Starting testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) next week, I'm a little scared and have questions.

[SilverBackGorilla]

Well, I got my second shot today (first shot at home). My wife gave it to me, she had never given a shot before but did excellent! Don't know but, I already feel clearer after only a few days. Not sure if that's just a placebo effect or not but I'm happy so far.

 

[SilverBackGorilla]

Well, today is the 6th day after bumping my test dose to 100mg once a week rather than 50mg twice a week. Things are not going so well, I feel like I did prior to starting this journey a few weeks ago. I'm tired, crabby and just want to do nothing. The only other thing I have done is cut my Zoloft down to 25mg a day from 50mg a day per doctors ok.

Anxiety hasn't been any worse which is why I was on it in the first place. My testicles have stopped aching and have shrunk maybe 15-20% but nothing crazy. I still have 3weeks to go before I have my first post testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) blood work so hopefully that will pinpoint the problem. I shoot another 100mg Wednesday night which is only a couple days from now so we'll see how it goes. Sucks to have lost that "high". I'm bummed.

P.S. switching from 50mg twice a week to 100mg once a week was per my new testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) doctors orders. He wants to test me in a few weeks mid week so he can catch me at my peak. He says that's hard to do when I pin twice a week? I put a call into him today to see what he says about what's going on.

 

[willnorthwest]

silverback......ive read through your thread. you have quite a few similarities with me. I have been on cyp injections since March. Like you, I went through a brief period of feeling amazing, almost "high" as you put it. I also take a ssri, not Zoloft, but Paxil. Im currently trying to wean myself off of this drug. I think a MAJOR player in low t can be attributed to long term ssri use. I have been on Paxil for 10 years, many people believe that ssri's can down-regulate androgen receptors, which would attribute to the low t as well as making hard for exogenous t to fully do its purpose. Im glad you are trying to get off the Zoloft, however, I would definitely recommend you SLOWLY wean yourself off of it.

 

[Megatron28]

Well, today is the 6th day after bumping my test dose to 100mg once a week rather than 50mg twice a week. Things are not going so well, I feel like I did prior to starting this journey a few weeks ago. I'm tired, crabby and just want to do nothing. The only other thing I have done is cut my Zoloft down to 25mg a day from 50mg a day per doctors ok.

Anxiety hasn't been any worse which is why I was on it in the first place. My testicles have stopped aching and have shrunk maybe 15-20% but nothing crazy. I still have 3weeks to go before I have my first post testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) blood work so hopefully that will pinpoint the problem. I shoot another 100mg Wednesday night which is only a couple days from now so we'll see how it goes. Sucks to have lost that "high". I'm bummed.

P.S. switching from 50mg twice a week to 100mg once a week was per my new testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) doctors orders. He wants to test me in a few weeks mid week so he can catch me at my peak. He says that's hard to do when I pin twice a week? I put a call into him today to see what he says about what's going on.

Check your estradiol. That is what usually causes the swing from flying high on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) to feeling in the dumps.

The part about getting a peak measurement on once per week injections seems odd.

 

[SilverBackGorilla]

Thanks for the replies guys! I am betting it's estradiol too, although I am new to all this. As far as the testing goes, I'm gonna have to just wait and see I guess. I would think he'd want to test me at my trough but I'm not sure. I have no doubt he is well versed in testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) so I'll ask more questions when I see him next. I can stick it out through the ups and downs for the next couple weeks if needed. Thanks again.

 

[SilverBackGorilla]

Thinking back to my last and first appointment with my new testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) doc, I showed him my pre testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) level of 165 with the range of 175-781. He said he'd like to see me in the high 600's on that scale. I'm guessing this is why he wants to see my peak so he can bump me towards the high end of the scale. He seems REALLY willing to get me to where I want to get. I told him that I've live my first 40 years one way and I want the next 40 to be completely opposite. If every instinct I've ever had was wrong, then the opposite must be right! I do plan to get him to agree to let me pin every 3 1/2 days once my blood work has been taken.

 

[Megatron28]

Thinking back to my last and first appointment with my new testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) doc, I showed him my pre testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) level of 165 with the range of 175-781. He said he'd like to see me in the high 600's on that scale. I'm guessing this is why he wants to see my peak so he can bump me towards the high end of the scale. He seems REALLY willing to get me to where I want to get. I told him that I've live my first 40 years one way and I want the next 40 to be completely opposite. If every instinct I've ever had was wrong, then the opposite must be right! I do plan to get him to agree to let me pin every 3 1/2 days once my blood work has been taken.

Way to go "Opposite George"

The doc won't know if you are pinning once a week or twice a week or 16 times a week. And it shouldn't really matter to them either. It's just more discomfort and inconvenience for you to suffer if you want to pin more often to try and smooth your levels out.

 

[SilverBackGorilla]

I love opposite George!! I fully plan on pinning twice a week once my blood work is taken this time coming up. My only concern is whether to test mid week at my peak or the day of my pin before I pin. That should put me at my trough right? Could he be wanting to test me at my peak to see how high my E2 is getting?

 

[1693]

Could be that you are someone that needs to pin at least every 5 days because of the half life of test.

 

[SilverBackGorilla]

Could be that you are someone that needs to pin at least every 5 days because of the half life of test.

Could be! If there's one thing that I have learned here is to make one change at a time. I shouldn't have cut my Zoloft in half while simultaneously switching from 50mg of test every 3.5 days to 100mg every 7 days. Feeling ok so I'm not making any more changes until my blood work.

 

[SilverBackGorilla]

So, I did make one little change the other day, I went back up to my 50mg of Zoloft because I started to feel a little anxiety. I thought it would be best to get back to where I started so I can keep better track of how my testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is affecting me. I just had my own blood work drawn today, two weeks before my scheduled blood draw from my doctor. I'm dying to see where my T and E2 numbers are at. For $51, how could I not do it!!! I'll post results in a few days.

