Hi From SoCal - Thinking of HCG

[Seanazul]

Hi all.

Happy to find this place.

I'm a relatively fit 49 year old male. 6' 190# and work out 3-4 times a week.

Over the last year or so, I've notice a lack of desire and recently starting having trouble maintaining an erection during sex. I'm also experiencing some lethargy and difficulty concentrating.

The only medication I take is for high blood pressure (metroprolol XL 25mg) and I've tried cod liver oil and dhea to help.

I'm a bit of a guinea pig so I've been thinking about ordering some HCG and trying a 125IU dose/day for a couple of weeks to see if there is any change.

sean

 

[Vince]

HCG will shut down your Hypothalamus Pituitary Axis just like exogenous testosterone will. Simplistically speaking the glands which normally trigger the testes to produce T and make sperm, LH, FSH, will have "gone to sleep" while on therapy.
https://www.excelmale.com/forum/showthread.php?6807-HCG-Only-Treatment-for-Low-Test
Before you start a TRT treatment, you should get proper labs. Here's a good list.
https://www.excelmale.com/forum/sho...-After-Initiation-of-Testosterone-Replacement

 

[CoastWatcher]

Hi all.

Happy to find this place.

I'm a relatively fit 49 year old male. 6' 190# and work out 3-4 times a week.

Over the last year or so, I've notice a lack of desire and recently starting having trouble maintaining an erection during sex. I'm also experiencing some lethargy and difficulty concentrating.

The only medication I take is for high blood pressure (metroprolol XL 25mg) and I've tried cod liver oil and dhea to help.

I'm a bit of a guinea pig so I've been thinking about ordering some HCG and trying a 125IU dose/day for a couple of weeks to see if there is any change.

sean

That is not a good idea. Why do you want to shut down your HPTA axis? What labs have you run, either on your own or through a doctor?

 

[Seanazul]

That is not a good idea. Why do you want to shut down your HPTA axis? What labs have you run, either on your own or through a doctor?

hi.

I have a lab appointment this week so we'll see what the labs say.

Can a short cycle of HCG as an experiment do long term damage?

 

[Vettester Chris]

Welcome to EM! Glad you joined. Also in So Cal, the IE if you will!!

Yeah, get those labs first ... Let's see what your total and free testosterone look like, but also the LH & FSH, which will be be crucial to know anyways "if" HCG ever comes into the picture(?). If it somehow turned out you are 'Primary' Hypo, then HCG isn't going to be much help with natural test production.

Also, don't overlook other parts of the picture, like thyroid, adrenals, electrolytes, CBC's, lipids, Vitamin D3, B12, iron & ferritin, etc.

 

[Seanazul]

[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]Here are my labs. Kind of a relief to be honest.

Testosterone Total: 307 Ng/dl[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]Free: 9.0 pg/ml[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]LH: 7.1 miU/ml[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]FSH: 3.9 miU/ml[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SFUIText]
[/FONT]

 

[CoastWatcher]

[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]Here are my labs. Kind of a relief to be honest.

Testosterone Total: 307 Ng/dl[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]Free: 9.0 pg/ml[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]LH: 7.1 miU/ml[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]FSH: 3.9 miU/ml[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SFUIText]
[/FONT]

What are the ranges for the results you posted, particularly on the LH and FSH? Every lab establishes their own range and context is critical for a good conversation to develop.

 

[Seanazul]

T: 348 - 1197
LH: 1.7 - 8.6 This sounds good, I'm guessing
FSH: 1.5 - 12.4 I'm on the lower side here, I think.

 

[CoastWatcher]

T: 348 - 1197
LH: 1.7 - 8.6 This sounds good, I'm guessing
FSH: 1.5 - 12.4 I'm on the lower side here, I think.

Higher values in LH and FSH actually point to primary hypogonadism. You have a significantly elevated LH. A good doctor will want to dig a lot deeper. These were run on your own, or were they ordered by a doctor?

 

[Seanazul]

Hi.

I ran them on my own but am in touch with Defy to get a whole workup.

Could a vasectomy cause this? It was 16 years ago.

 

[Vettester Chris]

Hi.

I ran them on my own but am in touch with Defy to get a whole workup.

Could a vasectomy cause this?

No, more thank likely you have one (1) under-performing testicle, or maybe the leydigs cells in both testicles are sub optimal (?). There's "some" endogenous test production, but obviously the LH demand is higher than what the testes are able to respond to. Would probably be advisable to get a thorough testicular exam (if you haven't) with a good Urologist, just to make sure there isn't anything being overlooked ...