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TRT

Azziko

New member
Okay, so I got prescribed TRT. How long can you generally take it before your body never produces test again (if going off one day)? I know it's meant to be for life, but I don't want to be perm fucked if I ever have to come off it. An endo I talked to has said that I can basically come off any time, and I will go back to my previous levels +- my new age/ new lifestyle. But I read different things online. The doctor prescribing it said he would eventually give me HCG when/if I need it.
 
To my knowledge, your doc is right, in a sense that you can try when ever and I know some dudes, that have gotten off of trt after being years on it. But on the other hand there's no guarantees of a successful restart, even after a short period of being on exogenous test. Otherwise there wouldn't be people who've driven themselves to need trt with cycling anabolics, if you could just allways restart your hpta and bounce back. I'm assuming that the more time on exogenous test, the more difficult the restart, but the timeline for possible recovery is not linear. Meaning that the difference between 10 weeks on and a year on is bigger, than a few years on and 20 years on.

I'm no doc or expert, just giving my .02$
 
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i think Kvan answered pretty well.

you can trt.. and you can come off trt. I did it myself last yr due to covid. It took a good couple months to feel like i did pre trt.

listen to your Dr. until you turn to blasting other gear. at that point your Dr's knowledge will be lacking and possibly then you will find the answers he doesnt know.

but for now just listen to him and learn the process.
 
@KvanH answered it pretty well, it is ppl that have came off successfully (myself included) but it’s no guarantee that you will have as easy time as I.

I would recommend to not go on TRT if you have second thoughts about being shut down for the rest of your life.
 
There's also this research:

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As long as you aren't on too long, you may be able to rebound, but your balls are likely to stay partially atrophied. Have you considered clomiphene or enclomiphene?
 
AnaBrolicHK said:
There's also this research:

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As long as you aren't on too long, you may be able to rebound, but your balls are likely to stay partially atrophied. Have you considered clomiphene or enclomiphene?
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What's considered too long? And yes I considered those for if I decided to get off TRT.
I want to do TRT for at least a year and see how it fixes my symptoms of low T.
I read that some guys do TRT for around that time, then get off and let their natural test start working again for some months and go back on TRT again.
 
Azziko said:
What's considered too long? And yes I considered those for if I decided to get off TRT.
I want to do TRT for at least a year and see how it fixes my symptoms of low T.
I read that some guys do TRT for around that time, then get off and let their natural test start working again for some months and go back on TRT again.
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Going on and off TRT as you explained is the worst advice to follow. Since you’re apprehensive about going on TRT, and that’s not a bad thing, I would try everything available to restart my natural production. Do your research on what can cause low T and see if anything fits you, then make any necessary changes. If that doesn’t work, then go the TRT route and stay on it. If nothing else helped you before TRT, the chances of you being able to successfully come off or are slim to none. I’ve been on TRT for nearly 9 years and I wouldn’t give it up for nothing.
 
Azziko said:
What's considered too long? And yes I considered those for if I decided to get off TRT.
I want to do TRT for at least a year and see how it fixes my symptoms of low T.
I read that some guys do TRT for around that time, then get off and let their natural test start working again for some months and go back on TRT again.
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Clomiphene alone can double or even quadruple your natural testosterone without the side effects that come with TRT. It's used off-label for this (widely). If your fertility matters to you and you want to maintain your testicle size, it might be worth trying. You can also try low dose letrozole, which can take you supraphysiological!

If you go on TRT you aren't going to magically have higher levels when you come off. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way...you will quite possibly have permanently lower levels than when you started, even.
 
AnaBrolicHK said:
Clomiphene alone can double or even quadruple your natural testosterone without the side effects that come with TRT. It's used off-label for this (widely). If your fertility matters to you and you want to maintain your testicle size, it might be worth trying. You can also try low dose letrozole, which can take you supraphysiological!

If you go on TRT you aren't going to magically have higher levels when you come off. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way...you will quite possibly have permanently lower levels than when you started, even.
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Completely agree on the latter paragraph.