 

[SilverBackGorilla]

Alright boys, the new privatemedlabs numbers are in!!! Keep in mind that this is with 100mg test cyp once a week with blood drawn the morning of the 4th day of my last pin. This should be pretty close to my weekly peak.

LH. 0.1 RANGE 1.7 - 8.6
FSH 0.2 RANGE 1.5 - 12.4
ESTRADIOL 46.9 RANGE 7.6 - 42.6
TESTOSTERONE SERM 483 RANGE 348 - 1197

 

[THE-DET-OAK]

Thats low if thats your peak. i doubt it is.

Sounds like you might be a hyper-excreter, I would be curious to know what urine T level showed you at.

 

[Alpin]

silverback......ive read through your thread. you have quite a few similarities with me. I have been on cyp injections since March. Like you, I went through a brief period of feeling amazing, almost "high" as you put it. I also take a ssri, not Zoloft, but Paxil. Im currently trying to wean myself off of this drug. I think a MAJOR player in low t can be attributed to long term ssri use. I have been on Paxil for 10 years, many people believe that ssri's can down-regulate androgen receptors, which would attribute to the low t as well as making hard for exogenous t to fully do its purpose. Im glad you are trying to get off the Zoloft, however, I would definitely recommend you SLOWLY wean yourself off of it.

Is this confirmed?
I too have been on SSRI paxil for 10 years. I use it more for anxiety. I use to have panic attacks. My dose was 20 mg a day.
Over the last 3 months I am down to 15 mg of Paxil. Is this enough to reduce Total T?
This might be a problem for me too.

 

[SilverBackGorilla]

Thats low if thats your peak. i doubt it is.

Sounds like you might be a hyper-excreter, I would be curious to know what urine T level showed you at.

Me too buddy. I could be peeing it all out. I felt like a million bucks when I was doing 50mg every 3.5 days. Feel like hammered dog shit since once a week pins started. Doctors orders though. This blood work was for my own curiosity. Docs blood draw is in two weeks.

 

[THE-DET-OAK]

tell him to to do urine as well, E and T

 

[willnorthwest]

apollon.....NO this is definitely not confirmed by any means. This is pure speculation on my part. I belong to another forum called paxilprogress.com and some of the members there are/have been on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). I think I read it from a few of the moderators, who said that ssri's MAY lead to down regulation of androgen receptors. They most definitely cause downregulation of serotonin receptors though. They are not doctors or experts, but regular people like me. It is a possibility, as are many things, but it's not a guarantee.
Like you, I am trying to ween myself off the paxil. Paxilprogress.com recommends weening your current dose by only 10% every 4-5 weeks. Anything more than that can cause withdrawal affects. As you know, I have been on paxil for over 10 years now. I have weened down to 9 mgs by taking it slow. I recomend you do the same in order to play it safe and prevent withdrawal. If you can, order the liquid paxil, it is easier to ween down with. PM me if you want to discuss this further, or if you have any questions that I could maybe help you with.

 

[SilverBackGorilla]

tell him to to do urine as well, E and T

I will definitely do that! Thankyou!

 

[THE-DET-OAK]

apollon.....NO this is definitely not confirmed by any means. This is pure speculation on my part. I belong to another forum called paxilprogress.com and some of the members there are/have been on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). I think I read it from a few of the moderators, who said that ssri's MAY lead to down regulation of androgen receptors. They most definitely cause downregulation of serotonin receptors though. They are not doctors or experts, but regular people like me. It is a possibility, as are many things, but it's not a guarantee.
Like you, I am trying to ween myself off the paxil. Paxilprogress.com recommends weening your current dose by only 10% every 4-5 weeks. Anything more than that can cause withdrawal affects. As you know, I have been on paxil for over 10 years now. I have weened down to 9 mgs by taking it slow. I recomend you do the same in order to play it safe and prevent withdrawal. If you can, order the liquid paxil, it is easier to ween down with. PM me if you want to discuss this further, or if you have any questions that I could maybe help you with.

Yes I have seen the literature and there are many reports to go with it, so maybe some truth there.

 

[Alpin]

apollon.....NO this is definitely not confirmed by any means. This is pure speculation on my part. I belong to another forum called paxilprogress.com and some of the members there are/have been on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). I think I read it from a few of the moderators, who said that ssri's MAY lead to down regulation of androgen receptors. They most definitely cause downregulation of serotonin receptors though. They are not doctors or experts, but regular people like me. It is a possibility, as are many things, but it's not a guarantee.
Like you, I am trying to ween myself off the paxil. Paxilprogress.com recommends weening your current dose by only 10% every 4-5 weeks. Anything more than that can cause withdrawal affects. As you know, I have been on paxil for over 10 years now. I have weened down to 9 mgs by taking it slow. I recomend you do the same in order to play it safe and prevent withdrawal. If you can, order the liquid paxil, it is easier to ween down with. PM me if you want to discuss this further, or if you have any questions that I could maybe help you with.

Thanks bro. I will keep in contact with you. Since coming down in dose. I feel no less energy than before. Jut a little more iritable and angry. Doc likes Anti D route he says he can do the same with Anti D's than a testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) doc can do with hormones cause he can artificially raise neurotransmitters via Anti D's. My family doc(one who is pro anti D) says T shots raise neurotransmitters but that the long term effects are not known. Docs like this make me sick. It's all self promotion in what they personally believe in. Just like a testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) doc believes in their clinic practices. My doc is very condemning of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). He absolutely does not support it!
My experience with Doctors is mostly negative!!!