I have been on TRT with a Baton Rouge, LA Endocrinologist for the past 3 years (I’m 34 years old). I self inject 1ML of Test Cyp once per week. I initially went to the doctor with all the standard symptoms of low T. GP sent me to endo after bloodwork showed extremely low T. Endo re-tested and confirmed. He started me on the above regimen.
My T levels then returned to what he calls normal (700-800). I’ve been telling him for 2 years now that it’s great that those numbers on that pretty little paper of his are good numbers, but I still feel like shit. All the same symptoms. Worst symptoms are “fog brain,” low sex drive and ED.
Did a little research and stumbled across a Dr. Crisler, who appears to be somewhat versed in TRT. He recommends TRT be coupled with HCG. If I recall correctly, 250iu’s 2 days before T shot and day before T shot.
I bring this up to the Endo, and he won’t even entertain the idea. Says HCG and TRT “work against eachother.” Needless to say, I’m looking for a new doctor at this moment.
Questions:
Is this Dr. Crisler the “go to guy” on the subject of TRT? Should I be quoting him when talking with doctors?
There is a company called Renew Man that I contacted today looking for a local doctor. They advised they have local doctors here and for $300.00 per month, I could have labs, doctors visits, and all medications necessary for optimal TRT. They agreed that my Endo was dead wrong and they stated that they would couple TRT with HCG as well as an Estrogen blocker (?). They also stated that 800 was not the target range and they would like to get T levels between 1000 and 1200. Does anyone have any experience with Renew Man? Does what they are saying sound more applicable than my Endo?
Currently, my insurance covers my Test and all labs. I just pay $50 copay to see the Endo and $40 per month for Test. If I go with Renew Man, insurance will not pay. I really don’t want to spend the next 2 years trying to convince doctors of how to treat low T so going with Renew Man for $300 per month is appealing. Is $300 per month expensive? On target?
I’ve heard that once I see the local doctor that Renew Man refers me to, that I cannot then drop the Renew Man plan and see the doctor as a new patient because of contracts between the doctor and Renew Man. I also saw a post here where someone dealt with Renew Man and saw their doctor (a GP here in Baton Rouge), but the post is really old and for some reason I cannot PM the guy who posted. Does anyone out there know of a doctor in the Baton Rouge area that would treat low-T correctly? Does anyone know of a doctor that Renew Man would send me to in the Baton Rouge area?
Obviously, I’d love to get my insurance to help me out, but I’m sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, if you know what I mean. So, $300 and getting the ball rolling is appetizing.
Any help, insight, suggestions, comments would be greatly appreciated.
At 31 YO, there should have been an effort to diagnose why T levels were low in an effort to fix the problem.
Pre TRT labs at that age should have included:
TT
FT
E2
LH/FSH
prolactin
CBC
hematocrit
fasting glucose
fasting cholesterol
TSH and fT3, fT4 would also have been good
We need T doses in mg’s because we do not know at this point if you are taking 100mg or 200mg per week.
Endo’s and urologists seem to be the worst for TRT care.
Injecting once a week is wrong. You should be injecting twice a week or EOD to get steadier levels.
Post pre and post TRT labs with ranges. Get and retain lab reports. You cannot be passive with TRT and need to manage your own health care and typically need to know more about TRT than an idiot doctor.
When I first reported symptoms, the doc performed a bunch of blood tests and then a brain scan. In the end, they called it “idiopathic” (don’t know why).
Should I stop trt, go back into the tank, and seek another opinion?
100mg once per week now. Renew Man doctor said I should be injecting twice per week too.
At 31 YO, there should have been an effort to diagnose why T levels were low in an effort to fix the problem.
Pre TRT labs at that age should have included:
TT
FT
E2
LH/FSH
prolactin
CBC
hematocrit
fasting glucose
fasting cholesterol
TSH and fT3, fT4 would also have been good
We need T doses in mg’s because we do not know at this point if you are taking 100mg or 200mg per week.
Endo’s and urologists seem to be the worst for TRT care.
Injecting once a week is wrong. You should be injecting twice a week or EOD to get steadier levels.
Post pre and post TRT labs with ranges. Get and retain lab reports. You cannot be passive with TRT and need to manage your own health care and typically need to know more about TRT than an idiot doctor.[/quote]
I will have to attempt to get the pre trt labs (it’s been a few years) and my last lab to post. I’ll post soon as I get them.
When I first reported with symptoms, two different sets of labs 2 weeks apart were ordered and I had my brain MRI’d. After all was said and done, the doctor said it was “idiopathic” (he had no clue) and said it happens sometimes. Then, started TRT. It should be noted that these issues began not long after I had a laparoscopic varicocelectomy. I did some reading that suggests that vericoceles can cause low T and the laparoscopic old school method of repair (tying off the offending blood vessel) is not the way to go to boost T levels…
My dosage is 100mg per week right now, single injection. The doctor I spoke with on the phone at Renew Man also disagreed with that. She said I should, at minimum, inject twice per week.
My endo and urologist are both horribly uneducated when it comes to trt. My urologist punts to my endo and my endo is primarily a thyroid guy. That’s why I’m in search for a new doctor and was considering going the Renew Man route. Bypassing the idiocy and getting straight up results…
$300 is a bit steep. All the more if you can get T+hCG+AI from a doctor who hands you the scripts. Labs can be one of the highest costs.[/quote]
Okay, I read through the stickies again. What am I missing? I know I didn’t post labs and acknowledged that I don’t have them with me now. I will post as soon as I get them.
If you’re referring to the stickies on finding a TRT doctor, I don’t see where that sticky is really helpful in this situation. Like I said, I have brought up the T + HCG + Estrogen Blocker to my endo and he won’t have it. That’s why I’m here. I’m looking for a new doctor and wanted to know if anyone had any experiences with doctors in my area.
If that is not the part of the sticky I am missing, please help me…
Also, I can’t find anything that would explain why I can’t PM someone. Any advice on that would be greatly appreciated…
So, I called 3 compounding pharmacies (only 1 local) and they all sell HCG, but I was told by all that they only know of OBGYN doctors who prescribe the stuff. Not what I was wanting to hear…
Disagree. And i love 99% of your content so, not a slam to you at all. My urologist suggests i inject every 3.5 days at 150 weekly. Blood tests twice a year. Thats my starting dose. The best urologists are either young or private practice that takes indurance. And i dont think they need to be on trt in order to advise. Look at Anraham Morgentaller. The godfather of TRT, NOT on TRT.
Clinics are for your athletes and body builders and more importantly rich folk. Their costs are astronomical because they know they can get away with it. Better to choose a doctor who actually went into resedency. Choose a scientist.