My Endo just gave me an Rx for TRT

Therapeutic Efforts Pharmaceutical
#1

My endo gave me an Rx for 1% Androgel, but I am highly debating whether or not to take it. My question is this: if I have low T, and TRT shuts down my body’s ability to make T, then won’t I still have low T once my body stops making T? In other words, if my T is at 400, and I take Anrogel and it raises my T to 600, but then after my body stops making T, my T levels drop to 200, what is the point of TRT?

Also, there seem to be other side effects to TRT, like no more sperm. I think I will try to raise my T levels by working out hard for a month and trying zinc to see if that helps… I think it’s a huge decision to start taking TRT…

any comments?

#2

If you can get him to prescribe hCG, you can keep your sperm production and prevent your testicles from atrophying.

You also need to watch aromatization of high levels of T to Estradiol. In other words if you go on TRT, you need constant bloodtests (at least in the beginning) to make sure nothing is getting out of hand. If your E2 goes sky high, you would then need to balance that out with a drug like Arimidex.

TRT is no walk in the park and thus it is a very big decision. As for working out, try that for 1-2 yrs, 1 month is too short and won’t make hardly any difference.

Can you explain why he was willing to prescbribe you Androgel? How did this come about?

#3

I have low T and DHT. I have been thinking of androgel too. But to me the low T is a result of something else. I want to get at the cause before trying T and confusing my body more. Either by working on the pituitary or gaba/dopamine.

#4

grail, have you started the supplements, i.e. for the dopamine/gaba ??
Mew, how bout you? and do you see any cons to this supplements protocol??

#5

Not yet but very soon like tomorrow.

#6

Yeah, that’s the path I’m trying to avoid - being on a drug cocktail for the rest of my life (I’m only 26).

Why does TRT cause your testicles to atrophy?

He perscribed it to me because he thinks my T is low, although he tested it at 2 in the afternoon. I asked him if my low T was due to the fact that I took the test at 2, and he said T is lower in the afternoon, but not that low (it was in the low 200s in both tests). The first time I took a T test was at 9 in the morning, and it came back at 450.

#7

my uro wants to prescribe me TRT also. i said i’ll wait and try to let my body heal on it’s own, with a little help - short duration high-intensity weight lifting, good diet, plentiful sleep, zinc, garlic, GABA, DIM, theanine, meditation, etc.

if this doesn’t bring up my T levels over the course of the next year, then i might consider TRT, but not yet. big decision for sure, but i am not ready to go on that stuff for life and see my balls shrink. just doesn’t feel like the right way to go right now. more research is needed first for me.

besides, after my experience with most doctors, i feel all they want is to write you an expensive prescription and shuffle you out of the office. “Next!” i feel like just a number to doctors these days. i really don’t feel i’ve found a doctor that has my best interests in mind yet.

#8

Because when you take exogeneous Testosterone, your body turns off its own production. Your testes will no longer end up producing endogeneous T or sperm, and begin to atrophy as a result.

He should always test before 10am, 8am preferable.

Still, by testing in the afternoon AFTER he tested in the morning, that’s a good way to see how much T can drop throughout the day… if you were starting at 450 at 9am and then by 2pm were ~200, that’s a big drop…

Sounds like he is willing to work with you on things. I would go back and talk with him after researching some more, finding articles, printing them out and SHOWING him that you need to be concerned about aromatization of T to E2, and also the use of small amount of HCG to maintain testicle size and fertility (if you want to have kids).

#9

Yes, he have me an Estradiol test to take before starting TRT, so I am waiting for the results before starting TRT… If it comes back high, I will talk to him to discuss aromatization, and I’ll talk to him about fertility too. Do you know where I can find some articles regarding TRT and fertility?

#10

also, you say that TRt shuts down my body’s ability to make T. Is this a permanent effect, or will the body start making T once off TRT. Also, is the shutting down of T proportional to the amount of TRT used, or does T shut down compeltely, reagrdless of the amount of TRT used?

#11

any amount of exogenous T will shut down your own system. u can’t combine ur own prod’n with exogenous T to get you to a healthy level.

as for permanant shutdown…depends on how long. everyone is different. but look at body builders…when they do their cycles of T and other steroids…they need a regiman to ‘kickstart’ their own T production. so it all depends.

u can do a short trial of TRT to see if it improves your condition. I think if TRT is gonna work for someone they should see positive results within a few weeks…w/out the need to balance everything from their hormones to their checkbooks.

just my thoughts…probably no good anyway.

#12

Hey, I wonder if “kick starting” should be done within a few weeks of coming off steroids, or P (in most of our cases), because i feel like a shit right now, my roomate was going to get me some HCG from his body building buddy right after these problems started for me two months ago right when I came off of Propecia and started complaining about these problems, I told him, and he started talking… hgc,… hcg, it sounded like he didn’t really know details but only knew he about getting stuff to “jum-start your nuts!!” , but when UI started mentioning it on this site, many people on this site kept telling me, ‘don’t do it, don’t do it yet, its not good.’
And because my roomate at the time was a bit of a knuckle head, and not the sharpest tool in the shed to begin with, I took everybody on this sites advice and didn’t take HCG.
But in hindsight now, with my very low T levels STILL, my persistent problems with dick, and after reading about Shippen’s and Crisler’s protocols, as well as all over Meso Rx, I wish I had totally just tried it… approx 1-2 weeks after quiting.
I feel like such a shit. I hope its not too late.
Again this was 6-8 weeks ago.

I wonder if my chances of kick-starting now are less likely after all this (2 months) time.
Does anybody know??

…ps. sorry if I highjacked this thread. I don’t think I did, but Idk,…

B… this is a serious concern of mine!

#13

how is your roomated doing on HCG?

#14

he took it once, and said he cummed LOADS of sperm. HE said he’s never experienced sexual side effects though, and doesn’t take steroids anymore.
He didn’t know much about it except that he said someone gave it to him once and it seemed to work. Although he didn’t even seem to know what it was for.