HCG Monotherapy - Considering TRT - Bloodwork Included
Blood Work Attached @ Bottom of Post. Please read information below first
Greetings,
Basic background info before I cut to the chase (just to answer any basic questions you may have):
Age- 23
Training History- 4 years of solid training (P90x, Insanity, Rippetoe Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5X5, Started "T25" yesterday in combination with heavy compound barbell lifts).
Nutrition- Excellent diet. I avoid processed foods and sugars. I currently consume 6 meals a day consisting of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein sources (along with whey protein isolate shakes when necessary). Plenty of water per day.
Supplementation- I take a quality mutli, two fish oil capsules, vitamin D3 and Glucosamine. I have also used three natty test boosters in the past 3 years with mediocre results (Cellucor P6, Driven Sports AX and DAA powder).
Sleep- 6-9 hours per night (wide range I know, being a student has its scheduling downfalls.
Now to the important part:
I was beginning to feel lethargic, having focus issues and eventually began to have ED issues at age 20 so I consulted my doctor who suggested that I may have low testosterone. MRI revealed that I had a benign tumor next to my pituitary gland. Endocrinologists and my doctor determined that this tumor was in no way effecting the functioning hormonal duties of my pituitary gland (I am still skeptical about this, however I am not the doctor here). At age 20, blood tests revealed that my Testosterone levels were in fact low. My doctor immediately put me on test injections (I dont remember the frequency of the injections to be exact due to my lack of knowledge of hormones at the time, I was just focused on fixing my ED!) I did therapy for 2 months until my ED issues went away (Woohoo!) at which point I stopped therapy for obvious reasons (age and unwanted side effects). However, this did not solve 100% of my issues. Fast forward 3 years- I have gone from 150 pound skinny fat shrimp to 165 pounds at 13% body fat (quickly working on getting that number to 10) with positive libido and no ED (not the strongest erections for someone my age however). Three months ago I consulted my doctor again about some of the symptoms of low T. Despite my training, nutrition and general lifestyle, I have continued to be lethargic, unable to properly recover from lifting, poor sleep and my general sense of well being is just not adequate for someone with my lifestyle at my age. He gave me another blood test and it once again revealed that I do in fact have low testosterone. He referred me to a hormone replacement therapist in town who prescribed me Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) mono-therapy injections. I have been injecting 0.12ml (12 units on the insulin syringe) 5 days per week in order to naturally increase my testosterone levels.
Here are my concerns:
I have been on the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) mono-therapy for over two months now and have not noticed any positive effects (other than some more morning wood). So far my skin is oiler and I seem to retain more water (this could be incorrect but I look more puffy and my hips have gotten bloated). I have not yet gone in for another blood test to see if my testosterone levels have increased (booking an appointment today to get blood drawn next Monday). I asked my doctor about estrogen control and he claims that there is no need to worry about increased estrogen due to the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) injections. However, everything I have read on the informational sections of this webpage disagree with his statement.
Final questions:
Am I too young to begin testosterone replacement therapy (TRT)? My Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) doctor says it is undesirable to begin this at my age. I am considering administering myself Testosterone injections (presuming I can't find a doctor who will do so for me) along with an Anti-E (arimidex most likely) and continue my Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) injections for testicular insurance. I am a very well organized and responsible adult so abuse and/or improper use of testosterone is the least of my concerns. If your advice is in fact NO, that I should not pursue testosterone injections, then do you believe it would it be beneficial to add Arimidex (or any Anti-E medication) to my Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) therapy in order to control estrogen levels? Any other advice in general would be greatly appreciated. I am sick of working my ass off during training and maintaining my nutrition & healthy lifestyle just to wake up feeling lethargic and fatigued on a daily basis! Oh, one last thing- I do plan on having children sometime in the near/distant future so I do not want to pursue anything that could potentially put that at risk.
I want to thank everyone who took the time to read this long detailed post.
