Hi all,
24 y/o 6'1, 180lbs male who took accutane ages 15 - 18 on/off (mostly on). Started experiencing usual accutane sexual dysfunction issues at age 17ish, but didnt make the connection until after stopping accutane around age 18. symptoms include: low libido, little/no sexual sensation, general erectile dysfunction, fatigue. haven't noticed any real effect in terms of cognitive effects etc, consider myself an exceptionally smart person (though fatigue can really get to me at times). around age 17/18, I went and saw an endo and told my parents about the problems i was facing. endo told me it was "in my head" after test drawing showed 490, parents were concerned but didn't know what to make of it. none of us had made the connection to accutane at that point. moment of realization came when I looked up accutane and sexual side effects and read forums from previous users and PFS sufferers. needless to say, i was crushed. tried to give it time to come back naturally, was able to get rid of side effects like joint pain etc from regular, vigorous exercise (which helped with some anxiety issues as well).
i started TRT at a clinic in September of 2018 after blood levels (will post) showed levels around 390 ng/ml. initial dose was test c 150mg 1x/week subq. did this for a month before deciding to move onto a real dr., a urologist. told him story of accutane etc, he hadnt heard of problems from accutane but had heard of pfs. he said guys with pfs respond best to higher doses of trt, and put me on 200mg/week to "flood the system with testosterone" before we found what worked for me. he also upped dosage to 2500U hcg 2x/week I've been on that protocol for two months (three months total on TRT) and havent noticed much. am actually a bit more tired than i was before starting, have also noticed a bit more acne on chest and back (reason why i started taking accutane). ironic that that was actually exciting to me, as my body was responding to T.
i'm just getting a bit discouraged that i haven't seen any results thus far from the protocol. next appointment in a week and plan on asking about ai to reduce higher estradiol level that came with higher dose (he mentioned before that this was an option.. generally very willing to hear my thoughts on these things) posted results as an attachment. Please let me know thoughts! just very scared from other accutane/pfs sites where guys havent felt anything (androgen receptors silenced?).. any and all thoughts welcome. dr also mentioned putting me on higher 300mg/week dose until we see some response. i plan on asking to do this 2x/week in 150mg dosage to see if we can get a more even response.. many thanks in advance
also please note that "free test" starting in oct 2018 is lab equivalent of free T and range is 50-125
side note: i know trt at such a young age is dangerous (less so for fertility with HCG), but it's clear that if the problem is indeed hormonal, i need to address asap. i'm fully committed to finding something that makes me feel as normal as possible after so many years of pain, avoiding relationships, etc
24 y/o 6'1, 180lbs male who took accutane ages 15 - 18 on/off (mostly on). Started experiencing usual accutane sexual dysfunction issues at age 17ish, but didnt make the connection until after stopping accutane around age 18. symptoms include: low libido, little/no sexual sensation, general erectile dysfunction, fatigue. haven't noticed any real effect in terms of cognitive effects etc, consider myself an exceptionally smart person (though fatigue can really get to me at times). around age 17/18, I went and saw an endo and told my parents about the problems i was facing. endo told me it was "in my head" after test drawing showed 490, parents were concerned but didn't know what to make of it. none of us had made the connection to accutane at that point. moment of realization came when I looked up accutane and sexual side effects and read forums from previous users and PFS sufferers. needless to say, i was crushed. tried to give it time to come back naturally, was able to get rid of side effects like joint pain etc from regular, vigorous exercise (which helped with some anxiety issues as well).
i started TRT at a clinic in September of 2018 after blood levels (will post) showed levels around 390 ng/ml. initial dose was test c 150mg 1x/week subq. did this for a month before deciding to move onto a real dr., a urologist. told him story of accutane etc, he hadnt heard of problems from accutane but had heard of pfs. he said guys with pfs respond best to higher doses of trt, and put me on 200mg/week to "flood the system with testosterone" before we found what worked for me. he also upped dosage to 2500U hcg 2x/week I've been on that protocol for two months (three months total on TRT) and havent noticed much. am actually a bit more tired than i was before starting, have also noticed a bit more acne on chest and back (reason why i started taking accutane). ironic that that was actually exciting to me, as my body was responding to T.
i'm just getting a bit discouraged that i haven't seen any results thus far from the protocol. next appointment in a week and plan on asking about ai to reduce higher estradiol level that came with higher dose (he mentioned before that this was an option.. generally very willing to hear my thoughts on these things) posted results as an attachment. Please let me know thoughts! just very scared from other accutane/pfs sites where guys havent felt anything (androgen receptors silenced?).. any and all thoughts welcome. dr also mentioned putting me on higher 300mg/week dose until we see some response. i plan on asking to do this 2x/week in 150mg dosage to see if we can get a more even response.. many thanks in advance
also please note that "free test" starting in oct 2018 is lab equivalent of free T and range is 50-125
side note: i know trt at such a young age is dangerous (less so for fertility with HCG), but it's clear that if the problem is indeed hormonal, i need to address asap. i'm fully committed to finding something that makes me feel as normal as possible after so many years of pain, avoiding relationships, etc