New testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) User. My Story and Questions

[landaishan]

New TRT User. My Story and Questions

hi all

im a relatively healthy 30yo male.

ive been visiting a doctor in perth, western australia and i had my natural levels tested, never used steroids before. here are the results

testosterone: 25.1 nmol/L (range 8-29)
shbg: 34 nmol/L (range 15-45)
free testosterone: 546.3 pmol/L (range 198-619)
oestradiol 79 pmol/L (range 28-156)
fsh: 6 (range 2-12)
lh 6 (range 2-9)

the doctor said my free test was a bit low and prescribed me some androforte 5% cream and said bang it on your nuts then take blood tests in a month and come back and see me. i asked about infertility and high estrogen etc and he said dont worry about that stuff right now just apply the cream and nothing else. he said injectables are an option in the future if i dont like the cream for any number of lifestyle reasons or its effects etc.

i have been on the cream for about 2 days

i have a few questions ill try to make them simple


i want to have children at an unplanned time in the future. should i store sperm in a sperm bank? how long after starting on the cream before i become infertile? if i want to donate in the next 2-4 weeks i will still have plenty of fertile sperm because it takes 12+ weeks to shut down right?

the doctor said i can just come straight off the cream any time i want. i know this will shut me down, if i get cold feet in 2-3 months of treatment and i go cold turkey i will get badly shutdown and hit the bottom correct? a smart doctor would give pct if you terminate testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) short term like that? or do they not warrant that low of a dosage to be needing any form of PCT?

do i need to be on an aromatose inhibitor straight away?

will i inevitably have to take an aromatose inhibitor all of the time in the future anyway? particularly if i switch to injectables? should i take an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) now "just to be safe"?

whether i need to be taking an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) or not, should i have one on hand for safety reasons? (side effects)

same question applies with SERM's like clomid and nolvadex. do i need this stuff in hand like i would if i was running a steroid cycle?

what are the laws in australia in relation to the prescription of PCT's like serm's - clomid, nolva and aromatose inhibitors? can australian doctors prescribe all of this stuff to me if i need it?

they tell me they cant get Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) in australia right now... would i even want to go the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) route?

i read in this scientific journal - a review on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2701485/ - that test enth and test cypionate are the most likely injectables to cause gyno, but they are the preferred method of treatment for almost everybody, american or australian?


thanks in advance for your help and i will continue to post with plenty more questions and discussion in the future. i also cant seem to reply to or send any private messages.

 

[clsmth700]

yes testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) can leave you infertile unless you do short runs and cycle on and off

but sperm bank a great idea if your planning on a family !

 

[Mr P]

Welcome, it's true what clsmth is saying, but I've heard about many cases were men that were on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) year round were able to have children..

 

[IMT staff]

yes testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) can leave you infertile unless you do short runs and cycle on and off

but sperm bank a great idea if your planning on a family !

Oh really, do you have any evidence to support this? I am unaware of any.

 

[RedLang]

Wow. To be honest mate your levels look absolutely perfect. I have no idea why he would ever consider putting you on TRT. The only thing remotely out of shape would be your high LH. But other than that....

Yes taking testosterone in any form will shut your own production and also your fertility. This can be minimise using Hcg. To have children can try clomid and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) while taking test, or get off completely and do a full PCT.

I would definitely tell him if you were going to stop the testosterone, and also to provide prescriptions for the required medications for PCT.

Some people can get away without using an aromatase inhibitor. It will depend on symptoms and also your follow up blood tests. Read up to understand what your doing.

You do not need them on hand as you will have a prescription and will not run out of test. Also, at the level you are taking you should not need SERMs.

Yes your doctor can and should provide you with the appropriate medications. Your Dr (also mine) responds well to someone who knows what they need.

I and another member here get our Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) from a pharmacy in southern Queensland. I will PM you the details if you need it.

You most likely wont get gyno from the small doses that are provided through TRT.

