamins, highly concentrated fish oil etc.
• At the end of age 17 I experienced tremendous amount of stress due to family, school and work, especially my ex cheated on me and had sex with what I so call "my bestfriend" at my house, on my bed. I was heart broken. But I continue to lift and never gave up on life or bodybuilding.
• I don't smoke, drink or do drugs.

I started experiencing these symptoms at the age of 18
--------------------------------------------------------------
Symptoms:

• Low Motivation
• Mild Social Anxiety
• Low Energy
• Hair Thinning
• Insomnia
• Extreme Brain Fog
• Poor Concentration
• Depressed
• Back Pains and Soreness
• Mood Swings
• Low Libido
• Difficulty putting on muscle mass and decreased muscle strength
• Slow recovery after workouts

Went to an endocrine after my 18th birthday, got my bloodwork done and my testosterone was 417ng/DL at that time. Don't remember what my estradiol was. Prolactin was skyrocketed through the roof, T4 and TSH was out of wack (on the high side). Endocrine doctor said it could be hypogonadism, required more bloodworks to be done but my insurance canceled, I was doomed and didn't go back.

So I've been suffering from these symptoms for 4 straight years...finally I was able to afford to get my level checked again. I was lucky enough to find a doctor who seem to know what they're talking about. My current testosterone level is 368ng/DL.

This is what my doctor told me during my visits:

• "Your testosterone is too low for your age. A healthy, young man your age should be full of testosterones at the optimal level of 700-800ng/DL"
• "I will test your heart rate, blood pressure and see if you have prostate cancer, then I can decided if I should put you in TRT or not."
  [I passed all tests but with a mild case of abnormal heart rhythm. He said is those "bull**** preworkouts" that I took for years that causes it and told me to stop taking them unless I want to enlarge my heart or get a stroke]
• "I will put you on TRT. My goal is to bring your testosterone level to 700-800ng/DL, the optimal range. We will start off with testosterone injections to kickstart things, then once we find the optimal dose, I will later switch you to the transdermal patch to stabilize your level. You will have to use the patch on a daily basis."
• "After your first injection, come back in 2 weeks for a bloodwork, then I will adjust your dosage base on your bloodwork result" You also need to tell me your overall feelings, if you are now able to put on muscle mass as well as your wellbeings and recovery after a workout."

Ok guys, this is all the information that I could think of, if you need further infos please let me know!

My main concerns are:

• Will this shutdown my natural testosterone production?
• He never mentioned about estrogen. I've did research that if my test raises my estrogen will raise too because Testosterone aromatase. Does this applies to TRT?
• He never mentioned about DHT, As far as my research goes Testosterone converts to DHT. I am afraid of hair lost. I don't have bald pattern but just a precaution.
• Is there any supplements that I should not take while on TRT? Or anything that will enhance the effect or decrease the side effects?
• Will taking bulk amino improve my chance of gaining lean mass while on TRT?

Also here are the current supplements that I am taking:

• BSN AminoX BCAA
• Opti-Men Multivitamin
• Vitamin D 5000IU
• Creapure Creatine Monohydrate
• Carnipure L-Carnitine Tatrate
• Green Tea Extract 95% Polyponol/50% EGCG
• Fish Oil 1600EPA/1000DHA
• Gold Standard Whey
• MusclePhram Combat Powder
• Calcium Citrate 1000MG
• Vitamin E 1000IU

Thanks again guys and thank you for your time!

 

[Megatron28]

Give the Basic TRT Overview sticky a read. That will answer a lot of your questions.

You are awefully young to go on TRT. While your TT isn't at typical levels for someone your age, you are not hypogonadal. I would try a restart before hopping on TRT.

Can you post your full blood work? This may shed light one what is causing your Low T. Specifically, LH, FSH, TSH, Prolactin, Vitamin D.

There are lots of causes of Low T. Have you checked everything? Exogenous Testosterone shuts down your natural test production. The longer you stay shut down, the harder it is to get it turned back on again later. So if you start TRT, be prepared to be on it for the rest of your life. That is a lot of injections and a lot of money.

Give the Overview a read and then come back her and ask away with your questions.

 

[Alpin]

So one injection is going to fix you in 2 weeks and he will be able to assess when he measures your trough level?
No man....this guy has it all wrong. Atleast ask for a smaller once weekly injection(politely and respectful). Most guys here dial in much easier with shots anywhere in the range of E3D-E5D in order to keep estradiol down....(when you avoid high peaks you minimize aromatization).