But depending on the situation, using Clomid will only raise T levels 'artificially' and T production would decrease back to starting point, when the use of Clomid is ceased. And Clomid use can have it's own side effects, like mood swings etc. I'm talking about in 'normal' state, not in pct or in other situation where T production is hindered for some reason.

And Letro? Hmm.. I don't know about that. Sounds like crashed estrogen levels, when not taking anything exogenous, that aromatizes.
 
KvanH said:
Completely agree on the latter paragraph.

But depending on the situation, using Clomid will only raise T levels 'artificially' and T production would decrease back to starting point, when the use of Clomid is ceased. And Clomid use can have it's own side effects, like mood swings etc. I'm talking about in 'normal' state, not in pct or in other situation where T production is hindered for some reason.

And Letro? Hmm.. I don't know about that. Sounds like crashed estrogen levels, when not taking anything exogenous, that aromatizes.
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With both Clomid it's all about the dosage. I'm on 25mg ED atm of clomid and it works very well. When I first got on, 25mg was too much and gave me vision disturbances and a bad headache so I used 12.5mg ED with good results for over a month until I titrated up to 25mg. Too much Clomid is definitely horrible, and people tend to use way too much.

As for artificially raising test: Clomid raises your OWN test. It's not exogenous. So Clomid has a more 'natural' effect than TRT (if that matters to you). But the right dosage is paramount.

Obese men with hypogonadism do very well on just ONE 2.5mg pill of letrozole a week, but using 1/4 pill twice a week may be all that is needed.
 
sammpedd88 said:
Going on and off TRT as you explained is the worst advice to follow. Since you’re apprehensive about going on TRT, and that’s not a bad thing, I would try everything available to restart my natural production. Do your research on what can cause low T and see if anything fits you, then make any necessary changes. If that doesn’t work, then go the TRT route and stay on it. If nothing else helped you before TRT, the chances of you being able to successfully come off or are slim to none. I’ve been on TRT for nearly 9 years and I wouldn’t give it up for nothing.
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Its been a process before the doctor offered TRT. It's been gradually dropping bit the last 3-4 years. It was on the lower end of normal so it wasn't like I have to go on TRT but my symptoms are pretty bad. I got checked for everything.
What I want to do is go on TRT for a year and see how it makes me feel. Then come off and continue living with low T or maybe my lifestyle will be even better so it will be higher than I started with or keep going with TRT. idk.
 
Azziko said:
Its been a process before the doctor offered TRT. It's been gradually dropping bit the last 3-4 years. It was on the lower end of normal so it wasn't like I have to go on TRT but my symptoms are pretty bad. I got checked for everything.
What I want to do is go on TRT for a year and see how it makes me feel. Then come off and continue living with low T or maybe my lifestyle will be even better so it will be higher than I started with or keep going with TRT. idk.
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That's very unlikely re: better than when you started. Not gonna happen on exogenous T. TRT is usually for life, but some men do switch to Clomid later if they need to have kids or choose not to use TRT any longer. In your shoes I'd totally try the Clomid (or enclomiphene if you can get it) first if your doctor will prescribe it. How are your levels now? Are you obese?

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AnaBrolicHK said:
With both Clomid it's all about the dosage. I'm on 25mg ED atm of clomid and it works very well. When I first got on, 25mg was too much and gave me vision disturbances and a bad headache so I used 12.5mg ED with good results for over a month until I titrated up to 25mg. Too much Clomid is definitely horrible, and people tend to use way too much.

As for artificially raising test: Clomid raises your OWN test. It's not exogenous. So Clomid has a more 'natural' effect than TRT (if that matters to you). But the right dosage is paramount.

Obese men with hypogonadism do very well on just ONE 2.5mg pill of letrozole a week, but using 1/4 pill twice a week may be all that is needed.
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Ok. I think Enclomiphene would be a better fit though, if one can get it. But can you take Clomid endlessly and does it continue to work?

