Hi everybody,
Despite having read plenty of threads about TRT all over this excellent website (thanks Nelson!), I'm still trying to understand how TRT is working for me (if at all).
A little background:
Almost 43 y/o. Active lifestyle and healthy diet (I work in fitness/training), very lean (8-10% bf), never been very muscular, probably suffered from low T most of my life without knowing it.
Experienced sporadic ED episodes since my mid twenties. Not so great libido throughout my 30s. Starting two years ago overall energy levels and ED got way worse. PD5 inhibitors helped with ED at first, then less and less. A few months ago I started educating myself on the topic of hypogonadism/low T syndrome and finally decided to see an urologist.
First BW showed 6.6ng/mL Total T and 6.6 pg/mL Free T.
The doctor thought I was within normal range (!!!) but we decided to start TRT anyway and see if that could help with my ED.
Initial protocol was 100mg of Testex (test cyp) IM every 2 weeks. Didn't feel any difference at all. After 5 weeks (two injections) of treatment I had more tests done, although for a stupid misunderstanding I waited too long so my values were probably starting to go back to basal.
Anyway, second BW showed 5.7ng/mL Total T and 7.7 pg/mL Free T.
Doctor decided to move up to 250mg (Testex 250) every two weeks. I mentioned the option of increasing frequency of injection instead of dosage, but he wasn't familiar with such "undocumented protocols" (!!!).
After the first 250mg injection I had 5 days of feeling like a superhero. Never experienced anything like that in my whole life. Plenty of energy, mental clarity, incredible sex drive (spontaneous erections and morning woods. Hadn't had neither of them in probably 15 years!!!), great mood. >>Almost<< too much to deal with, but wow, what a feeling...
On the 6th day I crashed. Low energy, low libido, feeling very emotional and insecure.
Things leveled out a bit throughout the second week (kind of like pre TRT), and had a third BW done right before my 2nd 250mg shot.
Third BW showed 2.5ng/mL Total T and 5 pg/mL Free T (!!!)
I didn't feel any improvement at all after the second 250mg shot. Kept feeling lethargic (even worse than pre TRT), thick head feeling, maybe high pressure, no sex drive, low mood, aching joints.
After 8 days of hell, instead of waiting for the full 2 weeks, I decided on my own to try with injecting half a vial of Testex 250 (aprox 125mg) and find a proper doctor (this time an endo).
The week on 125mg wasn't too bad. Stable mood and energy levels. Mild libido. Nothing to write home about (nothing compared to that first 250mg boost) but overall a good feeling of well being.
The new doctor/endo suggested to keep the injections at 100mg a week and have some new/more complete BW in about 6 weeks. I mentioned the crash on 250mg, maybe related to high aromatase/E2 values (not measured with the previous blood tests), but she kind of dismissed the idea, saying that usually only happens to overweight people (???).
The day after the visit (6th day after that 125 mg injection) my energy levels dropped again.
On the 7th day (last Friday) I had a new 100mg injection hoping that could lift me up, but that didn't happen. Today is Monday and I still feel thick-headed, lethargic, low libido, mild erections even on 50-100mg sildenafil, very emotional and with a quite negative outlook on life in general.
Any idea on what could possibly going on here?
I'm very indecisive about how to proceed:
- Following the protocol to the letter (100mg every 7 days) and have more blood tests done in 6 weeks.
- Splitting the dose to 50mg twice a week, maybe even trying SC.
- Do some BW right away, to see where my E2 levels are at.
My actual symptoms: thick head, no energy, low mood, low libido, feeling very sensitive/emotional, maybe slightly more sensitive nipples (not sure about that though), maybe a bit of water retention (I gained about 3kgs since I started TRT 10 weeks ago), and I seem to wake up tired even after 8-9 hours of sleep.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Despite having read plenty of threads about TRT all over this excellent website (thanks Nelson!), I'm still trying to understand how TRT is working for me (if at all).
A little background:
Almost 43 y/o. Active lifestyle and healthy diet (I work in fitness/training), very lean (8-10% bf), never been very muscular, probably suffered from low T most of my life without knowing it.
Experienced sporadic ED episodes since my mid twenties. Not so great libido throughout my 30s. Starting two years ago overall energy levels and ED got way worse. PD5 inhibitors helped with ED at first, then less and less. A few months ago I started educating myself on the topic of hypogonadism/low T syndrome and finally decided to see an urologist.
First BW showed 6.6ng/mL Total T and 6.6 pg/mL Free T.
The doctor thought I was within normal range (!!!) but we decided to start TRT anyway and see if that could help with my ED.
Initial protocol was 100mg of Testex (test cyp) IM every 2 weeks. Didn't feel any difference at all. After 5 weeks (two injections) of treatment I had more tests done, although for a stupid misunderstanding I waited too long so my values were probably starting to go back to basal.
Anyway, second BW showed 5.7ng/mL Total T and 7.7 pg/mL Free T.
Doctor decided to move up to 250mg (Testex 250) every two weeks. I mentioned the option of increasing frequency of injection instead of dosage, but he wasn't familiar with such "undocumented protocols" (!!!).
After the first 250mg injection I had 5 days of feeling like a superhero. Never experienced anything like that in my whole life. Plenty of energy, mental clarity, incredible sex drive (spontaneous erections and morning woods. Hadn't had neither of them in probably 15 years!!!), great mood. >>Almost<< too much to deal with, but wow, what a feeling...
On the 6th day I crashed. Low energy, low libido, feeling very emotional and insecure.
Things leveled out a bit throughout the second week (kind of like pre TRT), and had a third BW done right before my 2nd 250mg shot.
Third BW showed 2.5ng/mL Total T and 5 pg/mL Free T (!!!)
I didn't feel any improvement at all after the second 250mg shot. Kept feeling lethargic (even worse than pre TRT), thick head feeling, maybe high pressure, no sex drive, low mood, aching joints.
After 8 days of hell, instead of waiting for the full 2 weeks, I decided on my own to try with injecting half a vial of Testex 250 (aprox 125mg) and find a proper doctor (this time an endo).
The week on 125mg wasn't too bad. Stable mood and energy levels. Mild libido. Nothing to write home about (nothing compared to that first 250mg boost) but overall a good feeling of well being.
The new doctor/endo suggested to keep the injections at 100mg a week and have some new/more complete BW in about 6 weeks. I mentioned the crash on 250mg, maybe related to high aromatase/E2 values (not measured with the previous blood tests), but she kind of dismissed the idea, saying that usually only happens to overweight people (???).
The day after the visit (6th day after that 125 mg injection) my energy levels dropped again.
On the 7th day (last Friday) I had a new 100mg injection hoping that could lift me up, but that didn't happen. Today is Monday and I still feel thick-headed, lethargic, low libido, mild erections even on 50-100mg sildenafil, very emotional and with a quite negative outlook on life in general.
Any idea on what could possibly going on here?
I'm very indecisive about how to proceed:
- Following the protocol to the letter (100mg every 7 days) and have more blood tests done in 6 weeks.
- Splitting the dose to 50mg twice a week, maybe even trying SC.
- Do some BW right away, to see where my E2 levels are at.
My actual symptoms: thick head, no energy, low mood, low libido, feeling very sensitive/emotional, maybe slightly more sensitive nipples (not sure about that though), maybe a bit of water retention (I gained about 3kgs since I started TRT 10 weeks ago), and I seem to wake up tired even after 8-9 hours of sleep.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.