I thought that with limited options and really low T I would try TRT. I suffer most of the side effects. Low sex drive, very fatigued and sore, bad brain fog, anxiety and depression. I try to keep in shape I play hockey 4 times a week. I only started hockey in my 30s so I am pretty terrible still after 4 years of playing. Well almost as soon as I started the TRT I noticed a big change. I was human again. I had awesome sex drive, I felt good, I felt STRONG. My mind was clear the brain fog had lifted!! At hockey, all of a sudden I was good. I was not near the best but I went from being the worse to being middle of the pack. I could deke around people, I could fight for the puck. Plays flowed I was so much better it was insane.
This lasted about a month. Now I have crashed back down to just like before. Perhaps even worse right now. I suck at hockey again. I can’t get around anyone, I can’t make quick decisions. I am back to having anxiety about small things. I feel like shit.
I hate this so much. I have nothing else to try. I have no support from doctors. It is hard to get any doctor to even listen to me. I tasted normality for the first time in 16 years. I am so sad.
TRT is complicated. What’s your protocol?
test cypionate injection 100mg per week.
if you haven’t used an aromatase inhibitor it is almost normal to return to the previous condition after a while.
Rememeber, the T boost is immediate, but more free T means more Estradiol converted. The E will take a while to catch up (my endo says within a couple weeks).
Having said that, you can check on this forum that there are have many cases of people with a normal value of T and E, that still suffer from PFS (sometimes the 3-Alpha-Diol is low but that can be boosted only indirectly), so the hormonal level is necessary but not always sufficient to get out of PFS
But are there any members with a normal amount of Free Test.? I know one chap on here does, but he doesn’t have the sexual side-effects.
I’d be interested to see if theres someone with a perfect hormonal profile. Normal test, normal estrogen, low SHBG and good amount of free testosterone.
Fwiw, this was exactly my experience with TRT. After the initial injection, I felt amazing – still remember the day I felt my sex drive come back and all of the amazing, exciting thoughts I had about being free of this and how fun life was going to start to be again. And then it crashed. And then for a few weeks, it was kind of a roller-coaster – a good day here, a bad day there – and even that would have been fine with me, given how bad things were. But then it just leveled off at baseline, and that’s where I’ve been ever since. Subsequent injections had zero impact on my sexual function. That was 1 year ago this month.
Do you know what your total testosterone level is before the next injection? According to my experience, I recommend that you keep it between 20 and 30 nmol/l at all times (normal range is 8 to 35). You should try to reduce the dose. Try 75 mg a week (or perhaps even less), and shorten the injection interval if necessary. Keep in mind that when it comes to TRT, especially in our case, less is more. Also, I’m responding pretty good to TRT when the testosterone level is dropping. It’s hard to explain, but when you inject testosterone - it’ll raise pretty fast with fairly short esters such as cypionate and enanthate (it’s normal to reach supraphysiological levels of testosterone with standard doses and protocols), and that’s where most people run into trouble. As soon as it peaks, and starts dropping, I’m able to achieve balance.
So sad 
Having that feeling back was amazing.
Before results.
Testosterone 5.8. Ref(10.0-30)
Testosterone free calculated 127. ref(90-700)
Testosterone bioavailable 3.0. Ref(2-16)
Androstenedione 2.9. Ref(1.6-8.8)
Dhea sulphate 1.3. Ref(4.6-18.2)
After results. Only have these so far
Testosterone 24.8. Ref(10.0-30)
Dhea sulphate 1.4. Ref(4.6-18.2)
I think my Estradiol may be high, I have sore nipples now.
Yes, that’s a symptom of estrogen dominance. How’s the erection quality? I recommend that you get hold of Andractim, just in case you start developing gynecomastia.
I am going to post a small update.
I am on test C 150mg now a week.
50% more than I started.
My estrogen was over limits so I had to take an estrogen blocker.
I feel pretty decent. I am starting to get a beard and stomach hair. My muscles are getting a lot firmer I feel stronger. My sex drive is awesome, wayyyyyy better than before when I felt like a I had no sexual identity anymore. I never suffered from loss of erection buy my sex drive was 0 sometimes.
One of the worst things I suffer from is the brain fog. This really really effects my life. My job, especially. I have used gabapentin to combat this but it is not something I can stay on permanently. Oh man, on the gaba my brain fog lifts. I play hockey again and on gaba I am a 7/10 player while not on it I am about a 4/10 just because my mind cannot keep up to the fast pace with the brain fog. Gaba also gives me super motivation, energy and strength. It is a miracle drug until it starts to fail after a few weeks
Yes! Andractim for sure. It’s a topical DHT and doesn’t impact estrogen levels. There’s no need for TRT if your using Andractim. My doc is an expert in sex medicine here in San Diego and he’s the one who took me off TRT and recommended I buy Andractim. Took nearly 3 weeks to get here from Cyprus.
Application sites are on thorax and inner thighs. Treatment is 3 months long.
I went through a nightmare of TRT with hormone values bouncing around. I have 5 sets of labs over the past 18 months. After ever increasing doses being prescribed, I ended up with T at 1860. Very irritable, angry and aggressive. It essentially was the last straw for my wife so she filed for divorce.
If she had only waited a few months longer. I’m SO much healthier and feeling normal for a change.
Other things I take:
EMPowerPlus Advanced by TrueHope (for cognitive sides, depression, anxiety) it works.
Vit D 5000 iu
Metagenics Omegas EPA/DHA balanced
Celtic Dreams (Allopregnenolone via nasal spray) This also makes a huge difference with depression
Avoid gluten
Working out 6 days a week
I feel far more normal that I have in the past 4 years of recovery. Sex function is definitely back to normal.
Still struggle with going through a divorce, so some days are good, some are bad. And I’ve done a TON of research, trial and error and digging through articles from this site. What I’m doing now has produced the best results out of all the other things I’ve tried.
I’ll give a short year update. Still on the TRT. I actually tried to go off of it because I notice now my hairline is receding. Bad idea. Within 2 weeks I was back to my achy, no sex drive, tired brain fogged self. Hair is not worth that. Back on now and feeling a lot better again. I am finally seeing a hormone doctor in a month so maybe they will be able to help more. I would say if I was at 100% before fin, 30% after fin, I am about 60% now.