I haven’t received any more tests and won’t be for a while. I quit my job and moved overseas to live with a girfriend who’s been there almost since coming off fin ( we’ve known each other for 10 years). So no health ins and no income for tests right now…
Martin,
Well hopefully you feel happy with her. I hope my findings can somehow give you guys some insight as to what to test next. I hate what this drug has done to us. I do believe we can get better and I am determined to do that, even if it means some form of treatment to assist me in improving.
Thanks, I’m hoping so too. But I really hope to gradually feel like myself again, then I wouldn’t feel so holed in and would be more open to new life experiences and relationships… This condition has made me somewhat of a recluse and only open to interacting with people I already know…
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I feel horrible the last week. My doctor advised I stop taking any supplements in preparation for an Arginine stimulation test next week; as it may skew the results. I have not taken any supplements for 5 days. I have been incredibly weak and have no energy. I guess the supplements were working.
I was taking Lysine, Arginine, Tyrosine and iodine. Oh man, I can’t believe I have to wait another 6 days. This is very painful.
I really hope this test can help. 
When you start back on try in stages. You might be able to isolate what’s causing the biggest change. I bet it’s the iodine…
thanks, I will give that a try Martin. I think you could be right, because I only just started taking the iodine recently. I didn’t experience any improvement sexually just an increase in energy and over all well being when I had begun using it.
I should have posted this on here more than a week ago, but I got so bummed out about the test results I didn’t even want to post anything.
I had an Arginine stimulation test done. They took blood from my body to determine a baseline level. They then begin to infuse a high level of arginine into my blood. Next they took blood at 3 half hour intervals.
If you have GH deficiency your Pituitary will not react to the Arginine. Otherwise your GH level will rise. Mine rose, so I am not GH deficient. I did not get a copy of the test results, but I can if anyone wants to see the numbers.
I think I had myself sold that I was GH deficient. I still think something is not right with our IGF-1 level. I know these levels can go up and down throughout the day. There is no reason my level should have been as low as it was on the prior test if there was no problem. They were well below a normal healthy range.
My current Endo and the one who ran the test both suggested that I go on Androgel. I have not done this and don’t think this is the answer. All of the research I have done makes me believe I would regret it.
[quote=“bostonusa2009”]
Martin,
I also bought some Iodine. I have been using that for about a week now.
Hey Boston,
Be careful when supplementing with iodine becuase too much can actually be detrimental to thyroid function. I. read through your posts and it doesn’t look like you have had a TRH test done, this is something you may want to get done it is often administred for people who have borderline TSH, T3, T4 levels. Your T3 and T4 levels look pretty good though. I have only had TRH done once and it was shortly after I started thyroid meds back in 06.
People who have thyroid problems often have a family history of the condition, it normally comes from the mothers side of the family, my mom had the condition and so do I. For what its worth my mom was on armour which comes from dessicated pig thyroid, and she swears by the synthetics now that she is on them.
Adam1515,
I also did a stimualtion test for Thyroid & Adrenals as well. I can’t recall the name of it but the procedure was the same. They drew baseline blood level of T3, T4 etc and then infused cortisone into my blood. They then test blood levels at timed intervals. This test is supposed to be very realible, similar to the Arginine stimulation test. The test results were negative for Thyroid and Adrenal problems.
I’m not taking the iodine right now either.
Are you starting back on the supps at all? Individually? Might not hurt to try a dose of the iodine and see if it was giving you the boost. Iodine is the food for thryroid function. It could be the case that you need a little more even if your tests come out in the “normal” range.
Martin,
After I had my Arginine stimulation test I began taking the supplements again including the iodine. They didn’t help me much at all and I was tired all the time.
I have come to the conclusion that the ball zinger was helping me the most. A blood test I had done about 2 months ago showed my Free T had gone up significantly. I recall having felt much more energetic and just better overall. I was taking a few supplements and using the zinger, so I wasn’t sure what might have helped me. A few weeks before my test I lost the zinger and was no longer using it.
When I went for the Arginine stimulation test they tested my total and free T. It had dropped back down to where it was prior.
Since, the only thing that I have not been doing is using the zinger, it’s quite clear that is what was responsible for the rise in Free T. Another thing that I have noticed is my nuts have shrank again. They were full when I was using that zinger. Now they are back to the way they were before.
I am also going to give D-Aspartic Acid a try. It is supposed to increase LH and inturn increase T.
I will begin HCG injections tomorrow. I feel this is one of the less risky options available to get our bodies to create testosterone and lower E.
At this point, I don’t feel I have much to lose as the decision is not the same as going onto androgel or TRT therapy.
HCG increases LH and my LH has been low for quite a long time.
I feel our conditions are very similar to that of body builders coming off of steriods. Many body builders use HCG at the end of a cycle to get their bodies to begin producing their own T again.
I will meet with my doctor tomorrow and figure out how long I should go on the HCG for. He said injections only need to be done twice a week. So far from what I have read, most guys take it for 10-12 weeks and begin to ween off of it.
I’ll follow up and let everyone know how it goes.
hCG is an LH analogue. Be aware that high-dose hCG (ie, 5,000 iU) can eventually desensitize the Leydig cells to LH. If your doc suggest massive dosages, I would advise not to undertake such therapy or do so at a reduced dose.
Dr. Crisler does not advocate more than 500 iU per day for this reason, recommends 250iU and notes that more than 350iu is generally not required:
propeciahelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19
If you want additional info, visit his forum at musclechatroom.com
why not just use clomid to raise lh,u can probably double it within a month
Thanks mew, he actually recommended the 250iU.
I may follow it up with clomid as well, we are going to discuss that. I read a lot of guys see good results starting with hcg and then using clomid to ensure estrogen doesn’t get too high.
I have turned the corner over the last few days and am moving in a very positive direction.
I began taking several things at the same time, so I don’t know which one or ones are really helping me. First the postive changes, I have had a dramatic increase in energy, muscle strength, mental alertness. The last couple of workouts at the gym have been awesome. I got a great pump. I feel strong, flexible and completely normal physically over the last few days. It feels to me like an increase in free testosterone.
sexually the changes I have noticed have only been suttle. I have been waking up with semi hard on. I still don’t feel the real desire to have sex back, but I feel very encouraged with these other changes. The rest of the sexual improvement may be next.
I started taking d-aspartic acid about 7 days ago. I took it for 3 days and forgot to bring with me on a trip so I didn’t use it for two day and then used it again for two day. So I took it 5 times in 7 days, returning on this stuff on Friday.
On Wednesday I got a prescription for HGC. My doctor injected one shot in me a 250iU. I will admit I felt kind of agressive late in the day after getting this shot and went to the gym that night and had a great workout.
Then for the next day I didn’t feel anything unusual.
On Thursday I began taking a 6000 IU of VitD and took this every day since.
So one or a combination of these has helped me physically & mentally to feel as good as I have felt in years over the past two-three days.
I am planning on temporarily stopping the HGC. My doctor wanted me to take it twice a week for three weeks and see if it jump starts my LH. I really want to know what has caused the increase in T, so I am going stop this and see what happens. If I still feel very good, I know it’s the VIT D & d Aspartic acid.
I also have been using the ball zinger again for about three weeks again, but the big change I have felt came this week so I am confident it’s the other items.
you are getting HGC or HCG? if it is HCG you know it will suppress LH unless you do nolva or clomid.
[quote]
you are getting HGC or HCG? if it is HCG you know it will suppress LH unless you do nolva or clomid.[/quote
where did u hear that from?