Been on TRT for 8 years, pretty much tried everything and dose. My levels were 450ng prior to starting and I have never felt right for any extended period of time, In fact I felt better at the natural 450ng. I've never had libido on TRT at any level. I'm to the point that I just want off, no matter what it takes. I've used hcg on and off through the years, but really have never experienced any shrinkage on injectables or topical. My shbg normally falls between 48-60 which I realize creates a hurdle. I am 44 y/o now and in great health. Im taking no other medications. What I am wondering is should I just go cold turkey because of my elevated shbg or just try clomid at a very low infrequent dose. I am absolutely sure that I want off, just tired of all of it.
Restarting after 8 years of TRT
- Thread starter sh1973
- Start date
Systemlord
Member
Clomid will only increase SHBG even more and greatly affect FT. You really want to quit, stop TRT and wait it out. Natural production should happen on its own, by then SHBG will start to get out of control again and you'll remember why you went on TRT. You mention you're in great health, why mess with it? I believe your libido issues aren't related to testosterone.
I disagree here. True, Clomid will raise SHBG but this is a temporary thing. OP's LH / FSH has been shutdown for 8 years now. Clomid should turn the power on back up there. Going cold turkey after 8 years would be a poor option in my opinion.
CoastWatcher
Moderator
This should be read top to bottom. It will offer you a way to approach this.
https://www.excelmale.com/forum/sho...lics-You-May-Want-to-Read-These-PCT-protocols
https://www.excelmale.com/forum/sho...lics-You-May-Want-to-Read-These-PCT-protocols
Systemlord
Member
You're hoping that quitting TRT will magically restore lost libido. You're on 80mg once weekly injections with high SHBG (mid 60's), by all accounts that's the wrong protocol, there's no arguing that point. You mention you tried a high TT and that you only tried an AI a few times that crashed your E2, I don't think you gave it enough time. E2 levels have a huge impact on how you feel on TRT, more than high TT.
We get guys in here all the time with your numbers complaining of low libido, you're not even close to being optimised.
My E2 is always in the low to mid 20s without an AI, so why would I want to introduce another medication I don’t need. I’ve tried 100mg, 120mg, and now at 80mg. If 8 years isn’t enough time, what is? I was on 100mg a week for three solid years with E2 averaging 22 with sensitive assay and total t trough level of 900ng and free t 16-19ng
Systemlord
Member
It seems people think TRT is a magic bullet and that it will solve ALL your problems, it solves all problems related to testosterone. If you have remaining symptoms than something else is causing those symptoms.
I completely agree. This is my point entirely. I’ve thrown boat loads of testosterone at this for 8 years with little to no results. This is why I see no point in continuing. At this point I’d travel to the other side of the earth to get an answer to what’s causing this. I’ve even went as far as trying a couple antidepressants for a few months. The only thing that will give me libido is alcohol and sometimes eating soy, no matter if my t level is 500ng or 1600ng. Man by all means if you have any suggestions or ideas, I’m all ears. There’s nothing I wouldn’t try at this point to feel normal.
I am close to making the same decision you have for the exact same reason. TRT has done nothing for me in 6 years except waste a huge amount of money in labs and meds and doctor consults.
FeelingLost
Banned
Hi sh1973, welcome to the forum. I'm new to TRT with only 13 months under my belt. I have done a ton of reading.
I have never read someone coming back after being shutdown for 8 years. I wish you all the luck in the world and I hope you will stay with us thru this process.
There are guys here that can help you with ideas to look elsewhere in your quest to feel normal.
Since you don't need to donate blood for HCT or take an AI for skyhigh E2 I don't quite understand why sticking yourself once or twice a week is a big deal. I would think you could do that on a budget. With your TRT stable at something between 600-900 you could start looking elsewhere. Thyroid, Cortosol, Adrenal fatigue. Are you over training never giving your body a chance to rest and recover?
I would not throw the baby out with the bath water. Whether TRT fixed all your health problems or not. Most here will agree a good T lvl will help your metabolism and help you heal.
