JSMITH1976
New Member
Hello All,
Long time lurker first time poster here. First of all thanks to all the people who make this great resource available. I have had many questions answered and the information here has helped me to better formulate the questions that remain. This is a long post with a lot to unpack so please bear with me and thank you all for any help, guidance, and information you can provide.
A bit of background: I am a 49 y.o. male with a stressful job, family life, etc. etc. Like most people as I am getting older I am beginning to feel the full effects of my age. A few years back (~ when I was 45) I decided to make some changes in my lifestyle and diet. I dropped my weight from 218lbs to 176lbs (I am 5'6" for reference). I slowly started working out - first with simple push up and crunches, then to light weights, and finally cardiovascular exercise. I am at the point now where I exercise about 1 hour a day: 20 – 30 minutes of strength, 20 -30 minutes of cardio, and 10 minutes of stretching. To be clear I am not exercising with heavy weights as I am not looking to get crazy big but just to maintain muscle as I have been losing the weight. At the same time I started taking more interest in my appearance – better fitting clothes, skin care routine and taking minoxidil and finasteride pills to preserve/regrow hair. End result of all of this has been subjectively a slimmer fitter me with better clothes and a fuller head of hair and objectively someone with better numbers: lower BP, better cholesterol profile, and related to this forum an improvement in my T levels. In 2023 my Total T was 444 and my Free T was 80.3. Two years later with exercise and weight loss my Total T is 514 and my Free T is 93. If this had been the whole story I probably wouldn’t be here.
Even though things should all be on an uptrend I don’t feel as if they are. I am more tired, depressed, I have a lack of interest/motivation and even though I feel like I am regularly exercising I am not seeing changes (objectively or subjectively) in my strength, muscle mass, or build. Yes, I am thinner/leaner and I do have more definition but I am not “cut” nor am I lifting significantly more weight than before. I also have not been able to lose more weight, even though I have maintained my weight loss for about 2 years now. Given my height I would like to lose 20lbs more of fat or at least exchange some of it for lean muscle mass. My libido is ok. I have always had a high libido and can still go 2-3 rounds in a day (compared to 5-6 in my 20s). I get and maintain an erection easily but the quality of the erection is not as good/consistent as it used to be and my interest waxes and wanes i.e. I can go a week without any sex and not miss it at all. I discussed all of this with my MD and he suggested that even though my T numbers are “normal” they still may be low for me hence the issues. He suggested that I should start very low dose TRT as a boost for six months to see if things improve.
I am hesitant to start because of a few reasons:
If TRT can be helpful any hints/tips?
My MD suggested that I start with 50mg IM injections twice a week and to couple it with HCG 500IU IM twice a week. Fertility is not a real issue for me (I had a vasectomy so can’t get any less fertile at this point) however he believes it would help with my libido, erection quality and to maintain testicular size and T production which could be beneficial.
If you made it this far thank you and I appreciate any help or info you guys can provide.
Long time lurker first time poster here. First of all thanks to all the people who make this great resource available. I have had many questions answered and the information here has helped me to better formulate the questions that remain. This is a long post with a lot to unpack so please bear with me and thank you all for any help, guidance, and information you can provide.
A bit of background: I am a 49 y.o. male with a stressful job, family life, etc. etc. Like most people as I am getting older I am beginning to feel the full effects of my age. A few years back (~ when I was 45) I decided to make some changes in my lifestyle and diet. I dropped my weight from 218lbs to 176lbs (I am 5'6" for reference). I slowly started working out - first with simple push up and crunches, then to light weights, and finally cardiovascular exercise. I am at the point now where I exercise about 1 hour a day: 20 – 30 minutes of strength, 20 -30 minutes of cardio, and 10 minutes of stretching. To be clear I am not exercising with heavy weights as I am not looking to get crazy big but just to maintain muscle as I have been losing the weight. At the same time I started taking more interest in my appearance – better fitting clothes, skin care routine and taking minoxidil and finasteride pills to preserve/regrow hair. End result of all of this has been subjectively a slimmer fitter me with better clothes and a fuller head of hair and objectively someone with better numbers: lower BP, better cholesterol profile, and related to this forum an improvement in my T levels. In 2023 my Total T was 444 and my Free T was 80.3. Two years later with exercise and weight loss my Total T is 514 and my Free T is 93. If this had been the whole story I probably wouldn’t be here.
Even though things should all be on an uptrend I don’t feel as if they are. I am more tired, depressed, I have a lack of interest/motivation and even though I feel like I am regularly exercising I am not seeing changes (objectively or subjectively) in my strength, muscle mass, or build. Yes, I am thinner/leaner and I do have more definition but I am not “cut” nor am I lifting significantly more weight than before. I also have not been able to lose more weight, even though I have maintained my weight loss for about 2 years now. Given my height I would like to lose 20lbs more of fat or at least exchange some of it for lean muscle mass. My libido is ok. I have always had a high libido and can still go 2-3 rounds in a day (compared to 5-6 in my 20s). I get and maintain an erection easily but the quality of the erection is not as good/consistent as it used to be and my interest waxes and wanes i.e. I can go a week without any sex and not miss it at all. I discussed all of this with my MD and he suggested that even though my T numbers are “normal” they still may be low for me hence the issues. He suggested that I should start very low dose TRT as a boost for six months to see if things improve.
I am hesitant to start because of a few reasons:
- I essentially have normal T levels and have managed to improve them by losing weight and exercising. So do I even need TRT at this point
- I am taking Finasteride which is doing wonders for my hair but does have side effects including loss of libido, watery ejaculate, and depression. The side effects are real. That first month on it I would actually spontaneously cry and couldn’t get an erection if my life depended on it. Luckily most of the side effects went away except for the watery ejaculate. However, they could not have gone fully away which would explain some of the issues I am having (depression, intermittent lowered libido, etc.)
- Weight: Lets be honest. I am not in the gym pumping heavy iron and going to failure. Heck at my age I wouldn’t want to do that and would rather preserve my joints. I am also not maintaining strict calorie deficit, eating 1.5g of protein per lb of lean body weight, and I am not blessed with good genetics. All of this is to say that my lack of change in body habitus and strength could all be unrelated to a lower T level.
If TRT can be helpful any hints/tips?
My MD suggested that I start with 50mg IM injections twice a week and to couple it with HCG 500IU IM twice a week. Fertility is not a real issue for me (I had a vasectomy so can’t get any less fertile at this point) however he believes it would help with my libido, erection quality and to maintain testicular size and T production which could be beneficial.
- This is a pretty conservative/low dose regiment. Should I be considering something higher?
- At such a low dose should I be expecting side effects? If so which ones?
- How long to see results with such a low dose? Would it be the typical 3- 6 months?
- Will my Finasteride use cause any complications? Or conversely will taking TRT increase my hair loss even with Fin. My dermatologist suggested switching to Dutasteride as a stronger medicine but I worry about a resurgence of the side effects of the DHT blocker. Anyone here experience something similar?
If you made it this far thank you and I appreciate any help or info you guys can provide.
