Eisenhower
New member
- Awards
- 0
Hello gents,
I'm Eisenhower and I've been watching these boards for some time. Here's my issue - and I think it revolves around Testosterone.
As a little background, I'm 37 and in reasonably good shape though I don't exercise - I'm about 170lbs, 5'10".
When I was in my late 20s, I started using Propecia (Finesteride) for hair loss. After about a year and a half, it was killing my erections. I stopped and started again twice to prove it was the Propecia doing it and it was. I then quit Propecia for good, obviously as it was screwing with my hormones.
Things returned to normal (I thought) but for about the last 5-7 years, I noticed I wasn't ever getting nocturnal or morning erections and I was only getting hard enough for sex with some physical stimulation.
I had a bout of Peyronie's Disease in 2002 (a scarring/bending of the penile tissue). It resolved (thank God) but I was left with a little softness in the head of the penis due to internal scar tissue. It was no big deal though and the Uro gave me Viagra to make me super hard. I loved the V!
However, about a year ago, I got in a serious relationship and was taking V regularly. After about a month I startd to believe the V wasn't working as effectively - I was slower to get hard, requiring more stimulation. That led to some performance anxiety too which is nasty stuff.
So, I started thinking about how I never got nocturnals or morning erections for years and after lots of reading, I started to suspect low T. I asked my Urologist to test my T. Test came back 235, which amazingly, he sluffed off and said, "don't worry about nocturnal erections ... as long as you can perform, your testosterone is high enough." He also sluffed off my complaints that the Viagra didn't seem to work like it had been.
I wasn't satisfied. I went to an Endocrinologist who (looking at the 235 test) seemed ready to do TRT, but wanted me to test again. This time, the test came back 434. She then completely washed her hands of it and said "you're within range." No TRT. I can't believe even 434 is a good number for a 37 year old.
Nine months later, I'm some better but still not satisfied. In January, I started taking supplements many with Peyronie's take (L-Arginine, Acetyl L-Carnitine, Propionyl L-Carnitine as well as Zinc) I'm also taking a drug called Trental which basically gets more blood into the legs (and penis) - it's a promising drug in terms of Peyronie's ... but what I've found is that my nocturnal erections have returned to some degree. Some nights more than others. More importantly, for the last 9months I've been having sex without Viagra or anything other than these supplements. I'm not sure if it's the supplements, the Zinc, or the Trental, but something is giving me better erectile performance.
However, I still feel my Testosterone is probably not right and I can't help thinking I'm addressing symptoms but not the cause. Therefore, I've made an appt with Dr. Romeo Mariano in Monterey, CA, who (as I learned on these boards) is a hormone guru. I'm really hoping he can treat me in a way that helps me long term, shake the anxiety, and get control of my life again.
My only concern at this point is that the 9 months of supplements (which are obviously doing something to me) might skew the T test results that Dr. Mariano orders. I don't want to skew the number high (if in fact that's what's happening in my body because of the Zinc, etc.) but at the same time, I don't want to stop taking the supps, because they're working pretty well.
I asked his nurse if I could send him a letter explaining all this before I tested, but she said no, just explain it when you get here. I wasn't thrilled with that answer, but as he's apparently well respected and closer to me than Michigan or Pennsylvania, I do want to see him.
Any thoughts you T experts might offer me would be appreciated. I'm scared of the prospect of being on TRT for the rest of my life (what if I get Prostate Cancer and have to stop?), but I don't like being strung out on supps not really knowing what's going on in my body either.
I need some advice guys. Thanks.
Eisenhower
I'm Eisenhower and I've been watching these boards for some time. Here's my issue - and I think it revolves around Testosterone.
As a little background, I'm 37 and in reasonably good shape though I don't exercise - I'm about 170lbs, 5'10".
When I was in my late 20s, I started using Propecia (Finesteride) for hair loss. After about a year and a half, it was killing my erections. I stopped and started again twice to prove it was the Propecia doing it and it was. I then quit Propecia for good, obviously as it was screwing with my hormones.
Things returned to normal (I thought) but for about the last 5-7 years, I noticed I wasn't ever getting nocturnal or morning erections and I was only getting hard enough for sex with some physical stimulation.
I had a bout of Peyronie's Disease in 2002 (a scarring/bending of the penile tissue). It resolved (thank God) but I was left with a little softness in the head of the penis due to internal scar tissue. It was no big deal though and the Uro gave me Viagra to make me super hard. I loved the V!
However, about a year ago, I got in a serious relationship and was taking V regularly. After about a month I startd to believe the V wasn't working as effectively - I was slower to get hard, requiring more stimulation. That led to some performance anxiety too which is nasty stuff.
So, I started thinking about how I never got nocturnals or morning erections for years and after lots of reading, I started to suspect low T. I asked my Urologist to test my T. Test came back 235, which amazingly, he sluffed off and said, "don't worry about nocturnal erections ... as long as you can perform, your testosterone is high enough." He also sluffed off my complaints that the Viagra didn't seem to work like it had been.
I wasn't satisfied. I went to an Endocrinologist who (looking at the 235 test) seemed ready to do TRT, but wanted me to test again. This time, the test came back 434. She then completely washed her hands of it and said "you're within range." No TRT. I can't believe even 434 is a good number for a 37 year old.
Nine months later, I'm some better but still not satisfied. In January, I started taking supplements many with Peyronie's take (L-Arginine, Acetyl L-Carnitine, Propionyl L-Carnitine as well as Zinc) I'm also taking a drug called Trental which basically gets more blood into the legs (and penis) - it's a promising drug in terms of Peyronie's ... but what I've found is that my nocturnal erections have returned to some degree. Some nights more than others. More importantly, for the last 9months I've been having sex without Viagra or anything other than these supplements. I'm not sure if it's the supplements, the Zinc, or the Trental, but something is giving me better erectile performance.
However, I still feel my Testosterone is probably not right and I can't help thinking I'm addressing symptoms but not the cause. Therefore, I've made an appt with Dr. Romeo Mariano in Monterey, CA, who (as I learned on these boards) is a hormone guru. I'm really hoping he can treat me in a way that helps me long term, shake the anxiety, and get control of my life again.
My only concern at this point is that the 9 months of supplements (which are obviously doing something to me) might skew the T test results that Dr. Mariano orders. I don't want to skew the number high (if in fact that's what's happening in my body because of the Zinc, etc.) but at the same time, I don't want to stop taking the supps, because they're working pretty well.
I asked his nurse if I could send him a letter explaining all this before I tested, but she said no, just explain it when you get here. I wasn't thrilled with that answer, but as he's apparently well respected and closer to me than Michigan or Pennsylvania, I do want to see him.
Any thoughts you T experts might offer me would be appreciated. I'm scared of the prospect of being on TRT for the rest of my life (what if I get Prostate Cancer and have to stop?), but I don't like being strung out on supps not really knowing what's going on in my body either.
I need some advice guys. Thanks.
Eisenhower