Best,
Nick
Blood Work Screen Shots
View attachment 552174View attachment 552175View attachment 552176
Blood Work Attached @ Bottom of Post. Please read information below first
Greetings,
Basic background info before I cut to the chase (just to answer any basic questions you may have):
Age- 23
Training History- 4 years of solid training (P90x, Insanity, Rippetoe Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5X5, Started "T25" yesterday in combination with heavy compound barbell lifts).
Nutrition- Excellent diet. I avoid processed foods and sugars. I currently consume 6 meals a day consisting of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein sources (along with whey protein isolate shakes when necessary). Plenty of water per day.
Supplementation- I take a quality mutli, two fish oil capsules, vitamin D3 and Glucosamine. I have also used three natty test boosters in the past 3 years with mediocre results (Cellucor P6, Driven Sports AX and DAA powder).
Sleep- 6-9 hours per night (wide range I know, being a student has its scheduling downfalls.
Now to the important part:
I was beginning to feel lethargic, having focus issues and eventually began to have ED issues at age 20 so I consulted my doctor who suggested that I may have low testosterone. MRI revealed that I had a benign tumor next to my pituitary gland. Endocrinologists and my doctor determined that this tumor was in no way effecting the functioning hormonal duties of my pituitary gland (I am still skeptical about this, however I am not the doctor here). At age 20, blood tests revealed that my Testosterone levels were in fact low. My doctor immediately put me on test injections (I dont remember the frequency of the injections to be exact due to my lack of knowledge of hormones at the time, I was just focused on fixing my ED!) I did therapy for 2 months until my ED issues went away (Woohoo!) at which point I stopped therapy for obvious reasons (age and unwanted side effects). However, this did not solve 100% of my issues. Fast forward 3 years- I have gone from 150 pound skinny fat shrimp to 165 pounds at 13% body fat (quickly working on getting that number to 10) with positive libido and no ED (not the strongest erections for someone my age however). Three months ago I consulted my doctor again about some of the symptoms of low T. Despite my training, nutrition and general lifestyle, I have continued to be lethargic, unable to properly recover from lifting, poor sleep and my general sense of well being is just not adequate for someone with my lifestyle at my age. He gave me another blood test and it once again revealed that I do in fact have low testosterone. He referred me to a hormone replacement therapist in town who prescribed me Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) mono-therapy injections. I have been injecting 0.12ml (12 units on the insulin syringe) 5 days per week in order to naturally increase my testosterone levels.
Here are my concerns:
I have been on the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) mono-therapy for over two months now and have not noticed any positive effects (other than some more morning wood). So far my skin is oiler and I seem to retain more water (this could be incorrect but I look more puffy and my hips have gotten bloated). I have not yet gone in for another blood test to see if my testosterone levels have increased (booking an appointment today to get blood drawn next Monday). I asked my doctor about estrogen control and he claims that there is no need to worry about increased estrogen due to the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) injections. However, everything I have read on the informational sections of this webpage disagree with his statement.
Final questions:
Am I too young to begin testosterone replacement therapy (TRT)? My Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) doctor says it is undesirable to begin this at my age. I am considering administering myself Testosterone injections (presuming I can't find a doctor who will do so for me) along with an Anti-E (arimidex most likely) and continue my Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) injections for testicular insurance. I am a very well organized and responsible adult so abuse and/or improper use of testosterone is the least of my concerns. If your advice is in fact NO, that I should not pursue testosterone injections, then do you believe it would it be beneficial to add Arimidex (or any Anti-E medication) to my Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) therapy in order to control estrogen levels? Any other advice in general would be greatly appreciated. I am sick of working my ass off during training and maintaining my nutrition & healthy lifestyle just to wake up feeling lethargic and fatigued on a daily basis! Oh, one last thing- I do plan on having children sometime in the near/distant future so I do not want to pursue anything that could potentially put that at risk.
I want to thank everyone who took the time to read this long detailed post.
Best,
Nick
Blood Work Screen Shots
View attachment 552174View attachment 552175View attachment 552176
