It's All Good!

No News is Good News RE: Testosterone Replacement Therapy Update

It's All Good!

I just had my testosterone levels checked again and am at 1,151 Total. I’ve seen “normal range” scales say different things, usually from about 240 – 250 on the low end to anywhere from 800 – 1,080 on the high end. I like to be on the high end most of the time, but will occasionally lower the doses for awhile if I feel like I’m getting too much for too long. Lately I’ve been feeling good with my testosterone levels, as well as my thyroid levels now that we have that dialed in (I had my thyroid removed a couple of years ago during a cancer scare).

One thing I’ve learned this year is that if I feel a bit of gyno come on reducing the testosterone dose is NOT the answer, especially without some nolvadex or an aromatase inhibitor. I had this self-fulfilling crisis in which I lowered the testosterone because I felt a little bit of gyno and thought that would make it go away. But that only served to create a further imbalance (in favor of estrogen), which caused the symptoms to get worse. I called the doctor and asked for some Nolvadex and he said I should up the dose back up to what I was taking (200 mg per week) normally and if it didn’t go away in a week he’d prescribe me some. Well it went away in a few days. However, I would very much like some Nolvadex on hand in case it pops up again (no pun intended).

The problem with aromatase inhibitors is that they suppress the conversion of testosterone into estrogen, which is good for “cycles” but maybe not for long-term HRT. The more suppressed your estrogen levels become (below normal) the more signals are sent to convert more testosterone to estrogen. Then when you stop taking an aromatase inhibitor (e.g. Arimidex) your body will be producing WAY more estrogen than it would have otherwise. That is, at least, how my endocrinologist explained it to me. He likes tamoxafin citrate (i.e. Nolvadex) because it just blocks the parking spot (receptors) that the estrogen would normally bind to, rather than keeping it from being produced in the first place.

At any rate, I don’t currently have any gyno symptoms, my sex drive is great, I’m in awesome shape and I feel good. It has been like this for several months straight now so It’s All Good!

How has your therapy been going lately?