Got Low T

I've been living with major symptoms of "Low Testosterone" for over a year now.

Memory/Concentration Issues
Fatigue/Sleep Problems
Anxiety/Depression
Low Libido/ED
Feel Old

Last year was one of the worst years of my life, and it's finally coming to an end. I'm starting treatment next week, and I can hardly believe it. I was diagnosed months ago, but I had other issues to deal with first.

Just wondering if any other guys out there have been diagnosed with, and/or have similar symptoms.

I had alot of symtoms like that and then some. The doctor found out that I was B12 deficient, it was the worst time of my life and I am glad it is behind me now.

So do you get shots for this problem?

I hope this will be your road to recovery. When the body starts running down, and strange things happen that doctors can't answer, it can become frustrating. Good luck, and keep us updated.

Double post.

Nitroz said:

I had alot of symtoms like that and then some. The doctor found out that I was B12 deficient, it was the worst time of my life and I am glad it is behind me now.

So do you get shots for this problem?

I hope this will be your road to recovery. When the body starts running down, and strange things happen that doctors can't answer, it can become frustrating. Good luck, and keep us updated.

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B12 deficiency was one of the many things I thought I had. I tell ya I learned alot about this and many other medical conditions, while doing research over the past year. I've been to see half a dozen doctors before I finally found one to treat it correctly.

Unfortunately not many doctors know how to test for, or treat Low T correctly. Just becuase your T is in the "normal" range doesn't mean it's normal for your age. When they hear Low Libido or ED, the first thing they do is prescribe Viagra. And the doctors who do treat Low T, just slap you with Androgel and send you on your way.

I'll be using a gel, and doing shots. The gel is similar to Androgel, but more concentrated, to raise T directly. The shots are HCG, which stimulate the testicles to create more T, and keep them working. What a lot of doctors fail to do is use HGC. Men with Secondary Hypogonadism (which is what I have) need to be on HCG also. Many men don't like the thought of giving themself a shot. However, if HGC isn't used, the testicles will atrophy (shrink up and stop working completely).

Any Internet sites/info/links?

Nitro said:

B12 deficiency was one of the many things I thought I had. I tell ya I learned alot about this and many other medical conditions, while doing research over the past year. I've been to see half a dozen doctors before I finally found one to treat it correctly.

Unfortunately not many doctors know how to test for, or treat Low T correctly. Just becuase your T is in the "normal" range doesn't mean it's normal for your age. When they hear Low Libido or ED, the first thing they do is prescribe Viagra. And the doctors who do treat Low T, just slap you with Androgel and send you on your way.

I'll be using a gel, and doing shots. The gel is similar to Androgel, but more concentrated, to raise T directly. The shots are HCG, which stimulate the testicles to create more T, and keep them working. What a lot of doctors fail to do is use HGC. Men with Secondary Hypogonadism (which is what I have) need to be on HCG also. Many men don't like the thought of giving themself a shot. However, if HGC isn't used, the testicles will atrophy (shrink up and stop working completely).

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I used two different doctors before the third one was a charm. I kept telling the second doctor that something wasn't right, I always felt dizzy and light headed, and had no energy. It even started to affect my appetite.

MARNAV1 said:

Any Internet sites/info/links?

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I learned alot on "HealthBoards" in the Men's Health section. You can also get alot of sites from a Google search.

Nitroz said:

I used two different doctors before the third one was a charm. I kept telling the second doctor that something wasn't right, I always felt dizzy and light headed, and had no energy. It even started to affect my appetite.

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I know the feeling. I've been feeling dizzy/lightheaded for a year. I had all kinds of tests, Eyes, Ears, MRI's... all negative.

Change of plans. I'm going to attempt to restart my Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular Axis (HPTA) by using Tamoxifen (Nolvadex) in order to avoid, or delay Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT). It's an eight week treatment plan. We'll see how it goes.

Why?

The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular axis can be reset without using hardcore drugs! Many alternative health care providers can offer assistance in the form of nutrition and herbal supplements. PM me if you need a referral or any other information.

As for using a testosterone supplement you will end up causing even more disruption in your system as the T receptors downgrade their response due to the massive influx of the hormone.

Best of luck

Can you explain HPT axis in a nutshell?

MARNAV1 said:

Can you explain HPT axis in a nutshell?

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The Hypothalamus is like a thermostat that regulates hormones, in this case Testosterone. When T becomes too low, it releases Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH), which inturn triggers the Pituitary to release Luetenizing Hormone (LH) and Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH). These hormones then trigger the Testicles to create Testosterone, and Sperm respectfully.

Sometimes this process can get out of whack, from doing Steriods (#1 reason), stress, drug/alcohol abuse and unknown causes. Another problem that can cause the system to go wacky is if there's a physical problem with the Pituitary. i.e. tumor or damage from head injury.

I've never used steriods, I don't use drugs, not much alcohol and I don't have a tumor (confirmed by MRI). Therefore my problem is either stress, or possible damage to my Pituitary (I have had multiple head injuries) or unknown causes.

This restart attempt should tell us if my Pituitary is working. If it is, there's a good chance I can recover without the need for TRT. But if my Pituitary is unresponsive, I'll most likely have to go on TRT for life.

turkdc said:

The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular axis can be reset without using hardcore drugs! Many alternative health care providers can offer assistance in the form of nutrition and herbal supplements. PM me if you need a referral or any other information.

