Very unhappy with TRT

[cal]

In about 1 week I will get the results of my latest test with the higher dose of testosterone gel.
Only then will I be able to tell where my T, DHT, LH and E2 are at.
I mean measuring E2 when serum T is still totally low doesn't say much.

But let's say much T is now within the normal range after 24 hours of applying the gel and at the same time I don't feel any better then what does this mean?
I mean if my T is higher than it was before then this means that the gel is working. Then why should injections make me feel better than gel?

When I for example do not apply the gel for 1 day I do not feel different. There's no crash or anything where I notice I'm running out of T now. This is really strange. It also decreases my desire to even apply the gel. I mean if I don't feel different when I don't apply it then why even apply it?

 

[Megatron28]

In about 1 week I will get the results of my latest test with the higher dose of testosterone gel.
Only then will I be able to tell where my T, DHT, LH and E2 are at.
I mean measuring E2 when serum T is still totally low doesn't say much.

But let's say much T is now within the normal range after 24 hours of applying the gel and at the same time I don't feel any better then what does this mean?
I mean if my T is higher than it was before then this means that the gel is working. Then why should injections make me feel better than gel?

When I for example do not apply the gel for 1 day I do not feel different. There's no crash or anything where I notice I'm running out of T now. This is really strange. It also decreases my desire to even apply the gel. I mean if I don't feel different when I don't apply it then why even apply it?

Read up on the concept of half life in respect to medications.

 

[cal]

Read up on the concept of half life in respect to medications.

Well I don't know how long it takes for the T to be out of the body but if I can go 36 or more hours without applying the gel and still feel no different then it's strange to me. I'd assume that my T levels should be very low after that time. It would be interesting to measure T after 24,36,48 hours after the last application.

 

[300winmag]

HCG depends on what you run I bought a 10000unit vial for 180 bucks and that was standard for most pharmacy give or take 5-10 bucks. Now I know some guys get it for closer to 100 if they go through an online clinic. But either way my dose is 250ius every other day which calculates out to about three months on one bottle, so 60 bucks a month. As for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) totally shutting you down, im sure it does for some but thats probably not the norm. Does it lower your sperm sure does and to the point where you cant have kids maybe, but its not a sure bet it will make you sterile. I got mine checked and it was all really low but not sterile by no means.

 

[cal]

You mean that under testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) you should still have some LH? I am almost sure that my LH is 0 now. I will know at the end of the week. I hope it's not 0 but I cannot imagine anything else.

 

[300winmag]

You mean that under testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) you should still have some LH? I am almost sure that my LH is 0 now. I will know at the end of the week. I hope it's not 0 but I cannot imagine anything else.

i mean some sperm. My LH and FH are 0 and i still had some sperm.

 

[cal]

My nuts have shrunken so much it's really not funny anymore.
Does it even matter if I still have some LH in my blood or not?
I mean the nuts don't lie. They have shrunk. Period.
Recently I watched some adult clips and I felt like the guys in there
have nuts which are 3-4 times as big as mine. That's really concerning.
Even before going on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) they weren't big. But now they are at least 40-50%
smaller.

 

[Megatron28]

When you do testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) your LH goes to zero. We have been trying to tell you that. And yes, your testicles can shrink in size. That is normal. Take Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) if you feel you need to keep them plump. Are you just going to keep repeating the same questions until you hear an answer you like? Do you want me to use a jedi mind trick and tell you those are not the testicles you are looking for? Would that help?

 

[cal]

Hello guys! I hope you have a nice christmas. My christmas has just been ruined by the letter from the doc which I just read.
I have some really bad news. I feel awful right now. Things are getting out of control. This is driving me crazy.

It turns out that in my latest labs now suddenly my TSH is low again and my doc told me in this letter
to not start taking l-thyroxine 50mcg. But I have already been taking this for 2 weeks now.
Shall I simply stop now?

Also my T levels are still way too low after 24 hours of application!!!
My LH is also totally low.The lowest ever. My doc now wants me to go to T-ethanate 250mg every
3 weeks! This would mean that I have go to to his office every 3 weeks for an injection.
Also from what I read 250mg every 3 weeks doesn't work. It causes huge peaks after the injection
and then very low levels before the next injection.

I don't understand this. Why is my T still so low 24 hours after application of the gel?
I mean my balls are totally small now. This means I'm definitely absorbing! Then why is the
level so low? Would I simply need even more gel?
But 24 hours after application the levels should not be so low. My T is low and my free T is
also low. My E2 is okay.

I feel really awful right now.
I am not keen on injections. I have seborrhoic eczema which is really bad and it has
already become worse since I went on the gel. My dermatologist also told me that androgens
maake it worse. If I now go on injections and get those huge spikes then the eczema will
probably become even more worse!

