About to Start a New Protocol

[Melody68]

I'd go back to the endo. I'm 69 and scored high TT and FT (in excess of the normal range) on 84 mg T enanthate. I then had a TIA, which many suggest could be related to excess T from TRT for older men. Realizing that I was playing with fire, I've since reduced my dose, which still leaves me with benefits, but not as many as what I had at the higher doses. Needless to say, I think it's foolhardy to suggest that you should dose "until you feel your best".

 

[Astro]

Wow! That wasn't even a very high dose compared to a lot who've posted here. Were your levels significantly above normal range?

I suspect older men (like me, and perhaps you) have a slimmer margin for error. If any body-system can't keep up with the extra drive that hormones provide, something's going to break down.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Melody68]

Wow! That wasn't even a very high dose compared to a lot who've posted here. Were your levels significantly above normal range?

I suspect older men (like me, and perhaps you) have a slimmer margin for error. If any body-system can't keep up with the extra drive that hormones provide, something's going to break down.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Exactly. And in layman's terms . . . because many men, especially older men, have compromised "this and that", juicing yourself with excess hormones will/can backfire in ways that you're guaranteed not to like.

At my highest 84mg/wk dose, measured in the trough, my TT was 29.5 (8.4-28.8) and FT was 744 (179-475) (!). I feel the high FT may have given me AFib, which then resulted in the TIA.

Look, I made a superman list of all my goals that I wanted to achieve before I started TRT. Sometimes, when I get a little down about things, I read that list and have a good laugh. I've reached about 30% of what I wanted, and in my case it's good enough for me. In the year that I've been on it I lost 30 lbs, built up some good muscle, and increased my stamina some, meaning I fatigue less. That's it, I still have ED problems, my back still hurts, I still have arthritis and my mind isn't as quick as it used to be. But I've become very realistic about things, and am content with what I have.

I now take 63mg/wk TE (9mg/day taken every 4 days); it still leaves me with a FT just above the limit, but I'm content with it and what it does for me. I wouldn't go back. Now if I can just get off these blood thinners . . .

 

[Systemlord]

I think it's foolhardy to suggest that you should dose "until you feel your best".

So ignore what your body is telling you and base everything off a lab test?

Let me put it another way, the goal of treatment is about making the lab number look good and instead of how you feel?

Do you agree with this statement?

 

[Melody68]

Short term gain vs long term pain. C'mon Systemlord, there are limitations to every statement; for example, can a chronic pain sufferer be allowed to dose until "they feel their best"? If so, you know what happens . . .

You need both forms of feedback; you need to listen to what your body tells you in conjunction with what the tests are saying. I felt great on a higher dose of T, but the tests were indicating that I was too high, so I cut back, and I'm thankful that I did. It's still speculation as to whether my TIA was caused by excessive exogenous T levels . . . but it might have been, and if I had ignored the lab results, then maybe I would have had a full blown stroke.

 

[Guided_by_Voices]

Thanks again to all who posted. I never expected to get so much support from strangers.

The whole hormone thing is still very new to me and I have a lot to learn. If I've learned anything today, its that I need to slow down. It might take a year or more to find my appropriate doses, but in the end I'll have a better understanding of what my body needs.

Independent of who your doctor is, if you're going to raise your dose, do it slowly enough so that you can assess the impact. I agree with dosing twice per week, but if you raise the total, going up by 10mg per month seems like a reasonable progression so that you have a chance to identify a sweet-spot if you hit one. Going up all at once has numerous issues, not the least of which is overloading your body's set-points and feedback loops.