Insomnia Since Starting TRT

Good catch. What’s the other ai people use?

I don’t know. I used arimidex for a very short time.

I know there is a stronger one that is not recommended

Then there’s going with supplements like DIM and Calcium d glucaric

arimistane is one, that I believe is over the counter, it used by a lot of those who use pro-hormones versus actual steroids

aromasin (exemestane) is another rx, it might be the one they call the suicide inhibitor and some say to stay away from, cannot remember for sure

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I’m holding out on the AI, I will be re testing next week, if E2 is still high then I am switching to EOD injections. I’ve come this far, I need to try and get dialled in without an AI, I am also going to take care of my mental state, hopefully it will all come together for me

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100% correct on all counts

it will come together for you. it will take time. i’m still struggling with very similar problems. not understanding the root cause is very frustrating, and the impact it has on life and wellbeing is huge.
This is a massive personal challenge for me, a challenge that has brought me close to my breaking point on many occasions, and one which resulted in me sobbing on a near daily basis for more than 6 months. But things are getting better for me. I don’t know the precise reasons why, but I do believe that every mechanism in the body is working to restore homeostasis. I can help it along by eating well, exercising, and having a health mindset. My psychologist has been key to dealing with the mental processes which were crushing my system (i.e. the thought that my illness was intractable, that I would always be in this painful state, the thought that I would be overwhelmed by it and take radical action, etc). One of the keys to me is to have faith in my body and its healing process AND to enrich my life by not allowing how I feel interfere with hobbies, socialising, exercising, etc.

The good news is that you are open to experimentation (as I am!). You can work on your psychological aspects while you examine physiological options (such as the use of an AI to see how you respond).

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Hey @narcissusford

Yeah, we are pretty much in the same boat. I have had to introduce a sleeping tablet to take as and when I need it, this is a short term solution.

I am microdosing fluoxetine (5mg), having minimal side effects which is how I wanted to do it. I then plan to fade out the mirtazapine once the fluoxetine has built up in my system. Fluoxetine is meant to be excellent for anxiety and OCD which I believe I have, I am plagued with repetitive thoughts.

Yesterday I went back to the gym for the first time in 5 months. I performed 3 exercises, 3 sets of each low weight. Yet again I developed a tension type headache which overwhelms me, it’s really hard to think straight. I’m now beginning to think this may be a muscular problem and plan to see a physio about it.

Tomorrow (in my trough) I will be having bloods taken to see where my levels are at. If my E2 is still high with the lower dose of T then I have 2 choices in front of me. 1) Go EOD Injections. 2) Start taking Exemastane AI low dose. At this point I am not sure what I will do, I’m kinda hoping you guys are going to help me make that decision - we will see what happens when I get my results back.

I am due to see a psychologist next week and a psychiatrist in April. So all in all I think things are moving in the right direction.

Last week I broke down in front of my wife, I basically feel like I am a terrible husband and father because I am so self absorbed in my own problems, its hard to see anything else outside my own problems. I have been right at the bottom of a hole, I cannot get any deeper, the only way has got to be up from here on.

I will keep you posted on my bloods and hopefully you can advise me on the AI.

Thanks all for being here.

Well done on making the gym. That is a huge effort given what you are going through. I felt terrible, absolutely terrible, when I first started. But I persevered and somehow my body and mind adjusted and I could work out without the horrible pressure and other side effects that had initially plagued me. One thing that helped me was the mindset - and this may sound very odd - that I’m going to see if I can induce a heart attack, or cause myself to pass out, but working vigorously. When I didn’t pass out or have any other major issue, it gave me huge confidence in my own abilities which then quelled the anxiety I felt around my health. Now I don’t have any of these anxieties or concerns. I actually enjoy the gym and it has become an integral part of my routine (1 hr 4 x a week).

