Have You Tried Any Commercial Transdermal Testosterone Product?

[Fortunate]

For reasons described here, I would like to gather information on who is using one of the commercial transdermal products. Please post feedback on your experience (successes or failures).

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Testosterone Products: Oral, Transdermal, Injectable, and More - Excel Male TRT Forum

From the book: Testosterone: A Man's Guide Testosterone Formulations In theory, testosterone replacement should approximate the body's own natural production of the hormone. The average male produces 4 to 7 mg of testosterone a day with higher plasma levels in the early morning...

www.excelmale.com

 

[Fortunate]

Tons of great reading on that post. Glanced at it. I see it was written a long time ago, and at the time, you were using a 5% topical. I think I have subsequently read that is no longer the case? I believe you recently referenced 200mg/ml (20%) in a hydrogel base, correct?

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Tons of great reading on that post. Glanced at it. I see it was written a long time ago, and at the time, you were using a 5% topical. I think I have subsequently read that is no longer the case? I believe you recently referenced 200mg/ml (20%) in a hydrogel base, correct?

Yes. So far, so good.

POST # 45

How to Increase DHT levels for Better Sex Drive - Page 3 - Excel Male TRT Forum

What DHT level is considered low? what is considered to High? Has anyone seen benefits to increasing DHT?

www.excelmale.com

 

[Fortunate]

Have you checked DHT levels on this, and if so, how does it look? How is your PSA?

 

[Nelson Vergel]

PSA= 1.1
DHT = 75 ng/dL

 

[nicknot]

Yes. So far, so good.

POST # 45

How to Increase DHT levels for Better Sex Drive - Page 3 - Excel Male TRT Forum

What DHT level is considered low? what is considered to High? Has anyone seen benefits to increasing DHT?

www.excelmale.com

Hi Nelson,

Looking at that post you mention 4 clicks per day. Do you do all 4 once in the morning or 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening?

Do you find it's much more hassle than the injections? for example in terms of organizing sex around the applications, having to plan evenings/dinners/nights out, etc...?
Are you constantly traveling with the cream in your pocket (serious question)?

I think the hassle and possible drag on quality of life is my main concern with the cream aside from the reported insanely high DHT levels (although yours seems fine from what you just posted).

EDIT: Any update on how you feel vs injections? Any changes mentally (confidence, well being, etc...) from the extra DHT?

 

[jobshopper]

For reasons described here, I would like to gather information on who is using one of the commercial transdermal products. Please post feedback on your experience (successes or failures).

Tried one from a compounding pharmacy for over a year. It did not work for me as I did not absorb it well. It did not boost my numbers significantly so I now use Test Cyp. I use .5 ml (100 mg) IM every 3-1/2 days with good results. I am 68 years old.

 

[goolapsh]

PSA= 1.1
DHT = 75 ng/dL

That dht level does not seem right with your cream application. If you are applying to the scrotum you will have levels around 100-300 ng/dl

 

[S1W]

Hi Nelson,

Looking at that post you mention 4 clicks per day. Do you do all 4 once in the morning or 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening?

Do you find it's much more hassle than the injections? for example in terms of organizing sex around the applications, having to plan evenings/dinners/nights out, etc...?
Are you constantly traveling with the cream in your pocket (serious question)?

I think the hassle and possible drag on quality of life is my main concern with the cream aside from the reported insanely high DHT levels (although yours seems fine from what you just posted).

EDIT: Any update on how you feel vs injections? Any changes mentally (confidence, well being, etc...) from the extra DHT?

IIRC, Nelson was applying all 4 in the morning - I believe he has now moved to 3 in the morning.

I can help fill in some of the other blanks here from my experience if that is helpful.

Regarding hassle - yes, I did find that the cream was generally more of a hassle than injections. Even daily injections were easier/took less time for me than cream. I tried both AM only application and AM and PM application and felt noticeably better on twice per day application. But yes, that meant having to be very aware of where I just applied the cream in the evening so as not to transfer any to my wife during sex, etc. Don't know why it would affect dinners etc - no issues there.

I also had to be aware of morning applications - for example, sometimes on river trips, you're in the water first thing in the morning...not really ideal with cream. Backcountry camping when I can't always wash my hands, I'd apply the cream wearing a nitrile glove. None of the inconveniences are deal breakers though, but cream does require a little more awareness than injections.

No need to have it in your pocket...the cream is applied once or twice daily, and that's it - no need for "touch ups" during the day. But yes you do need to bring it with you for any overnight trips. For guys used to daily injections that wouldn't really be an adjustment - for guys that inject once or twice a week, it takes some getting used to. I liked being on E3.5D injections and not having to worry about anything TRT over the weekends.

I am interested to see how Nelson does with the topical long-term - I have tried topicals three times and always felt great for several months...then for some reason that fades and I go back to injections.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

I am still using the hydrogel T cream formula from Empower Pharmacy. I reduced the dose to three clicks on my scrotum all in the morning after showering. I also kept the 500 IU hCG twice per week. That combo has really raised my libido to the point that I seek sex almost daily (libido was very low for a few months due to stress related to taking care of my father in law through quarantine and other non TRT factors).

Goolapsh is right. That was an old DHT (my bad). I am yet to run a DHT test (I sell blood tests, so no excuse!).

When I travel (which I am now doing every month), I hate to bring creams with me. Since my trips are under a week, a tend to just inject once before leaving with 150 mg of testosterone in one shot. I am also tired of traveling with hCG and its refrigeration requirements, so I skip it for those few days. I have accepted that my compliance is not great while traveling, so I try to make it easy on myself. We have to be flexible if you want to "stick with it" for a long time. I have been on some form of TRT, nandrolone, oxandrolone, hCG, etc for over 28 years and you just learn what works and what is reasonable for you. I feel bad for the younger guys on here that are trying to precisely "titrate" their protocols. After a few years, most of us know what range of doses will not skyrocket our hematocrit and blood pressure, or decrease our HDL too much.

I am still curious about things that I want to revisit like PT-141 (injections and nasal spray) and really intrigued by stem cells injected into the penis. @madman posted this great review about stem cells, shockwave (I am not a fan), and PRP (not a fan).

Restorative Therapies for ED - Excel Male TRT Forum

ABSTRACT Introduction: Current non-invasive treatments for erectile dysfunction (ED) include oral medications, intracavernosal injections, and vacuum-assisted devices. Though these therapies work well for many, a subset of patients have contraindications or are unsatisfied with these options...

www.excelmale.com

 

[Fortunate]

For those dosing cream twice a day, what time are you applying your second dose? Do you notice you have ”too much” TRT when trying to go to bed?

 

[Fortunate]

When I started this thread, I was curious how commercial creams compared to custom compounded creams. I still have the same question in mind.

In my personal experience, like many others, I did very well with creams initially. After about a month, I started feeling anxious and bad. I have attributed this to extreme high spikes in testosterone levels and probably accordingly high levels of estrogen and DHT.

I am still curious if commercially prepared products absorb in a different manner, and if so, if this would potentially mitigate some of the issues I have seen with custom compounded products?

Can anyone comment on their experience with commercial products? Do you see the same massive spikes on commercially prepared topical applications as well?

 

[Fortunate]

I still have the same question as I did when I started this thread: do commercial products cause the same issues as the compounded creams and gels? Does a product that leaches out slowly over time, like Androderm, mitigate the issues guys have with creams?

 

[Fortunate]

Given the lack of response, my guess is that not many here have tried commercial products. Raise your hand if you want to volunteer and try Androderm and report back here. I would be curious to see if a product that slowly releases transdermal testosterone works in a more civilized way compared to what we are typically getting at compounding pharmacies.