Newbie here and thanks for reading. 48 year old male, former collegiate athlete, always stay in great shape. Again, I’m 48 and I look better than most 25 year olds. I just don’t feel like them I’m sure. This post will have a question concerning TRT, but need to quickly tell my story first.
My story is long but I’d say interesting. I’m on about year 5 of what I would call daily misery…seriously. I have Hashimoto’s which if you don’t know is when your own body creates anti-bodies to destroy your own thyroid. I’ve had it since 2007. Never knew I had it until a routine blood test brought it up. The blood test was for high cholesterol and when Lipitor didn’t bring it down in the range the doctor wanted it, he checked for thyroid issues, and well, he was correct. Simple fix I was told and put on 25mcg of Levothyroxine. My TSH at that time was 38. I felt ok I guess, my have been a bit tired, but the everything else was ok. Including sex drive. Over the next 18 months I was titrated up to 175mcg levothyroxine. I definitely saw a new increase in energy when I started taking it. In October 2010, ended up at Mayo Clinic for some digestive issues and at that time I was told my TSH was too high at 5.73. I would agree at that time, it was too high. I’d seen my TSH level down at .48 and I felt great. No issues. But I’ve battled with this condition and medicine ever since. I was told by Mayo doctors my TSH needs to be at the top of the range rather than at the bottom of the range. I’ve been told by other doctors since then that it needs to be at the lower end of the range, so I’m really confused. I need to be where I feel better.
Fast forward to today. I’m no better…I feel like I’m in a fog ALL the time…my left side of my head rings. I say head rings, not ear ringing, but these days, I can no longer tell. It’s just always there. I’ve had three total testosterone tests in the last 4 months. Results are as follows:
222
255
305
My local doc said with the last test at 305 that I’m in range, but still very low. I feel like I get good workouts a at the gym but being 48, I just don’t seem to have that kick anymore. My sex drive is way down, no longer wake up with morning wood, and lately have been having some issues down below as far as keeping a hard erection. I can get one, but seems the anxiety of it all and with me thinking about it now, I tend to lose it often. Not all the time, but enough to know that there is a problem and it’s not in my mind. Plus, my stamina isn’t what I’d like it to be.
My doc is happy to provide me with any TRT avenue I want…whether that be injections, gel, patch, etc. I’m all for the injections myself, not afraid of needles. I’ve been afraid to introduce anything else into my system at this time because I want to know that my thryoid issue is truly under control and that my levels are where they need to be. Concerning TRT, what scares me is not the TRT, but more of everything else I see out here such as getting estrogen checked, possibly growing “moobs”, using other things such as Armidex to block estrogen, etc. From the looks of it, it isn’t just a simple weekly shot and out the door you go. Now I’ll be checking other hormone levels on a routine basis, and as you know this can all get expensive. Or, maybe it is that simple for someone like me.
Back to the thyroid, I’ve been on all the thryoid meds available. Generic levo, Synthroid, Armour Thyroid, Naturethroid, NP thyroid, Tirosint…I’ve tried them all. I seem to be in this “spaced out” mode when I take more of the thyroid meds, but my labs always come back somewhere in the range. FT3 always in range, along with FT4. As I write this post, my hands are freezing, and I’m a bit lightheaded/groggy. However, I was at gym this morning too and during my workouts I feel great.
I’d really like to try the TRT. For some reason, I feel like this may be my true answer, but I’ve never heard of TRT fixing the fogginess, head ringing, etc. Something isn’t just right…I know my body, and I’ve been in this state for quite some time. I feel like the more thyroid meds I take, the worse I get. Yet at one time I was on 175 Synthroid and felt fine…for a while. I sweat fine at the gym, probably more than I should be at times, can get HR up while doing cardio, and don’t seem to have issues lifting. To be clear, I’m not a power lifter, bodybuilder, etc. However, at 48, I could rep out 225 on the flat bench 8-10 on a good day. For me, that’s good enough. I’ll leave the bodybuilding to the younger pups out here…
I’m really wondering if I’m not responding to the thyroid meds like I should be since my total T is low. I’m not looking to be 19 again, but I am looking for that edge, and I’ve read so much about TRT that I feel it could be an option.
Guess what I’m looking for is next steps…what do I need to do? Just go back into my doctor and try out the TRT for 3 months? He said he’s bring my levels up to the 600-700 levels. Is that high enough for what I’m looking to do? I’m also a little concerning about the shrinkage of my balls once I go on testosterone. I will say though that over the last 3-6 months, I think they have gotten smaller anyways…not a lot, but for me, I notice these things. Also, one of my balls has what I would term a soft “mass” on when end of it…it’s not part of the teste itself, but is attached to it. I’ve had this a long time…doc never seemed concerned about it. I’m thinking maybe I should be.
Man, I really want to try the TRT and be one of those guys raving about how much better I felt after being on it. But I really want to ensure I’m truly taking the proper steps and developing the proper plan. Any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. As a last note, I live in Alaska, and yes, I do all the hunting and fishing stuff you see on TV these days. But in the last 18 months, it’s just not something that has interested me as much, and that right there tells me something isn’t right. I’ve read that having thyroid levels at the right place can improve total T, but as I’ve said before, I’ve been all over the range and just don’t feel any better. Thanks to everyone for reading this and possibly replying.