New to Low-T and looking for advice/thoughts

[IHI]

Huh...think I mentioned above about getting excited to be shot down again..well it happened. Was at video store getting some movies and the pharmacy called saying they had the one prescription in stock and filled, and the other prescription they would have to order and insurance didn't cover it so they wanted my okay before ordering it in due to it being expensive. So I asked what they were and one was prednisone which they had and the other was for metyrapone which they didn't stock and my scrip would be $250 for just those pills. I asked what the heck are those for, and she said for testing secondary adrenal function...huh?? Told her when I left IC that morning I was never informed of any additional testing, when I was supposed to take these pills, when I was supposed to have labs drawn, nothing...so let me contact them and see what the hell is going on before you order/fill anything.

Tried 3 times calling and just got "nurses voicemail" since apparently I called after closing time 4pm. So got home and got on the website to chart everything they are doing and sent email asking what the hell?? Asked why I have to do additional adrenal testing, I already had done the high level and low level ACTH tests and both showed adrenal glands functioning properly, so why a 3rd test and what is the purpose and how will these results be any different or what will it showed compared to what I already had done and the doctor seen and commented on. Told them the pills will cost me $250 out of pocket so I'm not authorizing the pharmacy to get them until I get an explaination of what is going on, and why didn't anybody from your office contact me to let ME know they wanted another test performed instead of me finding out from the pharmacist, and yet I don't know when/how I'm supposed to take what pills when, when I'm supposed to get lab work drawn, where I'm supposed to get lab work drawn.

Hoping Monday somebody calls right away to let me know WTF is going on, am not happy about this at all for obvious reasons. I googled what the pills are, what they're for, etc...and it's a legit test to check for secondary adrenal gland function specifically and that is why they give the prednisone after the blood draw to get shit back inline since these pills crash your system and the steroid will replenish basically. Says I would take these 12 pills between 11pm-12am and get blood drawn at 8am. That's good and well, but where are labs to be drawn.

Uggg, every fricken time there's light at the end of the tunnel, this kinda shit happens. Realize this big time endo is fishing a few things on his own to pin point why my body isn't making proper cortisol since it isn't right and has exact syptoms of low t and does affect T production since they work hand in hand. I know I've only been doing this since September trying to get "sorted out" and waste 3 months of that with that piece of shit urologist, shoulda walked the first time I met with him and my spidey senses told me to run..but that's water under the bridge and I cant change that now.

 

[IHI]

Just updating my post again to talk about my battle with this stuff. Seen the doc at the big hospital on the 7th of last month, communication sucks just because they are so large, typical response back to my questions are 2-3 weeks.

Today is a milestone though, after my 7 month long ordeal, 4 doctors- (family doc for initial diagnoises, referred to hack urologist, then referred to local endo, who referred me to big shot endo and more tests) I finally picked up my script for test cyp and syringes today. All said and done the vial and needles cost me $12....hence my stubbornness to try to do this legitly to save money since this is a long term ordeal. He wants me to do 50ml this week, then next week start the 100ml dose once a week. Yes I asked about doing twice a week shots, he said he's never had any patients complain of roller coasters, but also said to do what he asks for now as it will help him determine my average so adjustiments can be made after a 6 week trial, as well as how my state of well being is.

He said due to shift work, the fact I get bounced back and forth from 1st to 3rd shift for either me learning more machines to operate, or me training guys on first shift how to run machines I'm qualified on but they're not these shots may not help a bit and actually may make my poor sleep pattern worse, but I told him at this point, lets try something, even if it's wrong since this can be reversed. Wife and I talked and I spoke with my supervisor and op manager to give them a heads up I am now going to be looking to bid on a first shift job and deal with the pay cut that will come with it. Just got off a 2 week stint training a guy on first shift and I felt absolutely amazing, but due to huge delays in communication I wasn't able to get a lab drawn while I was on dayshift and feeling good to see what my blood did while getting proper sleep.