And why is my ACTH so low? Does this mean something?

Testo 1.60 Norm: 3-9 ng/ml
DHT 707 Norm 250-1000
Free Androgen Index 22 Norm: 30-115 %
Androstendion 1.22 Norm: 0.7-3.5 ng/ml
E2 20 Norm: 0-55 pg/ml
SHBG 24 Norm: 13-70 nmol/l
LH 0.3 Norm: 0.8-7.5 mU/ml
FSH 1.4 Norm: 0.7-11 mU/ml
DHEAS 2600 Norm: 950-6500 ng/ml


prolactin 5.9 Norm: 2.5-18 ng/ml
cortisol 49 Norm: 25-250 ng/ml
ACTH 11.5 Norm: 10-48 pg/ml

TSH 1.29 Norm 0.4-2.5 uU/ml
fT3 2.77 Norm: 2.2-5 pg/ml
fT4 14 Norm: 9-18 pmol/l

 

[Megatron28]

Gels don't work. Period. And they irritate your skin -- even a person with normal skin. You have eczema so it will be worse.

Get on the injections and you will feel a lot better. You will have to learn to do them yourself though. Do injections at least once a week. Don't do them any further apart than that. Injecting the first time yourself is scary, but you CAN do it. We all got over it. You just have to man up. It gets easy after the first one. Tell your doctor it isn't practicle to keep going in to see him for just an injection. And tell him injecting every three weeks is too far apart. Tell him you have talked to other people on trt. Good luck and don't despair. You are close to getting better.

 

[cal]

But what if my doc doesn't allow me to do it on my own? What then?

And we also do not have storable testosterone here. I called the company which produces the ethanate and I was told you cannot open the vial and then store it! This means that self-injecting small doses would not even be possible.

And I also worry about my thyroid. I mean can I simply get off the l-thyroxine now without problems? I hope that taking this stuff without really needing it wasn't bad.

Another thing which worries me a bit is that my MCV is too high. The norm goes from 80-95 and I have 96. I read that high MCV can have all kinds of reasons and some of them are pretty serious. I looked at my old labs and my MCV has always been between 88 and 93 but never at 96.

ps: The eczema is in the face! It has nothing to do with the gel itself.

 

[Megatron28]

Get a new doctor if he won't let you self inject. Try talking to him and explain in a rationale way why you want to and can self inject.

You don't "open" vials. You draw from them. They are self-resealable. Are you thinking of ampules? Surely you can get a vial. Talk to a pharmacist.

Talk to your doctor about your thyroid and mcv. What did the instructions that came with your medicine say about stopping after starting? If you don't still have the instructions look the information up on the internet. They should address stopping.

Eczema would be the least of my concerns if I were you. Test shouldn't mess up your skin. Just wash your face well every day. And keep your estrogen under control.

 

[cal]

Where I live they only have ampules no vials!
I called the company which produces nebido and ethanate!

I will ask my doc about MCV.

I have no other doc I can go to! Endocrinologists are rare where I live I have been to all of them. Nobody wanted to even help me!
I am in really deep SHIT!!!

250mg every 3 weeks is bad. It causes supraphysiological levels the first few days and then too levels starting from day 12! This means 9 days with totally low levels
and a few days with abnormally high levels. This means big problems!

This is exactly what I feared. I went on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) to feel better. And now testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is only causing more upset and stress. I have been so depressing today since getting the bad
news. I'm really afraid. I cannot deal with stress. I have so many problems already.

 

[Megatron28]

Where in europe do you live? Can you contact other people there to find out who is treating them effectively and find out where they are getting their meds from? You need to look for solutions and answers instead of always just seeing the problems. I feel bad for the lousy situation you are in, but surely thete are actions you can take to make sure you get treated properly. It may be a lot of work, but it will pay off in the end.

Talk to a pharmacist about how to get vials. They must exist in Europe. Hospitals and clinics surely use them.

 

[cal]

No I got nobody I could ask. I also don't think that there are any testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) specialists here at all.
I only know of Hertoghe in Belgium and I cannot go there and pay it all by myself without insurance. way too expensive.
I feel really bad. I feel like that's it now.

 

[Megatron28]

No I got nobody I could ask. I also don't think that there are any testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) specialists here at all.
I only know of Hertoghe in Belgium and I cannot go there and pay it all by myself without insurance. way too expensive.
I feel really bad. I feel like that's it now.

Just do a search on the word "Belgium" here on this website. There are guys from Belgium on this board. For example, pectorialbrother. Try reaching out to some of them and see if they can recommend a good doctor to you. And answer some of your other questions -- like getting access to vials for example.