Getting My Life Back (Blood Levels)

Pharma / TRT
1

Hi Guys,

I was told to stop TRT and get my levels tested about a month ago. I was a little shocked as it seem’s my natural testosterone reading has went up somewhat. Here are the results:

Free Andro. Index: 104.5 (36 - 156)
FSH : 2.2 U/L
LH : 3.9 U/L
TSH: 1.8
Prolactin: 169 mU/L (0 - 400)
SHBG: 20 nmol/l (6 - 45)
Testosterone: 20.9 nmol/l (10 - 36.0)

I went back on TRT for 5 day’s before the operation (50mg of androgel daily) just to give me some extra strength. I have been off ever since and feeling pretty bad but not terrible. Androgel dosen’t seem to shutdown my HPTA.

Symptoms off TRT are :

Joint Pain/Clicking (all small bones for the most part - fingers, toes, elbows, etc), hot flushes, iritibility, brain fog, anxiety, minor ED (requires stimulation/not “fully” hard), smaller flaccid penis size, testicle ache, minor back pain, headaches, tiredness, minor weight gain (maybe not a bad thing for me), mood swings/depression and ear pain/ache.

I have no clue how my levels could have went from 14 right up to almost 21 in the space of two months, but i guess the more controlled diet and cutting out foods that would raise estrogen is one of the things. I didn’t get estrogen checked but even on TRT it was at the lowest end of the scale (almost below the actual “normal” for a guy).

I have since had the surgery (embolization) to fix the varicocele and hoping i will see some improvement (and not decline) in testosterone levels. It could take a month or two until i see any results.

I am trying to excercise and keep fit as much as possible. I am going to start cycling everyday now for an hour just to try and build muscle and keep my body in better shape.

Any advice would be great. I think my normal level was around 25/30 nmol/l. Taking Adrogel only brings me up to 25 nmol/l, i suspect the rest of it is being converted to E2/DHT and thus causing the various problems (feeling bloated, flushing, rash, shrunk up penis, etc).

I want to go back on androgel but don’t want to undermine any possible testicular improvements since the op.

My standard GP/Doctor here in the UK is not willing to treat me. Because my labs are failing into the “normal” range and he dosen’t feel i am suffering from hypogonadism.

I am going to pick up some ZMA and Tribulus Terrestris to see if improves anything.

Any advice would be great!

Best Regards,
Dave

3

[quote]Megazoid wrote:
Hi Guys,

I was told to stop TRT and get my levels tested about a month ago. I was a little shocked as it seem’s my natural testosterone reading has went up somewhat. Here are the results:

Free Andro. Index: 104.5 (36 - 156)
FSH : 2.2 U/L
LH : 3.9 U/L
TSH: 1.8
Prolactin: 169 mU/L (0 - 400)
SHBG: 20 nmol/l (6 - 45)
Testosterone: 20.9 nmol/l (10 - 36.0)

Any advice would be great!

Best Regards,
Dave[/quote]

Oh god, not you :)I think your levels are pretty good. Try and start lifting weights and doing some high intensity cardio. IF you really want androgel or test e and felt better on it than you have two options, First is self treatment, second is purposely lowering your levels prior to a blood test.

4

Sorry, please let me explain the situation better. I have had one fully functional testicle all my life because as a baby i had an undescended testicle. I kept this however but it didn’t grow as much as the other testicle.

No problems at all though, my testosterone level must have been through the roof even with one ball because i had a strong libido, no ed, energy, etc.

A varicocele (enlarged testicular vein) caused a blood supply problem (slow blood flow) and thus resulted in testicular atrophy on my last remaining good testicle.

During a 13 week period my testicle was atrophying everyday and i felt worse and worse. My testosterone level (and sperm count) started deminishing. All the symptoms of low t came about.

I went to my doctor and was told “everythign was in my head” and i was imaginging this. I watched my testosterone level drop from 700/800+ all the way down to the 400. I visited an anti-aging clinic because i felt terrible and no one was giving me answers. Due to my symptoms i got put on androgel. This worked for a while and i started feeling good but not great. I think it was putting my E2/DHT all over the place as i was flushing like crazy and still had ED (though not always) and noticed my flaccid penis was shrunk up almost all the time.

My own regular GP didn’t agree with the anti-aging doctors and refused to prescribe me either androgel or testim on the NHS here in Scotland. He also said i didn’t need any TRT (or help) and that everything was mental and in my head (even though he could see the testicular atrophy). No matter what i said, he told me everything was in the “normal range” and 20.9 was normal for a guy of my age.

He refuses to give me any treatment and i can’t afford to pay out anymore to see more endos to be told the same thing.

Getting the varicocele repaired is supposed to health (and reverse) testicular health. I will now need to sit back and see if anything improves.

I am keen on giving it a few months then trying HGC to bring back testicular function/size but i don’t want shutdown my HPTA by doing so.

6

Thanks for the reply Bushy.

I can’t change GP due to the whole location thing here in the UK. What would you recommend doing yourself?

My labs aren’t “too” bad (i.e. really low) but they aren’t too high either. The symptoms are really starting to suck.

I am taking ZMA, DIM and Vit’s daily. Just trying to level out my T/E ratio and get thing’s as high as possible.

I considered HCG but i think this will only shut me down further but might bring back testicular health/volume loss.

I think the best route for me would be weekly injections (or every 5 days) of test cyp and low dosages of HCG. Not sure though.