So for now, going to start the shots Wed, my heavy day is Friday workout so I want to be peaked out for that day and still high the following day. Then after 6 weeks we'll do the blood draw the day of or before my shot to find my trough and then lab again 2-3 days after my shot to find my high and he can make dosage adjustiment from there, and then we scheduled a follow up clinic appointment 3 months from now. Until then I will be keeping a log of diet, workouts, state of well being, sleep pattern, so as to better try to find a pattern going on.

Just happy to report it's finally materialized and things are now in motion....weather it's going to be good or bad or no change due to my horrible sleep patterns is yet to be determined...but at least it's going in a direction finally.

 

[IHI]

Up date, been what 5/6 weeks now into my TRT doing 100mg/shot every Wed. Sleep is better than it has been in years, I'm definitely feeling better, being more social, not nearly as grouchey as before, hornier than I've been in YEARS...thus far it's been doing what it's supposed to do. I have the paperwork, just need to schedule labs for low/peak levels so doc can adjust.

I do definitely "feel" the roller coaster even though 100mg/wk isn't much compared to some guys regimen, But I take the shot Wed, usually by Thursday I just feel..."better" and it kind of peaks out by mid day Saturday or Saturday evening...and then I can sense a loss of pizzaz so to speak each day upto shot day. Not a drastic/dramatic loss, but definitely not as strong of a feel good a day or two after my shot that's for sure.

So after I get labs drawn, then head out of town to meet with Doc and see what the results show and talk about my sense of well being, I may see/or he may offer, to try out 150mg/wk and see what that does, and I'm going to see if he'll give the okay to twice/wk half dose shots to even out the ride....I need his consent for syringe/needle scripts since I'll be going through them twice as fast obviously.

So far so good, wish all this could've transpired faster than it did to get to this point, but hey, we're here, and I'm thankful for it...definite life changer.

 

[ezed413]

Hey fella's, been lurking for awhile after seeing 3 months ago my T was low and got referred to a urologist. The post may be long, but wanna try to answer questions that may be asked.
39yr old male
Workout 4-5 days a week
cardio2-3 days a week
Eat as good as I can, lots of chicken, rice, tuna, salmon, steak, currently using creatine and whey for main supplments.

Anyhow, for the past few yrs noticed I had ZERO sex drive, and I used to wanna screw anything with a pulse prior. I used to be a motivated go getter, owned a construction business I started when I was 18 and finally closed it up 3yrs ago- still profitable but becoming a headache with EPA and other rules/cost of business and found a good machinist job I will retire from. Anyhow, I just haven't been myself...severe loss of confidence, used to be almost arrogant since I was a badass and knew it (weather it was running my business or racing)...at this point, not so much.

3 months ago family doc drew blood to check my test, 179. So they referred me to urologist, they did test 210...okay, they say I'm low. The Doc has had my spidey senses tingling since day one, I don't trust him, so he puts me on 50mg Clomid EOD. 2 months in check blood, 410...okay progress. Just had blood drawn last Friday and a follow up yesterday 396.

So Doc is all jacked up, "look at the screen, what do ya see?" well, I see I dropped since last month and that I'm still low. "your not low, your perfect, right where you need to be so it shows the Clomid is working and your starting to naturally produce your own testosterone" okay, so why do I still feel like shit and no better than the day I came here 3 months ago, what are my estrogen levels since my back and chest have broke out with acne worse than when I went through puberty? "We don't check estrogen, because as your testosterone goes up, your estrogen follows; you should be feeling great, your right where you need to be. NOW I want you to stop taking the Clomid, make an appointment for 2 months and we'll see ya then"

I didn't argue, just shook my head, made the appointment, got to the car and called family doc to schedule appointment to see if THEY would like to do some blood work and trial with creams or something to see if getting my T higher will make me feel better, like a more normal person...and if not, see if there's anybody else in the area that can give me a second opinion.

