Hi all!! First post here. Well i have a pituitary gland disorder (kallmans syndrome) and have been on Trt since age 13, I’m now 45. Well because of covid the only clinic that’ll administer my shots is 50mins drive away, and with gas prices as they are this is ridiculous and unfesible. So im seriously considering switching from injections to testosterone cream. Can you guys tell me the pluses and minuses of the topical testosterone? Thanks a lot!
Why can’t you do your own shots?
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I echo what Andrewgen asked, but I’ll assume you can’t for some reason. Testosterone gels provide a much more natural androgen rhythm and there’s probably some argument to be made that mimicking the body’s natural rhythms is the way to go. However, many believe it doesn’t have the same bang for the testosterone buck as injectable esters.
Besides, gels have their drawbacks. You should only apply gels to freshly showered skin. You should refrain from swimming or working up a sweat for at least an hour. Furthermore, you can’t, under any circumstances, let a child or female (especially a pregnant one) come into contact with the treated area until it’s absolutely dry.
If you do decide to use gels, you must apply them once (or in some cases, twice) a day. Don’t use your hands to apply the gel, though. Any gel on the hands doesn’t soak in to the bloodstream. It’s like applying gel onto an old catcher’s mitt, which isn’t very permeable. Instead, squeeze the gel onto your forearms and rub them together. That way you won’t waste any.
Injectables don’t carry all that baggage.
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Another option you may consider.
You’re not injecting yourself at home?
You need a another clinic that doesn’t treat you like an invalid for profit.
I didn’t absorb it at all. Injections has none of these drawbacks.
Because Ive always been deathly afraid of them.
I ran cream my first year of TRT. Issues I had was my DHT was about 4-5 times upper limit. I personally wasn’t too worried about it as it wasn’t causing any issues, but doc was. My biggest pet peeve I had was I had to worry about it washing off if I went swimming, showering or just sweating too much before fully absorbed. Then some started saying you should actually apply 2x a day to get full benefits, I said nope and moved on to injections.
Injections, feeling wise, noticed no difference. Just more convenient for me. I also do not need as much so saves me money. A vial of test is a little more money than a tube of cream from my pharmacy, but cream lasted me a month versus a vial of test lasting me over 100 days.
I too was scared of needles when I started and probably would still be if I used the harpoons a lot of doctors want you using but the insulin pins are not bad at all. It is nothing now.
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Would you be willing to overcome this for the sake of not feeling like shit anymore?
I don’t like needles, never have. I didn’t like them when I donated plasma 2x a week at $15 a pop to pay for gas, and I don’t like them now and I do daily injections on TRT. I’d choose this every damn time over feeling like I did without TRT though.