Letro is pretty harsh on multiple ways. Wouldn't Exemestane or even Anastrozole be a better choice? And I would still be concerned about too low estrogen, when it's already low, due to insufficient T production.
 
KvanH said:
Ok. I think Enclomiphene would be a better fit though, if one can get it. But can you take Clomid endlessly and does it continue to work?

Letro is pretty harsh on multiple ways. Wouldn't Exemestane or even Anastrozole be a better choice? And I would still be concerned about too low estrogen, when it's already low, due to insufficient T production.
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Letro is harsh because people use a buttload IMO. It's very effective in very low doses, but can work TOO well. I know someone who just went from letro to clomid because letro took his test level surprisingly high up into supraphysiological range!

And yes, enclomiphene or just plain old clomiphene work very well long term, although some titration of dose might be needed.
 
AnaBrolicHK said:
That's very unlikely re: better than when you started. Not gonna happen on exogenous T. TRT is usually for life, but some men do switch to Clomid later if they need to have kids or choose not to use TRT any longer. In your shoes I'd totally try the Clomid (or enclomiphene if you can get it) first if your doctor will prescribe it. How are your levels now? Are you obese?

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my average on the last 3 bloodwork was 10nmol. and no I am not obese.
 
Azziko said:
Its been a process before the doctor offered TRT. It's been gradually dropping bit the last 3-4 years. It was on the lower end of normal so it wasn't like I have to go on TRT but my symptoms are pretty bad. I got checked for everything.
What I want to do is go on TRT for a year and see how it makes me feel. Then come off and continue living with low T or maybe my lifestyle will be even better so it will be higher than I started with or keep going with TRT. idk.
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Going on TRT for a year, then stopping cold turkey is going to be the worst thing you could ever do. Within a year, it’s highly probable that your natural production will be shutdown meaning you will feel way worse than you do now. If you dr can’t recommend other treatments to try in an attempt to raise your natural levels before getting on TRT, then find another dr that will. Also….TRT is basically for life. Very few guys are able to get off of it.
 
Azziko said:
Why is it a terrible plan? If I would go back to my previous levels then what's the issue?
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Because there's no guarantee, that you will. And on top of that, the time when your trying to restart after the trt will most likely be a pretty bad time, regardless of how well you bounce back. I can understand if for some reason the trt is not working for you, and you kind of have to try to get off of it and hope that you can restart. But intentionally going on and off is just.. Well not very smart.
 
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KvanH said:
Because there's no guarantee that you will, and on top of that, the time when you're trying to restart after the trt will most likely be a pretty bad time, regardless of how well you bounce back. I can understand if for some reason the trt is not working for you, and you kind of have to try to get off of it and hope that you can restart. But intentionally going on and off is just.. Well, not very smart.
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Idk what will happen. I want to try it for a year at the least because I feel like that's a good enough time to see if it's working for me or not. And yes I already tried all the natural ways to raise my T levels, and the highest I was able to get naturally was 14 nmol. And I would consider getting off it even if it means I'll feel worse because I don't exactly want to be dependant on it for the rest of my life. And I read some studies that short term TRT can get a person back on track.
Also, I wasn't thinking of stopping it cold turkey. I would follow the doctor's instructions like lowering the dose and starting HCG,etc
 
Azziko said:
Idk what will happen. I want to try it for a year at the least because I feel like that's a good enough time to see if it's working for me or not. And yes I already tried all the natural ways to raise my T levels, and the highest I was able to get naturally was 14 nmol. And I would consider getting off it even if it means I'll feel worse because I don't exactly want to be dependant on it for the rest of my life. And I read some studies that short term TRT can get a person back on track.
Also, I wasn't thinking of stopping it cold turkey. I would follow the doctor's instructions like lowering the dose and starting HCG,etc
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Short term trt getting a person on track? Umm I don't get that. Unless it's meant as someone getting their life together, when they can't do it with low T symptoms. But that's kind of like taking a stimulant for a period of time to get things rolling and then stopping it.. Also just as a reference (not holding a lot of value as we're all individuals) I've been measuring a T level of 15 nmol/l for some years now. No trt in the plans for now. What have your free T levels been like?