Just really bummed and don't know what to think, everything I read it sounds like it's a major headache trying to find a doctor not stuck in 50yr ago teachings on Low-T and treating it, also sounds like since as of last week my level at 400 nobody will touch me or even see if a higher T level will fit ME better. I guess like I 'll tell the family doc next week, what if your dentist said a study 50yrs ago said most people only need 2mg novicane before a root canal...and said that's all your gunna get because that's what the study says. And what if your like me and basically immune to novicane, it has no effect? Would you be satisfied with that answer since YOU know your body better than the doc does? This is where I'm at...I know what it's like to feel good, and the past few yrs aint it. Would love to get horny again, have my motivation back..as of right now I just flat don't give a shit about nuthin, and it isn't bothering me a bit...and I know that's wrong.

Advise???
Any sites that would give links to any TRT places in Iowa? all I can find is infomercial sites trying to sell me crap.

AS far as lifting goes, not really getting anywhere with it, all I'm getting is a fat azz gut...and I'm not into sweets, drink only a few times a yr...life just kinda sucks right now.

Thanks guys
Josh

Wow, the clomid got you up to whopping 400, and everything is fine! What BS. I'm 59, and my Test was 400, and they tell me this is too low. I guess we should be in the upper third of the range. Sounds to me like you could be primary, and the perfect candidate for TRT. I was able to get me Test up to about 800 on Clomid, so your testes arm probably just cant produce enough test. Now I know why exercising never really gave me the results I was looking for. My total test must have been low at least since your age. I am starting to see a little muscle gain after all these years. I'm on androgel, and the last blood test showed my total test over 1000. Feel much better. What I need to do now, is dial in the anti-aromatase meds. I have driven my E2 way too low. And this is not good. So when you do start TRT, be careful with the arimidex. I have only been on TRT for about 8 months, so I am no expert. Good luck.

 

[IHI]

Wow, the clomid got you up to whopping 400, and everything is fine! What BS. I'm 59, and my Test was 400, and they tell me this is too low. I guess we should be in the upper third of the range. Sounds to me like you could be primary, and the perfect candidate for TRT. I was able to get me Test up to about 800 on Clomid, so your testes arm probably just cant produce enough test. Now I know why exercising never really gave me the results I was looking for. My total test must have been low at least since your age. I am starting to see a little muscle gain after all these years. I'm on androgel, and the last blood test showed my total test over 1000. Feel much better. What I need to do now, is dial in the anti-aromatase meds. I have driven my E2 way too low. And this is not good. So when you do start TRT, be careful with the arimidex. I have only been on TRT for about 8 months, so I am no expert. Good luck.

From everything I've read both here and all over the web since I was eating and sleeping this TRT stuff once I got the diagnoses in Sept '13, and at my current 100mg/wk shots of Test Cyp I really don't think there's much chance of it aromatizing, if we decide to bump upto 150/wk depending on how my labs come out later, THEN I could see it becoming something to watch for, BUT I'm pretty dead set on breaking up my doses into twice a week shots so that too will help cut down and E2 conversion should we decide to go higher dosage since it would be such a huge initial spike that then spends the next 5 days petering out.

I'm not upto snuff on the gels other than I've read it is really quick to convert vs other delievery methods, so with your T level at 1000 which is on the upper end of the scale and the fact your using a gel, I can understand your having to dial in an estrogen blocker.

Kind of nice, I couldn't lift a week before surgery last month just due to horrible abdominal pain with my ventral hernia, then I waited 3 weeks before doing anything lift wise, and am still not squatting/deadlifting while I work on my core, but basically had 4-5 weeks off of lifiting, diet went to shit since I got out of my zone being a lazy bastard and out of routine...but had a buddy come over this past Monday to do chest/tri's and surprisingly I ended up doing more weight for more reps than I ever had previously...nothing earth shattering mind you, but I was in utter disbelief how I lost no strength and was actually stronger in ALL exercises I perform. It did take 2 days for the soreness to wear off but now at 3 days later, I feel I could go back down and do it all over again like I never worked out Monday..I have to assume it's all from getting my T levels up with these shots. Overall, I'm very happy and feel robbed I let this go for so long...hell, I have had severe anxiety for YEARS, now, all but gone. I'm sure not having my business kicking my ass any more is a huge plus towards lower stress, but I've been at my current job for almost 4 yrs, and have suffered high anxiety upto about a month ago when the magic must have kicked in and snuffed that out too LOL.