What "bullshit pre workouts" is he referring to?
hey, at least this doc is giving you treatment....technically 368 ng/dl is not super low but it is low enough for a 22 y.o.
still though you can try HCG or a restart at your young age before committing to life long TRT.
raising your T levels will change your life for the better.
good luck

 

[Taylorology]

Hi megatron, thanks for the reply! I will have to obtain my bloodwork from the doc tomorrow because I didn't get a copy of it.

I took a look at the "basic TRT review" that you had posted. you mentioned Potential Symptoms of Hypogonadism, and I have most of the following symptoms:

• fatigue(Yes I felt like my brain is not functioning no matter how hard I tried with my diet, sleep etc)
• low libido (It is not terribly low, I can still get hard, but compare to the past I am not as interested),
• poor sleep (i.e. insomnia),
• “brain fog”, difficulty concentrating, (This is what's taking a toll on my life, as my job requires lots of concentration and meetings with different people.)
• loss of body hair (My hair did thin out a bit),
• depressed mood (Yes sometimes I feel lack of interest in life, no motivation),
• increase in body fat (I don't have problem with this, but I often look bloated, even if I am not on creatine),
• decreased muscle mass(Yes),
• decreased bone strength(I assume yes, I always have back pains),
• loss of height(Yes..I went from 5'9 to 5'7 in 4 short years!),
• grumpiness(Yes I get annoyed quite easy) ,
• depression(I don't think I have depression, I don't feel depress all the time),
• falling asleep after dinner(Yes food coma all the time),
• deterioration in work performance. (Yes, quite a lot)

Can this mean that I am on my way to Hypogonal?

I definitely don't want to be on it for the rest of my life, as he never had discuss that with me. I just thought that TRT will somehow restart my testosterone production and I'll be fine. I'm only 22 andI don't want to screw up my hormone and becomes infertile later in life. But I had already paid for the testosterone injection. I paid a total of $210, $160 for the shot and $40 for the heart rate test. what should I do now? Should I not get the injection tomorrow and talk to my doctor about it? How should I approach this with my doctor?

I just now did some research on the HPTA restart, I came across this post on a forum where this guy is around my age, he's doctor recommended him for a restart first, he was put on SERM (clomid) for 6 weeks and he's testosterone was back to normal (from 200 something to 800). Should I tell my doctor about clomid, serm or HCG?

Thanks again for all your help!

 

[Taylorology]

So one injection is going to fix you in 2 weeks and he will be able to assess when he measures your trough level?
No man....this guy has it all wrong. Atleast ask for a smaller once weekly injection(politely and respectful). Most guys here dial in much easier with shots anywhere in the range of E3D-E5D in order to keep estradiol down....(when you avoid high peaks you minimize aromatization).

What "bullshit pre workouts" is he referring to?
hey, at least this doc is giving you treatment....technically 368 ng/dl is not super low but it is low enough for a 22 y.o.
still though you can try HCG or a restart at your young age before committing to life long TRT.
raising your T levels will change your life for the better.
good luck

Hi Apollon, thanks for the reply!

Now that you guys told me I don't want to take the shot tomorrow anymore. I kind of regret that I already paid $210 for him to order it, I don't know if I can get a refund lol..

The preworkout that he referral to is the No-Xplode that I took for years. He said is bad for your heart and I should stop taking them. Though he have no problem with me taking protein, creatine and amino acids.

How should I tell him about HCG or the restart? What if he insist not to have me do a restart? I really don't want to screw myself up, I want to have kids in the future.

I am really hoping to jumpstart my T asap, I've been waiting for this day for 4 years.

Thanks again!

 

[Alpin]

All these things a properly qualified TRT doc should be aware of and most importantly make you aware of.
it is the height of incompitence to not look for underlying problems. Have you had a sleep study done? Especially for a 22 y.o.
What direction are you heading?
Do you know if you are primary or secondary hypogonadal?
HCG monotherapy could raise your TT to 700-800 and keep your balls working for some time before committing to life long TRT. I've seen guys stay on the HCG mono till 30 y.o. till the effects of the drug no longer raise Test to a substantial level.
wish you came here earlier, instead of the night before your appointment. TRT on its own will shut you down. Did the doc mention anything in regards to HCG while on TRT?

 

[Alpin]

Hi megatron, thanks for the reply! I will have to obtain my bloodwork from the doc tomorrow because I didn't get a copy of it.