 

[landaishan]

the doctor might be of the belief that an aging man should have the t levels of a younger man, hence the introduction of therapy to me

please pm me the details for acquiring hcg. i want to have my bases covered. do you know if Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) usage increase the risk of gyno as well?

can you please pm me a bit of personal info on yourself and your treatment as well? i cant reply or send pm's yet

 

[ardbeg]

I am wondering why you are asking a forum these questions instead of just asking your doctor.

 

[landaishan]

before i have the chance to ask my doctor, what sort of pct's do we have prescription access to here in australia? all serm's, ai's ?

 

[landaishan]

I am wondering why you are asking a forum these questions instead of just asking your doctor.

do you really think thats not on my list of things to do? i want other peoples opinions not just that of my doctor

i realize doctors dont have an all knowing eye i need to know every possible thing myself

 

[RedLang]

the doctor might be of the belief that an aging man should have the t levels of a younger man, hence the introduction of therapy to me

please pm me the details for acquiring hcg. i want to have my bases covered. do you know if Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) usage increase the risk of gyno as well?

The thing is your levels already are that of a younger man! Which is a good thing. I will pm you the details when i get home tonight mate.

can you please pm me a bit of personal info on yourself and your treatment as well? i cant reply or send pm's yet

Will pm

 

[landaishan]

if i change my mind, which is possible, it wont do me any harm to come off the cream cold turkey after 2 weeks would it?

what about 2 months? what sort of crash should i expect? i suspect after 2 months of use i would want to use a pct instead of going cold turkey but 2 weeks may be fine?

 

[Megatron28]

You should think about what you are doing. You are considering suppressing your natural T production to replace it with a cream (or other form) that will get you back up to where you were before. What's the point of that -- other than all the downsides I can think of? If you were going to run a cycle that is a different story. But to do a testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) dose, etc. seems pointless. Actually it seems stupid.

 

[300winmag]

do you really think thats not on my list of things to do? i want other peoples opinions not just that of my doctor

i realize doctors dont have an all knowing eye i need to know every possible thing myself

Its always good to look around and see whats going on. I have brought a lot of stuff to my doctor from stuff I have learned here, some stuff they agreed some they didnt. But as the doctor said you are your own advocate and they have no problem with suggestions. This site provides the most knowledge I could find on the internet but with internet some of the stuff is great some is BS. Not to knock anybodys opinions or facts but take everything as a grain of salt, everybody is different and everybodys doctors are different. Even some doctors dont know what they are doing. Personally I would rather error on the same side and take the least amount of medication as possible, where some would rather go the other route.

 

[landaishan]

You should think about what you are doing. You are considering suppressing your natural T production to replace it with a cream (or other form) that will get you back up to where you were before. What's the point of that -- other than all the downsides I can think of? If you were going to run a cycle that is a different story. But to do a testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) dose, etc. seems pointless. Actually it seems stupid.

i dont understand. i thought boosting my levels was the whole point of it, i want to do it for the positive effects not the negative ones

 

[Megatron28]

You would need to cycle then. Not do TRT. testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) just gets you back to NORMAL levels.

 

[landaishan]

i thought my levels were below normal. isnt a good free test in the 800-1100 range? i do get confused between the different measuring systems

just for the record ive been using the cream for 4 days and i am getting cold feet and considering going cold turkey - the doctor told me that would be fine - do you agree it will be fine to go cold turkey on the cream after 4 days?

ive had my thyroid levels checked and they are fine - "tsh 1.73 (range 0.5-5.0)"

still cant reply to private messages. thanks for the info and the help

 

[RedLang]

Land check your free range against your values. Your near the top already. Your in a perfect position. You may need to look at other options depending on your symptoms. Also, if your at 700 testosterone already (converted to dg/ml), your not going to hit it with that dose of cream.

 

[landaishan]

thanks for the help mate i appreciate it! there wont be any problems going cold turkey on androforte after only 4 days of usage will there? this treatment is definitely something i will re-visit in the future 5-10 years

 

[RedLang]

3-4 days i wouldnt think so. If your gonna stop i would do it as early as possible.

 

[landaishan]

i have listened to the opinions of people here and others and i have decided to stop the treatment. i would like to use treatment at a later stage in the future. i will be lurking the forums regularly.

thanks again for the help, it is greatly appreciated and good luck to everybody