McGillickM4
New Member
Hello all,
I've been poking around ExcelMale for the last several months and have been nothing but impressed with the discussions and topics site wide. Now I am in need of some assistance, hopefully I'm posting this in the correct spot, feel free to move the thread if I'm mistaken.
I lost a testicle to cancer back in March of 2015. I'm an active 24 year old. At the 6 month follow-up appointment with my urologist I confessed I've been feeling fatigued, moody, with low quality workouts, and not sleeping well. Consequently he tested my Testosterone, free and total and they both came back very low: 5.4 free and 298 total (attached). He also tested my fertility and it wasn't great, motility was a 5 (anything below 50 is considered abnormal) and the count was only a few million. My wife was crushed since we've been trying for a child for months. He prescribed me testosterone cypionate injections; 2x a month at 150mg per injection, with the warning that it could reduce my fertility even more. I decided to split the dose in half and inject 4x per month; once per week. With several months of this schedule under my belt, I noticed weight gain of around 10lbs (all water weight).
In October of 2015 my urologist again tested my Testosterone and it came back at super-physiological levels: total was ~1200. Even though it was much higher I still felt awful. All of the same problems were present, except for my workouts...they were pretty awesome. He also thought to test my fertility levels and they came back at 0, everything was 0. No sperm, no concentration, no motility. Nothing. He then sent me out to an endocrinologist who I met with the following month, November of 2015.
The endo reviewed my case and asked what my goals were. I plain and simple told him I wanted to be fertile and have the chance for children and also to feel good, sleep well, have productive workouts, and not be so moody and crabby. My wife couldn't handle me the way I was any longer. He seemed like a very competent guy and together we decided to get off of injections immediately and go on Clomid. I lost the 10lbs in a matter of a week. Now I know for some guys Clomid works and for others it's a massive waste of time. But for the sake of my fertility and possibility of upping my T levels I told him I'd try it; 25mg tab once a day for 30 days. At the end of the 30 days he would test my levels and see what we're dealing with.
I got those results back just a few days ago, my free came back at a low-normal number, 42, and my total was a measly 257, lower than I was before starting any TRT! I'm sure you can imagine my frustration. It makes sense though because the last week or so before my blood draw I was always tired, annoyed, couldn't focus, sex drive in the tank, crabby, etc. Just hating life. My wife is most concerned with my sex drive, I can get an erection but I doesn't last and most times I end up not being able to climax, I just don't feel anything. So embarrassing.
Now my endo wants to run another month at 25mg a day dose of Clomid and do another draw at the end of this month to see where my levels are and then based on those, develop a new plan or continue on the same path if my numbers improve. Currently I'm feeling quite depressed. Not motivated to do anything. It's one of the worst times for me to fee like this because I'm an Army Officer in flight school right now spending long days flying and studying. My performance is suffering, big time.
I'm planning on calling my endo's office next week and communicating my concerns and continuing problems. I'm not sure what they will be willing to do. I'm at a loss. Being motivated for 2016 is impossible feeling like this. Any suggestions of questions to ask or protocols to consider would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
-mitch
I've been poking around ExcelMale for the last several months and have been nothing but impressed with the discussions and topics site wide. Now I am in need of some assistance, hopefully I'm posting this in the correct spot, feel free to move the thread if I'm mistaken.
I lost a testicle to cancer back in March of 2015. I'm an active 24 year old. At the 6 month follow-up appointment with my urologist I confessed I've been feeling fatigued, moody, with low quality workouts, and not sleeping well. Consequently he tested my Testosterone, free and total and they both came back very low: 5.4 free and 298 total (attached). He also tested my fertility and it wasn't great, motility was a 5 (anything below 50 is considered abnormal) and the count was only a few million. My wife was crushed since we've been trying for a child for months. He prescribed me testosterone cypionate injections; 2x a month at 150mg per injection, with the warning that it could reduce my fertility even more. I decided to split the dose in half and inject 4x per month; once per week. With several months of this schedule under my belt, I noticed weight gain of around 10lbs (all water weight).
In October of 2015 my urologist again tested my Testosterone and it came back at super-physiological levels: total was ~1200. Even though it was much higher I still felt awful. All of the same problems were present, except for my workouts...they were pretty awesome. He also thought to test my fertility levels and they came back at 0, everything was 0. No sperm, no concentration, no motility. Nothing. He then sent me out to an endocrinologist who I met with the following month, November of 2015.
The endo reviewed my case and asked what my goals were. I plain and simple told him I wanted to be fertile and have the chance for children and also to feel good, sleep well, have productive workouts, and not be so moody and crabby. My wife couldn't handle me the way I was any longer. He seemed like a very competent guy and together we decided to get off of injections immediately and go on Clomid. I lost the 10lbs in a matter of a week. Now I know for some guys Clomid works and for others it's a massive waste of time. But for the sake of my fertility and possibility of upping my T levels I told him I'd try it; 25mg tab once a day for 30 days. At the end of the 30 days he would test my levels and see what we're dealing with.
I got those results back just a few days ago, my free came back at a low-normal number, 42, and my total was a measly 257, lower than I was before starting any TRT! I'm sure you can imagine my frustration. It makes sense though because the last week or so before my blood draw I was always tired, annoyed, couldn't focus, sex drive in the tank, crabby, etc. Just hating life. My wife is most concerned with my sex drive, I can get an erection but I doesn't last and most times I end up not being able to climax, I just don't feel anything. So embarrassing.
Now my endo wants to run another month at 25mg a day dose of Clomid and do another draw at the end of this month to see where my levels are and then based on those, develop a new plan or continue on the same path if my numbers improve. Currently I'm feeling quite depressed. Not motivated to do anything. It's one of the worst times for me to fee like this because I'm an Army Officer in flight school right now spending long days flying and studying. My performance is suffering, big time.
I'm planning on calling my endo's office next week and communicating my concerns and continuing problems. I'm not sure what they will be willing to do. I'm at a loss. Being motivated for 2016 is impossible feeling like this. Any suggestions of questions to ask or protocols to consider would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
-mitch
