My Androgel Situation

[acer00]

New to the forum. I have been bodybuilding for about 10 years and sit at a lean 190lbs 6'0" I was recently prescribed Androgel 5g/day (350mg/week)due to fatigue, libido, ect..

I was curious as to what some experiences were with the testosterone dose of 350mg/week range. I have read that some testosterone users inject 300-600mg/week for an effective strength and muscle gain and was curious as to what the 350mg transdermal range has done for some users. Are transdermals as ineffective as some say even though the weekly testosterone range is 350mg/week? with 10% absorption

My physician says that he can prescribe Androgel but he has to send me to a Urologist (sp) to get the injectable..I would prefer to do that at home if I can go that route. How has anyone else went about getting the testosterone delivery switched from transdermal to injectable use at home?

Finally I am prone to hair loss which is another reason my research has led me to want injectable rather than transdermal due to dht conversion... Does it matter whether you use a transdermal application or an injectable to help preserve the hair you have?

Sorry about so many questions, but a doctors time is limited and expensive with co-pays, time off work, ect.. so I thought I would just lay it all out there. Thank you for all you guys help in advance. Fell free to pm me as well

 

[OldGator]

New to the forum. I have been bodybuilding for about 10 years and sit at a lean 190lbs 6'0" I was recently prescribed Androgel 5g/day (350mg/week)due to fatigue, libido, ect..

I was curious as to what some experiences were with the testosterone dose of 350mg/week range. I have read that some testosterone users inject 300-600mg/week for an effective strength and muscle gain and was curious as to what the 350mg transdermal range has done for some users. Are transdermals as ineffective as some say even though the weekly testosterone range is 350mg/week? with 10% absorption

My physician says that he can prescribe Androgel but he has to send me to a Urologist (sp) to get the injectable..I would prefer to do that at home if I can go that route. How has anyone else went about getting the testosterone delivery switched from transdermal to injectable use at home?

Finally I am prone to hair loss which is another reason my research has led me to want injectable rather than transdermal due to dht conversion... Does it matter whether you use a transdermal application or an injectable to help preserve the hair you have?

Sorry about so many questions, but a doctors time is limited and expensive with co-pays, time off work, ect.. so I thought I would just lay it all out there. Thank you for all you guys help in advance. Fell free to pm me as well

AndroGel worked great for me but quadrupled my DHT which led to significant hair loss. I switched to injectables - no more hair shedding.

 

[jonko]

Are there any other side effects of high DHT ?

 

[acer00]

UPDATE:

Just went to the Dr. today. Told him that I did not want the gel anymore as I have started to notice a little more shedding of the hair then usual. I said that I did not want the gel since I could accidently expose it to a child or my wife. After I offered to be placed on an injectable they were hesitant and said that it would be too high of a dose. So they prescribed the patch! Probably even worse since it is outdated and I work out very frequently and have heard it falls off and can be annoying. I even told them I would not mind going to a Urologist from a referral. This is becoming a pain.

I am for the injectables since I wont risk getting the gel on a loved one and the DHT will not knock as much hair out. This is becoming frustrating, any suggestions?

 

[OldGator]

Are there any other side effects of high DHT ?

For me it also restricted pee flow (possibly a little BPH going on, though my PSA remained low).

Actually I loved the huge boost in libido and strength increase that comes with high DHT. I just couldn't live with the hair loss. If I was already bald I wouldn't have changed anything.

UPDATE:

Just went to the Dr. today. Told him that I did not want the gel anymore as I have started to notice a little more shedding of the hair then usual. I said that I did not want the gel since I could accidently expose it to a child or my wife. After I offered to be placed on an injectable they were hesitant and said that it would be too high of a dose. So they prescribed the patch! Probably even worse since it is outdated and I work out very frequently and have heard it falls off and can be annoying. I even told them I would not mind going to a Urologist from a referral. This is becoming a pain.

I am for the injectables since I wont risk getting the gel on a loved one and the DHT will not knock as much hair out. This is becoming frustrating, any suggestions?

See another doc. It seems most docs who specialize in TRT go with either Gels or Injectables. In fact some of the top docs use a compounded gel/cream instead of AndroGel. Less coverage area is required and, theoretically, less DHT production. Docs - like Crisler and Shippen - are plugged into compounding pharmacies that produce these products.

 

[DragonRider]

UPDATE:

Just went to the Dr. today. Told him that I did not want the gel anymore as I have started to notice a little more shedding of the hair then usual. I said that I did not want the gel since I could accidently expose it to a child or my wife. After I offered to be placed on an injectable they were hesitant and said that it would be too high of a dose. So they prescribed the patch! Probably even worse since it is outdated and I work out very frequently and have heard it falls off and can be annoying. I even told them I would not mind going to a Urologist from a referral. This is becoming a pain.

I am for the injectables since I wont risk getting the gel on a loved one and the DHT will not knock as much hair out. This is becoming frustrating, any suggestions?

Just curious. How much did you ask for? You mentioned 350mg a week above and THAT IS NOT A TRT dose. That is a bodybuilding dose.

HRT/TRT doses are closer to 100mg a week.

Are there any other side effects of high DHT ? I work out very frequently

DHT is more anabolic than testosterone. It is absolutely essential if you work out. It is responsible for the strength you get from DHT's activity on the central nervous system.

New to the forum. I have been bodybuilding for about 10 years and sit at a lean 190lbs 6'0" I was recently prescribed Androgel 5g/day (350mg/week)due to fatigue, libido, ect.

5g of androgel per day is not equivelant to 350mg of test a week. The actual amount absorbed is about 14%.
5g of androgel per day is designed to take most males up to around 600ng/dL blood levels of testosterone, whereas 350mg of test per week would have you way over 2000ng/dL.

 

[acer00]

Just got bloodwork back. Total Testosterone (before I started taking Androgel) was 422ng/dL Scale was 270-1070.

 

[DragonRider]

Just got bloodwork back. Total Testosterone (before I started taking Androgel) was 422ng/dL Scale was 270-1070.

You don't need HRT. 422ng is well within range. All you are doing is suppressing your natural production.
I don't know what your insurance pays, but mine only covered 50%. I was paying about $265 a month for androgel. To me that is only worth it if you are truly low.