Need some brutally honest advice. Debating UGL trt

[Stacks1]

For ‘shitz and giggles’ I wanted to put myself in op’s shoes for a second…I looked at the endocrinology department of the health coverage I belong to.

…Yeah, they say “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” but I could not imagine a single one of these people knowing fukk all about testosterone. (Yeah I know endocrinology entails more than just hypogonadism and optimizing men isnt their priority in todays world….) The male doctors were either skinny, skinny-fat, and a couple obese. None of their bios mentioned weightlifting, training or anything similar,…in their hobbies/interests section.

It reminded me of when I was 34 and was assigned an upright Indian woman as my doc. in a different practice….I had to plead just to have my total test included on that bloodwork. (I thought theyd at least include free’ too but didn’t) She said, “ok fine, but I’m not prescribing hormones”

When I asked my doctor I wanted my testosterone checked she said "ok great. Let's get you a full hormone panel of free test, estro, prolactin, SHBG, etc so we can get the full picture." Of course my test is in the 700s and there is no way in hell she's approving TRT but at least she is willing to try to do right by her patient.

Doctors are different. It's always good to get a second opinion. But sometimes we see things in a different way ourselves because of what we do and where we're posting here. In comparison, OP is almost half my age with test about half of mine - I wouldn't be thrilled about that either if I were him. But I don't believe his test is technically out of range. I know a lot of people have different ranges for different ages but I believe 385 is actually within range for healthy individuals covering his age range, although I don't think 266 is. If an average doctor sees test of 385 for someone who is 20 I think it's highly unlikely they would suggest TRT.

 

[MrKleen73]

When I asked my doctor I wanted my testosterone checked she said "ok great. Let's get you a full hormone panel of free test, estro, prolactin, SHBG, etc so we can get the full picture." Of course my test is in the 700s and there is no way in hell she's approving TRT but at least she is willing to try to do right by her patient.

Doctors are different. It's always good to get a second opinion. But sometimes we see things in a different way ourselves because of what we do and where we're posting here. In comparison, OP is almost half my age with test about half of mine - I wouldn't be thrilled about that either if I were him. But I don't believe his test is technically out of range. I know a lot of people have different ranges for different ages but I believe 385 is actually within range for healthy individuals covering his age range, although I don't think 266 is. If an average doctor sees test of 385 for someone who is 20 I think it's highly unlikely they would suggest TRT.

Completely agreed, it would be something he would have to self advocate for. Might not be too hard depending on how built he is. Unfortunately they see muscle on someone requesting hormones it is automatically a red flag to most Dr.s. That is why I think he would only have a chance with clomid or enclomiphene from a Dr. to try to get it higher because it is low in the normal range and some people experience Low T symptoms in the lower end of the normal range.

Honestly, it is a crap situation, and I wasn't happy during the years it took me to get on. In the end, I turned back to running anabolics did a couple more designer cycles, and by the time I tried again a couple years later my HPTA had hit the point of no return. I am not recommending that course of action. LOL

To the OP, I really hope you figure out what is going on with your HPTA, and can get it corrected being so young. If not I wish great success with TRT however you end up going about getting it.

 

[Stacks1]

Completely agreed, it would be something he would have to self advocate for. Might not be too hard depending on how built he is. Unfortunately they see muscle on someone requesting hormones it is automatically a red flag to most Dr.s. That is why I think he would only have a chance with clomid or enclomiphene from a Dr. to try to get it higher because it is low in the normal range and some people experience Low T symptoms in the lower end of the normal range.

I've had this conversation with a legit TRT clinic and they told me that they would never prescribe TRT to anyone under 30 or 35 (can't remember the exact age) because they knew that it is highly abused and that they can manipulate their hormones on a blood test so they automatically show them the door. I'm not saying it's right or wrong but I can certainly see where some doctors are coming from on this.

 

[MrKleen73]

I've had this conversation with a legit TRT clinic and they told me that they would never prescribe TRT to anyone under 30 or 35 (can't remember the exact age) because they knew that it is highly abused and that they can manipulate their hormones on a blood test so they automatically show them the door. I'm not saying it's right or wrong but I can certainly see where some doctors are coming from on this.

Yeah, but there really isn't any benefit hormonally to being put on clomid or clomiphene, they might get you to high normal end. Not like with actual hormone replacement where it is easy to go over. I don't see treating hypogonadism as the same thing as hormone replacement. You aren't asking them to replace the hormone you are asking for a medicine that will help your body do it on it's own. I think just about any reasonable doctor could agree 385 is indeed on the low end for a 20 year old. While it may not be complete HPTA shutdown he has to be hypogonadal and should be able to find treatment somewhere. While I also agree it may not be easy to do. I think his first question should be about how can we fix my hpta to get me to a more optimal testosterone level, and not can you put me on TRT. Then at least they will see him as someone who wants to fix his issue and not someone looking to "get on trt". So they may be more willing to help him out.

 

[Stacks1]

Yeah, but there really isn't any benefit hormonally to being put on clomid or clomiphene, they might get you to high normal end. Not like with actual hormone replacement where it is easy to go over. I don't see treating hypogonadism as the same thing as hormone replacement. You aren't asking them to replace the hormone you are asking for a medicine that will help your body do it on it's own. I think just about any reasonable doctor could agree 385 is indeed on the low end for a 20 year old. While it may not be complete HPTA shutdown he has to be hypogonadal and should be able to find treatment somewhere. While I also agree it may not be easy to do. I think his first question should be about how can we fix my hpta to get me to a more optimal testosterone level, and not can you put me on TRT. Then at least they will see him as someone who wants to fix his issue and not someone looking to "get on trt". So they may be more willing to help him out.

Yeah I think that's exactly right. Going in with the attitude of "I want to fix my hpta" is going to go a lot farther than "how do I get on TRT?" And there will definitely be a doc who will prescribe clomid. You'll probably find someone to prescribe TRT, it'll just take more time to locate the doc that will.

 

[rixrix]

Here's my story and my opinion. My perspective is someone pushing 50 and have been on TRT over a decade.

Had major pelvic surgery at 32, and it messed up my testosterone production pretty bad. Did the restart attempt with clomid, then went on TRT at about 38 after my last kid was born.

My take is this: I pay $20 for 12 * 200mg vials of Test from the pharmacy every twelve weeks. Because I have insurance. Insurance pays for my blood tests (Less 10% coinsurance).

Through my life, UGL quality has varied immensely. Right now, it's cheap, plentiful, and generally high quality. This was not the case even 15 years ago. And 20 years ago, it was really hard to find gear. You had to work on it. In my mind there is no guarantee that the current situation will continue for the rest of your life. People go and buy all sorts of stuff now...and it's mostly real, and it's relatively inexpensive, and nobody in government cares pretty much if it's not in massive quantity. But I always wonder when this comes to an end. It would be pretty trivial for the government to treat test like, for example, cocaine (which was an approved pharmaceutical and frequently used in the 1970's in hospitals as a painkiller) and make it very hard and expensive to get.