TRT at the Low-T Center

Hi All;

I began TRT at the local ‘Low-T Center’ a little over a year ago, I began as a guy who just wanted to feel a bit younger, looking to restore the drive/energy I had in my 20’s. I had become alarmingly irritable and wasn’t sleeping very well. At this point I am starting to question the decision, but first… here are my test results as provided by Low-T, they appear to be a bit less than some of the more extensive testing I see other post…

        2/17/2014	5/22/2014	8/18/2014	11/20/2014

Total T 176 300 375 470
PSA 0.75 0.93 1 0.9
Estradiol 14.7 13.3 28.1 26.9
Hemoglobin 13 13.9 15.3 15.7
Hermatocrit 39.3 41.3 44.3 46.1
T Dose 150 170 200 210
Calc Free T 9.52 12.2 15.2

My T dose is every 10 or 11 days.

40 yo
5’ 10"
`180#
BF ~20%
I have a full head of hair, receeding slightly
My beard it pretty thin, body hair is minimal, although my legs are pretty hairy.
I carry belly fat, and some on the back of my thighs.
I workout 3/4 days a week on avg, 15min cardio 45min of weights/machines
I sometime wake in the night with an erection, but I don’t really get morning wood.
Depending on how tired I am (directly related to sleep, kids/work limiting) we usually have sex ~3 times a week (with a week off every month). This is down from every day, sometimes multiple through my mid-30’s… although that may be due to too much porn and having been married over 10 years now… LOL. 3 kids doesn’t help.

Now it’s pretty obvious that my t was pretty low… but it doesn’t seem that they do much other testing, other than to sell you the treatments. I feel pretty good overall, not a dramatic change, and I suspect that my commitment to exercise (which I started about the same time) has more to do with my decreased irritability and better sleep. My libido didn’t really increase and building muscle is going pretty slowly.

I did have pretty severe testicular atrophy, and after reading a bit on here, I convinved the guy to prescribe some hCG, but he’s only given me 250 IU a week! I don’t think I’ve seen anyone taking that little. My poor little grapes have firmed back up a bit, but are still much smaller than before TRT.

How can I get more hCG? and how much should I take for

  1. returning my nuts to size
  2. maintaining after ‘recovery’.

Please do not turn this into a debate on whether I should or not, I have read a bit of these, and am convinced I’d like to keep my boys full.

Also, what are your thoughts on my labs, what else should I be looking out for?

Your impressions of the Low-T center and it’s methodology are appreciated also.

I guess I am questioning my decisions, because it seems like it’s once TRT, always TRT, and who knows if I’ll be able to maintain the therapy my entire life…

Thanks for any help/opinions/info you feel like offering up.

Formatting on the tetst was buggered

2/17/2014

Total T 176
PSA 0.75
Estradiol 14.7
Hemoglobin 13
Hermatocrit 39.3
T Dose 150
Calc Free T

5/22/2014

Total T 300
PSA 0.93
Estradiol 13.3
Hemoglobin 13.9
Hermatocrit 41.3
T Dose 170
Calc Free T 9.52

8/18/2014

Total T 375
PSA 1
Estradiol 28.1
Hemoglobin 15.3
Hermatocrit 44.3
T Dose 200
Calc Free T 12.2

11/20/2014

Total T 470
PSA 0.9
Estradiol 26.9
Hemoglobin 15.7
Hermatocrit 46.1
T Dose 210
Calc Free T 15.2

We have some reading for you, these stickies: [there are 7]

  • advice for new guys ← NOTE FIRST PARAGRAPH
  • protocol for injections

100mg T cyp/eth per week, self inject as 50mg twice a week
250iu hCG SC EOD - no need to front load as higher doses can create problems
anastrozole as needed at time of injection - you may not need.

Injecting once a week is not enough, 10-11 days is not good. Blood levels change severely and then your lab results are useless as the result is more a matter of lab timing than anything else.

Low-T shops are just that, they are not looking at low-T as a symptom of a problem.

They will Rx more hCG, ask.

How long after the injection were the blood tests taken?

Injections should really be lower doses more frequently, otherwise you get large fluctuations. At least once a week, if not more frequent.

Tests are on the 10th day.

Hmmm, thinking maybe I should ditch Low-T and get a doc to write the scripts?

I already pay out of pocket for the hCG, not too bad considering the low dose, my current pharmacy gets $65 for the 5000iu, all supplies included, syringes/water/wipes. EOD at 250iu is 40 days, roughly 6 week… that could work.

I only pay $3 per visit to Low-T right now, more when they run labs.

Had another appointment, he doesn’t want me to get more hCG. Probably going to look into getting a GP to write the scripts, I’ll go to him for blood tests quarterly. I hope I can do it that way, even at 10 days getting to the low-t is a hassle. I’m already self-injecting the hCG.