So those benefits have still stayed with you Mark?
Yeah it’s also like this sometimes
Is there a method to gradually introduce testosterone into the system without shocking it and causing a further silencing? Instead of having a surge of testosterone that flat lines the system again.
I ran a marathon last year with 3 weeks training and I can tell you that I’m more exhausted than that.
Yes it’s a very different and distinct kind of fatigue,sometimes worse than extreme physical exhaustion (and you mention a marathon you ran for example)
Currently there is no “protocol” as such to treat this condition as we’re not really sure what exactly the condition is on a molecular level.
While people have experimented with various substances, one man’s poison has been another man’s medicine and as such, it is important to exercise caution with regards to what treatment if any you decide to pursue. Things can always get worse.
That being said, bearing in mind that you have very low testosterone, if I were in your position, I would consider trying TRT. The reason being that there is a small possibility you don’t have PFS and just hypogonadism, which although unpleasant, is treatable. Also even with PFS, anecdotal experiences indicate that people tend to do better on a certain level of Testosterone.
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I agree, I think that might NOT be better than introducing a large dose at once, which my doc had me on.
I honestly made super strong while on was on testosterone, I was benching 180 pounds and I weighed about 145 at the time.
Added NOT
I see a common denominator here when getting TRT or any other hormonal therapy for that matter. The majority of people are put on too high a dose considering our sensitive nature who initially feel better again for a brief period of time before destabilising and ending up back at square one.
Shortly after I crashed I had blood tests which revealed a near halving of my testosterone levels and an at least trebling of my estrogen levels, compared to my pre-finasteride treatment levels. Repeated tests following this showed similar readings until a blood test around 8 months post crash showed increased testosterone levels but still very high estrogen. This coincided with an improvement I experienced with various symptoms. Improvement here means going from a near insufferable condition to still massively disabling conditions and impacted quality of life (physically and neurologically) but able to get through the day without it mentally feeling like second to second, unrelenting torture. I cannot say with certainty that the increase in testosterone caused this improvement but the correlation is there.
Before you try any treatment, bear in mind that you “only” crashed around 9 months ago. There is still room for time to bring you improvements before you say that it is doing nothing for you. My advice in these matters is always one of caution first. With outreach ramping up significantly from this website in the new year and the most significant study on our condition due to publish in the near future, I would give yourself more time before trying anything. With that said, if you’re set on trying to self remedy before more is known about our condition, because of your very low testosterone readings, low dose testosterone therapy may be a route to try. From my own anecdotal forum browsing, low dose as opposed to supra physiological doses appears to be more helpful.
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Yeah I made a full recovery from the mental side effects which I put down to TRT and water fasting.
The thing is my testosterone was only checked there 3 weeks ago, it’s now been 9 months since I experienced this terrible affliction so it’s hard to say whether this will stabilise. My testosterone levels are way below the standard levels so it seems like the only alternative it to artificially use testosterone. If it really comes to it I’ll have no other alternative but to try a demethylating agent as my condition really isn’t sustainable. It seems shocking that any human could possibly live and endure through this torture.
You might actually be lucky and respond to TRT but try and find an endo willing to work with your situation not some cookie cutter protocol I see a lot of them do. Maybe ask to start a low dose try it for a few months. You never know until you try. I used it 8 months with no benefit unfortunately.
Taking the first shot is going to be tough, I remember how many times I tried stabbing my leg with a needle and chickening out the first few times.
After awhile you get use to it.
If treating hairloss with finasteride is like shooting sparrows with a cannon, then treating PFS with demethylation agents is like shooting sparrows with an atomic bomb - in my opinion. Don’t do it.
If your condition is unbearable, and you want to do something immediately, here is my advice. Do a complete hormone blood panel including prolactin and DHT. Then try to correct as many hormonal imbalances as you can. If you have PFS, fixing hormonal imbalances is unlikely to cure PFS, but it may alleviate some of the symptoms.
I, for example, was able to fix my joints 90% with DHT. I know someone else who was able to fix a host of symptoms including crippling insomnia by lowering his elevated prolactin with cabergoline.
In your case there is good news - you have something wrong with your hormones, so there is something to fix. If you need to do TRT to raise your testosterone, then do that. Find a good endo, preferably one who recognizes PFS.
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Could you please outline what should be tested in a complete hormone panel?
There are lots of threads about this. When I tested my hormones I tried to only test the most essential ones that are likely affected in PFS to keep cost down. I did the following most essential hormones:
Testosterone
Free Testosterone
Bio-available Testosterone - this one was not was available in my country
Estradiol
Prolactin
Progesterone
SHBG
DHEA-S
DHT
LH
FSH
I also did a couple of secondary ones but nobody seems to know what to do with them so you probably don’t need them:
Androstenedione
17 - OH progesterone
3α-Androstanediol glucuronide
17-OH-Pregnenolon
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Hi mate,
My opinion I wouldn’t recommend taking any form of TRT. I was close to doing this in the head space I was in when I was at your stage of PFS. I’m so glad I didn’t after everything I’ve learnt.
I’ve only just posted my first ever post so go and check it out. A long read and may not make a lot of sense to you, but I did post my diet plan.
I copped PFS why I’d say would be up there with the worst and am on the road to recovery. My post is called on the road to recovery 2019
I can’t seem to find your thread in your profile. Mind posting a link?
My main advice during the crazy intitial time is not make rash decisions as you may be counterproductive to your recovery. My thread is lengthy, but it would’ve helped me when I was going through what you are.