Help needed for first time HRT cycle

[akuma4u]

Hey there i am looking for some help and insight

32 year old male I havent been feeling well for a while and have lost a lot of muscle and energy and gained a bunch of fat , especially in belly. and i have other symptoms too like profuse sweating from just walking, feeling hot flashes, bad sleep, stress, anxiety, etc..

I went to the gyn to try to get back into the great shape i was in my 20s and late 20s and i lasted like 25 mins in the gym and left. it was SO pathetic. I could only lift like 1/3rd the weight i use to and had NO pump and no soreness the next day, NOTHING.
several months before this i worked out hard and would notice i would never get sore the next day and i would get no results or anything..

i suspected low testosterone and high estrogen so i went to get it checked at clinic
my total test was almost out of range and free test was out of range. Im not sure what that exactly means..maybe someone could tell me.

i was referred to a urologist and he asked me my symptoms and asked me if i have any depression or stress and i told him yes i have anxiety and stress and he said this is why my levels may have dropped or it could be the other way around.

he gave me 3 months worth of a roll on testosterone product called "Axiron"

he said to use 30mg at first and then if i respond well to go to 60mg a day

he told me to come back after 3 months and he will repeat the blood test to see where my levels are at and how im feeling.

so my question is this

will this shut down my own testes?
when i go back in 3 months and if my test levels are normal now and he pulls me off wont i just go back to the same situation and how do i restart my own natural production?
wont i have rebound estrogen increase?

im scared i may be in a worse position than i am now if he takes me off after 3 months.

should i be taking any other supplements while i am taking the testosterone supplement?
i heard a natural supplement from need2buildmuscle called hcgenerate is great while on cycle .. should i take that or will it interfere with results and doc might think i need to reduce dose or stop supplementation with the testosterone?

any and all help would be appreciated

THANKS

 

[Zyglamail]

will this shut down my own testes?
when i go back in 3 months and if my test levels are normal now and he pulls me off wont i just go back to the same situation and how do i restart my own natural production?
wont i have rebound estrogen increase?

Yes it will shut down what little production you have. If the topical is working your test levels shouldnt be low but yes if he pulled you off you would likely go back to naturally low test.

On a side note there are a couple schools of thought on low test. One is that naturally low test causes the symptoms you describe and another is that the symptoms you describe are not just caused by low test but low test itself is also caused by other stressors on the body.

For example adrenal fatigue can cause a slew of hormones to become unbalances but then whats the cause of adrenal fatigue? Many general practitioners dont even recognize it as a problem unless symptoms are severe.

My personal opinion is that gut problems are a major factor in declining health. There are a whole slew of fungi, bacteria and worms that can survive and thrive in our gut, pushing out good flora and polluting us from the inside out. Many of the can cause vitamin and mineral deficiencies, cause systemic inflammation and tax the adrenals with results in a huge array of symptoms.

If, after a few month of finding a T dose that works for you and you dont feel night and day improved you may want to dig deeper and look for the actual source.

 

[gjohnson5]

Personally I would have went the OTC route before going to the doctor if you suspect the problem is just low testosterone.
I guess everything I am going to say is in the event the creme does not solve the issue

You could have tried a combination of D-Aspartic Acid and Mucuna Pruriens. You could use DIM to metabolize the estrogen.
Anallergy doctor once gave me sublingual dhea and pregnonolone from Ortho Molecular for the adrenal insufficiency issues.
This in combination with HIIT on a a bike or with ropes can help alot like the 4 minute abs routing can give you some energy back after say 4-6 weeks. Doind some sort of cardio will help you get some energy back

As far as gut issues, one can use a combination of astralagus and garlic. I usde the Allicin Garlic since it's higher in the antimicrobial chemicals which do not affect good intestinal flora.... Only the bad ones. You could also try pumpkin seeds. I usually buy them shelled from the grocery. I think the 3 can clear some worm issues in the gut. I think others will require a stool sample from you to the gastroenterologist. I guess if you're having an bleeding from excretioin or bowel movements , that might be what to look out for.

 

[Zyglamail]

As far as gut issues, one can use a combination of astralagus and garlic. I usde the Allicin Garlic since it's higher in the antimicrobial chemicals which do not affect good intestinal flora.... Only the bad ones. You could also try pumpkin seeds. I usually buy them shelled from the grocery. I think the 3 can clear some worm issues in the gut. I think others will require a stool sample from you to the gastroenterologist. I guess if you're having an bleeding from excretioin or bowel movements , that might be what to look out for.

Each gut bug responds differently. astralagus and garlic for example will do little for H pylori, which is estimated 50% of the population has and often times cant even be detected in stool.

I do agree that a very thorough stool test is the best place to start though and base you OTC supplement regimen on what it turns up and go from there. The biggest problem is so many main stream docs wont test for everything and if they do the tests they use are often inferior.

 

[akuma4u]

For example adrenal fatigue can cause a slew of hormones to become unbalances but then whats the cause of adrenal fatigue? Many general practitioners dont even recognize it as a problem unless symptoms are severe.

My personal opinion is that gut problems are a major factor in declining health. There are a whole slew of fungi, bacteria and worms that can survive and thrive in our gut, pushing out good flora and polluting us from the inside out. Many of the can cause vitamin and mineral deficiencies, cause systemic inflammation and tax the adrenals with results in a huge array of symptoms.

If, after a few month of finding a T dose that works for you and you dont feel night and day improved you may want to dig deeper and look for the actual source.

