Testosterone Not Working

Hi KSman,
Bro m going through a very tricky situation, if u cn help me. I ws about to start trt but before that startd using hcg fr sumtym to restore my fertility as i wanted to get my sperm frozen before getting onto trt. Hcg worked very well for me, libido was awesome, erections were great evn though i was taking a bit higher dose at 1000 iu eod, thinking i m taking it temporarely, and will never need it back once on trt (i red bout leydig cells decensatization but the lower dose was just not working). But the problem is once i started taking testosterone 50 mg twice a week first thn increased the dose to 100 mg twice per week, it just didnt work, lost all my libido (it literally fell to zero), no erection. So hcg alone is working gud but testosterone is not. Cant understand why. If u can help.
Thanx,
Pravi

Hey ksman and others,
I just saw tht u said i might have increased e2 levels. My e2 level is 30 but i did use exemestane to reduce it frm 54 to 30. I’ve one more condition, i’ve fatty liver probably because of low test fr 2 years. Could tht b d reason. Its just a wild and may be idiotic guess but could fatty liver raise my shbg levels.
If anyone has any ideas pls do write it
Thanx,
Pravi

Please post labs including TT, FT, e2 and thyroid- TSH, ft3,ft4. Do you know all your labs before you doubled your T dose? Your e seems a problem, doubling T dose is only gonna increase e2 which is definitely impact libido.

Hey thnx fr the reply bro,
When i was on hcg only n feeling gud my stats were:
TT- 494 ng/dl
E2- 48 pg/ml
I didnt check my free t as i was feeling much btr thn 494 suggests n almost felt i have recovered. But thn d prblm startd as soon as i took test enanthate. For 2 weeks i was on 50 mg twice a week bt didnt get my test levels checked. When my libido fell i thought may be i need more test so i increased it to 100 mg twice a week fr next three weeks n also added 25 mg exemestane eod during last 3 weeks as i felt aromatisation cld b the reason. After 5 weeks i got my levels checked again…
TT- 570 ng/dl (241-827)
FT- 14.81pg/ml (8.69-54.69)
E2- 28.58 pg/ml (<39.80)
I dnt have labs for thyroid bt i do remember getting it checked prior to starting hcg, n tsh was well within range thn, moreover i didnt ever feel cold. If nything i’ve only felt hot n dry in d morning.

Pravi

Something fishy with your FT lab ranges. Can you confirm that range is correct? 9-30 is the most common range that I see.

Yea the range is as per the report, atleast thts whts written in it. Its pg/ml.

Where do you reside?

Try pulling shbg, we will get picture of your T Levels. Updated thyroid labs will also help. Or you could report your oral body temps as per thyroid sticky. It’s a good measure of thyroid functions. TRT often exposes weak links in our endocrine system and one does not feel as good as they should if an underlying problem is there.

Also when were the labs done after injection? TT and FT seem very low relative to the high dose you’re injecting.

TSH lab ranges are useless, typically saying that a 11:1 range is all normal.

Please see these links found here: About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman

  • advice for new guys
  • things that damage your hormones
  • protocol for injections
  • finding a TRT doc

Post oral body temperatures:

  • when you first wake up, should be 97.7-97.8, higher is OK, 93.7 is a problem
  • also check for 98.6 mid-afternoon

You would do better nearer to E2=22pg/ml
Increase AI by a factor of 30/22, around 50%
If you increase T dose, AI dose also needs to change.

Sometimes TRT does not work well if thyroid function is low.
Low iodine intake can cause that.
Do you use iodized salt?

Hi thr,
I’m frm india, will get my shbg test done today and post results as soon as i will get it.
Also tommorow i’ll post my body temps.

But apart from tht, if u think its my e2 thn y is hcg working. At 1000iu hcg e2 shld increase with tht as well and i felt full libido whn my e2 ws 48 on hcg. I evn tried using hcg while i was on test, bt it didnt work, still felt nothing. I recon its test problem, its increasing or decreasing sumthing tht hcg alone isnt.
Wht do u think.
Yea i take iodised salt

Pravi

I can recommend a doctor depending on what state you’re from! As for test, that’s a mystery. Normally people feel better with test than with hCG or SERM. Testosterone doesn’t alter anything that hCG does not. Again, as I said the labs will say the truth, everything other than that is just speculation. Your levels seem very low for your dose. Since youre also in India, labs are easy to get and within a day you’ll get results. Look at the stickies and get all the labs listed. LH and FSH are useless since you’re on T but rest would help.

You may be a hyper metabolizer of T. We have some other guys like that here. Typically need 300mg T to get levels that others get with 100mg. Try a larger dose. As you do that, your E2 will increase and get higher than optimal and you will then need to take steps to control E2 levels.

Some get a strong hCG benefit that seems to directly affect the brain. Many others get an improvement in mood.

Are u also in india equalo212, may i knw which city? I’m frm chandigarh, punjab. If u cn suggest sum gud trt doc tht’ll b great.

So ru suggesting i shld try increasing my dose?
Btw, wht bout fatty liver n metabolic syndrome tht m currently going through, u think thr cld b a connection??

I’m from Delhi! Had been living in South East Asia over the last 6 years. Life had been difficult in the past 3-4 years and came back due to fatigue, mood issues. Got all bloodwork in and got diagnosed in March. Haven’t started TRT yet.

Oh! V r closeby thn. I cn undrstnd ur situation, v all have been through tht or going through tht at sum degrees. So which dr ru going to? Ru primary??

Well I’ve been experiencing these problems from 3-4 years, wasn’t educated about these things at all, I’m into lifting and all that, progress was hard to come by so I gained knowledge for a cycle, I started a cycle and stopped it in a fortnight and did a pct. Couldn’t handle the changes 2 weeks of test was doing on me, not negative only but I freaked out. Blood work has been skewed but I went to the doctor, told him about it, since I actually feel a little better after pct than before and all the symptoms of hypogonadism are there, it’s obvious that my t levels were lower or same as now if anything. I discovered a bilateral varicocele which may be making my testis dysfunctional. So I don’t know for sure what the problem is as I don’t have original labs before messing with hormones no matter how short it was. I did all the tests to determine what the cause is over the past 2-3 months. I have found only the varicocele as major problem.

Metabolic syndrome aka syndrome X, involves:
fat gain
decreased insulin sensitivity that can progress to diabetes
increased E2
decreased TT, FT, LH/FSH
cardio vascular problems over time

Hi ksman,
Sry for the late reply, the lab guyz messed my sample so had to get tht done again.

My labs for shbg is well within limits its:
SHBG - 22.70 nmol/l (10-57)

Also checked my body temp, its also in range.
Morning 97.8, mid afternoon 99.

Ksman, i’ve been reading fr a while nd have come to one more conclusion. As hcg is working for me and test not, could it be something related to adrenal fatigue. I dont have a very gud understanding of adrenal function (though m still reading). Do u think this could be one of the areas i can check for. Can u send a link whr i can understand it or maybe explain a bit bout it if its not too much asking.

Pravi

Hi equalo212,

Sry to hear bout ur situation bro. Hope u’ll recover soon.
Is thr sum way v cn get in touch. May b through phone, whatsapp or fb.
Also, do u know sum gud dr in chandigarh or even delhi, i wont mind travelling.

Pravi

Pass me your Facebook link, i’ll PM you my phone number and we can get in touch.