30 years old, low T, started TRT but no positive results

[Desq]

I find it hard to believe that 100mg wk of legit injectable test from a compounding pharmacy only had his levels at 150+ng/dl after a month.

My first post may have been confusing, that that 157 figure was from a blood draw taken exactly one month after the initial 350 mg injection, but just before he prescribed me weekly shots. So from what I understand, a low T level would be expected in this situation, since such a massive one-time-a-month injection would result in a surge in T levels for the first week, followed by a nose-dive. (Hence the rationale for once or twice-a-week injections.)

But since that 157 lab, I've been doing weekly injections...for 5 weeks now.

 

[Desq]

haha good minds think alike

here is the article i was referring to if you guys want to take a look

i didn't even include libido killing drugs like anti-depressants either in that list because I was under the assumption everyone already knew that.. looking back i probably should have included it under the diet/lifestyle point because afterall it is something you put into your body

Thanks stevesmi, I did read the article. Honestly, I'm not sure what holes I have left to plug. For the last six months, I've been slowly undergoing positive lifestyle changes - better sleep, exercise (mostly bodybuilding-style), nutrition, etc. The blood labs came back fine for everything except T levels.

I will admit that I definitely have some room for improvement in the stress department. I'm in a stressful profession (lawyer), in a stressful city (New York), married to a woman that is, shall we say, a bit impatient about us achieving financial success.

Still though - and correct me if I'm wrong, preferably with an explanation - I find it hard to believe that such a dramatic increase in testosterone (especially starting from such low levels) wouldn't have a fairly clear effect on me. Still the same crappy mood, low energy, sluggishness, lack of mental clarity, beta-male feeling, etc.

Is it possible that I'm just not giving it enough time to work?

P.S.: I have taken psych meds over the years. Latest one was adderall, although I never took more than half to a third of the recommended dosage. I weaned myself off of it early this year. It did help with mental energy, but gave me anxiety.

 

[Zyglamail]

Still though - and correct me if I'm wrong, preferably with an explanation - I find it hard to believe that such a dramatic increase in testosterone (especially starting from such low levels) wouldn't have a fairly clear effect on me. Still the same crappy mood, low energy, sluggishness, lack of mental clarity, beta-male feeling, etc.

Some symptoms of hypothyroidism:


Fatigue
Increased sensitivity to cold
Constipation
Dry skin
Unexplained weight gain
Puffy face
Hoarseness
Muscle weakness
Elevated blood cholesterol level
Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness
Pain, stiffness or swelling in your joints
Heavier than normal or irregular menstrual periods
Thinning hair
Slowed heart rate
Depression
Impaired memory


Common symptoms from intestinal pathogens:


Abdominal pain
Hemoptysis
Dysuria
Central nervous system impairment
Chest pain
Chills
Chronic fatigue
Colitis
Coughing
Diarrhea
Digestive disturbance
Dizziness
Fever
Enlargement of various organs
Headaches
Vaginitis
Jaundice
Joint pain
Weight loss due to malnutrition
Weakness
Immunodeficiency
Nausea/vomiting
Swelling of facial features
Sweating
Insomnia
Skin ulcers
Rectal prolapse
Mental problems
Lung congestion
Memory loss
Night sweats
Muscle spasms
Hair loss or thinning

Notice there are a lot of overlapping symptoms and in both lists you will see various mental issues. You do not have to have a T3 and T4 reading outside of lab range to have an underfunctioning thyroid and suffer from some of the above effects. The medical community largely ignores the thyroid unless your over or under lab range and then once again, they throw meds at it instead of giving the thyroid what it needs.

Intestinal pathogens are another area where the percentage of people with them is extremely large yet the medical community ignores that as a possibility and throws meds at the particular symptom someone is displaying ie depression.

 

[Desq]

Some symptoms of hypothyroidism:


Fatigue
Increased sensitivity to cold
Constipation
Dry skin
Unexplained weight gain
Puffy face
Hoarseness
Muscle weakness
Elevated blood cholesterol level
Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness
Pain, stiffness or swelling in your joints
Heavier than normal or irregular menstrual periods
Thinning hair
Slowed heart rate
Depression
Impaired memory


Common symptoms from intestinal pathogens:


Abdominal pain
Hemoptysis
Dysuria
Central nervous system impairment
Chest pain
Chills
Chronic fatigue
Colitis
Coughing
Diarrhea
Digestive disturbance
Dizziness
Fever
Enlargement of various organs
Headaches
Vaginitis
Jaundice
Joint pain
Weight loss due to malnutrition
Weakness
Immunodeficiency
Nausea/vomiting
Swelling of facial features
Sweating
Insomnia
Skin ulcers
Rectal prolapse
Mental problems
Lung congestion
Memory loss
Night sweats
Muscle spasms
Hair loss or thinning

Notice there are a lot of overlapping symptoms and in both lists you will see various mental issues. You do not have to have a T3 and T4 reading outside of lab range to have an underfunctioning thyroid and suffer from some of the above effects. The medical community largely ignores the thyroid unless your over or under lab range and then once again, they throw meds at it instead of giving the thyroid what it needs.

Intestinal pathogens are another area where the percentage of people with them is extremely large yet the medical community ignores that as a possibility and throws meds at the particular symptom someone is displaying ie depression.

The endo said my thyroid was normal.

I have the blood labs in front of me. I can post up numbers, just tell me what I should be looking for.

 

[Zyglamail]

The endo said my thyroid was normal.

I have the blood labs in front of me. I can post up numbers, just tell me what I should be looking for.

I just told you labs dont mean shit. Just because your T3 and T4 are in the normal range does not mean your thyroid is functioning optimally. This is not a clear cut case of broken or not broken, its about efficiency. Your thyroid very well may not be the problem but labs alone do not rule it out either. Google basal body temp and start taking your temp first thing in the morning before getting out of bed. Do that for a week and average the readings, if your BBT is under 97.6 your thyroid is likely not functioning optimally.

