Hello!
My hat is off to the men who run this forum and all of the thoughtful and informed contributors. I’m in the third week of my TRT and spent the first two feeling guilty, questioning my decision and if it wasnt just “all in my head.” It wasn’t until I started reading through all the testimonials here that I realized what I was dealing with for the past decade isn’t normal or healthy.
I’m 40 years old, 5’8" and 195 pounds with a BF% that seems to be stuck around 20%. I workout hard 3-4 times a week during the winter, and 5-6 during the summer. My diet is good enough, I drink very little and have no recreational drug use. My sleep could be better, but I get about eight hours a night. My job is not very stressful, but my wife is.
I survived testicular cancer at 23, so I’m short an engine and had the other one blasted with two notoriously hard cycles of chemo. I’d enjoy trading cisplatinol war stories with other survivors.
Ever since then I’ve never felt quite “right.” I encountered anxiety and depression problems that were treated at different times with combinations of escitalopram, wellbutrin and abilify. Self-medicating with alcohol at points (lol, why do we ever think this is a good idea?) I also had attention problems that probably carried over from my youth.
About six years back I cut the drinking and turned up the exercise. I was able to drop the anxiety/depression meds, but still have a hard time during the winter. I currently take 30mg vyvanse a day, M-F for work. It has been a godsend for my career.
Having very nearly maximised my healthy living, I would still wake up feeling exhausted. Low libido (and not just because of my wife) and I had forgotten what morning wood is. Vyvanse was no longer driving focus like it had, energy levels and motivation were almost always low. I was resigned to having the “soft” look regardless of how hard I lifted, 100 burpees a day, etc. And most importantly, I was quite irritable even with a life dedicated to daily meditation on being “above it.” Squabbles with my wife would really wind me up.
My current protocol is 200mg test cyp to my thigh once a week, .5mg anastrozole the next day, and 500 IU HCG subQ on days four and six. I’m not clear on the mg in these.
I felt the T within hours of my first injection. An internal warmth and general contentment was the first thing I noticed. Other things I’ve noticed over the last two weeks are morning wood, vivid dreams (increased REM?), waves of high libido subsiding back to “meh,” occasional achy joints and an ability to completely mentally disengage with my wife’s drama.
My tinnitus gets worse for about 48 hours following the T, and vyvanse is not required for focus and drive. In fact, taking it the day after my first shot made me feel weird. By day five or six it seems I’m back to feeling the old way minus anxiety and seasonal depression. I also had some stomach bloat gas issues a couple nights.
However, my intensity in the gym has grown and is there all week long. I have to remind myself to dial it back now. The day after hard workouts I no longer feel like I was hit by a truck. My midsection is thinning out noticeably.
I understand it takes about six weeks to level out and take proper accounting of how I feel. And while the occasional aches and stomach issues are not fun, on the whole I already feel worlds better and would be satisfied if things didnt progress further.
I’m including my blood work, but spoiler is a total T of 238 with the lab range starting at 264. I calculated my free T at 5.8 or so, but doubt I did it correctly.