 

[IHI]

Late to post up updates, been busier than a two dicked billy goat. Had lab drawn June 3 to test for trough and June 6th to test for peak T level. Long story short doing 100mg/wk shots my low is now 542 and peak was 968. I finally got email back from doc and he's going to let me try cutting dosage in half and doing shots twice a week to even out "the ride" so to speak.

I feel better now than I have in yrs, sleeping better than I have in yrs but I can definitely tell when the T-shots start winding down. Usually about the day after my shot I feel pretty good (I do mine on Wed) and by Sun I can sense a decreased sense of well being, kind of a loss of pizzaz. Just curious to see if really working with the half life can get the numbers stabilized and once I'm done with this for a month I'm going to see where numbers r at and then try upping my own dosage to 75mg per shot twice a week and see what happens for better/worse.

Still a pussy and wifes giving me the shots, some go good (not much burn/pain) other times I feel like I have a Charlie horse for the next day or two where she gave it too me (using 22gax1" needle in my quads) I have 23ga 1 1/2" too and will start experimenting with different sites since I'm going to double up the pinning per week.

 

[Megatron28]

Late to post up updates, been busier than a two dicked billy goat. Had lab drawn June 3 to test for trough and June 6th to test for peak T level. Long story short doing 100mg/wk shots my low is now 542 and peak was 968. I finally got email back from doc and he's going to let me try cutting dosage in half and doing shots twice a week to even out "the ride" so to speak.

I feel better now than I have in yrs, sleeping better than I have in yrs but I can definitely tell when the T-shots start winding down. Usually about the day after my shot I feel pretty good (I do mine on Wed) and by Sun I can sense a decreased sense of well being, kind of a loss of pizzaz. Just curious to see if really working with the half life can get the numbers stabilized and once I'm done with this for a month I'm going to see where numbers r at and then try upping my own dosage to 75mg per shot twice a week and see what happens for better/worse.

Still a pussy and wifes giving me the shots, some go good (not much burn/pain) other times I feel like I have a Charlie horse for the next day or two where she gave it too me (using 22gax1" needle in my quads) I have 23ga 1 1/2" too and will start experimenting with different sites since I'm going to double up the pinning per week.

Sounds like you are making progress!

25g one inch is the way to go for injections. You will notice a difference.

 

[IHI]

Sounds like you are making progress!

25g one inch is the way to go for injections. You will notice a difference.

Not that it's a race obviously, but with a needle that small wouldn't it take forever to administer? Might be the same duration since I'm splitting doses now so would be worth it. My first shot the SIL gave me was with one of the 23gax1 1/2" in the quad but she didn't bury it, left approx. 1/2" out of my leg and yeah, it was comparible to a mosquito bite. Typically the 22ga aren't all that bad honestly, more like a big mosquito or bee sting.

 

[Mprtz]

Not that it's a race obviously, but with a needle that small wouldn't it take forever to administer? Might be the same duration since I'm splitting doses now so would be worth it. My first shot the SIL gave me was with one of the 23gax1 1/2" in the quad but she didn't bury it, left approx. 1/2" out of my leg and yeah, it was comparible to a mosquito bite. Typically the 22ga aren't all that bad honestly, more like a big mosquito or bee sting.

22ga is huge. I do most of my shots with a 0.5" 29 gauge slin pin. When I use a 25g 1" it looks like a harpoon to me.

 

[cybrsage]

The 25g needle does slow down the injection, but it is definitely worth it. Think about how many times you will be sticking a needle into your muscle over the rest of your life...the smaller needle causes less damage. Slower injections do not hurt more, they just take a little longer, and the thinner needle does hurt less.

I changed from 22g 1.5 inch to 25g 1 inch and am much happier for it.