Trt/hrt?

Does anyone here have any experience with doctor-prescribed testosterone injections or gels? I’ve been feeling like shit for quite sometime now. I had a lab draw some blood and my total test measured 297, which would be fine if I were 90. (For the record, I’m a fairly healthy mid-thirtysomething.) Has anyone tried something like this?

Have you considered exhausting all other means before monkeying around with your endocrine system through steroids?

One of the simplest techniques I know of involves increasing your dietary fats to 50% for 30 days and lowering carbs, because you’re shifting your macros and not just stuffing your face with donuts. Some old school bodybuilders even drank raw eggs in cream for this very purpose, and I find raw eggs to be excellent for increasing my testosterone and libido…. Just have to make sure I wash the eggs with hot soap and water to cut down on E. coli and salmonella that would be on the shell.

Other homeopathic techniques I know of are intermittent fasting and going for around 12-16hrs without food, eating more bioavailable protein sources like whey, milk, eggs, and red meats, and then there’s the supplement stacks. If you go that route just remember you have to cycle one month on and one month off, or more preferably taper down for two weeks after a month on. The best supplements I found for this were 2g Tribulus stacked with I think it was half a gram of Long Jack, and then taken with 20mg zinc. I’ve tried all the others and maca was weak, finugreek sucked, and DHEA started off good but only worked for about a week before I got used to it.

Try to exhaust all other means before going to your doctor, and for nothing else you’ll be able to get your shot that much faster….. More likely it will have to be at an anti-aging clinic or one of those unregulated drug fairs.

I’ve been on it for some time now. I have no ill affects and the upside had been quite nice.

Replacing your endogenous testosterone with exogenous will cause a halt to your endocrine system; so it would be wise to attempt raising your endogenous production first. What’s your estrogen level?

E2 was 22.9 (Range was 7.6 - 42.6). I’m all for trying to raise my test levels naturally, but do you really think I could reach (and sustain) a level where I’ll be happy. I’m still new to all of this, but it sounds like most guys are still feeling the effects of low T when they’re levels are in the 400 range. At 297, I have a hard time imaging ever getting myself to average, let alone high normal.

Testosterone levels vary a lot through the day; beside that, those aren’t absolute - there are people who are fine with low levels and others feel weak with relatively high levels. Clomid can raise endogenous T levels by more than 50%; beside that, if your concerns are mostly for sex, proviron can fix libido without suppressing endogenous hormonal production (proviron is not approved in USA though). I would speak with a knowledgeable andrologist about said options before jumping on TRT, because once on it you are on it life long probably.

297 is very low for mid-30’s, and it is probably why you are having symptoms. Any idea what could have caused it?

First, test LH and FSH to see if you are primary or secondary hypo-gonadal. Low normal LH and FSH indicate secondary, and you do not want to take T if this is the case. Clomid treatment would possibly bring your system back.

If your LH and FSH are on the high normal side, you are primary, which means your testes do not produce testosterone despite receiving the proper signals. Then TRT would be an option.

Your E2 at 22.9 is pretty much optimal.

You need to test Free Testosterone and SHBG. Most men have around 2% free testosterone, and that puts you way below a healthy level of around 10 ng or so.

Most important thing is to do all the proper blood work and find a competent doctor before starting to mess with stuff.