Sports - I know it is frustrating, but don’t give up. There are good doctors out there but they are just few and far between.
I had to see 8 different doctors and get 16+ blood tests over two+ years before I got onto the right treatment plan.
It can get better, but is incredibly frustrating.
brick - you find a doctor who know what they are talking about, who partners with a patient, and who doesn’t have a set view point (well your results are within ‘normal’ range so therefore I don’t know how to treat your symptoms).
besides yourself you have to admit that no one else here has posted any positive storie of finding an Endocronologist or Urologist that has been willing and able to successfully help them with an HRT program.
I was also told by an Endo I was fine and to come back in a year (when I most definitely was not fine), and I recall countless posts saying the same things about other Endos and Uros.
Brick, I went to an andrologist/fertility doc and he has done absolutely nothing besides help me to lose hope.
Update: Sorta. I had an appointment with a local doc who specializes in TRT. I have been anticipating this appointment for a month and when the day comes . . . . . . Ohio gets one of the worst flooding events in recent history and the docs office/parking lot is under 3 feet of water.
Based on my last labs, I’m about ready to procure some anaztrozole on my own to battle this damn E2 level of 50 because who knows how long it will take for me to get back into the MD’s office. This guy is my last straw locally as my PCP and various urologists/endocrinologists/fertility specialists need their collective heads removed from their anal cavity.
It seems like everything stacks up against me getting the help I need.
Tell me there is hope, guys.
I’ve been treated by a Uro for 4 months & just met with an Endo to get a different perspective. Here’s the difference. A Uro will treat you to improve the quality of your life, providing there is no health risk. An Endo will treat you only if it is “Medically Necessary”. The quality of life benefits are a bonus. My baseline was 398 total, 5.8 free. The Uro was willing to work with me despite my T#'s being in range because of my symptoms. Endo would not.
Hope that helps.
Generally, don’t ask the nurse regarding timing of application and blood draws. Ask the doctor. Also, don’t apply near the site where blood is going to be drawn. Topical testosterone gives a daily peak and trough, which is fine, because that is how T levels oscillate naturally in young guys (who have a morning peak and an evening trough), assuming you apply the gel in the morning, which is how it is usually instructed to be taken. If blood is drawn before application, they’ll be measuring the trough value, which may be fine as long as the doctor is aware of that.
Possible confounder: ADHD medications don’t usually lower testosterone BUT they give a lot of guys impotence, so if that is happening then T therapy won’t necessarily help for that symptom.