Endo prescribed 2.5 Letrozol instead of trt

FoxHound

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Hello,

Im back in gym (about 6 months ago), ive been bb for about 15 years dedicated, always been natty. Im 40 now, i have an endocrinologist for my thyroid disease (hypothyroidism), i had a recent visit and told the doc straight up, im 40, im not gonna have kids, i would like to start trt, to bring my levels on the upper end of normal. Last blood work showed test was around 350. Of course he said no, your healthy, etc. BUT, he did compromise with me and said, "lets see if we can bring your test up on your own", and he prescribed me 2.5 mg of letrozole eod, and said see me in 3 months.

Question - what can i expect from this medication and dose? Thank you!
 
Rad83

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Just looked at a pubmed article….They suggest ONCE a week at that dose,…and that’s for severely obese guys that are also hypogonadal…which it certainly sounds like you aren’t either!

Find a new doc!
 
Mathb33

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There’s some recent studies that show that low dose of letrozole can normalize testosterone levels in obese / fat patients that are facing low testosterone. A lot of doctors are trying this out before commiting to trt. If that’s not your case then idk.

One thing to note is most guys now jump on the occasion that their test is low to get trt but in reality a good Endo Will usually spend months trying several things and trt will be LAST resort. (As it should be because nowadays trt is handed like candies when a lot of time it’s fixable otherwise).
 
Mathb33

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Btw I would agree with your doctor that you don’t need trt at level 350. You want it but I don’t think you need it. Most of the time 300ish is fixable by hormones regulation, lifestyle changes, diet, body composition etc.
 
FoxHound

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Wow, seriously lol? Well i feel fine so far, its been about a month. Im not obese or near it, i did gain weight over the pandemic.

Honestly, I trust him, he cares a lot about my health, ive been seeing him for many years. Since I don't see a family doc regularly, he goes out his way to check all that when i see him, blood pressure, kidneys, liver, everything that bloodwork can show. Hes old, very experienced, has about a half dozen diplomas in the wall of his office.
 
FoxHound

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There’s some recent studies that show that low dose of letrozole can normalize testosterone levels in obese / fat patients that are facing low testosterone. A lot of doctors are trying this out before commiting to trt. If that’s not your case then idk.

One thing to note is most guys now jump on the occasion that their test is low to get trt but in reality a good Endo Will usually spend months trying several things and trt will be LAST resort. (As it should be because nowadays trt is handed like candies when a lot of time it’s fixable otherwise).
Yeah, i didn't find much on the internet on this protocol/strategy, but I did find 1 article about a doc talking exactly about this; using letrozole to bring the bodys test up. And he was speaking positive in regards to the results he seen.

Ill try and find the article and link it here.
 
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beefyfan

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2.5mg's of letro a week would probably tank your estrogen. Let alone eod. Fire your doc.
 
FoxHound

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So what are some negative/unwanted side effects i should look for?
 
Screwtape

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Work great in obese men...

 
Smont

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I've never heard of a Endo doing this, I'm definitely interested. Seems like a bad idea at first glance. Is the total dose 2.5mg per week?
 
rascal14

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There’s some recent studies that show that low dose of letrozole can normalize testosterone levels in obese / fat patients that are facing low testosterone. A lot of doctors are trying this out before commiting to trt. If that’s not your case then idk.

One thing to note is most guys now jump on the occasion that their test is low to get trt but in reality a good Endo Will usually spend months trying several things and trt will be LAST resort. (As it should be because nowadays trt is handed like candies when a lot of time it’s fixable otherwise).
I thought the idea of lowering estrogen to increase test has been bro science this whole time? Were the bros right all along?

obviously it’s a specific drug in a specific group of people in the studies, so I’m assuming the higher fat is a big player?
 

BBiceps

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Interesting choice of drug to use to bring Test up, idk but my first choice would be Clomid, I feel that’s more proven to bring Test levels up.
 
Mathb33

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I thought the idea of lowering estrogen to increase test has been bro science this whole time? Were the bros right all along?

obviously it’s a specific drug in a specific group of people in the studies, so I’m assuming the higher fat is a big player?
Obese people tend to aromatise highly to estrogen which obviously has a an impact on their testosterone production. So indeed lowering estrogen wouldn’t necessarily be benefit but letro will basically make it impossible to convert into estrogen. Which by result will help test levels if that was the case to begin with
 
FoxHound

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So i take it, any supplements such as mtest, anabolic effect, etc will be negligible?
 

Jeff

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Sort of in the same boat as you, my doc put me on 1mg anastrozole twice a week. My total test levels went from 250-300 range to 850-900 and free test went from 60 to 125, my estrogen (total serum) went from 146 to 81. You dose does seem really high but I have never used letro.
 
FoxHound

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Sort of in the same boat as you, my doc put me on 1mg anastrozole twice a week. My total test levels went from 250-300 range to 850-900 and free test went from 60 to 125, my estrogen (total serum) went from 146 to 81. You dose does seem really high but I have never used letro.
Nice! Those are greats numbers!
 
