Anastrozole - Enduring Side Effects 5 Years Later

[Condrad94]

Hello all,

I’m 28yo male in the US.

When I was in my early 20s, I had a residual puffy nipple from puberty. I was very self conscious about this, being pretty deep in weight lifting, and my primary care physician prescribed an anti-estrogen without blood work almost immediately.

After about a week I felt terrible, brain fog and erectile dysfunction came first. Then joint pain ensued and general anxiety/depression.

I brought this up, it was dismissed as psychological. But I knew something was immediately wrong. I was a pretty happy person before, no anxiety whatsoever outside of taking my shirt off when it was warm (puffy nippy lol!)

Another month on anastrozole and I felt horrific. I stopped it cold-turkey and symptoms resolved to about 30% improvement. But genitals felt minimal sensation, orgasms felt week, libido was week.

This persisted for years and still has not improved beyond that point. I’ve gotten blood work and seen multiple doctor/andrologists who specialize in male hormones. All that was ever said was that everything was well within normal ranges on ultra-sensitive assays.

I’m a father. I work full time. But i feel barely alive with these issues.

To add, I’ve tried testosterone to no avail.
I had prolactin checked by doctors as well. Along with thyroid, SHBG, cortisol. They tried adding hCG and no improvements. The test dose was 120mg weekly split in two even doses. I don't really have any low test things going on either. Full beard, lean, good amount of muscle etc.

Tried going to therapy because why not. Tried Wellbutrin. No help.

Objectively though, I no longer have morning erections or spontaneous erection. PDE5 inhibitors help get me hard, but no change in desire levels. And orgasms feel absolutely like nothing. Glans of penis feels numb as well. I had an EMG nerve test for pudendal entrapment and the results were inconclusive.

Basically just trying to stay as upbeat as possible with basically the inability to have proper sex. I have an attractive and understanding partner so I know that’s not the issue either.

Please, if anyone has any experience in this department, let me know your story and what helped you recover.

Thank you

 

[Gman86]

What ai did u take, anastrozole? and how many mga per week were u using?

 

[t_spacemonkey]

highly unlikely this has anything to do with the past use of an AI. you look in the wrong place. give some labs, e2 sensitive, free total T etc

 

[Gman86]

highly unlikely this has anything to do with the past use of an AI. you look in the wrong place. give some labs, e2 sensitive, free total T etc

I was thinking something similar. If AI’s could cause these issues, most of Dr Rand McClain‘s patients would be dealing with these same issues, due to him basically not prescribing HRT without an ai in the protocol

however, in rare cases, men absolutely experience similar symptoms, usually to a much worse degree, after using 5ar enzyme inhibitors, such as finasteride, and they end up experiencing these symptoms basically indefinitely. So I guess it’s theoretically possible that something similar can happen with aromatase enzyme inhibitors

 

[t_spacemonkey]

I was thinking something similar. If AI’s could cause these issues, most of Dr Rand McClain‘s patients would be dealing with these same issues, due to him basically not prescribing HRT without an ai in the protocol

however, in rare cases, men absolutely experience similar symptoms, usually to a much worse degree, after using 5ar enzyme inhibitors, such as finasteride, and they end up experiencing these symptoms basically indefinitely. So I guess it’s theoretically possible that something similar can happen with aromatase enzyme inhibitors

agreed. not sure to what extent your body still develops in your 20's. he was on AI without TRT. could this have some downstream effects ?
he also mentiones he was on TRT. i think it is impossible to give any advice without further details, like labs, protocols he tried etc

 

[Charliebizz]

I was thinking something similar. If AI’s could cause these issues, most of Dr Rand McClain‘s patients would be dealing with these same issues, due to him basically not prescribing HRT without an ai in the protocol

however, in rare cases, men absolutely experience similar symptoms, usually to a much worse degree, after using 5ar enzyme inhibitors, such as finasteride, and they end up experiencing these symptoms basically indefinitely. So I guess it’s theoretically possible that something similar can happen with aromatase enzyme inhibitors

How many of dr rands patients have you talked too ??

 

[Gman86]

How many of dr rands patients have you talked too ??

