TLDR: I am experiencing wild mood swings and I think it's related to using compounded cream. Can you help me work through it?? I have not posted in a while, so to make up for lost time, I'll give you some diarrhea of the mouth (or keyboard).
I'd love to hear some opinions on mood swings. I wouldn't be posting if I thought the mood swings were "normal" or mild. The best and worst TRT experience I have had has been with compounded cream, which I have been using for about two years. I occasionally take a break from cream (by dropping the dose or injecting once or twice while holding cream). When I resume using it, I notice a significant improvement in mood, energy and overall sense of well being. It feels like TRT is supposed to feel. The kicker is that within a few days (sometimes as quickly as day 3 after resuming cream), my mood may change drastically.
Over the last 6-9 months, I have had several episodes during which I turn into a little b*tch. I find myself arguing with my wife over nothing. I feel really depressed and really, really sensitive. I am literally a different person than what I consider my baseline. The first few times this happened, I thought I was justified in whatever issue I was arguing or upset about. I eventually started to catch on and realize that these were isolated incidents and not normal mood fluctuations. I noticed that the mood was typically temporary and could resolve.
The contrast between how good I feel initially is stark compared to how bad I feel after a few days. In some cases, it took weeks rather than days to feel bad, but I have never experienced these massive fluctuations in mood on Natesto or injections. I am a data gatherer by nature, so I know when these episodes have occurred and I believe the common denominator is the use of cream. I tend to pull labs frequently, on occasion to troubleshoot a problem. The challenge with cream, though, is that it is such a rapidly moving target. If I feel extremely moody a few hours into the morning, by the time I pull my labs, my mood may have changed naturally and all my hormone levels have most certainly changed.
I have hypothesized what specifically is going on, and the truth is I don't really know. Theories include some absolute hormone threshold (due to a spike in T, E2, DHT) vs. the rapid change (rise or fall) of some hormone level. For a few reasons, I believe the issue is tied to elevated E2. Why? I tend to aromotize a lot based on a number of ultrasensitve labs. Also, since I have recently realized that these are specific episodes, I have taken 0.125 mg of anastrozole and have noted a definite improvement in mood later in the day. The problem is, I don't know the mechanism of improvement (did some spiked level come down vs. Did my T rise, while I suppressed my E2, thus improving my ratio?). I have also had moderately high T and DHT levels and felt fine. With cream, everything is such a rapidly moving target that it's hard to use labs to guide you and it's hard to make conclusions.
I very much prefer cream over anything else, but these episodes are a bit of a deal breaker. I have played with a number of dosing protocols (reducing it over time), but still tend to run into trouble. While I feel I have gotten "rescued" by anastrozole, I have also felt crappy after taking it (some theories on why, but won't further bore you). I would be willing to try 0.125 mg on a specific schedule if I had confidence that E2 was the problem. But, I obviously don't want to go the other way either (crash).
I'd love to hear some thoughts on your experience with mood swings.
Disclaimers:
I'd love to hear some opinions on mood swings. I wouldn't be posting if I thought the mood swings were "normal" or mild. The best and worst TRT experience I have had has been with compounded cream, which I have been using for about two years. I occasionally take a break from cream (by dropping the dose or injecting once or twice while holding cream). When I resume using it, I notice a significant improvement in mood, energy and overall sense of well being. It feels like TRT is supposed to feel. The kicker is that within a few days (sometimes as quickly as day 3 after resuming cream), my mood may change drastically.
Over the last 6-9 months, I have had several episodes during which I turn into a little b*tch. I find myself arguing with my wife over nothing. I feel really depressed and really, really sensitive. I am literally a different person than what I consider my baseline. The first few times this happened, I thought I was justified in whatever issue I was arguing or upset about. I eventually started to catch on and realize that these were isolated incidents and not normal mood fluctuations. I noticed that the mood was typically temporary and could resolve.
The contrast between how good I feel initially is stark compared to how bad I feel after a few days. In some cases, it took weeks rather than days to feel bad, but I have never experienced these massive fluctuations in mood on Natesto or injections. I am a data gatherer by nature, so I know when these episodes have occurred and I believe the common denominator is the use of cream. I tend to pull labs frequently, on occasion to troubleshoot a problem. The challenge with cream, though, is that it is such a rapidly moving target. If I feel extremely moody a few hours into the morning, by the time I pull my labs, my mood may have changed naturally and all my hormone levels have most certainly changed.
I have hypothesized what specifically is going on, and the truth is I don't really know. Theories include some absolute hormone threshold (due to a spike in T, E2, DHT) vs. the rapid change (rise or fall) of some hormone level. For a few reasons, I believe the issue is tied to elevated E2. Why? I tend to aromotize a lot based on a number of ultrasensitve labs. Also, since I have recently realized that these are specific episodes, I have taken 0.125 mg of anastrozole and have noted a definite improvement in mood later in the day. The problem is, I don't know the mechanism of improvement (did some spiked level come down vs. Did my T rise, while I suppressed my E2, thus improving my ratio?). I have also had moderately high T and DHT levels and felt fine. With cream, everything is such a rapidly moving target that it's hard to use labs to guide you and it's hard to make conclusions.
I very much prefer cream over anything else, but these episodes are a bit of a deal breaker. I have played with a number of dosing protocols (reducing it over time), but still tend to run into trouble. While I feel I have gotten "rescued" by anastrozole, I have also felt crappy after taking it (some theories on why, but won't further bore you). I would be willing to try 0.125 mg on a specific schedule if I had confidence that E2 was the problem. But, I obviously don't want to go the other way either (crash).
I'd love to hear some thoughts on your experience with mood swings.
Disclaimers:
- I do not believe in treating numbers alone
- I do not believe in villainizing E2
- but, I have legitimate reason to believe that I might be sensitive to elevated E2
- I have nothing against the concept of letting E2 run really high
- I prefer to avoid AI's,
- but am fine with using anastrozole if it solves my issues
- I have been on Wellbutrin 150 mg XL for about six months, but it has been largely consistent and these episodes do not seem tied to it
