Going through the ringer of tests for Low-T

THE-DET-OAK said:
hit the easy button, call the number below
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That may be my next step. I made an appointment with a local clinic that does both primary care medicine and HRT for men and women. I called today and asked about TRT. They told me to bring in my lab results tomorrow and they'd see what they could do for me. They did say that they only do injections or pellets (mostly injections).

I'm optimistic.
 
The have programs that range in average cost from 140-250 a month.

I doubt you will find anyone significantly cheaper.
 
I go completely in network
I pay 25 for office visits, 14 for a 2 month supply of Test, 10 bucks for 3 months worth of needles, and blood work is covered 100%. It took going to 3 different doctors before I found one that was open to treating me with self injections and monitoring my Estradiol. It wasn't as easy as signing up with one of the online places, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper.
 
TRTnooby said:
I go completely in network
I pay 25 for office visits, 14 for a 2 month supply of Test, 10 bucks for 3 months worth of needles, and blood work is covered 100%. It took going to 3 different doctors before I found one that was open to treating me with self injections and monitoring my Estradiol. It wasn't as easy as signing up with one of the online places, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...

Some people just need a guiding hand, and feel its worth it to pay for someone that knows what they are doing and can help them get dialed in quickly.

Some people don't.

It just depends on your specific situation.

No HCG for you?

PS when I said your not going to find anyone significantly cheaper I meant you are not going to find a Male Testosterone Clinic that specializes in andropause that is significantly cheaper.

IMT has thousands of clients for 5 years now, so obviously many people find value in their service.
 
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TRTnooby said:
I go completely in network
I pay 25 for office visits, 14 for a 2 month supply of Test, 10 bucks for 3 months worth of needles, and blood work is covered 100%. It took going to 3 different doctors before I found one that was open to treating me with self injections and monitoring my Estradiol. It wasn't as easy as signing up with one of the online places, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper.
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That's true at the surface level. What I have found is the management part will be a constant struggle given the continuing advances in treatment strategies. I believe you will possibly be behind the curve on optimizing therapy. Btw...you and your doctor will be speaking diffrent languages too. He will be playing cya and fettered to "ranges" and you will be interested in optimizing. He will probably be clueless or reluctant to try different things moving forward as well (dosage adjustments inCluded). At least in my experience the GPs working within the confines of managed care think this way.

I'm not the best budget minded person in the world but I would rather eat out less, drive a slightly older vehicle that's paid for etc and pay the 150-200 month for optimized therapy.

My .02 cents fwiw
 
THE-DET-OAK said:
Some people just need a guiding hand, and feel its worth it to pay for someone that knows what they are doing and can help them get dialed in quickly.

Some people don't.

It just depends on your specific situation.

No HCG for you?

PS when I said your not going to find anyone significantly cheaper I meant you are not going to find a Male Testosterone Clinic that specializes in andropause that is significantly cheaper.

IMT has thousands of clients for 5 years now, so obviously many people find value in their service.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen a need for HCG so far. I feel great on just T, haven't' even needed an AI. I'm glad you guys and guys like you are there, if I couldn't find an in-network doctor I could work with I'd be using you. Just presenting my experience, not a criticism at all.

Gbrad said:
That's true at the surface level. What I have found is the management part will be a constant struggle given the continuing advances in treatment strategies. I believe you will possibly be behind the curve on optimizing therapy. Btw...you and your doctor will be speaking diffrent languages too. He will be playing cya and fettered to "ranges" and you will be interested in optimizing. He will probably be clueless or reluctant to try different things moving forward as well (dosage adjustments inCluded). At least in my experience the GPs working within the confines of managed care think this way.

I'm not the best budget minded person in the world but I would rather eat out less, drive a slightly older vehicle that's paid for etc and pay the 150-200 month for optimized therapy.

My .02 cents fwiw
Click to expand...

I already eat out less and drive an 05. Lol. I'm a cheap skate. I haven't butted heads too much with my endo, we did at the beginning, but he listened to what I had to say, and re-evaluated his position, and now there are no issues. He treats how I feel not a range, though I'm sure if I was just trying to get up to a certain number he'd shoot me down, where as a clinic that does "optimization" probably won't. I don't' feel any need to try to get my T up over 1000, I feel great at 6-700, and I don't need to take an AI.
 
well here is something to think about in regards to HCG

THE-DET-OAK said:
Well keep in mind we don't have anything to prove this is what happens. But we do know progesterone is responsible for "lubing" the arterial walls so to speak. So without it, what would be the logical thing that happens?

