New Guy Intro.

[lukdiver]

Restarting TRT (thru Defy, awaiting date for initial consult). Have a question: had a RTO in 2008 (retinal artery occlusion) I guess is a 'mini-stroke'? Basically lost focus in one eye for 24hrs. (years before I started TRT) and passed it off as effect from taking Zetia as a statin drug (stopped it shortly afterwards as a British AMA study concluded it dropped numbers but not actual cholesterol). Read here on Excel Male the post from 2014 siting a study ( can't post links yet so I'll wait till I have 4 post and edit post ) . Not finding much else on net so asking if anyone has more recent data or views?. The study was 2006 and the final conclusion I noticed posted was starting TRT it 'predicted a modest increase in all-cause & stroke-related mortality independent of cardiovascular risk factors'. Just trying to get 'duckies-in-a-row' for doctor consult. I'll post TRT history in follow-up post but want to thank everyone for helping me on this journey to 'real' (explained below)TRT. Bob

 

[lukdiver]

TRT History (sorry long winded):

After going thru 'manopaus' (lack of energy, poor sleep, waking soaking wet/heart racing, etc.) my twin brother (he's in same shoes) talked me into the protocol in Rodger Mason's book 'Testosterone Is Your Friend' (pg. 18) where you use testosterone enanthate sublingal. It really helped as we were commercial hardhat divers/pilebutts at the Port of San Francisco and having trouble keeping up with the 'young bucks'. Follow up labs at the time(6? yrs ago) showed it working so we continued. A Kaiser doctor in 2015 had his doubts so I agreed to a test where I stopped for 2 months (it was hell)and total numbers went from #581 to #395. My attempt to get him to get me 'legit' (I sourced T from net, I joked the Russian Mafia) failed as he said my numbers were 'normal for a man of my age'.

Sublingual stopped working in 2017 ( tested Total #253 on a 250-1100 range/ free at #41.5 on a 35-155 range)and got a doctor to prescribe T (cypinate 200mg/mL- 100mg every 2 weeks) the last 3 months of 2017. Was quite a roller-coaster ride but the highs were worth it. When I switched back to Kaiser (needed to include my wife who had had ovarian cancer and went thru 5 yrs with them) this year (Jan.8) I wasn't terribly surprised when the doctor said the same 'your numbers are good for a man of your age' and refused to renew prescription . Switched to a lady doctor(more empathetic) and same thing but was able to get her to answer my question on their protocol (no HCG, no AI). Everything I needed to push me back to the net (like 10? years ago) and research my way here. At age 63 I don't have time to waste with inadequate health care.

Ok sorry for long story and looking forward to continuing down the road to proper TRT with a great group of guys. Thanks Bob

 

[lukdiver]

Numbers I'm approaching (waiting for initial consult date) Defy with are T (serum) #205 (range 264-916), Free (direct) #9.3 (range 6.6-18.1), Estradiol (sensitive) #26.2 (range 8.0-35). Hopefully can keep estragenous production going with HCG as LH is #1.5 (range 1.7-8.6) ? Hematocrit somewhat high at #49.2 (37.5-51) so likely I need to donate blood? Last injection was 12/26/2017. Bob

 

[Vince]

Bob, welcome to ExcelMale. Defy Medical will have the right answers. I wish you the best on your new Journey.

 

[lukdiver]

Thanks for reply Vince. This allows me to post link to that chat on this site discussing thrombophilia ( https://www.excelmale.com/forum/showthread.php?5811&p=29025#post29025 ). I'm hoping I'm just being over cautious on the subject given that I just went thru 2 total knee replacements while using aspirin instead of warfarin blood thinners and no clots. Wife insisted on it as she had terrible troubles with them during her recovery from the cancer surgery. Bob

 

[lukdiver]

Thanks for reply Vince. This allows me to post link to that chat on this site discussing thrombophilia ( https://www.excelmale.com/forum/showthread.php?5811&p=29025#post29025 ). I'm hoping I'm just being over cautious on the subject given that I just went thru 2 total knee replacements while using aspirin instead of warfarin blood thinners and no clots. Wife insisted on it as she had terrible troubles with them during her recovery from the cancer surgery. Retirement has been challenging thus far and hope it gets better. Bob

Link to previous discussion on here is ( https://www.excelmale.com/forum/showthread.php?5811&p=29025#post29025 ).

 

[lukdiver]

Did consult with Dr. Caleb Calkins from Defy Medical and everything went swimmingly. When script shows I start EOD cypinate 35mg and HCG 500iu 2x a week. Looking forward to starting up again and on the right foot this time. He also told me to keep HCG in frig but not on door as too much agitation. That's something I didn't know. Donating blood next week as HCT is 49.2 and want to start with a clean slate. He said I'm possibly high due to living at 1000' elevation. I'll start a post on Testosterone page when I actually start protocol. Bob