With various treatments, do most of you get some sort of recovery? Or not?

General Discussion
#1

I am gathering mixed impressions after reading through and searching on this board, so I thought I’d ask. With treatment, under a doc’s care (like Jacobs or Crisler, for example), do a decent % of men get some sort of recovery of sexual function? Or are most of you still pretty much the exact same as when before trying treatments? I’m just nervous about throwing a bunch of hormones and supplements, etc. at this problem when an f-ed up endocrine system seems to be at the root of it in the first place, you know?

From what I can gather also, a partial “fix” that seems to move the ball slightly forward for many is TRT treatment- but am I misunderstanding this? Obviously for those men that test with low testosterone levels, it seems a no brainer to at least try. But that is not me (testosterone levels checked out normal), so before I seek out something that could be a lifelong committment, I’m wondering if anyone can share their direct experience with TRT if they had normal testosterone levels? (Dr. Crisler discusses how, with the normal level men, boosting to exceptionally high levels can restore some function the same way resuming normal levels can help the low testosterone men).

Any general comments (even incredibly depressing ones, like - yeah, most of us have tried everything and nothing has worked at all), would be useful to me. I’m just trying to gather info and learn.

(I’m going to be contacting Dr. Jacobs in the morning to try to set up an appointment. I live in NYC and work a pretty demanding job, so Lansing, MI (Crisler) is just a bit tougher to swing. We’ll see how that goes.)

#2

I can’t really comment on how effective TRT is as a band-aid, i haven’t tried it as yet. From what i gather from speaking to other guys on this board Dr. Jacobs is incredibly intelligent and whilst he doesn’t claim to have all the answers, he is very open minded and well up to speed on our case. If i lived in U.S. that is who I’d be going to see.

#3

nyer, what is your Testosterone level (and lab result range)? What is your age? What each doctor considers to be “normal” varies. Any other results? Like DHT, Estrogen, LH, FSH, Prolactin, SHBG?

I experienced some positive effects of testosterone supplementation (clomiphene citrate, initially, with a little bit of Testim gel added later, then arimidex to control estrogen). This wasn’t full-on TRT, as my body was still producing Testosterone, my testes had not shut down as evidenced by LH, FSH measurements. The improvements I experienced were a boost in energy, and cessation of very irritating hives and dry itchy patches of skin on my buttocks area, shins and feet. Basically, it was a slight reversal of my downward spiral post-finasteride crash. I was on a combo of meds for about a year.

I’ve since weaned off of all those meds and have been re-building from the ground up with nutrition, supplements, thyroid support, etc.

It’s something to consider, but it doesn’t seem to be the magic bullet. If there’s a perfect protocol of what to do immediately post-finasteride, like a damaged bodybuilder/steroid abuser who attempts to restart their HPTA system, it hasn’t been sufficiently publicized. And remember that androgens are just part of the process. Good luck.

Some other doctors you may want to consider:
Dr. Irwin Goldstein (physical diagnosis)
Dr. Romeo Mariano (focuses on nutrition, thyroid, neurotransmitters, etc. Known rep of reviving bodybuilders)

#4

Nyer, good call contacting Jacobs. I’ve seen many doctors since this all came about and not only is he by far the most quailified to treat us, he’s the only one who’s made me feel like I’m actually worth saving. You’re in competent hands.

I’ve tried clomid/t3 with no results. I’ve been on HcG and TRT now for about a week but no changes in symptoms. Might take some time. After your initial labs Jacobs usually goes straight to TRT. Unless he determines there are other issues with you. Jacobs talks about Fin patients being in 3 camps - 1. You took Fin but you have a non Fin problem. 2. You have a Fin + something else issue. 3. Your issues are solely related to Finasteride. Unfortunately for me I fell in the last camp.

#5

Boston332

could you start a separate thread for your TRT? I am considering to go on TRT ,I know this is not the solution but I want to go for my physical well being I know forget sex now. It is history.