I took a look at the "basic TRT review" that you had posted. you mentioned Potential Symptoms of Hypogonadism, and I have most of the following symptoms:

• fatigue(Yes I felt like my brain is not functioning no matter how hard I tried with my diet, sleep etc)
• low libido (It is not terribly low, I can still get hard, but compare to the past I am not as interested),
• poor sleep (i.e. insomnia),
• ***8220;brain fog***8221;, difficulty concentrating, (This is what's taking a toll on my life, as my job requires lots of concentration and meetings with different people.)
• loss of body hair (My hair did thin out a bit),
• depressed mood (Yes sometimes I feel lack of interest in life, no motivation),
• increase in body fat (I don't have problem with this, but I often look bloated, even if I am not on creatine),
• decreased muscle mass(Yes),
• decreased bone strength(I assume yes, I always have back pains),
• loss of height(Yes..I went from 5'9 to 5'7 in 4 short years!),
• grumpiness(Yes I get annoyed quite easy) ,
• depression(I don't think I have depression, I don't feel depress all the time),
• falling asleep after dinner(Yes food coma all the time),
• deterioration in work performance. (Yes, quite a lot)

Can this mean that I am on my way to Hypogonal?

I definitely don't want to be on it for the rest of my life, as he never had discuss that with me. I just thought that TRT will somehow restart my testosterone production and I'll be fine. I'm only 22 andI don't want to screw up my hormone and becomes infertile later in life. But I had already paid for the testosterone injection. I paid a total of $210, $160 for the shot and $40 for the heart rate test. what should I do now? Should I not get the injection tomorrow and talk to my doctor about it? How should I approach this with my doctor?

I just now did some research on the HPTA restart, I came across this post on a forum where this guy is around my age, he's doctor recommended him for a restart first, he was put on SERM (clomid) for 6 weeks and he's testosterone was back to normal (from 200 something to 800). Should I tell my doctor about clomid, serm or HCG?

Thanks again for all your help!

Clomid is a very individual thing...
some guy's can do well on it while others feel nothing off it.
a young guy like you I would def. Explore a restart wuth a KNOWLEDGEABLE doc.

 

[Taylorology]

All these things a properly qualified TRT doc should be aware of and most importantly make you aware of.
it is the height of incompetence to not look for underlying problems. Have you had a sleep study done? Especially for a 22 y.o.
What direction are you heading?
Do you know if you are primary or secondary hypogonadal?
HCG monotherapy could raise your TT to 700-800 and keep your balls working for some time before committing to life long TRT. I've seen guys stay on the HCG mono till 30 y.o. till the effects of the drug no longer raise Test to a substantial level.
wish you came here earlier, instead of the night before your appointment. TRT on its own will shut you down. Did the doc mention anything in regards to HCG while on TRT?

Clomid is a very individual thing...
some guy's can do well on it while others feel nothing off it.
a young guy like you I would def. Explore a restart wuth a KNOWLEDGEABLE doc.

Thanks again for guiding me to the right direction Apollon, i really appreciate that you take the time to help me out.

I guess my direction is to talk to him tomorrow about the HCG options. Otherwise I'll just find another doc. I have insurance with BC/BS and they told me HRT/HCG is consider a "cosmetic procedure" so yoyo, they won't cover it. Regardless i have to pay out of my own pocket...

I have no idea if I am primary or secondary. I actually don't even know there's a primary and secondary hypogonadal until you guys mentioned.

Thx for recommending the HCG, sounds like a good solution. I'm 22 and I feel like i'm 50 years old all the time. I just want to bring my old self back without shutting my balls down.

I've never done a sleep study before. I'll definitely search up on that tomorrow.

I wished I had came here earlier too. But it is okay, I'm so glad that I found this forum, you guys are awesomely helpful and I've learned so much from the threads. I didn't know what HCG is until I got here! He never mentioned anything about HCG or restart. All he told me was TRT, injections and the transdermal patch then I'll be okay. I just did a research and realized that injections are cheaper than the patch, but he told me the injections cost more. Wth?

 

[Megatron28]

I would not get the injection today. Hold off on that. You first need to understand if you are primary or secondary hypogonadotropic. The next steps will be to see if you can figure out what is causing it and see if an HPTA restart is possible. If you are Primary, a restart isn't going to work, but you may be able to correct the problem with your testicles.

- So get your blood work results abs post them here.
- Discuss HPTA Restart options with your doc if Secondary ( hCG and/or clomid)
- See an Urologist of Primary.
- Get MRI if Prolactin is high.
- Discuss possibility of sleep apnea.
- Review thyroid function as it can cause hypogonadism.
- Diet.

