21 Active and Feeling BLAH

Pharma / TRT Testosterone Replacement
1

First post my name is Anthony

I have been a follower of this forum since I was 18, now 21 I decided to look further into trt.

Little backstory of my life and ill do my best to keep it short. Always played sports till high school were I dealt with a lot of anxiety and being overweight. I was put on zoloft for 5 months or so at the age of 15, but didn’t notice any changes. Out of the blue I decided to quit the drug cold turkey, and since that day I haven’t had nearly bad of anxiety ( still have a little here and there).

That summer I remember weighing in at 286+ lbs (im 6’4) and decided to get in shape. Fortunately I found fitness, started tracking calories and lost about 100lbs in total over about a year and a half. Now in my senior year I got a my first girlfriend, kept with the gym and everything was great. Made good gains at the gym, finally had sex, life was good. It wasn’t till later well I felt I wasn’t very aggressive in life, and I gave no fucks about everything. I never have seen a women and thought that I wish I can fuck her right now ( sorry for my language) and gotten aroused by looking at a women in a bikini. Only if I have some sort of stimulation will I get aroused. I have been with that girlfriend for almost 5 years now, and we have sex regularly. Don’t have too many issues staying erect.

I don’t do well in the medical field, that’s were most of my anxiety stems from. But if it means a better quality of life I am all in. (how many vials do they need for the male hormone panel :frowning: ) haha

I decided to try some of the things in the sticky KSman posted. Took my tempature when I woke, it was 97.7 and in the afternoon it was 98.6. When I was dieting I tried to eat foods without salt, it was a personal preference. I live in the states, and i’m not sure if they add iodine to the breads. But when I was growing up my mom started to cook with the famous sea salts.

Do you guys think a blood test is necessary for my symptoms? I know its a crap shoot without actual data. I have never had my blood drawn…My pediatrician only did finger pokes, guess it’s time to grow up.

Current weight is 227 and about 15% bf
I don’t drink or smoke anything…
Supplements- multi, fish oil, creatine

Personal health problems
-When I was 10, I got a catheter up my urethra…They took images up there because I had slight traces of blood in my urine. Turned out to be nothing, and I believe I don’t have it anymore, my dad had it aswell.

-hydrocele: This happened to me two years ago, basically fluid like sack in the scrotum. Seems to happen when I wear loose fitting underwear.

2

KSman will have the science for you, I’m sure, but you definitely need to get the blood results on here before anybody will give you too much advise. Anything else is just guess-work. And again - don’t just jump on the low-T train because of the hype. It sounds magical, and it can be for those that need it… but your blood work will really tell the full picture. TRT is essentially a lifetime commitment, and there’s so much more to it than “dude legal juice brah”. You have to constantly advocate your own health and doctors really tend to look down on this. Many doctors are arrogant and opinionated. It’s not an easy road to travel, as I’m finding out, and as many here will attest to.

I’m not a big fan of getting my veins poked either, trust me. I’ve passed out quite a few times. I always have issues when getting a draw when I’m fasted, so maybe ask your doc to allow you to get it done non-fasted. I don’t think it has any serious relevance and I hear that there’s little evidence that it does now. Maybe if they’re testing for something specific to hepatoxicity, or cholesterol issues, or maybe diabetes it might be relevant. Somebody can cross-check this information, and I’ve been wrong in the past. Anyway, it might help you tolerate the draw better. Oh, and I always have the nurse allow me to lay down. This helps so much for me it’s crazy. Think happy thoughts and try to control your breathing and it will help your anxiety levels when its getting done. When you get a nice easy draw and you go “hey that was easy!” it will reduce your anxiety about it afterwards.

I’ve been shot, stabbed, had my ear cut in half, and even took shrapnel. I should have no issues with getting my blood drawn… but I do, so don’t feel like a wuss because you get anxious over it. The nurse or phlebotomist will work with you to ease your anxiety. Just talk to them and they’ll be really cool with you. Don’t worry about the amount of vials. You won’t even notice if you’re not looking and talking to the nurse. One mistake I always make is to over-learn about the things that peak my anxiety.

