Hi everyone.
I’m 28 years old and had low testosterone symptoms for couple of years, it even had been confirmed some years ago but the doctor said i shouldn’t worry so I didn’t care until some months ago. I went to a endocrinologist and my lab was:
20.02.19
FSH 2.25 (1-9U/L)
LH 3.31 (1-9U/L)
Prolactin 13 (<15mcg/l)
Testosterone total 12.14 nmol/l (no scale) it’s about 348ng/l
fT3 5.01 (3.5-6.4 pmol/l) and 04.05.19 (May) : 5.3
fT4 9.7 (6.8-18 pmol) and 04.05.19 : 11
TSH 1.22 and 1.02
So the endocrinologist said everything’s fine even though my testosterone is in the lower end. So i went to a andrologist.
For a unkown reason my values worsened - perhaps because it was another lab or because I tried to drop my antidepressants : venlafaxine 37.5mg and mirtazapine 15 mg… I just manage to withdraw from mirtazapine and I am still on 37.5 mg Venlafaxine which is the lowest possible dosage. I had to take something for sleep which is seroquel 12.5 mg - I don’t tolerate trittico…
E2: 90 pmol/l (<195)
LH 1.5U/l
FSH 2.3 U/L
Prolactin 337 MU7L (65-260) I have the feeling that seroquel although very small dosage contributes to that
SHBG 17.1 nmol/l (13-71)
Testosterone 7.4 nmol/l (9.3-34.6) thats 213 ng/dl
Testosterone free: 14.3 pmol/l (15.8-83.8)
DHT 101 pg/ml (300-850)
Dehydroepiandrosteronsulfat 13.5 umol/l (2.2-15.2)
So basically my lab was shit but the andrologist didn’t want me to start on testosterone no matter what because I’m too young to become infertile etc. and well so she prescribed 2 X 1000 U HCG per week. And I really have the feeling that it helps but every day after Injection i was extremely moody with crying - I suspected E2 next lab:
E2 241 pmol/l (<195) thats about 65 pg
LH and FSH under 0.1
Prolactin even higher 402 mU/l (65-260) I’m not sure what’s going on here
Testosterone 29.9 nmol/l (9.3-34.6) 862 ng/dl
free T 65.5 pmol/l (15.8-83.8)
So I’m very happy with Testosterone but not so with E2 and Prolactin. My Andrologist prescribed 1mg Anastrozole per week which I cut in half and take on Injection day. I took it now twice.
Yesterday I took the last dosage and today I’m feeling very week and lethargic. I’m not sure if my E2 dropped too low - is that even possible with HCG? Or is it still high E2 and I should try some more Anastrozole?
BTW I’m from switzerland, so all the values are european
Thanks for some help
I forgot to write that I did an MRI of brain last week to rule everything out because of the elevated prolactin and my brain seems to be perfectly healthy… The doctor just said that my pituitary is not that big (but not too small by any means), smaller than average but that doesn’t mean anything.
That may be a sign you’ve crashed estrogen, if your joints start hurting then it’s confirmation.
It may be the opinion of your doctor that you’re too young for TRT, but there are many young men on TRT. TRT is not a death sentence for fertility, they are many ways to go about improving fertility on TRT. I suggest your doctor is not very knowledgeable in TRT.
HCG+FSH can be used for those on TRT to improve fertility. HCG doesn’t always work well in men, most eventually go on TRT.
Thanks for the reply, it’s just so extremely difficult to find sb to prescribe here in switzerland testosterone to sb with age 28…
My erections seem to be still very weak and I still don’t have morning erections… perhaps it’s still the e2… very confusing, but joints are still ok
I think I’m gonna try 1mg next HCG injection and if I’m crashing E2 I’m gonna know it for sure. Is this plan reasonable? I don’t have to work this week so I don’t have to function
I’m gonna try it couple more weeks and then I try to find a doctor who prescribes testosterone. I just tested my estrogen levels again:
- august
173 pmol/l (<195) that’s about 47pg/ml
So it’s still high but better than last time and I’m feeling not so emotional like the last few weeks. I’m taking two times 1mg Armidex per week. So I’m gonna try 3 mg and see where it leads. I’m still having weak erections and feeling sluggish. Could that be a symptom of E2?
I could try to split my doses of HCG as I’m taking 1000 U 2x a week. The problem is that I got just 1000 U vials with the corresponding saline solution - I don’t think it’s bacteriostatic. Do you think I could store it in the fridge for two days?
BTW I checked my temperatures and they seem to be fine >36.6 C (97.88 F)
Edit. I think I’m gonna try the 3mg/week Anastrozole first as it is easier and less hassle and I don’t have any side effects and my liver enzymes are all in perfect place.
Today I felt a bit off, not too bad though, unfortunately today I wasn’t able to get an erection (worse than ever) or practically not - I still tried to masturbate and I could climax (fairly fast even) but it was underwhelming.
I tried to withdraw from venlafaxine this week as I’m mentally in a much better place than before I started the HCG. But that should improve erections… Perhaps I overstepped the mark this time and destroyed my E2…
I’m in a very similar situation to you, HCG has brought my test up, but also E2 in the process.
3mg/wk is too much. How long have you been taking an AI for? I’ve read it can take two weeks for the drug to build up in your system. I think you need to stick to one protocol for a period of time (weeks) retest bloods and adjust dosing accordingly.
I’m taking it now for three weeks. The first week just 2X 0.5mg which was for sure not enough. But yeah that sounds reasonable. I haven’t taken the 3mg yet per week, so I just skip today (I took it Wednesday and Friday) and continue next week as before with 2mg as I’m going to travel next week for two weeks. That was the reason for upping the dose in the first place as I don’t want to suffer from ED during holidays with my girlfriend. But experimenting with dosages while traveling neither seems to be ideal…
How much AI do you take and have you managed your E2 with it?