Everything Great Except Libido

So I’ve been on injections for the past 2 years. Pellets for 3 years before that. I will say I felt best on pellets. It must have been that slow continuous release I got from them. My current protocol for the last 6 weeks has been everyday injections of cypionate. 25mg per day, 175mg per week. No AI. HCG 250IU’s twice per week. Everything for the most part is good on daily injections except for libido. It seems to come and go. I started T mainly for the mental benefits. It seemed to really help my anxiety and bouts of depression… which it still helps greatly with. One thing is, the calmer and the more I have a sense of well being on testosterone, the lower my libido is. I almost think its the estrogen that gives me the calm feeling, but also decreases the libido. My last bloodwork had my sensitive E2 at 115 and I was doing 100mg twice a week(200mg total), no AI. I felt super chill and mentally great but low libido. I had no idea my E2 was that high. I’ve had low E2 from an AI and I can say that definitely increases my anxiety ALOT!! No Bueno!!

Sooooo….does anyone agree with the high E2 causing calmness but decreased libido?

I have found that high E2 in relation to testosterone lowers my libido and erectile strength. You need smaller doses multiple time per week to minimize aromatization.

You say your estrogen is 115, where is your Total T and SHBG values?

On twice a week 100mg injections(200mg wk), My E2 was 115, my total T was 1266 ng/DL, free T 303 pg/ml. He didn’t take SHBG… Probably because my free T was high every other time I’ve tested.

After the last appointment, I went to daily injections of 25mg daily and still have the same libido type issue.

Maybe I should lower to 20mg a day and see if that helps?

How was libido and erection quality on this protocol?

basically the same. I don’t really see much of a difference on daily compared to twice a week. I’ve only been on daily for 6 weeks though.

Too early in your protocol to make assessments. Since you’re feeling great, I’d give this protocol a full 12 weeks before making any changes. Many people report libido comes back last after making a TRT protocol change. This especially seems the case with dailies in my experience.

Agree with high E2 in relation to high T causing calmness/elevated sense of being, but disagree with decreased libido. Many people with E2 even around the 100s report very high libido, as mentioned above, it just takes time.

thanks for the advice. I’ll continue on with the daily injections for another 6 weeks and see. Like I said, nothing is terrible. I just wish I had that raging libido I had while on pellets. I went to daily shots to try to mimic the slow continuous release I used to have on the pellets. I remember on the pellets, my peak T after six weeks was 1500-1600 and E2 was 40-50 and life was amazing!! Then it would slowly fade away as they dissolved. I’d still be on them if I didn’t have them falling out every now and then. That’s what made me switch to injections.

1 Like

That’s because the steady flat hormone levels is what your body response to best. I wonder are your levels the same as they were on the pellets?

Your levels may be elevated, but your body hasn’t had a chance to adapt to this new protocol, give it more time. Gives it months.

1 Like

Daily shots made my E2 rise up like no other protocol. AND, with the higher E2, my erections went down… even with Pde5s.

Some on here like their E2 high, some low. It’s all subjective and don’t listen to someone when they tell you otherwise.

1 Like

I don’t think my total T gets quite as high on injections but pretty close so the levels should be high enough. 1400-1500 on pellets… 1200 - 1300 on injections. I think the steady state you referred to is probably the best thing.

On pellets, I started feeling good at about 2 weeks. That would continue for 8-10 weeks. Then the good feeling would drift away and it was time for another round. It was always a slow ramp up on pellets and a slow ramp down. Injections are just a bit different. I’ll continue on with the daily shots.

1 Like

You needed a booster shot.

Really? All I’ve heard is how daily shots seem to lower E2 due to not jacking your T super high and instead keeping it lower and steady. I may go get some blood work done on my own and see how my E2 is doing on daily injections.

I’ve seen a few guys this has happened to. Check out Excelmale forums.

My hypothesis is that your body can’t clear out the E2 fast enough and it builds cause you’re always hitting your body with test.

Check blood out!

You need to get SHBG measured with total T and E2. Bonus points if you get your thyroid checked. All you need is TSH, FT3, And FT4.

One of the most common causes of low SHBG is hypothyroidism.

I hear that from pellet users, but those I see are looking for something different.

Pellets were awesome for me…and a few other people that were doing them. We all loved them. I just didn’t have enough fat on my ass and I’d get one popping out every now and then. I would say pellets are a lot easier than injections. No AI’s and a slow ramp up to high T and feeing great. Injections are definitely more finicky and easy to mess up if you don’t do it right.

1 Like