Get those blood results on here! Just get a full work up. Full hormone, vitamin, hema, lipids, full thyroid - make sure it’s not just the reflex tsh to free t4.

As to iodine - no they don’t add it to breads or pretty much anything else here in the states. Only iodized salt, from what I see, and I’ve been off that stuff for years now. KSman just talked me into supplementing iodine and selenium based on my blood work.

3

In USA, you can purchase table salt, iodized or not-iodized. Packages are similar and on same shelf, people can make wrong purchase and also have no idea what iodized means.

Your mom and her household is probably iodine deficient. You can intervene with that problem.

With blood work, they make one needle stick into your vein and then plug multiple vials onto the needle. So its one needle, but takes some time to fill the vials. The vials have a vacuum, so they self load. Man up!

There is no iodine in USA bread. There used to be in milk, but most of that is gone. You really need to make an effort to get iodine, it is not really hidden in foods like it used to be.

Why a salt aversion? There is nothing really harmful about salt. When people have high blood pressure, reducing salt [sodium] reduces blood volume which helps reduce blood pressure. Concluding that salt causes high blood pressure is simply wrong.

Is English your first language.

Labs:
TT
FT
E2
TSH
CBC
hematocrit
TSH
fasting glucose
fasting cholesterol - can be too low
If TT, FT lower, test LH/FSH
if LH/FSH are low, test prolacin

Above can involve getting lab work multiple times.

As for sex drive when younger, that is simply the way things are. From what you describe, your sexual function and libido is good. I don’t know if your problem is hormone related or you just do not have much drive or ambition, but trapped in apathy. That can involve a lot of factors. Many younger guys feel unestablished and aimless. Life is not easy. Your body temperatures seem very good, so there is nothing major going on with your thyroid function. But you really need to make sure that you are getting iodine. If you are living with GF, she may be iodine deficient as well and you need to check her temperatures as well.

Please read the stickies found here: About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman

  • advice for new guys
  • things that damage your hormones
  • protocol for injections
  • finding a TRT doc

Evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. Thyroid hormone fT3 is what gets the job done and it regulates mitochondrial activity, the source of ATP which is the universal currency of cellular energy. This is part of the body’s temperature control loop. This can get messed up if you are iodine deficient. In many countries, you need to be using iodized salt. Other countries add iodine to dairy or bread.

4

I appreciate the feedback booleanor.

5

haha yes, I guess I will have to.[quote=“KSman, post:3, topic:229009”]
Why a salt aversion? There is nothing really harmful about salt. When people have high blood pressure, reducing salt [sodium] reduces blood volume which helps reduce blood pressure. Concluding that salt causes high blood pressure is simply wrong.
[/quote]

I tried to stay away from salt just for taste preferences. I have been using it more and more these last two days. My girlfriends family stay away from iodized salt, so I got a handful of packets and told her to start using it haha. Is this the best way to intake iodine, I was a little confused on the sticky. Is it better to cook with the salt, or can I just put the iodized salt on my food after I prepare it?[quote=“KSman, post:3, topic:229009”]
Is English your first language.
[/quote]

yes

How do I go about getting this blood test done? I know you posted a link to a website were you order the test. Is it there a link to get a majority of these done, or do you have any suggestions on how I should test it. I’ve never ordered a blood test before, so a little new to it… :smiley:

I hope to be posting updates, but I may wait till after classes get out. I’ve always wanted to see what my blood contains. I think it’s time for me to muster up and get it done. I want to thank you ksman, and booleanor. It’s nice to be on a forum with present and helpful members.

6

They are in trouble, check GF’s temperatures.

Iodized salt should be used in cooking and at the table. Salt is good in cooking, some then salt to their taste preferences.