Raising T

[Bigpete757]

I am looking for some ways to raise my T. It is probably in the low 100's or under a 100 based on my labs.

I have tried using T injections and T cream over the summer and it made me feel worse.

My adrenals are not fully supported, but I also tried cortef recently which made me feel worse. It did raise my testosterone about 100 points, but the side effects were not worth it. I tried using armour and cytomel as well during the process with no progress.

I know that I have to raise my T because it is having a serious negative impact on my overall health. My question to you is what supplements or what things can I try to do that will raise my T?

I am in the process of optimizing my digestive system to see if this will help. I am also trying to get into to a few leading hospitals in my state because I could have a serious illness that is contributing to my deterioration in health.

Due to my endocrine system being very sensitive, whatever approach I take probably will have to start small in something to see how my body reacts.

I have thought about trying Androgel in small dose. Do you think this is worth a shot?

I have also thought about maybe trying synthroid to support my thyroid and then trying a T medication in small dose. Maybe the T medication didn't work before because my thyroid was not supported. I have talked to Dr. M about which thyroid med I should try and he mentioned synthroid due to my immune system being overactivated from my old diet. He also said I would need to raise my T somehow so it could help me lose weight and so my body does not wither away.

I am very worried about not being able to treat my endocrine system at all which is scary. Just based on the fact that I cannot tolerate the T medications I tried so far or the adrenal medication, or thyroid meds did not help either.

I know that it is important to optimize your adrenals/thyroid before going on T medication, but what does somebody in my position do?

There has to be some ways I can raise my T maybe indirectly or directly. I try to exercise when I can and do get a decent amount of sleep. Diet is optimized.

One other questions is what can severe hypogonadism do to your body. Currently, I am having trouble with my vision, have had headaches/dizziness for the past 2 months, trouble with my balance and walking, coordination is off, frequent urination, terrible fatigue. I have suspected possibly multiple sclerosis but will be waiting for those results over the next few months. Could having at T levels in the low 100's or under a 100 maybe cause these symptoms. Or maybe low adrenal/thyroid causing this. I have had endocrine problems for years.

Please help. I feel like I am dying. If you can think of anything that could try or look into, please include it. Thank you.

 

[Philec48]

Low T can cause all sorts of negative symptoms. Knowing them all is not nearly as important as getting your health in better condition. For me, the only symptoms I needed to know before getting under the care of a doc for hypogonadism were low-libido, feeling tired much of the time, and brain-fog.

Greater risk for osteoporosis, cancer, and heart disease are related to low testosterone.

Thinking about "trying" a low dose of Androgel? You sound like an endocrinologist I know. Don't take this as a treatment recommendation. That endo wouldn't know the proper way to do TRT if it bit him where the sun don't shine.

You asked what you could do: If you've talked with Dr. M, it may be prudent to see if either he or another TRT doc will treat you. Self-treatment for someone who has a lot of questions wouldn't be what I would suggest.

 

[coltonlee]

im in a similar situation and yes your low T can cause all of those symptoms.
do you have any actual labs because guessing isnt going to make you feel better. ive worried myself into a hole and am just starting my climb out.

have you done any cycles before?
plz post some labs so we can see where the problem lies

 

[pmgamer18]

I don't see this happen much and when I do it's about how your starting. As for your adreanls when you start on HC or Cortef you need to start low and work your way up on the dose.

Read this link in it is a FAQ's I helped with full of info from this FAQ's is how to start on HC.
http://livingnetwork.co.za/hormones/adrenal-fatigue/
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info/how-to-treat/
The above link is from the FAQ's
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Day 1-3: 2.5 mg first thing in the AM (2.5 mg total)
Day 4-6: 2.5 mg first thing, 2.5 mg in four hours (5 mg total)
Day 7-9: 2.5 mg first thing; 2.5 mg in four hours; 2.5 mg in four hours (7 1/2 mg total)
Day 10-12: 5 mg first thing; 2.5 mg in four hours; 2.5 mg in four hours (10 mg total)
Day 13-16: 5 mg first thing; 5 mg in four hours; 2.5 mg in four hours; 2.5 mg bedtime (15 mg total)
Day 17-20: 10 mg first thing; 5 mg in four hours; 2.5 mg in four hours; Bedtime 2.5 mg (20 mg total)

NOTE: in some patients, the above scheduling causes on overreaction of the HPA axis which causes uncomfortable reactions when trying to raise. That knowledge is changing the way some patients and doctors are using cortisol–namely, they are “starting” right on 20 mg – 30 mg—the latter if the adrenal fatigue is quite severe.

Below are three methods for starting directly on HC without ramping. All are dosed at 8 am, noon, 4 pm and bedtime. By observation, we are seeing most needing the 25 – 30 mg. starting dose.


For 20 mgs (mild adrenal fatigue): 7.5 – 5 – 5 – 2.5
For 25 mgs (moderate adrenal fatigue): 10 – 7.5 – 5 – 2.5
For 30 mgs (severe adrenal fatigue, Stage 5 or higher: 10 – 10 – 5 – 5

Starting right on 20 mg can be successful for most if you do not have a high T3. Additionally, some patients may find they need to dose every 3 hours rather than 4 if the cortisol appears to run out with low cortisol symptoms before your next dose.

Note that many patients seem to end up in the 20-30 mgs range, and men even higher, but it’s a good minimum to shoot for.
=====================================
To start on treating your Adreanls when you get to the 20 mg. dose start tracking your Temps avg. from this link. When your temps avg. is not going up or down more the 2ths. your adrenals are supported and you can start treating your Thyroid.
Read this link on how I get started.
http://forums.realthyroidhelp.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=24

Then when your adrenals are supported try to treat your low Testosterone levels do you know if your Secondary or Primary. Try starting with 100 mgs of depo T shots every week and add 250 IU's of HCG on the 2 days each just before your next T shot. Doing this keeps your more leveled. When we don't do good starting on TRT it's the levels shooting way up and then falling down again very fast. When you fall back down you feel bad.
Go to www.allthingsmale.com and Read TRT: A Recipe for Success and the HCG update in this are labs you needed and why. If you keep having a problem PM me.