And so on. Go through all the possibilities. Save TRT as a last resort if you cannot fix your Low T.

Also, BCBS covers TRT when you are hypogonadal. However, your TT is coming in too high. I believe it has to be below 300ng/dl to be covered.

 

[Mprtz]

Great advice ^

Although the "jumpstart" metaphor is appealing, it is pretty much the opposite of what happens once you start using testosterone.

 

[Black Beard]

Vitamin E and fish oil can mess with testosterone production.

 

[TRTnooby]

Vitamin E and fish oil can mess with testosterone production.

I've never heard that before. Do you have a source?

 

[Taylorology]

Hi guys, I've been very busy and finally got a chance to get on and post progress.

So I requested for my bloodwork from my previous doctor and they refuse to give it to me. I decided not to ever use them again.

I took Megatron's advice, went and look for another doctor, and I found a very knowledge one. She was very nice, honest, kind and helpful. She said my previous doctor was an idiot and she never heard of such "protocol" before.

Here's my latest bloodwork from labcorp:
View attachment 560261

She was shocked by my estrodiol level. She said she've never seen anything like this before.


Here is what she had prescribed for me:
150mg testosterone cypionate injection per week
500i.u HCG injection every 3 days
0.5mg Arimadex


Any inputs or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Megatron28]

Hi guys, I've been very busy and finally got a chance to get on and post progress.

So I requested for my bloodwork from my previous doctor and they refuse to give it to me. I decided not to ever use them again.

I took Megatron's advice, went and look for another doctor, and I found a very knowledge one. She was very nice, honest, kind and helpful. She said my previous doctor was an idiot and she never heard of such "protocol" before.

Here's my latest bloodwork from labcorp:
View attachment 560261

She was shocked by my estrodiol level. She said she've never seen anything like this before.


Here is what she had prescribed for me:
150mg testosterone cypionate injection per week
500i.u HCG injection every 3 days
0.5mg Arimadex


Any inputs or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

See how it goes. Get blood work in about 6 weeks and see how things look. Keep us posted and we can help you along the way. Your new doc sounds better already.

 

[halfwit]

I don't see any mention of your LH or FSH OP. Those hormones (from the pituitary) are generally what determine if you're primary (usually testicular issues) or secondary (pituitary issues). While it's awesome that this doc has a far better protocol, I know I'd DAMN sure want to know WHICH type of hypogonadism I have before taking that shot.

The reason being that exogenous (from the needle) testosterone will tell your body to stop producing LH/FSH, and being able to discern primary/secondary at that point is difficult as secondary hypogonadism is when those are low.

You cannot "restart" primary (my awesome situation), but secondary *may* be treatable. You had trauma to the head; it's possible that this caused an injury to your pituitary gland, and they may be able to help if say a tumor resulted by removing it. TRT is for LIFE, exhaust all options FIRST, then take the shots if need be.

My .02c

 

[Alpin]

Sensitive estradiol level of 121 pg/ml with 424 ng/dl TT ?
how can this be?
Anyone on here vouch for Labcorp are they legit?

 

[Alpin]

Hi guys, I've been very busy and finally got a chance to get on and post progress.

So I requested for my bloodwork from my previous doctor and they refuse to give it to me. I decided not to ever use them again.

I took Megatron's advice, went and look for another doctor, and I found a very knowledge one. She was very nice, honest, kind and helpful. She said my previous doctor was an idiot and she never heard of such "protocol" before.

Here's my latest bloodwork from labcorp:
View attachment 560261

She was shocked by my estrodiol level. She said she've never seen anything like this before.


Here is what she had prescribed for me:
150mg testosterone cypionate injection per week
500i.u HCG injection every 3 days
0.5mg Arimadex


Any inputs or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Nice protocol. ...
is this a TRT clinic?
Did she say to take the arimidex the day of HCG or day after?

 

[halfwit]

Sensitive estradiol level of 121 pg/ml with 424 ng/dl TT ?
how can this be?
Anyone on here vouch for Labcorp are they legit?

Yes, they are a legitimate laboratory. A pituitary disorder or problem in the feedback loop can cause this to happen from my understanding.

 

[Megatron28]

Yes, they are a legitimate laboratory. A pituitary disorder or problem in the feedback loop can cause this to happen from my understanding.

If I remember right, without reading the whole thread again, I think OP had already started TRT under his previous doctor's guidance. So who knows what is going on with his HPTA at this point.

 

[Alpin]

Interested in seeing how this plays out. ..