Smont

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Nice! Those are greats numbers!
Estrogen is still double the reference range, at least on my bloodwork it would be. That's the type of estrogen levels I have on 300-400mg of testosterone per week.

Either way, still a massive improvement.

Do you also have high estrogen?
 

Jeff

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Estrogen is still double the reference range, at least on my bloodwork it would be. That's the type of estrogen levels I have on 300-400mg of testosterone per week.

Either way, still a massive improvement.

Do you also have high estrogen?
Yeah, I am carrying around about and extra 40 lbs and dealing with tons of mental stress at the moment, that isn't helping with the estrogen numbers either. I am happy with the improvement of the numbers, I do feel a difference from before i started the anastrozole. I wasn't sure about the estrogen test that he is using, i thought there was a special one you are suppose to order for guys, the range on this one is 60-190.
 
Smont

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Yeah, I am carrying around about and extra 40 lbs and dealing with tons of mental stress at the moment, that isn't helping with the estrogen numbers either. I am happy with the improvement of the numbers, I do feel a difference from before i started the anastrozole. I wasn't sure about the estrogen test that he is using, i thought there was a special one you are suppose to order for guys, the range on this one is 60-190.
My test show the range as 10-40(pg/ml) for estradiol and 10-50 for estrone.

I've seen others where the range is just 20-55 and one time I had one the showed 22-50

So while I'm not sure exactly what one is most accurate. 80 would be way above all my references. I've never seen 60-190, I know the female range is crazy, like 20-350 or something like that
 
Smont

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I promise im not obese lol
I'm taking your word for it, but just to be clear does everyone know what obese looks like? Because it's not as big as ppl think it is. The average woman walking the streets that looks perfectly normal is technically obese and men over 29% bf is obese
None of these guys are in shape but I bet no1 would guess there teetering on the edge of obesity. Many people would consider this normal
Screenshot_20220724-113118~2.png
 

Jeff

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I'm taking your word for it, but just to be clear does everyone know what obese looks like? Because it's not as big as ppl think it is. The average woman walking the streets that looks perfectly normal is technically obese and men over 29% bf is obese
None of these guys are in shape but I bet no1 would guess there teetering on the edge of obesity. Many people would consider this normalView attachment 219812
LOL

Like looking in a mirror
 
Mathb33

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I'm taking your word for it, but just to be clear does everyone know what obese looks like? Because it's not as big as ppl think it is. The average woman walking the streets that looks perfectly normal is technically obese and men over 29% bf is obese
None of these guys are in shape but I bet no1 would guess there teetering on the edge of obesity. Many people would consider this normalView attachment 219812
Yeah unfortunately people diminish how bad they look. Any men 29-30-31% skinny type will be super offended if you tell them they’re obese yet they are. Like 1 men out 4 is obese lol. People mix morbidly obese with obese.
 

Jeff

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Yeah, i know I am a fat ass right now. I was hoping the estro blockers would have been a bigger help. Hard to tell if I am fat because i have high estrogen, or I have high estrogen because I am fat. I believe it's the latter, however, i can tell a real difference after i have taking the dose, i have more energy and I am able to work out and have some stamina. I honestly thing I am just have a problem with food and booze, I can go petty well for about a week or two, but then if something comes up socially, or I get depressed about work or something, off the f*cking wagon I fall and it's always 1 step forward, 10 steps back.
 
Smont

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Yeah, i know I am a fat ass right now. I was hoping the estro blockers would have been a bigger help. Hard to tell if I am fat because i have high estrogen, or I have high estrogen because I am fat. I believe it's the latter, however, i can tell a real difference after i have taking the dose, i have more energy and I am able to work out and have some stamina. I honestly thing I am just have a problem with food and booze, I can go petty well for about a week or two, but then if something comes up socially, or I get depressed about work or something, off the f*cking wagon I fall and it's always 1 step forward, 10 steps back.
I don't know why you think we're directing this at you because we're not.
 
Smont

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Yeah unfortunately people diminish how bad they look. Any men 29-30-31% skinny type will be super offended if you tell them they’re obese yet they are. Like 1 men out 4 is obese lol. People mix morbidly obese with obese.
The word offends ppl yet they don't know what the word actually means. Some of the hottest thick fit chicks are obese by definition of the word. Some of these Spanish chicks with the flat stomach and big round asses are like 30% bf or more. But if you said the word obese in one of there comment sections there would be hoards of angry mofos flipping out even tho your just saying a medical term....

They actually did away with the term morbidly obese because ppl were crying about it. Now it's called class 3 obesity
 

Jeff

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I don't know why you think we're directing this at you because we're not.
oh no, not taking it that way at all. I am just venting about my struggles, i just cant get my sh1t together for some reason
 
BCseacow83

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I am going to take a hard line on this and I have not read all the above posts:

Your doctor is either an idiot or a brain washed fool, either way RUN!!!

"Let's try and make your own........." since when is taking a BREAST CANCER drug considered "making your own."
You do NOT have a letrozole deficiency.
Letrozole is not naturally found in the body, unlike testosterone so of course the man made chemical is going to be safer than simply administering bioidentical testosterone.
Did he suggest trying to trick your thyroid into making more hormone or did he directly prescribe THYROID HORMONE?