Anyway I think that what can be said have been said here already pretty much. I'm with the other lads here and think, that the best would be to try other measures of increasing your own T production or commiting to a trt regimen. But you do you and I wish you all the best in any case and I'm sure the good lads of AM are here to help you regardless.
 
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Azziko said:
Idk what will happen. I want to try it for a year at the least because I feel like that's a good enough time to see if it's working for me or not. And yes I already tried all the natural ways to raise my T levels, and the highest I was able to get naturally was 14 nmol. And I would consider getting off it even if it means I'll feel worse because I don't exactly want to be dependant on it for the rest of my life. And I read some studies that short term TRT can get a person back on track.
Also, I wasn't thinking of stopping it cold turkey. I would follow the doctor's instructions like lowering the dose and starting HCG,etc
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It won’t work they way you think, don’t do it at all is my best recommendation and stop asking questions pls, you already made up your mind how you “think” it will turn out, even though we told you it won’t work.
 
KvanH said:
Short term trt getting a person on track? Umm I don't get that. Unless it's meant as someone getting their life together, when they can't do it with low T symptoms. But that's kind of like taking a stimulant for a period of time to get things rolling and then stopping it.. Also just as a reference (not holding a lot of value as we're all individuals) I've been measuring a T level of 15 nmol/l for some years now. No trt in the plans for now. What have your free T levels been like?

Anyway I think that what can be said have been said here already pretty much. I'm with the other lads here and think, that the best would be to try other measures of increasing your own T production or commiting to a trt regimen. But you do you and I wish you all the best in any case and surely the good members of AM are here to help you regardless.
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Yeah well that's exactly what the endo told me. Like I said, that I can come off any time and my test will be +- what it started from
Free is from 200-300.
BBiceps said:
It won’t work they way you think, don’t do it at all is my best recommendation and stop asking questions pls, you already made up your mind how you “think” it will turn out, even though we told you it won’t work.
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So first I'm told to listen to the doctor. and now you guys are saying it won't work the way I think it will?
My free test is 200-300
Doctor said if I go off my test will go back to what it was +- my new age/new lifestyle.
 
Please don't tell me to try other ways to increase test. I've been trying to do that the last few years.
 
"But if for some reason you need or want to stop, you can do so at any time. You can just consult with your doctor to determine the best way to taper off of the hormone over a period of time (usually 3-4 weeks). Tapering off of T is important since your body will need a couple of weeks to restart its natural production of the hormone. Though abruptly stopping treatment isn’t dangerous, it can cause serious discomfort."
 
Azziko said:
Yeah well that's exactly what the endo told me. Like I said, that I can come off any time and my test will be +- what it started from
Free is from 200-300.


So first I'm told to listen to the doctor. and now you guys are saying it won't work the way I think it will?
My free test is 200-300
Doctor said if I go off my test will go back to what it was +- my new age/new lifestyle.
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If you’re Dr told you that, then find another one because he is not well versed in TRT. You will find hundreds of guys on here with horror stories of what their doctors told them to do regarding TRT, from GP’s, to Endo’s, to urologists. I myself went to three doctors before I found one that knew what the hell they were doing. I’m telling you now, if you go on TRT for a year your levels are going to drop lower than what they are and you’re going to do yourself more harm than good.
Everyone has given you great advice but you evidently aren’t listening and you have your mind already made up of what you want to do and what you THINk will happen.
 
Azziko said:
"But if for some reason you need or want to stop, you can do so at any time. You can just consult with your doctor to determine the best way to taper off of the hormone over a period of time (usually 3-4 weeks). Tapering off of T is important since your body will need a couple of weeks to restart its natural production of the hormone. Though abruptly stopping treatment isn’t dangerous, it can cause serious discomfort."
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You have no clue what you’re talking about.
 