Re your e2, I’d be inclined to take an AI on an experimental basis - see if you feel better with a lower e2 and if you do, remove the AI and work on changing your protocol so that you can manage e2 without an inhibitor. This will give you the quickest results and allow you to see whether e2 is in fact contributing to your problems. Remember, modern wisdom seems to suggest that a high e2 (one that is in proportion to your free T) is healthy.

I think you’re going to enjoy enormous benefits from seeing a psychologist!

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…Yeah, I see the gym thing as a small victory, although the tension headache that followed wasn’t pleasant at all, not sure what’s causing this…

I will await my bloods before making a decision on the AI, although my breast areas have been a little painful this week and I feel very emotional. If I do have high E2 then I don’t understand it, I have lowered my dose, I’m not sure why I aromatise so much E2!!

On a plus note, my supplier just contacted me and told me they can now supply me Test Enanthate on prescription - I have jumped at the opportunity - this switch could get me a lot more stable than the Sustanon, what you think?

… Yeah I’m looking forward to seeing the psychologist to get everything off my chest!

I feel like I’m stuck in no man’s land at the minute. Sustanon, SSRIs, Mirtazapine - it’s a friggin nightmare, although I plan to stop the mirtazapine as soon as the SSRI starts to kick in.

I would be interested to hear how you would approach the Test E, my current protocol on Sus is 50mg E3.5D, would you stick to this for the Test E ??

Long term plan:

Test Enanthate
Low dose SSRI
Psychology

It will get better guys, if you look through my threads you can see my frustrations with this process as well. I feel so much better at the moment and have been great for a few weeks now. I’m sure I’ll have battles in the future and in that time I’ll have to once again lean on the helpful people on these forums.

Keep your heads up! We’re in it together and we’ll come out the other side better!

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Have you tried a chiropractor for the tensions headaches? I had one where if I even used light weight for a warmup it would give me a migraine type headache. Went to the doc and gave me ibuprofen 800 and flexoril and it did not do shit. Followed up by going to a chiropractor and got cracked and felt immediate relief.

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Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking… it’s like when I tense up to lift the weight, my head tenses (almost like when you clench your teeth) I have googled Exertion headaches and it sounds exactly like this, something to do with dilating blood vessels…
But yeah, I will go see a chiropractor! :slight_smile:

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Any of you guys know how to switch from Sus250 to Enanthate, do I need to leave a break in between or can I just start taking the Enanthate as I usually would?

I’m definitely swapping to Enanthate but my protocol will depend on my latest labs, I’m thinking 25mg EOD if my E2 is still high…

I had an allergic reaction to sustanon (massive red lumps at injection site) and switched to test e. I didn’t do anything special, just switched across at my next dosage window.

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Thanks, I plan to do the same. I’ve been following a Facebook group run by a top TRT doc over here in the UK. He has all his guys start on Test E 25mg EOD and then tweak from there. They all seem to be doing really well. I don’t think I will ever get stable on Sustanon which is why I’m swapping test and protocol

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Ya I’ve read that about cypionate to. Even blood pressure rising with certain esters. They switch to grape seed oil and bam blood pressure and symptoms resolve. It’s alssys best to try different bases with any Testastorone if one is having sides like redness and etc.

Switching to a diffeeent type of T is probably helping becusse the base has changed.

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Yep, it was definitely the various esters in sus250 that did it to me. No problems at all with the ester in the Test E that i’m now taking.

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@jpt365 @Enackers @bmbrady77 @charlie12 @Rightsaidfreud @narcissusford

Hi guys, would you mind taking a look at my latest labs please?

This was taken in a trough 50mg Sustanon every 3.5d

My E2 has lowered but I still think I can lower my T dose to bring it down further. Next week I will be starting a test Enanthate, can someone suggest a new protocol for me please?

Also could you advise me on the other stuff please?

Thanks in advance

Will look at it in more detail later when I have more time, but at a quick glance I can tell you that you need to lower your dose immediately. Your HCT and your Platelets are high. This is going to spell trouble and sooner rather than later.

If you can go and donate blood I would suggest you do so.

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I’m very worried :frowning: