Do you tend to build up a tolerance to testosterone TRT?

[cocarr]

Hey there fellas I have been absent from the forum here for quite awhile but just had some somewhat disturbing results.

I am at work tonight so my exact labs/ranges are not in front of me but I can come close.

Initial test in April. Total 259 free 6. I started Androgel 2.5 Grams. My total moved up to 320 after 6 weeks so we bumped the dosage to 5. 6 weeks later my total moved up again to 600's with my free at 18.

At that point I had experienced 0 positive symptom improvements and felt exactly the same. My PCP wanted to hold that dose for awhile and see if it climbed a bit more. The next couple of months I did miss a day here and there due to summer camping etc. but I never missed consecutive days and only missed a handfull of doses during the 8 week run.

Last week I got my new results back and my total was back to the low 300's with my free being back to 8. My PCP moved my dosage up to 7.5 and we went with the pump. I am a week into that and possibly starting to feel a touch better energy wise but I am not very optimistic at this point.

Can you build a tolerance? As a paramedic I know that with most medications people do tend to build tolerances but hormone therapy seems like it should be different. The only other thing I thought is maybe my own production finally dropped off causing my numbers to drop some.

My ranges are Labcorp ranges which go to from around 400-1100 for total.

Thanks, Cody.

 

[Tom Larabee]

Absorption rates due drop for some men, which is why many convert to injections since there is no skin absorption involved. there are ways to help absorption like putting on moisturizer afterwards, etc, but really injection seems to be the route of choice once the rates go down.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Total testosterone does not decrease by 50% when using the same product and dose unless you are not using it everyday, something is happening to your skin absorption (too much sweat in the first 2 hours of application, etc), or taking something that speeds up liver metabolism (google "medications that induce P450").

 

[SoCalSurfer]

hey Cody, I was using the gel and found that it was not the best for me and moved to injections. I do a lot of bicycling and sweat alot, all of which impacted absorption, I also was out in the sun without a shirt a lot. I was on the gel 4 pumps (a lot of gel) and my T never got that high.

Moved to injections twice a week and now I am at my peak and feeling good. I also dont have to worry about transferring it to anyone else. I did shots in the quads but with my legs and the bicycling I do I started hitting veins to often for my liking so I moved to subQ shots. I have only been doing that a few weeks and have not noticed any difference from the quads. Real simple to do too.

Depending on your doctor he might not want to go the shot route so you might have to sell him on it. Transferring to wife, kids, etc.. I coached football and did want any of the teens I was coaching to get it on them, having to wash every night before bed because I don't sleep with a shirt on... etc.... It worked for me to sell him on shots.

Good luck.

 

[cocarr]

hey Cody, I was using the gel and found that it was not the best for me and moved to injections. I do a lot of bicycling and sweat alot, all of which impacted absorption, I also was out in the sun without a shirt a lot. I was on the gel 4 pumps (a lot of gel) and my T never got that high.

Moved to injections twice a week and now I am at my peak and feeling good. I also dont have to worry about transferring it to anyone else. I did shots in the quads but with my legs and the bicycling I do I started hitting veins to often for my liking so I moved to subQ shots. I have only been doing that a few weeks and have not noticed any difference from the quads. Real simple to do too.

Depending on your doctor he might not want to go the shot route so you might have to sell him on it. Transferring to wife, kids, etc.. I coached football and did want any of the teens I was coaching to get it on them, having to wash every night before bed because I don't sleep with a shirt on... etc.... It worked for me to sell him on shots.

Good luck.

Yea I am on 6 pumps now so we will see how it goes. I have 3 kids so I am very careful and put it on minutes before I head out the door to work. My days off are the hard part and I usually put it on after the kids are in bed so I wont have contact with them. The every day thing is getting old already though. My PCP initially wanted to go with the injections and I talked him in to the gel based on some reading of Dr. Crisler's. The absorption and even levels seemed like a good thing.

I definitely wouldnt say that my activities have any thing to do with a change in absorption since I do it before work and 98% of the time I go quite a few hours before I have any kind of activity that causes sweat. Obviously I am a fireman so nothing is ever set in stone and I could hit the ground running first thing in the morning.

@Nelson. I do not take any other medications on a regular basis. I wonder if missing those times caused me to have to build my therapeutic levels again or something. I am going to do this increased dose of andro for a month and a half and if there is no improvement I will be switching to the shots. I am sure my ins. company will appreciate that haaa.

 

[Anabaptist]

Hey, I use a 28 gage 1/2 cc insulin syringe. 0.20 mL eod, sub-Q. I just reach around as far as I can and pinch some skin and shoot into the buttocks. ( I am NOT very flexible ). This is the easiest way I'v found. Shots are FAR less expensive than gels. It's only a half inch needle.

Try the shots sometime. You may like it .. There are places on line where you can get the needles. I like to keep a years supply on hand..

 

[blackebob]

I startedthe gel in January and I dont think I leveled out until August. when I did it was awesome.

 

[blitzen]

Can this be related to the fact that when starting TRT the external Test and the produced Test create a higher level until the internal production is suppressed by the external test application?

 

[CoastWatcher]

Can this be related to the fact that when starting TRT the external Test and the produced Test create a higher level until the internal production is suppressed by the external test application?

The "TRT Honeymoon" is a phenomenon many have experienced.

 

[WB134]

I know when I first started I could have launched a rocket to the moon with my morning wood. Libido was off the charts. Wife was getting tired of telling me to get off her.

I put of good weight, great energy, just felt good overall. I was getting stronger at the gym.

Then I plateaued and I have been chasing that initial "high" for a while.

 

[lexer]

Its basically like entering puberty; you start getting crazy erections with a crazy high libido and then you stabilize. You do NOT want a libido like a 17 year old.

 

[Dr.V.P.C.]

The "TRT Honeymoon" is a phenomenon many have experienced.

LOL Great definition !

 

[Dr. John Crisler]

It's getting to be pretty well accepted that if you are on TRT, and not "Backfilling" your pathways, in time you will neither be as healthy or happy.

That is because TRT shuts down your system. Sticking in HCG, DHEA and even PREG helps start the flow again. Dr. Mark Gordon is teaching this in his Traumatic Brain Institute lectures now.

Also, adding Mg+ can help. Simple rule: when things get weird with hormones, add Mg+. I tell my patients to use 800mg per day, in divided doses.

 

[blackebob]

Its basically like entering puberty; you start getting crazy erections with a crazy high libido and then you stabilize. You do NOT want a libido like a 17 year old.

UHM... What about a 27 year old? I kind of enjoyed that time.

 

[Dakeri]

Its basically like entering puberty; you start getting crazy erections with a crazy high libido and then you stabilize. You do NOT want a libido like a 17 year old.

you may not but I sure would!

 

[jnde207]

you may not but I sure would!

I 100% AGREE !