I heard about this board over on BB and thought I would stop by and learn all that I can. Man am I ever glad I did! What an absolute treasure to find this forum! Please allow me to get right to the point.
My wife and I had always enjoyed an active and healthy sex life until I started experiencing ED almost 8 years ago. I'll admit I didn't take good care of myself, and it took awhile for me to get tired of it. I guess I just accepted it as getting old, even though I was in my early 40's.
Then Viagra hit the market! Man was I a happy camper! 25mg's and I was good to go......only now I couldn't orgasm on the stuff. No worries, I took care of the wife and suffered with the headaches, nausea, etc... All of a sudden, those don't work, so the dosage goes up to 100mg, nothing. I had my test levels checked and was told they were "normal".
Flash forward 2 more years and one night it hit me.....I really had no desire for sex anymore. I couldn't remember the last time I had a morning erection. I was sleepy all the time with no energy, and couldn't have cared less. The wife and I hadn't had (or even attempted) sex in over 8 months!
I finally decided to get serious. First thing I did was join the gym with my son and started lifting. That was 3 years ago. Next, I quit smoking 2.5 years ago. And finally, I completely quit drinking. Results? Nada, nothing, ziltch. ED was worse than ever, I was getting the famous pot belly, still had no desire for sex, and was even starting to loose strength in the gym.
So, I went back to my GP and ask to see a Urologist (I'm retired military and I need a consult before my insurance will pay for specialists). After researching and reading everything I could find, I was beginning to think I suffered from low testosterone. I found a site called AllThingsMale and found it to be full of information! So anyway, the Urologist listens to my complaints, asks a boatload of questions and takes a blood test, gives me Lavitra to try and wants to see me in 3 weeks. I go back (Lavitra doesn't work for me either) and he tells me my testosterone is "normal" but "low-normal" (480ng/dl on a scale of 350-1250). He also says my testicles were much smaller than he expected (I didn't notice since they weren't being put to use). So he puts me on Androgel at 5mg per day and wants me back in 3 months.
I saw him again this last Friday after 3 months of Androgel and I've stopped getting "fatter" and have actually gained a little strength. ED is still persistent, although not as severe. I can now get an erection, but maintaining it is a problem. Hey, I'm starting to gain some ground finally! After describing to him how I generally feel (not as tired and actually feel kinda good about life again) and the results of Androgel, he has now put me on Test C @ 100mg per week. He is allowing me to do this at home after showing him I could inject myself in his office. Talk about a gut check! I've never done anabolic steroids, and I wasn't sure I could handle injecting myself. Turned out to be a piece of cake....toally painless. My second injection is on Friday again, as soon as the pharmacy can fill my Rx.
That is where I am. Seems from reading here though (including all the stickies), I may need to check into my Dr. giving me HCG as well to keep my boys happy, even though they may not be producing much as it is.
Thanks for your patience and if you read this much and wish to offer any advice, I'm all ears. If not, that's cool to. I'm reading all the posts I can.
SMH
My wife and I had always enjoyed an active and healthy sex life until I started experiencing ED almost 8 years ago. I'll admit I didn't take good care of myself, and it took awhile for me to get tired of it. I guess I just accepted it as getting old, even though I was in my early 40's.
Then Viagra hit the market! Man was I a happy camper! 25mg's and I was good to go......only now I couldn't orgasm on the stuff. No worries, I took care of the wife and suffered with the headaches, nausea, etc... All of a sudden, those don't work, so the dosage goes up to 100mg, nothing. I had my test levels checked and was told they were "normal".
Flash forward 2 more years and one night it hit me.....I really had no desire for sex anymore. I couldn't remember the last time I had a morning erection. I was sleepy all the time with no energy, and couldn't have cared less. The wife and I hadn't had (or even attempted) sex in over 8 months!
I finally decided to get serious. First thing I did was join the gym with my son and started lifting. That was 3 years ago. Next, I quit smoking 2.5 years ago. And finally, I completely quit drinking. Results? Nada, nothing, ziltch. ED was worse than ever, I was getting the famous pot belly, still had no desire for sex, and was even starting to loose strength in the gym.
So, I went back to my GP and ask to see a Urologist (I'm retired military and I need a consult before my insurance will pay for specialists). After researching and reading everything I could find, I was beginning to think I suffered from low testosterone. I found a site called AllThingsMale and found it to be full of information! So anyway, the Urologist listens to my complaints, asks a boatload of questions and takes a blood test, gives me Lavitra to try and wants to see me in 3 weeks. I go back (Lavitra doesn't work for me either) and he tells me my testosterone is "normal" but "low-normal" (480ng/dl on a scale of 350-1250). He also says my testicles were much smaller than he expected (I didn't notice since they weren't being put to use). So he puts me on Androgel at 5mg per day and wants me back in 3 months.
I saw him again this last Friday after 3 months of Androgel and I've stopped getting "fatter" and have actually gained a little strength. ED is still persistent, although not as severe. I can now get an erection, but maintaining it is a problem. Hey, I'm starting to gain some ground finally! After describing to him how I generally feel (not as tired and actually feel kinda good about life again) and the results of Androgel, he has now put me on Test C @ 100mg per week. He is allowing me to do this at home after showing him I could inject myself in his office. Talk about a gut check! I've never done anabolic steroids, and I wasn't sure I could handle injecting myself. Turned out to be a piece of cake....toally painless. My second injection is on Friday again, as soon as the pharmacy can fill my Rx.
That is where I am. Seems from reading here though (including all the stickies), I may need to check into my Dr. giving me HCG as well to keep my boys happy, even though they may not be producing much as it is.
Thanks for your patience and if you read this much and wish to offer any advice, I'm all ears. If not, that's cool to. I'm reading all the posts I can.
SMH