Need help with testosterone

bradin929

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Hello I'm new to all of this so came here for advice. I have been experiencing low energy, depressed mood (for a long time), low sex drive and some pretty bad joint pain when lifting. I have been in the gym for around 7 years now.

I went to the doctor and had blood drawn. He said my total test levels were 520. I am 28 years old 6'02" 198 lbs. He will not put me on TRT because apparently my levels have to be that of an 80 year old man with diabetes.

The question is, I'm wanting to start taking test c. How much should I take, should I "cycle" or just stay on it until I'm ready for a prescription for maintenance, then I'd just quit and let my levels plummet. Any help is appreciated very greatly. If I do take it and decide to quit, can I quit cold turkey and be ok?

It's sad the first thing they wanted to do was put me on antidepressants. Lord forbid I ask for TRT.
 
RickyBlobby

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Truth be told, low T may not be your problem. But if you want to experiment, you can run like 200mg a week, wait like 6-8 weeks and see how you feel. If it helps and you're ready to get a prescription just wait like 3-4 weeks after your last shot and get blood work done again, it will be low then.

Or just self medicate like me. My monthly testosterone costs me less than a big mac N fries and I aint bull****tin.
 
Matthersby

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This is something we shouldn’t advise much on. Other than dose, cycle length, etc, if you were certain you wanted to get on Test.

But you aren’t sure what you want to do yet. You went to one doctor and don’t agree with him.

I think you should look at all the factors in your life and see another doctor possibly.

What’s your drinking or drug use like?
Sleep? Diet? Steroid Cycle history? Guys at 28 sometimes have low test(yours isn’t low, it’s in range) due to other factors.

Most importantly, did your Doc run a comprehensive metabolic panel? With full thyroid panel? Ever been to a Naturopath? If your sleep is screwed and you use loads of caffeine and nicotine, you could have some adrenal fatigue too.

I’m betting if you spend some time doing some research, you may find you won’t need Test for 15 more years, but I have no way of knowing with the information you provided.

We can definitely help with ideas to get to the bottom of this, but not diagnosis or treatment. Personally I’d spend 5 years reading about hormone therapy before I even considered self administering(which I have done, and so has Ricky) but I certainly didn’t jump on it without trying 20 different things first, (DNA analysis, specialists MDs, extensive detailed labs, etc) because it’s a huge commitment and will cause more problems than you might think.
 

bradin929

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Why do I get a message about posting URL's when I try to reply? There are no URLs' in my post. Ricky, I sent you a PM reply since I can't post my reply here for some reason.
 
Renew1

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"If I do take it and decide to quit, can I quit cold turkey and be ok? "

...MANY times, the answer is NO.

Very often, if you start TRT (either by Dr, or self-administered), you will need to be on TRT for the rest of your life.

Like Matthersby said...I'd give this careful consideration before acting.
 

bradin929

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I mean, what about "cycles". And if the low dose cycle to maintain around 1000 ng/dL alleviated some of my symptoms I would know right? I don't even care if it comes down to not taking testosterone, I just want to feel like I did 10 years ago.
 
Renew1

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This is something we shouldn’t advise much on. Other than dose, cycle length, etc, if you were certain you wanted to get on Test.

But you aren’t sure what you want to do yet. You went to one doctor and don’t agree with him.

I think you should look at all the factors in your life and see another doctor possibly.

What’s your drinking or drug use like?
Sleep? Diet? Steroid Cycle history? Guys at 28 sometimes have low test(yours isn’t low, it’s in range) due to other factors.

Most importantly, did your Doc run a comprehensive metabolic panel? With full thyroid panel? Ever been to a Naturopath? If your sleep is screwed and you use loads of caffeine and nicotine, you could have some adrenal fatigue too.

I’m betting if you spend some time doing some research, you may find you won’t need Test for 15 more years, but I have no way of knowing with the information you provided.

We can definitely help with ideas to get to the bottom of this, but not diagnosis or treatment. Personally I’d spend 5 years reading about hormone therapy before I even considered self administering(which I have done, and so has Ricky) but I certainly didn’t jump on it without trying 20 different things first, (DNA analysis, specialists MDs, extensive detailed labs, etc) because it’s a huge commitment and will cause more problems than you might think.
bradin929, this post contains a lot of things you should really consider.

You may not need Testosterone at all. Your Test numbers by themselves don't really look like that is your issue (in my opinion).

I went to the Dr a number of years ago with the same thing in mind. I figured my Test levels must've been pretty low the way I felt. But the numbers came back great. (The young Tech was actually jealous of my numbers).

My point is...you can't necessarily judge your condition or specific needs by the way you feel.
 
Matthersby

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I’m just trying to help here.

Something is not right, my friend. When I quit alcohol, smoking, painkillers, and antidepressants in 2009, and started training, working, eating and sleeping. Putting nothing in my body that wasn’t going to make my mind sharp and my body healthy. I felt like a ****ing animal, a God above all others..

This was 32 years old.

Something is off that you need to get to the bottom of, because you may think 18 was your prime. It wasn’t... Your prime is now.

Steroids are going to make whatever this other problem is, worse...

We can help you figure this out.
 

bradin929

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I appreciate the replies. I am new to this like I said, and the God's honest truth is, I did not come here hoping "I can get some test and build muscle and look good". If I could put the obvious enhanced appearance from taking testosterone to the side and just feel like I did 10 years ago I'd love that!!! I just can't seem to push myself anymore, especially in the gym.