None lol. But have watched pretty much every “ask the doc” vid with him in it over the years, and he states himself that he’s a huge advocate of keeping E2 pretty low, basically around the 20-30 range, and uses an ai with most of his patients to achieve those types of E2 levels with his patients, per him

 

[Charliebizz]

None lol. But have watched pretty much every “ask the doc” vid with him in it over the years, and he states himself that he’s a huge advocate of keeping E2 pretty low, basically around the 20-30 range, and uses an ai with most of his patients to achieve those types of E2 levels with his patients, per him

I wonder how many actual patients he has or is he another YouTube “guru” that barely has patients

 

[Gman86]

I wonder how many actual patients he has or is he another YouTube “guru” that barely has patients

That’s a good question. I would assume he has a pretty good clientele list tho. He has a regenerative and sports medicine clinic in Santa Monica California, and he’s been in and around the bodybuilding scene for years and years. So on top of all the regular Joe’s that he prescribes HRT to, I’m sure he has a ton of bodybuilders in that area that he prescribes hefty dosages to. I obv can’t confirm this for sure, but I can see a doctor that was a former bodybuilder, and that still lifts, being open to push the limits with dosages for other aspiring bodybuilders. Especially in an area where vanity is so prevalent

I’ve also heard him say, on multiple occasions, that 200mg/ week of test is a common HRT dose. Which makes me think that he’s just a fan of higher dosage protocols in general. And if a guy wants to use 200mg/ week, while concurrently having an E2 in the 20-30 range, like he prefers, they’re going to need some form of estrogen control, the majority of the time

 

[Condrad94]

My testosterone was 670ng/dl last test, estradiol was 19. I forget the units. I have very thick beard, no rolls of fat, etc. Also before my taking of an AI, I was very hyper sexual. Like to the point of causing issues.

Now my genitals literally feel minimal sensations of pleasure, orgasms very week. But no underlying health issues other than elevated cholesterol. My diet is excellent and controlled by a nutritionist (attempt to lower cholesterol)

 

[Condrad94]

Also never touched finasteride, SSRIs or any other drug

 

[Gman86]

My testosterone was 670ng/dl last test, estradiol was 19. I forget the units. I have very thick beard, no rolls of fat, etc. Also before my taking of an AI, I was very hyper sexual. Like to the point of causing issues.

Now my genitals literally feel minimal sensations of pleasure, orgasms very week. But no underlying health issues other than elevated cholesterol. My diet is excellent and controlled by a nutritionist (attempt to lower cholesterol)

Not that it’s super relevant to ur primary issues, but if anything raise that cholesterol up my man! It’s 2023, and ur a young guy that should be up on the latest info, and not stuck in the dogma that cholesterol causes heart disease/ cardiovascular events, like guys in their 40’s+ grew up hearing, and it‘s too ingrained in their brains to entertain anything/ anyone that says otherwise. Studies show that people with the most cardiovascular events have low cholesterol, not high. And people with higher cholesterol levels, have the least cardiovascular events. And that goes for both HDL and LDL. That same correlation goes for all cause mortality as well. Here’s a great video from a cardiologisT explaining it all, and briefly going over some good studies on the subject

 

[Systemlord]

My testosterone was 670ng/dl last test, estradiol was 19.

Total T doesn’t define testosterone deficiency, symptoms or lack thereof always follows the Free T.

 

[Gman86]

Total T doesn’t define testosterone deficiency, symptoms or lack thereof always follows the Free T.

Couldn’t be more accurate. When I had all the symptoms of low testosterone, other than sexual issues, my total T hovered around 600-700. My SHBG was around 55 tho, and therefore caused my free T to be bottom of the barrel on one test, and below the bottom of the range on another test. And boy did I feel it! Lol. I was 27 at the time for reference. Here’s two sets of labs from before I went on HRT. And the 3rd set of labs were a few years after I was on hrt, when I tried Clomid mono to see if my levels would return to a healthy state once discontinuing the Clomid. The 3rd set of labs were taken a few months after discontinuing the Clomid


Total T - 584 (348-1197 ng/dL)
Free T - 7.3 (9.3-26.5)
SHBG - 57.1 ( 16.5 - 55.9).
E2 NOT sensitive - 14.6 (7.6-42.6)
Prolactin - 9 (2.0-18.0)
LH - 3.5 (1.7-8.6)
FSH - 2.3 (1.5-12.4)
TSH - 1.2 (0.450-4.500)
T4 free - 1.15 (0.82-1.77)
T3 free 3.4 ( 2.0-4.4)
DHEA-S 486.0 (138.5-475.2)