You have a Dr. who clearly is not experienced in TRT and thus instead of being honest with you and saying, "This is not my area of expertise," he instead instructs you to try a drug with ZERO long-term safety data in men for TRT. GENUIS!

I have been on TRT for almost 15 years and the WORST health professional I had was the one endocrinologist I saw, he was a quack at best when it came to trt. I am sure these dr's are great for treating type-2 diabetes and housewife's with hypothyroidism but when it comes to men and TRT they by and large SUCK in my experience.

There are TONS of clinics out there these days and due to competition the price has come WAY down. My therapy costs less than $15 a week.

Get someone who knows what they are doing and puts YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE above their dogma and ignorance.
 
FoxHound

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I am going to take a hard line on this and I have not read all the above posts:

Your doctor is either an idiot or a brain washed fool, either way RUN!!!

"Let's try and make your own........." since when is taking a BREAST CANCER drug considered "making your own."
You do NOT have a letrozole deficiency.
Letrozole is not naturally found in the body, unlike testosterone so of course the man made chemical is going to be safer than simply administering bioidentical testosterone.
Did he suggest trying to trick your thyroid into making more hormone or did he directly prescribe THYROID HORMONE?

You have a Dr. who clearly is not experienced in TRT and thus instead of being honest with you and saying, "This is not my area of expertise," he instead instructs you to try a drug with ZERO long-term safety data in men for TRT. GENUIS!

I have been on TRT for almost 15 years and the WORST health professional I had was the one endocrinologist I saw, he was a quack at best when it came to trt. I am sure these dr's are great for treating type-2 diabetes and housewife's with hypothyroidism but when it comes to men and TRT they by and large SUCK in my experience.

There are TONS of clinics out there these days and due to competition the price has come WAY down. My therapy costs less than $15 a week.

Get someone who knows what they are doing and puts YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE above their dogma and ignorance.
You said it best "quality of life". Im perfectly healthy, in the normal range. So my endo pretty much said "no need to add uneeded potential healthy risks with trt". He knows what hes doing ;)

Also, read the other guys post, his own body produced test with letro no trt, by a lot!
 
BCseacow83

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You said it best "quality of life". Im perfectly healthy, in the normal range. So my endo pretty much said "no need to add uneeded potential healthy risks with trt". He knows what hes doing ;)

Also, read the other guys post, his own body produced test with letro no trt, by a lot!
Then why the hell is he advocating Letrozole a drug with FAR MORE side effects than 100mg of test a week. So to play it "safe" he scripts a breast cancer drug............instead of a bio-identical hormone you have had in your body since day one.....got it...................Enjoy your Letrozole enhanced quality of life.
 
WesleyInman

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Medical Malpractice

Sue him. Letro is one of the roughest drugs out there. This is going to absolutely kill your Estrogen and make you feel and look like ****.

Get on 25mgs of Clomid ED if you really wanna skip out on INJ test, or creams. Even HCG works well for HRT purposes.

I have clients using 25mgs of clomid at 1,000+ n/dL after a few months of use.
 
FoxHound

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Then why the hell is he advocating Letrozole a drug with FAR MORE side effects than 100mg of test a week. So to play it "safe" he scripts a breast cancer drug............instead of a bio-identical hormone you have had in your body since day one.....got it...................Enjoy your Letrozole enhanced quality of life.
I understand. But i don't know what his plan is, im guessing this is a short term treatment, and then he'll evaluate after my next visit/ bloodbwork. But ill definitely post an update on here when I see my doc again.
 
BCseacow83

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I understand. But i don't know what his plan is, im guessing this is a short term treatment, and then he'll evaluate after my next visit/ bloodbwork. But ill definitely post an update on here when I see my doc again.
Please keep in mind that even among hardcore juicers Letro is avoided by most as it is incredibly difficult to dial in dose wise and has a well deserved reputation for harsh side effects and killing both joints and libido. This is with guys taking tons of test to boot. Were I to find myself limited to non-testosterone hormonal augmentation I would personally look to HCG, LOW low dose clomid and aromasin before I would reach for letro.
 
Smont

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I understand. But i don't know what his plan is, im guessing this is a short term treatment, and then he'll evaluate after my next visit/ bloodbwork. But ill definitely post an update on here when I see my doc again.
Post the bloodwork after letro if you don't mind, I'm super interested to see what it does to your estrogen
 

bigdadybry

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I would view this doctor's actions differently. I would use less, have more "extra", and not follow their directions.
You may get your desired results at the lower (less frequent) dose recommended here and have many leftover for future use (or sale).
 
FoxHound

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I would view this doctor's actions differently. I would use less, have more "extra", and not follow their directions.
You may get your desired results at the lower (less frequent) dose recommended here and have many leftover for future use (or sale).
I did, i decided to dose every 3rd day instead of eod.
 
FoxHound

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Been about 6 weeks, only negative side affect is libido. Joints are fine. I do take 3.5 grams of fish oil/dha. And i have msm on hand in case i need it. Body has recomped very nice, given ive only been on letro for 6 weeks. Im very impressed with results thus far.
 

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