I looked up the symptoms of adrenal fatigue and i may have a couple but a lot of them i dont, like the unexplained weight loss and loss of body hair. I actually have more body hair and more weight gain.

I feel so dumb, i was going to regular doctors like 2-3 years ago and asking for my testosterone levels to be checked and i didnt know how to interpret the results then and the results would always come back in range but it would be ALMOST out of range.
It wasnt until recently that i learned that the levels are suppose to be determined by your age. The levels i had 3 years ago would be good for a man in his 60s or something.. and the stupid doctors would just look at it and say its fine and send me on my way.

Too many family physicians dont know how to interpret testosterone levels and just end up causing the patient more suffering.

 

[gjohnson5]

I've had adrenal insufficiency issues before and Zyglamail is right. You will be in and out of different specialists offices possibly 40 times before you find the right person who will give you the medical care you should have gotten in one stop. And in order to get that , I had to pay out of pocket because only alternative doctors (who don't accept insurnace) would really treat it.

As far as the borderline low range Yes , I ad a similar problem with my T3. It was borderline low , but still in the normal range. So I went to 4 different doctors and none of them would gave me any treatments ,because T4 was in the middle of the normal range. As we know T4 -> T3 does not happen in the thyroid, it happens in peripheral cells. In this case ashwagandha may help restore normal T3. This may be another issue you may have

 

[Zyglamail]

akuma4u, you may not have adrenal fatigue, it was just something to keep in mind if the test alone doesnt do the trick. The symptoms of adrenal fatigue, gut bugs and low test often are the same. Labs of course can pinpoint low test BUT adrenal fatigue and/or gut bugs could actually be causing it. Adrenal fatigue also isnt you have it or you dont, it can be from mild to severe. A 4 point saliva test can be used to check cortisol levels throughought the day and determine if its normal or not.

 

[gjohnson5]

I wouldn't suspect the bugs issue unless you were having bloody stools , chronic diarrhea , malabsorption, weight loss and depression. Bugs wouldn't just cause low test....

I think you should go to gastroenterologist however. A fatty liver could cause some of the same issues. An ultrasound can confirm.
Another thing would be to check food intolerance. Many people are gluten and/or soy intolerant and don't know it They are in practically everything you eat unless you go to a whole foods or health food store and by hypoallergenic foods. Gluten intolerance does cause absorption of foods.

Saliva tests are very inaccurate for checking hormone levels. I've literally been chastised about continuing to see a doctor who uses such a test to check hormone levels. You should get a comprehensive hormone panel done at an endocrinologist.

 

[Zyglamail]

I wouldn't suspect the bugs issue unless you were having bloody stools , chronic diarrhea , malabsorption, weight loss and depression. Bugs wouldn't just cause low test....

On the contrary gut bugs cause systemic inflammation even if they are not producing acute symptoms in the gut. Stuff like h pylori totally disrupts the krebs cycle and symptoms and issues manifest in a variety of ways. Systemic inflammatory markers stress the body, toxins from gut bugs cause the immune system to work harder and then add lifting to the mix and now you have that to recover from as well. Adrenal fatigue is caused by continuous stress which stresses the adrenals and everything in turn is affected by that, heart disease, autoimmune disorders like RA, iriitis, psoriasis, exema, glucose control, thryoid etc etc.

Most people simply trudge through life simply not feeling 100% because the docs say nothing is wrong. Their stool tests for gut bugs are inferior and most docs dont take them serious.

Saliva tests are very inaccurate for checking hormone levels.

Generally speaking I would agree however the specific 24 hour cortisol saliva test is very accurate. Natural cortisol levels should peak in the morning and wane as the day goes on. Someone suffering from adrenal issues will have this cycle skewed.

 

[gjohnson5]

On the contrary gut bugs cause systemic inflammation even if they are not producing acute symptoms in the gut. Stuff like h pylori totally disrupts the krebs cycle and symptoms and issues manifest in a variety of ways.

We need to be clear , first the issue you brought up was "worms" and now were' talking about bacterium. Apples and Oranges. I agree however that H Pylori infection could cause the low test. I would think he would still have digestive symptoms such as nausea, vomiting , abdominal pain which he isn't complaining about. That's why I don't think so. Your post seems to agree that low test would not be the only symptom

Systemic inflammatory markers stress the body, toxins from gut bugs cause the immune system to work harder and then add lifting to the mix and now you have that to recover from as well. Adrenal fatigue is caused by continuous stress which stresses the adrenals and everything in turn is affected by that, heart disease, autoimmune disorders like RA, iriitis, psoriasis, exema, glucose control, thryoid etc etc.

He isnt complaining about any of those symptoms though. The symptoms you list sounds like an immune / allergy issue. I agree he should get skin prick testing done. This is why I brought up the food intolerance issue especially gluten. Anyway the symptoms he DID complain about are.

32 year old male I havent been feeling well for a while and have lost a lot of muscle and energy and gained a bunch of fat , especially in belly. and i have other symptoms too like profuse sweating from just walking, feeling hot flashes, bad sleep, stress, anxiety, etc..

It could be an infection especially looking at the sweating , but it could also be the adrenal issue. Hard to say from that list

Most people simply trudge through life simply not feeling 100% because the docs say nothing is wrong. Their stool tests for gut bugs are inferior and most docs dont take them serious.

The easy answer for bad flora would be yogurt or probiotics. As I stated previously astralagus and garlic could help kill h pylori or other bad flora if it is indeed the issue. But those 2 herbs are also anti fungal and anti viral so those issues could be helped as well, not just for h pylori