Let me try an analogy. You have a car, when brand new it was getting 40mpg but now is getting 30mpg. You take it into the shop, they pull codes from the computer and say there is nothing wrong and send you on your way, yet you are still getting 30mpg now when it used to get 40mpg.

It still runs, gets you from point A to point B but is NOT running OPTIMALLY! The symptom of this is reduced gas mileage yet the shop says they cant find anything wrong and its functioning normal.

Do you see my point? Your endo did labs and because your labs where in the normal range (ie no error codes on cars computer) he says your fine but your symptoms tell another story (ie car is only getting 30mpg instead of 40).

You just gave us a laundry list of symptoms you have yet because the doc said your fine that must mean your symptoms are all in your head.

Long story longer the common labs only tells the doc if there is a MAJOR problem but they dont look at nutrient/amino levels and when they do they often look at the wrong ones.

You need to realize your symptoms are real and they could be caused by one or more (likely related) issues. Most docs are limited in the testing they can perform because the insurance companies limit them. Most docs are clueless when it comes to nutrition and even when they arent their hands are often tied by the FDA rules and regulations.

Im not just blowing smoke here, ive had all your symptoms and more, many of them I have fixed naturally and feel better than I have in 10 years. Its not an easy or quick fix but the first thing you need to do is start taking some personal responsibility for your own health and stop blindly believing what the doc tells you. Im not saying meds wont necessarily be needed but if you do as much as you can with nutrition there is a very good chance that if you do need pharm meds the doses (and associated sides)will be much lower.

The world is full of people like you with a laundry list of side effects that arent bad enough for the medical community to take them seriously but they are bad enough to affect your life (hence you posting here for help). I have yet to encounter anyone (online or otherwise) who got complete relief by blinding following their allopathic doctors advice but I have encountered hundreds if not thousands who have addressed underlying nutrient deficiencies and toxins and have made incredible improvements.

You passed the bar so your obviously no idiot, put some of the intelligence to work and do some of your own research and decide for yourself.

 

[Desq]

I just told you labs dont mean shit. Just because your T3 and T4 are in the normal range does not mean your thyroid is functioning optimally. This is not a clear cut case of broken or not broken, its about efficiency. Your thyroid very well may not be the problem but labs alone do not rule it out either. Google basal body temp and start taking your temp first thing in the morning before getting out of bed. Do that for a week and average the readings, if your BBT is under 97.6 your thyroid is likely not functioning optimally.

Let me try an analogy. You have a car, when brand new it was getting 40mpg but now is getting 30mpg. You take it into the shop, they pull codes from the computer and say there is nothing wrong and send you on your way, yet you are still getting 30mpg now when it used to get 40mpg.

It still runs, gets you from point A to point B but is NOT running OPTIMALLY! The symptom of this is reduced gas mileage yet the shop says they cant find anything wrong and its functioning normal.

Do you see my point? Your endo did labs and because your labs where in the normal range (ie no error codes on cars computer) he says your fine but your symptoms tell another story (ie car is only getting 30mpg instead of 40).

You just gave us a laundry list of symptoms you have yet because the doc said your fine that must mean your symptoms are all in your head.

Long story longer the common labs only tells the doc if there is a MAJOR problem but they dont look at nutrient/amino levels and when they do they often look at the wrong ones.

You need to realize your symptoms are real and they could be caused by one or more (likely related) issues. Most docs are limited in the testing they can perform because the insurance companies limit them. Most docs are clueless when it comes to nutrition and even when they arent their hands are often tied by the FDA rules and regulations.

Im not just blowing smoke here, ive had all your symptoms and more, many of them I have fixed naturally and feel better than I have in 10 years. Its not an easy or quick fix but the first thing you need to do is start taking some personal responsibility for your own health and stop blindly believing what the doc tells you. Im not saying meds wont necessarily be needed but if you do as much as you can with nutrition there is a very good chance that if you do need pharm meds the doses (and associated sides)will be much lower.

The world is full of people like you with a laundry list of side effects that arent bad enough for the medical community to take them seriously but they are bad enough to affect your life (hence you posting here for help). I have yet to encounter anyone (online or otherwise) who got complete relief by blinding following their allopathic doctors advice but I have encountered hundreds if not thousands who have addressed underlying nutrient deficiencies and toxins and have made incredible improvements.

You passed the bar so your obviously no idiot, put some of the intelligence to work and do some of your own research and decide for yourself.

Thanks Zyglamail (and everyone else). I'll dig a little deeper. Any further comments are appreciated.

 

[philbilly]

I can't believe that nobody has asked about estrogen levels yet. You make no mention of an Ai to go along with your Test scrip. What were your estrogen levels before and now?

 

[Zyglamail]

I can't believe that nobody has asked about estrogen levels yet. You make no mention of an Ai to go along with your Test scrip. What were your estrogen levels before and now?

He stated his E level in first post. Regardless, in his case and with his symptoms I would expect it to be high normal or high. Once again you start to get things in order with nutrients and everything falls into place.

 

[truckdaddy]

haha good minds think alike

here is the article i was referring to if you guys want to take a look https://muscle-research.com/showthread.php?4082-Article-Boosting-Libido-in-Men

i didn't even include libido killing drugs like anti-depressants either in that list because I was under the assumption everyone already knew that.. looking back i probably should have included it under the diet/lifestyle point because afterall it is something you put into your body

Great read bro!

 

[Desq]

For some reason, the endo didn't bother asking the lab to test my E2 levels until I asked him to, so the only E2 reading I have is from the most recent exam...which, as I said before, is 36 - which, from what I understand, is high-normal, but still normal.