Total T - 691 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T - 73.9 (46.0-224.0)
Bio T - 161.6 (110.0-575.0 ng/dL)
SHBG 45 (10-50)
E2 Sensitive- 25
IGF 1 - 294 (63-373)
DHEA-S - 411 (106-464)
Albumin - 4.7 (3.6-5.1)




Total T - 601 (250-1100 ng/dL)
Free T - 54.3 (46.0-224.0)
Bio T - 116.4 (110.0-575.0 ng/dL)
SHBG 53 (10-50)
E2 NOT Sensitive - 23
IGF 1 - 204 (53-331)
DHEA, LC/MS/MS 324 (61-1636)

 

[t_spacemonkey]

My testosterone was 670ng/dl last test, estradiol was 19. I forget the units. I have very thick beard, no rolls of fat, etc. Also before my taking of an AI, I was very hyper sexual. Like to the point of causing issues.

Now my genitals literally feel minimal sensations of pleasure, orgasms very week. But no underlying health issues other than elevated cholesterol. My diet is excellent and controlled by a nutritionist (attempt to lower cholesterol)

what i read is that your diet is shit. cholesterol lowering diets are absolute garbage as they usually involve cutting good animal fats with toxic seed oil. this could verybwell contribute tonyour issues

 

[Gman86]

what i read is that your diet is shit. cholesterol lowering diets are absolute garbage as they usually involve cutting good animal fats with toxic seed oil. this could verybwell contribute tonyour issues

Literally couldn’t agree more. Any cholesterol lowering diet is gonna be the complete opposite of health promoting, and is only going to lead to further dysfunction within the body. If health and feeling good is priorities for someone, u always want to try and get as much of ur calories from nutrient dense sources of protein, mainly from ruminant animals, and the majority of ur remaining calories from healthy fats, mainly saturated fat. The best bang for ur buck is always gonna be the fattiest cuts of red meat u can find

Don’t want to make this thread all about diet, but with u having such bad hyporthyroidism, the only way to get ur thyroid functioning properly, is through diet. And I can’t guarantee that fixing ur thyroid will resolve all ur issues completely, but my money is on that it will make a world of a difference. Someone simply getting the majority of their calories from ruminant animal meat and fat will always feel a lot better, and their body is going to function a lot better in general

 

[Systemlord]

cholesterol lowering diets are absolute garbage

Not the mention, cholesterol is the raw material needed for making testosterone. Statins a cholesterol, lowering medication, also can decreases testosterone.

 

[Gman86]

Not the mention, cholesterol is the raw material needed for making testosterone.

As well as all other hormones. And don’t forget that the brain is the most cholesterol rich organ in the whole body. In the future, not only will everyone understand that cholesterol is not only the most insane compound to fear, but it’s actually the nutrient that we need to make the top priority to get enough of, and people will be going out of their way to try and get their HDL and LDL levels as high as possible. Mark my words lol. I know people think LDL is only a bad thing, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It does a bunch of beneficial things within the body, mainly in regards to the immune system

 

[Charliebizz]

That’s a good question. I would assume he has a pretty good clientele list tho. He has a regenerative and sports medicine clinic in Santa Monica California, and he’s been in and around the bodybuilding scene for years and years. So on top of all the regular Joe’s that he prescribes HRT to, I’m sure he has a ton of bodybuilders in that area that he prescribes hefty dosages to. I obv can’t confirm this for sure, but I can see a doctor that was a former bodybuilder, and that still lifts, being open to push the limits with dosages for other aspiring bodybuilders. Especially in an area where vanity is so prevalent

I’ve also heard him say, on multiple occasions, that 200mg/ week of test is a common HRT dose. Which makes me think that he’s just a fan of higher dosage protocols in general. And if a guy wants to use 200mg/ week, while concurrently having an E2 in the 20-30 range, like he prefers, they’re going to need some form of estrogen control, the majority of the time by

that might just be it. Because he deals with so many body building guys. But I don’t think you should ever need an a.I on a proper dose of testosterone. Only. It’s adding other anabolics or things like hcg that can muddy the waters. Imo

 

[literally.me]

Can some one explain why there are guys who claims they feel bad, like OP stating even after years he feel side effects, while me I am the oposite because testosterone makes me feel angry, anxious, with ED and insonima and Anastrozol helps with all of this?