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Do you know anyone personally that as successfully restarted their HPTA by using nutrition and herbal supplements alone? If so, what was the reason their HPTA shut down, and how long did it take them to restart it?

turkdc said:

As for using a testosterone supplement you will end up causing even more disruption in your system as the T receptors downgrade their response due to the massive influx of the hormone.

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True, but if the HPTA cannot be restarted, it's much more disruptive (make that dangerous) to live with Low T then to replace it.

turkdc said:

Best of luck

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Thanks

Is the Androderm patch considered to be T replacement? More importantly will it definitely cause disruption in your system as the T receptors downgrade their response due to the massive influx of the hormone even if the system has not been determined to be disrupted and just slightly lowered T is detected...talking 600 as opposed to 800?

Icebreak said:

Is the Androderm patch considered to be T replacement? More importantly will it definitely cause disruption in your system as the T receptors downgrade their response due to the massive influx of the hormone even if the system has not been determined to be disrupted and just slightly lowered T is detected...talking 600 as opposed to 800?

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Yes it is, and yes it will. However, forget the numbers. The real question is, do you have symptoms of Low T? If you don't, you should not take anything, or you risk screwing up your HPTA. If you do, then you need to do something, whether that's resarting the HPTA, or T replacement.

I recommend trying to restart the HPTA first. But if that doesn't work replacement is the last resort, and only at the minimum dosage. Too much is just as bad as too little. Also, if you start taking T externally, your testicles will shut down. To avoid this you need to take HCG.

Not really. I just noticed lower libido (I think due to a high stress job and 5 decades on the planet) but no ED. Doc was treating me for insomnia partially due to apnea and partially due to stress. He is still treating me for HBP. He did in fact give me some Viagra. I didn't exactly know why and noticed zero change in libido and since ED was not at all a problem I told him let's forget about it. He came back with the patch. He did insist that my HBP get straight first so after 4 visits in as many months where I registered 128 BP he gave the go ahead. I can feel my own physicality much better. It's weird. Like just stretching, standing, walking...everything feels better. My attitude is better. I'm not sprouting huge muscles but I know I've gained strength in the last year. I'm generally much happier and libido is like I'm 21 again.

Great. I didn't see anything about atrophy on RX list or Drugs dot com. Dammit. I'm going to print this out and have talk with my doc next week. This weekend I'll start researching on Men's Health. Double Dammit. I thought I'd found a safe, wonder drug. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Icebreak said:

Not really. I just noticed lower libido (I think due to a high stress job and 5 decades on the planet) but no ED. Doc was treating me for insomnia partially due to apnea and partially due to stress. He is still treating me for HBP. He did in fact give me some Viagra. I didn't exactly know why and noticed zero change in libido and since ED was not at all a problem I told him let's forget about it. He came back with the patch. He did insist that my HBP get straight first so after 4 visits in as many months where I registered 128 BP he gave the go ahead. I can feel my own physicality much better. It's weird. Like just stretching, standing, walking...everything feels better. My attitude is better. I'm not sprouting huge muscles but I know I've gained strength in the last year. I'm generally much happier and libido is like I'm 21 again.

Click to expand...

600 at 50 yrs old isn't too bad, but it sounds like you did have symptoms of Low T, and T replacement helped.

Great. I didn't see anything about atrophy on RX list or Drugs dot com. Dammit. I'm going to print this out and have talk with my doc next week. This weekend I'll start researching on Men's Health. Double Dammit. I thought I'd found a safe, wonder drug. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Click to expand...

Most doctors will not prescribe HCG with T replacement, because it hasn't been tested "Long Term". They will just slap on a patch or gel and call it a day. They won't mention the fact it will cause atrophy either. Continued use of T replacement without HCG will cause atrophy. It's just a question of when. Also, it's believed the testicles make more then just Testosterone (becides Sperm) that's essential for good health.

Check out AllThingsMale, and look under Publications for "TRT: A Recipe for Success" and "HCG Update". Print them and take them to your doctor.

Have your Testicles shrank at all since you started TRT?

Well this is kinda personal stuff but you and I are buds and if this conversation helps someone else, I'm cool with it. No signs of atrophy at all. The jewels seem very "comfortable". Performance has increased, easily controlled, almost effortless. I'm remembering this forum is family friendly so I hope that description was in line with what might be spoken of in a SE class.

I just yanked the patch and won't re-apply until my GP and I have a sit down and talk about HGC and the concept of restarting HPT Axis. I will print the info from your link and bring that with me. He's a pretty smart guy and he's strong about CE. A couple of months ago I ran across a Pharmacist that went to college with him. This Pharmacist told me that Dr. C. didn't help the curve one bit. I'm beginning to think that my better stress management techniques may be the best solution.

I'll PM you tomorrow and give you my email address so if you have time we can discuss this a little further. Another weird thing is that I've always been slow to anger and that hasn't changed except that I seem to have more patience than ever before. That's the opposite of what I thought might happen. My GP tells me that is a correct reaction to the dosage he prescribed.

Back to you, I'm really interested to hear about your progress. It sounds like your symptoms have been hellish or at least disturbing to deal with. Certainly you must feel some relief knowing that you now have a handle on it. How many times I've heard from people to follow your instincts. If you know something is wrong it's best to pursue a solution even if that pursuit causes you to become the educator of your physicians. Good for you for sticking to your guns. I like my guys because they speak to me like we are partners in attaining solutions. So I'm thinking Dr. C. might benefit from our conversation next week. I'll let you know how that goes.

Thanks again for starting this important and useful topic.

Hard to believe a guy with lights that throw like yours can have LT :duh2: