TRR Not Working

2 months on 1% 2…5 gel and have seen no benefit. 53 year old man t of 210/3. No drive depressed no interest in sexno morning wood.
I was hoping this would change my life but so far even more depressed . I thought things might have been starting to improve a month in had a couple nights with wild dreams and wood a couple mornings but then that stopped and now nothing.Blood work in a week but the doc doesn’t seem concerned . otherwise healthy although overweight. Farmer all my life so active and used to enjoy things now a couch potatoe

Some simply do not absorb transdermal T very well and this is often also seen when there is low thyroid function or hypothyroidism were low absorption can be considered a symptom.

E2 [estradiol] can negate effects of T. Transdermal has the highest potential for T–>E2 aromatization via aromatase enzyme. Most guys need aromatase inhibitor anastrozole to get near optimal E2=22pg/ml.

What does “210/3” mean?

Often we see early effects of T then E2 increases and spoils the gains.

Many simply do better with self-injected T where T–>E2 is lower, T is 100% absorbed and costs are least.

Labs:
TT
FT
E2
CBC
hematocrit
fasting cholesterol
fasting glucose
TSH
fT3
fT4

Please eval overall thyroid function via oral body temperatures, see below.


Please read the stickies found here: About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman

  • advice for new guys - need more info about you
  • things that damage your hormones
  • protocol for injections
  • finding a TRT doc

Evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. Thyroid hormone fT3 is what gets the job done and it regulates mitochondrial activity, the source of ATP which is the universal currency of cellular energy. This is part of the body’s temperature control loop. This can get messed up if you are iodine deficient. In many countries, you need to be using iodized salt. Other countries add iodine to dairy or bread.

KSman is simply a regular member on this site. Nothing more other than highly active.

I can be a bit abrupt in my replies and recommendations. I have a lot of ground to cover as this forum has become much more active in the last two years. I can’t follow threads that go deep over time. You need to respond to all of my points and requests as soon as possible before you fall off of my radar. The worse problems are guys who ignore issues re thyroid, body temperatures, history of iodized salt. Please do not piss people off saying that lab results are normal, we need lab number and ranges.

The value that you get out of this process and forum depends on your effort and performance. The bulk of your learning is reading/studying the suggested stickies.

Origional t test way 210 and. All other labs were in the normal range
Pro9.2
Lh6.4
Fsh7.5
Psa.76
Tsh2.92
Test free5.2
Test total210

Guys often have lower numbers on T gel because it’s enough to shut your pituitary down but not enough to match your T levels before starting therapy, so it’s no surprise you feel worse. A good TRT doctor would know injectable T is a far better choice in the long term, any doctor that starts a guy out on gels without checking thyroid function (not just TSH) is cutting the mustard! Your doctors lack of concern is concerning, it sounds like your doctor is clueless. Most doctors fail at TRT, their training is seriously lacking, medical school is to blame. I bet you’ll never look at a doctor the same way again.

1 Like

Hct46.8

Also now work swing shift in mill so sleep schedule is always changing

These numbers mean nothing without lab ranges.

System lord do you take hcg injections with the T injections? And you need to use 2 separate syringes right?

No HCG, no AI. Do to my low SHBG I inject 25mg EOD, total weekly 100 mg. I use insulin syringe and inject in shoulders. Some do inject both T and HCG together in same syringe. I turn 46 in March and have been on TRT for 8 months. Still not 100A% but slowly getting there. Some guys respond very fast to T, other slower. I would dial in TRT first and add HCG later once you feel good on TRT, then you’ll add HCG and know if it makes you feel good or not.

HOw old r u? and how long have you been injecting? I read alot that you need LH for other things.
But if i can avoid hcg shots that would be better. Thanks.

Pro9.2. 2.5-17.4
Lh6.4. 1.2-10.6
Fsh7.5. .7-10.8
Psa.76. 0-4.0
Tsh2.92. .360-3.74
Hct46.8. 41-53

Strong LH/FSH with low T means that your testes were not working well.

TSH=2.92 is a problem and should be closer to 1.0
With TSH=2.92 you can easily have low energy, low mood, low libido and poor sexual function. Lower T simply adds to all of that. The ranges for TSH are really quite useless. I expect that you will find that your body temperatures are low. The problem could be from not using iodized salt and if so, others in your home can be affected too. Low T and low thyroid function have many of the same symptoms and many come here with both problems.

Evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. Thyroid hormone fT3 is what gets the job done and it regulates mitochondrial activity, the source of ATP which is the universal currency of cellular energy. This is part of the body’s temperature control loop. This can get messed up if you are iodine deficient. In many countries, you need to be using iodized salt. Other countries add iodine to dairy or bread.

TRTR will not work if your thyroid hormones are low, your doctor is failing you. Any doctor that only orders TSH is clueless.

Thank you all for the info I will check temps but I do use a fair amount of salt with iodine in it also take Centrum silver vit and also 1000 mg d3 supplement