Welcome to the TRT Blog!
Welcome to my new TRT blog. I hope to provide information as I find it. Feel free to contriubte your own stories, information, links to studies… and anything you think the community might find of value. No spam!
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I started testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) at age of 31 after being diagnosed with secondary hypogonadism. Researching hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with testosterone was difficult because all of the info was for women. That's when I decided to create this site for men looking into TRT.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Hey thanks for starting this blog about TRT. I look forward to reading about your journey.
May 18th, 2010 at 1:13 am
I need help! I need someone to talk to me about testosterone levels. My boyfriend started to have these symptoms–fatigue (and I mean tired & sleeping all the time), significant weight gain, depressed, and absolutely no interest or sex drive at all. Well, I talked him into going to his family doctor & ask about getting his testosterone level checked. A few days later, the doctors office called him in for his results. His testosterone level was 31!! Apparently a level this low is unheard of. The doctor had never seen levels this low and acted as if this was very serious. He referred him to a specialist, but the earliest appt he can get is 3 months away. I have searched & searched the web for information and cannot find anything on a level this low. We have 3 months to wait to find out anything! If anyone can help us with any info at all, please please comment. Thank you for anything you may do to help.
May 18th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Pam,
Don’t panic. If your husband needs to go on HRT then that’s what he’ll have to do. It isn’t the end of the world and he will feel MUCH better. Like a new man!
As for the low testosterone numbers, everyone’s fluctuate throughout the day. He should have three tests done at different times of the day to really get an idea of where his levels are at. That could have been his lowest level of the day, or of the week. One test does not give enough data to make an assumption on.
Good luck to you and your husband.
PS: Be patient and understanding with him. It sucks to have low testosterone as a man.
June 1st, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Hi TRT,
I just got back from my doc. Gave blood for 3rd test in 5 weeks. I asked them to test everything this time. Or at least more than the last 2 tests. My symptoms are lack of motivation, low sex drive, ED, irritability, and just a general feeling of being in a “fog”. My first test checked thyroid & free test. Thyroid was good. Free test was 8.7. I’m 38 and was told my range is 8.8 – 27. This test was around 8:45am. 5 days later I had another test on my Free T, this time at 5:15pm. It came back at 7.2. This was 5 weeks ago. Doc had told me then to change up my workouts for motivation( I guess) and gave me scipt for Viagra. This time he gave me script for Bupropion(spelling?) for depression. I’m to go back in a month. Thanks for letting me tell a bit of my story.
August 30th, 2010 at 7:25 pm
My doc put me on AD’s also – they fear the testosterone replacement ~ Sadly the AD’s put me into a very deep depression that only subsided once I took myself off of them. You know, how do you get your doc to hear what you are saying “I’m not depressed doc” ~ “Sure you are, here’s some Wellbutrin” “Oh that’s not working? Let’s try *insert drug name here*” and so on and so on….It’s been almost a year of hell, had to go off work because the depression was so bad. My test #’s dropped 18.8% in two years, which is still in the normal range…but oh my god…how could that possibly be a negative thing if I am still within normal range…you’re a genious doc…of course I wouldn’t feel that much of a change (note a crapload of sarcasm there). I’m frustrated, we don’t have any specialists here and very few GP’s. I did speak to a doctor online (ten phone) however they wanted 3000$ for six months of treatment ~ I don’t have that kind of cash, however if I did, I would be all over it. My insurance will pay for orals and injectables but how do I get my doc to hear me …they are more interested in dealing with symptoms than finding the root of the issue.
August 30th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
I feel your pain PJ. It’s like they get a commission on anti-depressants but not testosterone therapy.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Thanks TRT. My doc finally agreed to the HRT this morning – I have to have full blood work done first to know where I am with everything else as a baseline, so as it looks now I’ll start next Friday! Antidepressants had sales of 12 billion in the US in 07. It’s now the first line of defense in treating people #4 on the list of drugs sold. It’s the drug of choice for pretty much anything these days. And they have no concrete evidence of what it’s doing to our brains – there’s no guarantee that my memory will return to normal – it went to crap over the last year…can’t remember what I did last week or even what I ate yesterday and have to write everything down that I need to do or else I forget..royal pain in the ass and I’m angry about it.
I feel badly for Mike (above) he’s about to go through what my doc did for me. Wellbutrin was the start, “change your workout routine PJ maybe that will help” – yeah ok, will do that when I get my energy and motivation back and can get back to the gym…and Viagra, just another pill solution to a symptom. If it is down and Viagra brings it up then there isn’t anything wrong with the equipment. And if he’s thinking you have depression which is a mental illness he should be seeing you weekly, it’s not a game, it’s our lives and “well being” should be on the line not his time frames and when he can fit you in. Wellbutrin (Bupropion) sent me to hell and back because it wasn’t what I needed…one of the side effects is that it can cause depression. Fight with your doc or get a new one…I choose to fight now.
I’ll keep posting here if anyone is interested in hearing how it’s going with the replacement.
September 5th, 2010 at 1:22 am
Hi all,
I see my last post was in June. I have a bit to update. After my 7.2 Free T, I had another test about a week later. This one came back at 6.3 Free T. So he put me on Androgel, 3 pumps/day for about 2 months. My Free T was up to 8.7 again. Up but still low. He then switched me to 200mg Test cyp. injections every other week. I just got my 3rd shot this past Fri. I haven’t really noticed much improvement. PJ I have been taking the Bupropion for a month now and honestly haven’t noticed much. Maybe I’ll notice something in the second month. I’m with you. Yeah I’m might be a little depressed but what’s causing it? Hmmm, lack of energy, ED, low libido, the “fog” my head seemed to be in, etc,etc. I’m not thrilled with the thought of being on TRT for the rest of my life, but if helps these symptoms than I’ll do it. Btw I plan on quitting the AD, but I told my doc I’d give it a try.
My last visit was for blood draw for cholesterol. I spoke with the Physicians Assistant this time. Talked to her about seeing a specialist either in my area or out of state. She said she would have no prob with that and she would pass it on to my doc. So we’ll see where that leads me.
I’m not one to promote or trash other sites but there is some real good info about TRT at a site calle allthingsmale.com. You may want to check out the forums.
Good luck,
Mike
September 6th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
Hey Mike,
If you do need the AD, great, then you should be on them, I should mention that I am not against them they are just over prescribed for everything, doctors aren’t looking anymore, they are just prescribing. They aren’t happy pills to make everything else in your life rosy or to make you forget that you feel “off”. Are you just down or depressed? From what I’ve read LT can cause depression or feelings of being down or blue. I’m looking forward to starting my treatments this week and have a lot of hope for it, my doc seems to think the placebo effect will take the forefront for me first because I believe this is my issue and believe this is my solution. I hope he’s right and that just starting it will give me the lift or sense of well-being. I was hoping that when I saw your name as the poster that it would be fantastic news of how your treatment is going…but it sound like it is going so great. Doesn’t it take 3 to 6 months for noticeable improvement? I hope you get to see a specialist man. Keep posting, am interested in how things go for you because I’m in the same boat!