Is There Anything Else I Can Do Besides TRT?

I think plastic and all the synthetic food additives are killing us. The younger people have an even greater exposure than we did.

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I mean, you’re already on, so you might as well stick with it.

Then these younger generation men go on TRT and have problems, the older generation go on TRT and thrive.

I spent over a year trying to get my levels up. I felt like garbage in the 400s. I can only imagine half of that.

Cleaning up my lifestyle got me back into the 500s, but my FT was still low, sliding between 6-10. I couldn’t break 10 without Clomid, and hadn’t in years going back through my tests.

I finally caved and decided to “try” a couple of injections. I noticed my libido, mood, and a few other things improved noticeably. I tried once more, and noticed it again. This was in-line with the results I had on enclomiphene (without the side effects).

I’m a couple of weeks in, and have noticed a LOT more energy, clearer thinking, a huge increase in libido, some improvement in erectile function, and my appetite and weight are going back to where they used to be!

My only regret so far is starting HCG at the same time, and messing with my E2. And not learning about daily injections sooner. As it stands now, I’m just on T cyp, and may add HCG again in a month to see how it makes me feel. I freaked out last week and started messing with AI’s and that was not a good idea. I now agree with the guys on here who say to let your body handle itself, estrogen isn’t the worst thing in the world. Lack of E2, however, is pretty much hell. Plus, it’s easier to control. Once you bomb your E2, it’s a hell of a time to get it back up.

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Everybody wants to do everything at once. One thing at a time is best. Get the T right, then decide if you need anything else.

Not everyone can or wants to for that matter spend a year trying to “optimize” their life style just to find out they wasted a year and still need trt

With or without TRT you need to optimize your life. So you spend nothing. TRT is just one element in a bigger machine.

@systemlord So you are off TRT? Couldn’t this deficiency be optimized somehow?

And now that you are off how much of your pre-TRT testosterone levels have you returned and how fast? How long have you been on the needle?

@systemlord
I see you know about thyroid, what do you think of my levels?

Free T3 (fT3) S 2.88 ng/l 2 - 4.40

TSH S 1.4 µIU/ml 0.27 - 4.20

T4, SERBEST 1.59 ng/dL 0.93 - 1.70

Reverse T3 S 325 pg/ml 90 - 215

Reverse T3 is high and T3 not very optimal. I think to add more salt to my diet and 3 brasil nuts every day(understood more is toxic)

I did the same thing. I spent a good amount of time cleaning up my diet, adding in cardio and weight lifting, getting good sleep, and cutting out the alcohol.

Once I did this, I also didn’t feel 100% with TT in the 400s, so I tried TRT. I think cleaning up my lifestyle primed my body for TRT. I think trying TRT without cleaning up the lifestyle would created different results.

@brewz - I highly recommend you cut out the processed foods, any alcohol, try to get good sleep, and start exercising before you worry about TRT. Getting some mental fortitude to work through these changes will help set you up for your adult life. Add in TRT later once you see good results from the lifestyle changes.

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It doesnt hurt to do both at once. I started trt cleaned up my diet and got into the gym for the first time in my life. If You are running on empty its going to be real hard to go that extra mile. Doing both at once just means that extra mile usually turns into 2

I stopped TRT 6 weeks ago do to severe life threatening complications, it was as if every organ was failing, it was a severe iron and potassium deficiency over a 6 week period, but I was deficient before as indicated by labs going back almost 3 years.

I feel better since supplementing iron and potassium was the last piece of the puzzle. I remember feeling like my T hit zero in the fourth week after stopping TRT, joints were really bad, then 4.5 weeks after stopping TRT I started feeling good again and joints improved rapidly.

It was obvious what was happening and continued to feel good, muscles are getting weaker and if it doesn’t improve in the next couple of weeks, I’m going to restart TRT on a daily protocol.

I haven’t tested my levels, never had LH and FSH tested before. Maybe now is my last chance. Pre-TRT my testicles were pulled up into my scrotum, now they are hanging all the way down and are active. Maybe I just need to give it more time.

Low testosterone was induced by Klonopin withdrawal, maybe I was still going through withdrawal when I started TRT. I was on Klonopin for 30 years, I’ve seen guys damaged after only a few years.

Damn thats quite interesting. I wonder if me being on xanax and klonopin for years has anything tondonwith it. Also been on anti depressants and ssri for like 8-10 years

I already started eating better and signed up at gym. My levels tested low as 180 and honestly sorta stuck in this deep depression/anxiety hole. Pretty much rock bottom at this point in my life. I already started trt, only did one week though. I was worried that just doing natural things wouldnt raise them close to where they should be.

It’s more than likely or you needed these drugs do to having undiagnosed low testosterone. There is a lot of men and women walking around with low testosterone and hypothyroidism and on SSRIs instead of hormones.

I see hormonal treatments going mainstream in the years to come, once everyone is aware hormones are more than likely responsible for their problems, SSRIs will fade away only for those that truly need them.

You want to know which type of doctors are showing the most interest in learning how to prescribe hormones, psychologists. No other type of doctors are stepping up to the plate, this is according to those doctors who train other doctors are saying.

I’ve have low iron and was hoping TRT would help that. Kinda nervous now, need to have it checked.

Get your iron up and no worries, if unable to get iron to increase, I would suspect thyroid problems.

Love that. So my urologist is very chill. We shoot the shit and very comfortable with him. I told him how i took prohormones in highschool, always took pct after. I did 2 cycles of them. He said he believes that me being handed out different meds since being in middle school is more likely the root of my low T and I didn’t know how to feel about that haha

Im really just stuck on what to do. I don’t know wether or not to just stay on trt or to get off and try getting them up higher naturally. Making me go insane. My levels are absolute shit so I don’t even know how much of an impact life style change ON ITS OWN would do

Did you do an iron, magnesium and potassium supplement or raise it naturally?

TRT worsens these borderline deficiencies, off TRT iron is borderline. I have seen iron increase after a week off TRT in lab testing, also seen potassium move up and down. My magnesium while not deficient is slightly lower on TRT when compared with pre-TRT labs.

The last two decades I have had a chronic cough and the cause is iron deficiency, whenever I push passed 400 ng/dl, the same cough returns and the higher I go in Total T, the cough scales with it. So when klonopin crashed my Test levels during withdraw, iron increased and cough was almost in remission.

I’m going to have to supplement for life because iron deficiency runs in our family.

interesting I remember reading about a form of iron thats supposed to be healthier then traditional iron supplements. Garden of life brand Raw Iron supplement I think . I think I read that from a t-nation article actually. I used to use methylation supplements which would drive up my bodies need for certain minerals and vitamins, I remember reading the using testosterone can have similar effects, especially on magnesium levels.

Chelated Iron is better absorbed, and TRT seems very much to rev things up and push a need for minerals.