Post-varicolectomy, want to stop TRT and take chance at being self-sufficient...

[lloydtrt]

Thanks for your help I'm in an interesting situation and would like some advice.

I'm a 30M and have been begging doctors to check my hormones and consider me for TRT for over half a decade now. I'm not going to go into all the pain and frustration that involved but basically I've had doctors tell me they won't test my hormones, I've had doctors say I don't need TRT because I have muscle mass, I've had doctors say I don't need TRT because I have facial hair, and finally I had an endo walk out on an appointment when I pulled out a stack of academic literature and peer-reviewed studies to discuss the science with her. She just kept muttering "Your levels are fine there's nothing I can do for you" and walked out of the room.

I bit the bullet and went to a Men's Health clinic in August and was immediately put on 200mg TRT weekly, 250IU HCG 3x weekly, and an AI. I didn't really use the AI and Here were my measurements prior to starting TRT:

TT: 560 (240-820)
SHBG: 54 (17-66)
Bioavail T: 212 (130-680)
T Free: 85 (47-244)
FSH: 5 (1-19)
LH: 5 (1-9)
Estradiol: 19 (8-21)

During my one month on TRT I felt sooooooo much better than my entire adulthood. Morning wood went from absolute 0 for ten years to every single morning boners, brain fog gone, depression gone, workouts in beast most, etc etc. It was amazing!

However, I have always had a varicocoele and since studies show an increase of testosterone levels six months after a varicolectomy, I always thought that such a surgery would perhaps "fix" me without resorting to exogenous injections. Obviously, doctors in the US don't perform varicolectomies to increase T levels, only to fix infertility. Well, last month I found myself in Thailand and decided to make a walk-in trip to the urologist. Guys, it was so simple you wouldn't believe it, I set up the surgery for two days later, paid $****NO PRICE DISCUSSION ALLOWED*** to get it done in Bangkok's best and most expensive hospital and walked out the same day.

The surgery took place on September 18 and I stopped my T injections and have been taking about 150IU daily of HCG and I'm looking to taper that down over the next 2 weeks. I'm also waiting on an order of Clomid and Nolva.
Having said all that, I'd pay my left nut for some advice or protocol to "jump start" my left nut and see if I can ride this thing out without TRT. And yes, I know my T levels weren't super low but my SHBG was very high and causing low Bioavail and Free T.

So what do guys think?
First, do you think that although my TT levels are normal that the high SHBG and low Bioavail and Free T are the root cause of my issues?
Second, what protocol should I run to give my nuts a chance at making me TRT-free?

 

[casanovaaa]

why did you stop your test injections? which ai are you not using? why so much hcg per week?

 

[casanovaaa]

TRT is for life my friend, you cant just stop using it.

 

[scorob777]

There are various approaches, with different dosing schemes for HCG, clomid and nolvadex. They all involve trying to get your balls pumped up and working well with doses of HCG, then trying to get your HPTA producing it's own adequate amounts of LH and FSH. Here is one possible approach:

>>>>>>>The PoWeR PCT Program

The PCT program outlined below represents what I consider to be an ideal and effective post-cycle program. It was developed by the doctors at the Program for Wellness Restoration (PoWeR), who have a formidable history helping patients recover normal hormonal functioning following steroid therapy. One of the key doctors on this program, Dr. Michael Scally, claims to have successfully treated more than 100 cases of hypogonadism/hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism, and is very well known in the field of androgen replacement therapy. PoWer published this program as part of a recent clinical study, which involved 19 healthy male subjects who were taking supraphysiological (highly suppressive) doses of testosterone cypionate and nandrolone decanoate for 12 weeks. Their HPGA Normalization Protocol focuses on the combined use of HCG, Nolvadex and Clomid, and is perhaps the only clinically documented post-cycle therapy program to be found in the medical literature (it is amazing how little attention has been paid to hormone normalization in clinical medicine). The most notable variation from a classic PCT stack, such that I have been a longtime supporter of, is the combined use of two anti-estrogens. In this case I cannot say that there is disadvantage to such use; perhaps it is indeed the better option.

Examining the program closely, we note that the testes are hit hard with HCG at the onset of therapy. Its intake, however, is limited to only 16 days. The doctors undoubtedly recognize that when HCG is taken for too long or at too high a dosage it can desensitize the LH receptor. This would only further exacerbate the post-cycle program, not help it. Anti-estrogens are used during and after HCG, with a dosage of 10mg of Nolvadex and 100mg of Clomid per day, rounding out this compliment of drugs. Clomid is used for a shorter period of time than Nolvadex, likely because of the desensitizing effect it too can have (on the pituitary gland) with continued use. Among other things, these two anti-estrogens will continue to foster LH release as testosterone levels start to go back up, as well as combat any potential estrogenic side effects that may be caused by HCG's up-regulation of testicular aromatase activity. Although the first couple of weeks the anti-estrogens probably do very little, they should be much more helpful toward the middle and end of the program. During this clinical investigation, normal hormonal function was restored in all subjects within 45 days of drug cessation. This is a definite success, far more favorable than the protracted recovery window noted in studies without PCT, such as the 250mg/week testosterone enanthate investigation. Such a detailed recovery program should follow any serious steroid cycle. It is the best way to maintain your gains at their maximum, and that is, after all, what we are after.<<<<<<<

Another could be to try:
HCG 1,000 IU per day for a period of 10 to 14 days or so, if you have any shrinkage you could base length on regaining proper size, then stop
Clomid 50/50/50/50/50/50 (50 per day for 4 to 6 weeks) - don't take clomid at same time as HCG
Nolva 40/40/40/20/20/20 (40 then 20 per day for 4 to 6 weeks) - if you want you could start nolva early while still on HCG

It looked like your LH and FSH were ok before, so you would probably stand to gain the most from the run of HCG to get your nuts both working well. I've also heard recently igf-lr3 combined with any of these approaches can help.

Good luck

 

[casanovaaa]

hows it gong with this op?