Thanks for the welcome. It’s not about budget, injecting, testing or anything like that. My main issue is absolutely no libido, and I mean zero. My libido had lessened slightly before starting trt, but has exponentially gotten worse on. There’s no testing I’ve not done. I’ve did pituitary MRI, checked for nutritional deficiencies, 24 hour cortisol panels, sleep study, and pretty much every hormone panel there is. I honestly couldn’t begin to tell you how much I’ve spent over the years. I do at times feel ok on TRT, but I felt ok prior to TRT. I guess I have hope that since I’m healthy, there’s a chance, if even slight, that I could possibly feel better off trt. I’ve now had 14 doctors over the last 8 years that have been unable to figure out the loss of libido, including a sex therapist. I joined this forum today in the hope that someone somewhere might have some insight. I’ve been a member on a couple other forums over the years and have learned a great deal. I’ve literally spent hundreds of hours reading and researching HRT. There comes a point whenever you just have to throw in the towel and I’m pretty sure I’m there. By reading several of the posts on this forum today, I realize how vast the information is on here and regret not checking it out sooner.
FeelingLost
Banned
Wow sometime you wonder if some of these guys/gals bought their degrees and did not earn them.
With that last bit of your story I agree with you. You need to find out what happens when you are off the T and if you can produce on your own.
What do you have to loose, you are not feeling well now and you know the way back if you start feeling worse.
Again I hope you will stay with us thru this new test. We can at least offer virtual support and someone to talk to.
Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear about your troubles. Sadly they mirror mine almost exactly, except I've only been on this ride 6 years. I've traveled the country to see the top names in the field to no avail. I'd really love to try and come off TRT except that my health has worsened so much over the past couple of years I don't know that I have the reserves to get through a restart.
The only things that have given me a temporary boost in libido, and I mean only a couple of days, are bupropion, progesterone cream, and stopping TRT for a couple of weeks and then starting again, which would happen when I switched TRT providers. Other than that its been zero.
Sorry to hear that Harry. It seems there are quiet a few men out there like us. It seems mostly to happen with people that have been on greater than five years. I did try wellbutrin [buprorion] for several months with no results at all, other than feeling hot all the time. I literally feel like I've been chemically castrated. There's never been any problems getting or keeping erections, only the desire, which even at 450ng prior to starting TRT I didn't have erection issues.I have had free T into the low 40s a couple times to see if more is better and it certainly isn't. For me anything above 1000ng just knocks the life out of me, almost like having the flu. There are a couple guys from one of the other forums I've talked to over the last couple years that have stopped. One of the guys is only in the 350ng range and says he feels so much better in all aspects being off, so not sure what to think. I've always been told over the years to dose higher due to my elevated shbg, but the higher I go the worse I feel. I feel better overall now at 80mg per week than I ever did at 150, 120 or 100mg for sure.
Charliebizz
Well-Known Member
I've been on these type of forums for years. I could be wrong but it seems to me the older guys are the ones that get the most benefit from trt. Mostly the guys that truly suffer from age related decline. The. The younger guys that feel great from trt seem to be the guys that had puberty issues and such. There are others that have had success also that are on the younger side not from the things I mentioned abouve but it seems far and few between. It may also be the younger guys that go on trt and do good do not even visit these forums but can't be sure. I'm in the same boat as you I'm always questioning if I should be on it and how it will be long term having other hormones either shut down or effected by trying to Manipulate my endocrine system. Then on the other hand I think about long term side effects of low t. But what is low t. What if mine really is my genetic setpoint. Trt hasn't givin me my erection quality back libido is slightly better but can also be psychological. So if it was cut and dry and trt brought back my libido and erections I could say my pre trt numbers were low and were effecting me. But since it's not helping maybe it is Unrelated. I have a pretty obsessive personality and since going back on trt all I do is read the boards again. All I do is wonder if every little feeling I have is realated to trt. I don't think I'm built for this especially at 35. Hopefully I have at least another 40 years of life and I too am starting to second guess if I want to deal with all this for that long. Like I said if it was giving me clear cut benefits it would be a no brainer but this hasn't been to fun so far.
Sorry im all over the place I hope you get my drift
Sorry im all over the place I hope you get my drift
FeelingLost
Banned
Wow Charlie, that is a good post. I do believe guys that TRT is not working as they thought do frequent forums like this looking for answers.
Hell if everything is working why bother unless you just like playing doctor on yourself.
I hope if either of you decide to go back to natural you will still come here and share your story. What you are trying and how you are feeling.
Many could learn from it and we might be able to help or at least give you some support via talks like this. I always feel better after talking to you guys on the forum.
Last edited:
Share this page
Sponsors
Online statistics
- Members online
- 6
- Guests online
- 7
- Total visitors
- 13