No, I do not agree with the doctor. Whose to say my t-levels (520), are where I need to be to feel good. It's different in everybody. I did have lipid panel work done. I have the results right in front of me. One thing I do know, and it could be simple fluctuation, is that my levels free and total have declined almost 80 points in the past 8 months. All of my blood work showed to be normal with these exceptions ( and most of these I have no idea what they mean but I will list them for you if you care): Enzymatic Carbonate is high @ 33.4. Glucose is high @ 106. HDL shows high @ 61. AHDL shows high @ 2.3. Vit B-12 @ 518. Vit D is on the lower end @ 34. There is also a sheet that is labeled with a **** load of acronyms that I know nothing about. Ex. WBC RBC HGB HCT MCV MCH MCHC PLT LYM MXD NEUT LYM MXD NEUT RDW RDW_CV and MPV.

My sleep is hit and miss as I work night shift, but like I told the doc, rather I get 10 hrs of sleep or 4 hrs of sleep my energy levels stay suppressed. I have never taken any steroids before, only supplements like creatine, protein when needed, tribulus, and pre-workout. I do chew tobacco and my caffeine intake is really not that high. I drink MAYBE 3-4 sodas a week, no coffee and of course the caffeine from pre-workout.

I really don't know what else to do. The doctors keep trying to force anti-depressants on me, which I REFUSE to take. Adrenal fatigue, I mentioned to the doc along with all of my symptoms but he didn't seem interested. Im fed up with doctors not taking their time and acting like they just want to write scripts for depression and get my money, then on to the next person.

I know this is a long reply, but once again, thanks for the help!!!
 
Jinsun

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I have lots of sleep problems. Even on 500mg T. So no, sleeping and T are overrated. At your levels, you are basically mid range, I see no problem for sleeping. Have you tested free T levels? Those are the ones that actually matter fyi.

Antidepressants can help a lot of people with sleep. Paroxat is most indicated for this and following closely is sertraline. Both are SSRI's. For me, no ssri helped with sleep. But for a lot of people it works. The other thing is leep highene. Like waking up at the same hour everyday and not taking naps throught the day are The most important things (I went to a sleep therapist). Before resorting to drugs think about therapy, meditation, mindfulness, etc.

But if you want to experiment with T, then rather try a serm and an shbg blocker like 6.25mg aromasin eod or 5-10mg anavar ed or 25-50mg proviron ed... None of this will suppress and you can just "jump" off. Do a 3 month cycle; toremifene 30mg.
 

Mudveins

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Hello I'm new to all of this so came here for advice. I have been experiencing low energy, depressed mood (for a long time), low sex drive and some pretty bad joint pain when lifting. I have been in the gym for around 7 years now.

I went to the doctor and had blood drawn. He said my total test levels were 520. I am 28 years old 6'02" 198 lbs. He will not put me on TRT because apparently my levels have to be that of an 80 year old man with diabetes.

The question is, I'm wanting to start taking test c. How much should I take, should I "cycle" or just stay on it until I'm ready for a prescription for maintenance, then I'd just quit and let my levels plummet. Any help is appreciated very greatly. If I do take it and decide to quit, can I quit cold turkey and be ok?

It's sad the first thing they wanted to do was put me on antidepressants. Lord forbid I ask for TRT.
I just got put on trt a month ago. So I’ll tell you what I did and maybe this will help.
First off, since you went to the doctor and talked about TRT... have you gotten blood work done? What was your levels at? Obviously that would help determine if TRT would even fix anything.
Second, consider finding a new doctor... I know through experience some doctors are empathetic of low test, and other believe there is no such thing. One tried to tell me that recent research can’t prove what test levels should actually be at in a healthy male, if it was up to her you could be at 0 test and she would think it was normal for you as an individual. Luckily my other doctor came back from vacation and he was one of the understanding ones.

So for my story ( I’ll try to make it short). I’ve been cycling for a few years and came off a massive 16 week cycle involving 19nor’s. I did my proper pct and got blood work done 2 months after finishing the pct as I always do (I also get bloodwork done before my cycle). Prior to my cycle I was at around 20 (healthy test on the scale used is 15-35), the bloodwork after the cycle came back at 3!
So we waited 3 more months and I got it checked again, still 3 (at this point it was the substitute doc and she thought 3 was just normal for my body...). At this point I felt like absolute ****, lost 30 pounds of quality hard earned muscle and gained a bit of fat... training my hardest I was only able to hack squat 2 plates a side down from 4-5.
So I start self administering 250mg of test cyp a week till my doctor came back. Told him everything that had happened and that I felt 100% better on the test, my muscle was coming back and my IBS flare ups lessened greatly (stable hormone levels... who woulda thought). So we got my blood work done again and I was 25 test, 250mg a week puts me smack dab in the middle of a healthy male range. I asked if I was a candidate for TRT because I didn’t want to do it with UGL anymore and know exactly what I was putting into my body. Within 20 mins I was walking out the door with a years prescript for TRT at 250mg a week.

Hope this helps, best advice is more bloodwork and if test is indeed low, find a new doctor, they are just people like you and me with their own bias opinions.
 

bradin929

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I will try to go to an endocrinologist, that is if I dont have to have a referral from a doctor first. I understand my total test levels (500 in the morning) seem "ok" but I literally just done 15 minutes in the gym and had to leave because I have no drive. I am sick of this ****. I cant even feel like a normal 27 year old Male. I dont know if there is something else going on with me or what but I'm bound and determined to figure it out. I just hope all these doctor visits are covered by my insurance.
 

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