trt worked great for a week. Now feel worse.

[jasonhoutx]

38/195lbs/ and 5'11.

I have been as low as 222 with Total T back in 2007. My numbers never went up much throughout the years and never felt any better except for my recent experience with Axiron.

Got some really encouraging signs from Axiron. Didn't work at full dose (major anxiety), but I cut back to 1/2 pump per day and for 1 entire week I felt like a million bucks. Awesome energy, very sharp mentally, no anxiety, heart palps stopped and my sex drive went through the roof. I had this feeling of just being well and my mood was greatly improved. But after 1 week, I was back to the same ol' crappy feeling. I have not been retested since starting.

Now i am just depressed, joints hurt and agitated a lot. Also feel cold all the time.

Prior to starting axiron 2 month ago (labs done 9/18)
Cholesterol total: 224 (125-200 mg/dL)
HDL: 44 ( > 40)
Triglycerides: 253 ( < 150 )
FSH: 3.1 (1.6-8.0 mIU/mL)
LH: 4.3 (1.5-9.3 mIU/mL)
Ferritin: 409 (20-345 ng/mL)
T4 Free: 1.2 (0.8-1.8 ng/dL)
TSH: 1.62 (0.40-4.50 mIU/L)
T3, Free: 3.0 (2.3-4.2 pg/mL)
B12: 1259 (200-1100 pg/mL) - been supplementing with sublingual
Folate: 7.7
DHEA: 259 (110-370 mcg/dL)
Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies: <10 ( <35 )
Testosterone Total: 331 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T: 72.4 (35.0-155.0 pg/mL)

Also had cortisol tested via saliva and showed out of range (low) AM levels and within range after 4pm

Previous DR labs on 5/14/13
Prostate Ag: 0.4 (0.0-4.0 ng/mL)
Free T: 8.2 (8.7-25.1 pm/mL)
Estradiol: 24.3 (7.6-42.6 pg/mL)

One Dr previously (2011) put me on low dose cortisol because they thought I had adrenal fatigue, and I will say I had more energy and delt with stress better, but I swear it landed me in the hospital with Afib (cardiologist confirmed it could have). I stopped it and never have had Afib again.

Could it be a E2 issue? I just want to feel like I did for that brief 1 week period.

 

[willnorthwest]

when you first start trt or even when you up-dose on a current trt protocol, a few things change within your body. one thing that happens, among others, is that you get an incredible rush of dopamine (the feel good neurotransmitter). most people will report that initially they feel like a million bucks, have never felt better, feel like their 18 again etc....what most people dont understand, is that this surge of dopamine is not sustainable and the body will re-adjust. that initial awesome feeling, in my opinion, is simply not sustainable. i have been in your shoes, on more than one occasion, and i have experienced the sharp transition from feeling great to feeling not so great. i think the key to trt is trying to find the balance between the two, which is what i am currently working on.

here is a great article from Dr. Mariano, a psychiatrist and leading expert in the field of trt:

"So what happens when testosterone is replaced?

There is a reversal of some of the initial signaling problems.

Because there is a larger number of dopamine receptors from the dopamine signaling deficit caused by the loss of testosterone, there is dopamine supersensitivity to the surge of dopamine signaling that accompanies the increase in testosterone with replacement. This can cause a high - with heightened sex drive, alertness. and an elevated mood.

Testosterone would also free up thyroid hormone by reducing thyroid binding globulin, reversing estrogen's effects, improving function from this angle. This would improve energy

Testosterone would then reduce excessive norepinephrine signaling, which as it comes more in normal physiologic strength, helps dopamine in providing a higher level of libido, sex drive, and an emotional high.

The testosterone to estrogen ratio would improve, reducing effects of excess estrogen. Insulin signaling is reduced. The body becomes less in an inflammatory state.

The person feels better, if not feels a high from the initial treatment with testosterone.

----

Over time, however, with increased dopamine signaling, dopamine receptor production is reduced back to a normal amount. Dopamine, as the reward signal, the feel good signal, can't be elevated for a prolonged period of time excessively, without problems occurring. It no longer becomes a reward signal if it is elevated for a prolonged period of time. Tolerance, through receptor reduction, occurs.

After the initial high, other problems also occur.

Exogenous testosterone suppresses testicular thyroid releasing hormone production. This reduces thyroid hormone production, undoing the initial increase in free thyroid hormone that testosterone caused. If there is hypothyroidism in the first place, this exacerbates that problem.

If there are other neurotransmitter, hormone, cytokine signaling problems or metabolic-nutritional problems outside of hypogonadism, these may complicate or undo what testosterone initially did.

If the man aromatizes testosterone to estrogen excessively, problems with excessive estrogen occur. If aromatization is not enough, then problems with too little estrogen occur. In either case, sex drive is impaired.

Thus, the hypogonadal man returns to Earth. And the initial high is lost."

Romeo B. Mariano, MD, physician, psychiatrist

 

[Spunkey71]

If your E2 is high then you will experience the same symptoms as having low T, I have heard that the conversion of test to estrogen is greater with gel use than with injections. I have also heard that gels do not work well over the long run and that some people have issues with absorption which could be the case with you if it isn't your E2.


Good Luck!

 

[Megatron28]

How long have you been using the gel for?

 

[jasonhoutx]

How long have you been using the gel for?

Have used everything but gels since 2007, levels never went up.

been on axiron gel for 6 weeks.

 

[Dreaded Pirate Roberts]

Those test levels are way to low. You need a higher dose and more often. You should be injecting at least once a week.It sound like your doctor didn't understand the halflife of the compound. I had a doctor prescribe testosterone cyponate for me at 200mg every 2 weeks after I explained it needed to be injected every week to avoid a roller coaster of blood levels he prescribed 300 mg per week. That put me around 1150

 

[Megatron28]

Have used everything but gels since 2007, levels never went up.

been on axiron gel for 6 weeks.

I'm having a bit of a hard time following along -- maybe it is just me. What TRT protocols have you run before and what were your Total Testosterone levels on them? Could you give us a bit of a chronology?

When you started Axiron, did you switch from a different TRT protocol over to that one or were you producing your own natural testosterone at the time?

 

[Alpin]

Those test levels are way to low. You need a higher dose and more often. You should be injecting at least once a week.It sound like your doctor didn't understand the halflife of the compound. I had a doctor prescribe testosterone cyponate for me at 200mg every 2 weeks after I explained it needed to be injected every week to avoid a roller coaster of blood levels he prescribed 300 mg per week. That put me around 1150

Nice doc! lol
A lot of the Endo's and GP's use this approach with every 2 week shots. No good!

 

[Dreaded Pirate Roberts]

Use the sponsor his Doc will have you feeling fine.