This is not something that happens overnight. Arterial walls begin to harden and then you may have some stressful event occur, when this happens your body sends out cholesterol to patch up the cracks in the arterial walls. Overtime more and more cholesterol collects on these patches, then out of no where one day you get clotting because the patch has gotten too big and blocks blood flow.

So progesterone is very important to men, and we know when our testicles are shut down, we are not producing much if any progesterone at all.

Over the years I have learned you can look into things too much, its really as simple as this, why let your HPTA shut down when you can do something to prevent it? It just makes sense.

IMT has tons of data to go on now that they have been around for 5 years, and they notice that men on HCG tend to have better cholesterol levels than those on testosterone alone.

Obviously there is no way to directly link it, but it definitely makes sense to take HCG with your testosterone.
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Alright.. Well, I wish I would have gone to this doctor sooner. She was fantastic. She called my endocrinologist an idiot (agreed) and spent about 45 minute with me going over all the lab work and discussing options.

Here's the plan:

Initial TRT injection (done today) to get things "started"
Testosterone cream from a compounding pharmacy (along with something in it to help block estrogen conversion.. Didn't catch the ingredient she mentioned. Will find out specifics tomorrow when I go pick it up.)
Arimidex - 1/2 tablet twice a week.. Wow, that's expensive.

She said if I don't do well on the cream we'll move on to injections, but she's had great success with it with other patients.

She also said that we'd likely start small HCG injections soon'ish to try to maintain fertility.


Wasn't exactly the "just give me the test script and send me on my way" option, but...given her thoroughness...I'm going to give her plan a shot. It beats anything I've been given so far (nothing).
 
Picked up the testosterone cream today. The label reads: Testosterone 80MG/Chrysin 0.781MG/0.25ML

I'm guessing that's 80mg of testosterone, 0.781mg of Chrysin per 0.25ML application. That would seem to make sense the way it is written. I'm applying 0.25ML (one click on the topi-click) daily.
 
a shot to get you going then switch to the crappy >2% creams? And she is great?

Arimadex 2x a week with cream? say what?

*shakes head*

Your going to bury your E2 and just so you know it takes a while to get it up.

In the meantime you will not feel any positive effects of the T while your E2 is buried.

I swear these docs :help:
 
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THE-DET-OAK said:
a shot to get you going then switch to the crappy >2% creams? And she is great?

Arimadex 2x a week with cream? say what?

*shakes head*

Your going to bury your E2 and just so you know it takes a while to get it up.

In the meantime you will not feel any positive effects of the T while your E2 is buried.

I swear these docs :help:
Click to expand...


I'm not entirely sold on the plan either, but she was "great" because she did at least listen and was willing to do something. After going from one primary care doc to two specialists who didn't want to take any action, that was appreciated. Much better than the endocrinologist who said I was "fine" at 248.

Not sure this is going to work for me, but she seemed thoroughly convinced that she's had great success with other guys. She is open to moving to injections but wanted me to try this first. So, I'm going along for the month (go back on 12/30) to see how things are going/how I feel. I'm probably going to push for injections when I go back though. I'm just not entirely sold on the cream idea.

Of all the docs I've been to, she has been the only one who has even mentioned testing my E2 and was at all knowledgeable on the use of HCG as part of TRT. So, I'm willing to give her a chance. I do at least have the feeling that I can tell her what *I* want to do and she'll be open to it. I really just didn't want to seem pushy on my first office visit.
 
don't take the adex at first with the cream, huge mistake.

What is your BF%? How old are you?
 
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just wait 10-14 days on the adex. Look for a sudden gain in weight, or wear a ring to keep an eye on water retention. These will be the first signs of elevated estrogen.

Was your original T number less than 250?
 
THE-DET-OAK said:
just wait 10-14 days on the adex. Look for a sudden gain in weight, or wear a ring to keep an eye on water retention. These will be the first signs of elevated estrogen.

Was your original T number less than 250?
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I've had my T tested several times in the past two months. Results have been 220, 240, 248, 287 (not necessarily in that order).
 
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