Can I Quit TRT After a While If It Doesn't Help?

Hi Everyone. I’m 30yo male, suffering from Anxiety disorder since i was 17. I got to the point when my life turned into survival mode every single day. Recently i found out that higher T levels can help my problem big time. I did my labs and my levels are very average. My T level is 17.8nmol/L and my free T is 447pmol/L. I live in Canada, but 17.8nmol/L is about 500 ng/dl. There are no doctors in this country who would put my on TRT considering my levels. So i’m thinking to start self medicating with T + HCG before going to antidepressants, which can be much more harmful than a small dosage of Testosterone. Some people say that it won’t help me since my natural levels are not that low and i won’t feel any difference, while others say that being on 1000-1100ng/dl makes so much difference in well being compared to 500ng/dl… I’m defenitely ready to try, but the question is: Can i stop after let’s say 6 month in case it doesn’t help me? Is it going to cause a permament damage to my natural Testosterone production or 6 months is not that long to fuck me up to the point when i’ll be absolutely dependable on TRT?! Thanks

I stopped TRT after 2.5 years and returned to baseline levels, my experience is a typical case and is very rare someone doesn’t return to baseline levels. I’m not sure about those Free T labs as no ranges were given and no SHBG labs are shown and unless really high I don’t expect TRT to do much for your anxiety disorder.

I have never heard of low-T causing severe anxiety, however I have heard of low-T causing some minor to moderate anxiety if there is a combination of low-T and super low estrogen. In my opinion those antidepressants can be more harmful in the long term, TRT has a better long term outlook which is what the studies show.

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Cycling on and off will help your body keep most of its natural testosterone production. I believe if your testosterone levels are normal, there is no need to hop on TRT. Testosterone replacement therapy is designed to replace the testosterone that your body doesn’t produce anymore. If your workouts are good and the ol’ lady is happy with your performance, I say there is no need for it.

Wait till you actually need it; then I would consider hopping on.

I always recommend fixing sleep, diet and exercise before jumping on TRT. Lifestyle factors can lower testosterone significantly.

Also, get a full blood panel, including thyroid to rule out any other health concerns.

500 ng/dl is OK. Not great, but not low enough to make you symptomatic either. Getting more than 7 hours of sleep per day can boost your testosterone levels by 20%. Diet can boost it by another 20-25%.

You can try TRT for a couple of months and then try a restart. As long as it’s less than two years on test only, you can in most cases regain your pre-TRT testosterone levels. When you first go on TRT, you will experience a “honeymoon” phase, but the novelty value itself will wear of and if you do not fix the root cause of your anxiety, TRT will not cure it.

While test boosters do not work, vitamin D, good cholestrol, and a few herbs (ginseng, bulbine natalensis, tongkat ali, etc.) are proven to improve testosterone levels. I wish I tried that before I started doing steroids in my 20’s; now I’m on TRT for life because of that.

I suffered from anxiety and depression during my teens and early 20’s, and I know it can be hellish. I managed to cure it years before I tried steroids, though.

Also low zinc levels can lead to low T. You can throw in a small dose of zinc to see if it helps, just don’t mega dose it, and ideally take it with copper.

Ashwagandha can help anxiety as well.

Btw, how are your free testosterone levels? 500-ish ng/dl can feel awesome with a low SHBG level, and horrible with a high SHBG level.

I was in your boat last summer when i started. I was 610 with a high SHBG and really low free t. I was 38 and my sex drive was nearly non existent… I hated working out because I could not longer get any stronger and it felt like all i was doing was spinning my wheels. I also had massive anxiety and panic attacks since my 20’s. One year into TRT and it has absolutely changed my life. I have completely re comped my body… my sex drive is insane, when i started i was struggling to do 225 on bench for 5. 1 year later I can rep 225 for 22 reps, my anxiety and panic attacks completely vanished. I was petrified when i started… I thought my balls would vanish… my hair would fall out… i would get gyno… and horrible acne. NONE of that happened. Give it time to work and hopefully next year at this time you will be a completely different person.

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Thanks for that post man. it’s really giving me hope. Although, my free T is not that low. It’s 447 (range is 200-620)

my SHBG is 21nmol (range is 18-54.

So again im not that sure that it will help me. And also i don’t know the right protocol to take. I still want kids in the future so im gonna need HCG as well. I’ll try to get it somewhere and see what happens after 3-6 months. If no changes i’ll just stop and start SSRI’s instead…

Thanks everyone for the replies.

P.S I tried all kind of stuff to fix my anxiety for the last 10 years. Diet, Sleeping, regular trainings, all kind of nutrients and vitamins, psychotherapies. Nothing worked. Nothing…
Xanax does tho lol, but that’s not an option for a long term.

Thank you guys!

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I’m not trying to destroy your hope, but these levels are in no way considered bad or even mediocre, but are good. After seeing these levels it’s difficult for me to recommend TRT at this point.

You also have a good chance at increasing these natural levels with the right diet, sleep and excersise.

This drug isn’t sustainable long term, withdrawing can be a nightmare. I withdrew of the sister drug clonazepam after 30 years and it was pure hell, but from what I hear Xanax withdrawal is many times worse.

I just heard so many success stories about how people feel good on 1000-1100ng/dl compared to 500-600… like u dont feel anything until ure near the top of the range

I went on TRT in the low 400s, but my SHBG was very high and my FT was very low. Made a pretty big difference for me, along with a ton of lifestyle changes. I did make the lifestyle changes before TRT, but the TRT was the icing on the cake, especially for libido.

I found that a talk therapist really helped me A LOT. I thought the idea was stupid, but I was suicidal and an anxious mess and didn’t have anything to lose.

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