BBiceps said:
It won’t work they way you think, don’t do it at all is my best recommendation and stop asking questions pls, you already made up your mind how you “think” it will turn out, even though we told you it won’t work.
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^^^^^what he said
 
sammpedd88 said:
You have no clue what you’re talking about.
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I got that from here ----> Invalid Link Removed

Yes, my doctor (GP) and an endo both told me that it would be safe to come of it one day if I wished. And that I will just go back to where my T levels were.

The symptoms of low T are a daily struggle for me (literally as far as even taking a piss) so at this point after doing everything I could possibly do (eating good, exercising daily, 0 alcohol,etc), yes I want to be on it. But if in the future they find the reason why I did have low T then of course I'd rather come off it and have lower levels than I did on TRT or potentially higher if the reason why my levels were low in the first place is fixed. I say a year because if my symptoms don't go away then I would know it's not even related to my T levels. But I already went to like 4-5/urologists and endos and at this point, I just want to try something that could help me. But the idea of being on something forever obviously doesn't excite me.

I did talk about this longer than I should have. I'm just scared to be on it but also want to live a normal life. Was trying to see if there's anything I can do at the same time to potentially one day come off it easier like also being on HCG, idk. I don't care about muscle gain and **** like that. I just want to feel good until possibly there's a more permanent solution to why I am the way I am and won't have to be on anything and just live as ME.

don't mean to piss anyone off. I'm quite fed up with this **** too.
 
Azziko said:
I got that from here ----> Invalid Link Removed

Yes, my doctor (GP) and an endo both told me that it would be safe to come of it one day if I wished. And that I will just go back to where my T levels were.

The symptoms of low T are a daily struggle for me (literally as far as even taking a piss) so at this point after doing everything I could possibly do (eating good, exercising daily, 0 alcohol,etc), yes I want to be on it. But if in the future they find the reason why I did have low T then of course I'd rather come off it and have lower levels than I did on TRT or potentially higher if the reason why my levels were low in the first place is fixed. I say a year because if my symptoms don't go away then I would know it's not even related to my T levels. But I already went to like 4-5/urologists and endos and at this point, I just want to try something that could help me. But the idea of being on something forever obviously doesn't excite me.

I did talk about this longer than I should have. I'm just scared to be on it but also want to live a normal life. Was trying to see if there's anything I can do at the same time to potentially one day come off it easier like also being on HCG, idk. I don't care about muscle gain and **** like that. I just want to feel good until possibly there's a more permanent solution to why I am the way I am and won't have to be on anything and just live as ME.

don't mean to piss anyone off. I'm quite fed up with this **** too.
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There is so much false info on the internet based on old protocol for hormone replacement. From someone that has been on it for nearly 9 years, it’s for life once you get on it. You think you’re miserable now you’ll be worse coming off after a year. There’s basically two causes of low T, primary and secondary hypogonadism. Primary means your testicles are screwed up. Secondary means your pituitary gland or hypothalamus are screwed up. Now if you’re a drug user, not getting sleep, and eating bad and over weight then fix those issues and your T may come up. Other than that what has already been told to you on this thread nothing is going to help you. You’ll need TRT for life. If you don’t understand anything I just posted then stop posting questions.
 
Chances are you will recover, but you may well have permanently lower testosterone levels than when you started, slightly lower HDL levels, lower FSH and significantly lower testicular volume (size). Your fertility will also take a hit, and depending on dose and how your body reacts to it, you may have major fertility issues after. Even with a taper off with SERM and HCG use all of that is possible. If you do decide to go on TRT (and you do sound like you need it), you really should just stay on, but why not try a less destructive method first?
 
Azziko said:
Yes I know it doesn't cure it. But if the problem for my low t is fixed then I wouldn't need TRT. There's been plenty of people going off TRT later. All I'm gonna say.
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It sounds like you have it all figured out. Don’t know why you ever posted a question in the first place. Good luck.
 
BBiceps said:
@KvanH answered it pretty well, it is ppl that have came off successfully (myself included) but it’s no guarantee that you will have as easy time as I.

I would recommend to not go on TRT if you have second thoughts about being shut down for the rest of your life.
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You currently on it?
 
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