+ 3 Help with self diagnosis please
Ok, so I'm 39 years old and for the past 5 years have been very active, almost all cardio. I run marathons, ultra marathons, and ironman distance triathlons. I'm not the fastest guy in the world but I could hold my own until recently. I'm having trouble doing any exercises now... I'm out of shape and gained 15 lbs since Jan. My diet hasn't been great either, but I'm thinking I'm depressed....
Aside from that I've noticed a slow loss of libido for the past 5-6 years or so. I attributed it to getting older, but it is now more or less completely gone. My GF thinks I'm cheating on her, I don't find her attractive etc. It's more stress for me to try because I don't know if I will even be able to get an erection, and when I do I just want to finish before it goes away again.
It isn't bloodflow, I had a general uro check up - once in a while out of the blue I can get a rager. Just never when I need.
I finally tested my T levels, 400 total and 10 free. I ran the numbers by a nephrologist and she said that's perfectly normal and she wanted to refer me to a urologist. I explained I'd already been to one and she said it is probably psychological... I explained it has been a steady decline for years and finally unbearable and she said I have nothing to worry about.
I am curious what the best way to perform a test. Ideally I'd love to do it without needles, but I can't find any gel in the sources. (one place lists it but has it sold out).
Would Anavar or Tbol raise my T levels enough for me to see temporary improvements, get a new test with the higher numbers and more or less prove I'm on the right track here?
If not is there anything else I could do? I'm not looking to bulk, or cut, I just want to verify low-T before I become some sort of science experiment for all these drs that want to see me and send me to someone else and then see me again, but don't want to treat my symptoms because my number is low, but 'not low enough' for it to be the cause.
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If you're looking for a cream, you might try CENSORED They are out of Australia. I was ordering cream from them in the past. However at one point I received an email that stated customers in the states where having issues with customs, and that they would be complying with customs regs. So I stopped using them as I had no script etc. However not to long ago I started receiving communication from them again, and got the impression that they have a work around of some sort. I see nothing on their site requesting a script, and it plainly says they ship to the states. Near as I can tell they are 100% legit, and I could feel the results of the cream. I think that they are more cost effective than some of the pharma grade domestic creams and will let you order a 3 month supply. You might check them out
Keep the source names / websites EBC out of the forums.
Take a moment to read the rules please.
That does look promising. I found some generic androgel at CENSORED it's a bit pricier and I'd love to lower the cost, but being able to pay by bitcoins is a huge plus to me and it may be worth the extra $ to protect myself that much more.
Anyway I've been on it for 6 days now and I have to say the improvements are very noticeable. Nothing drastic, but I have already started to get random erections during the day and my sex life has improved as well. My mental well being is significantly better. I plan on going another week or two then getting my levels checked again.
Because the cost is so outrageous and the precautions against spreading to others can be a pain, not to mention being unable to workout or shower once applied I will likely make the change to injections as long as the results stay where they are.
I haven't started any AI or PCT type meds yet either, should I wait for those signs to develop or should I be proactive and take them beforehand?
Same comment above to you.
From what I am reading, your T levels were tested and they are normal. Your blood flow is also normal.
The doctor suggested the problem is psychological, yet here you are looking for evidence that these problems are testosterone related and NOT psychological.
When we hear the "clop clop clop" of a hoof - think Horse before thinking Zebra. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one: the problems are psychological. Putting on weight is a sign of depression, it means that there is a change in your eating habits, and your exercise habits, especially when you put on so much weight in only a 5 or 6 months. As a man who gets a lot of cardio, one would think that you would not let the weight creep up on you or snowball. Fifteen pounds is not quite snowballing yet - but it is moving in the wrong direction.
This problem has several answers:
First - Yes, you are most likely depressed about something. Maybe getting older is just getting to you. Maybe gaining the weight is making you feel insecure. I felt these things too - most people have. You and I were both born when Ford was president, we are not geriatrics patients yet, but we are not Spring chickens - and we know it.
I decided to be 40 and fabulous. It is time for you to make the same choice. Confront those feelings, address them and decide what kind of older gentleman you want to be.
Second - if you want to get on some gear, go for it. Put on some good lean muscle, take what you need to take. But remember that the gear will not fix the feelings you have right now, they will only ameliorate them in the following month or year.
Good luck.
This sounds very similar to my story. I was running 40-45 miles a week for over 10 years. Several marathons and half marathons. I finally had to stop running do to compartment syndrome in my soleus and it is inoperable. Anyway, as a distance Runner and an aging, testosterone kind of gets a double whammy.
An endocrinologist may not give you what you want. I would go to a TRT clinic if one is available to you. That's what I did, I learned about trt there and than after a while I discovered this site and started doing my own trt.
My clinic gave me 180mg test Cyp once a week with 1000iu hcg at the same time. I get more stable bloods on my own because I split my trt dose to 2 pins of 100mg each and 3 hcg pins of 250 each.
I love trt, it has made my life significantly better. I retired from running 5 years ago and have been cranking out the weights ever since. And yes, trt introduced me to steroid cycles too. It is kind of a gateway so be aware of that.
Good luck
I stumbled across this today and thought it might be of interest to you.
Again, an option that you might want to ask the endocrinologist about.
http://www.nature.com/ijir/journal/v15/n3/full/3900981a.html
Also I've tried V and cialis... V kinda helps if things are working that day, no noticeable difference with Cialis... (I even sprang for the name brand with a script to be sure it was legit)
Thanks for all the responses. I will get my estrogen and thyroid levels checked. The urologist more or less ruled out thyroid due to the symptoms really not matching. An endo said instead of focusing on test alone I should get my pituitary levels checked and I plan on doing another round of work once my arm stops hurting from the last draw. (She hit a nerve and it still hurts if I pick anything heavy up. no bruising or infection thankfully)
I will check my estrogen as well with the next round. I've done several months of all the natural boosters, Vitamin D, Zinc, Magnesium, and that was before the 400 test. It's been about 3 weeks, I stopped that the day I was tested so if they did anything to help it should be gone by my next blood work and I'll get perhaps a lower number that will change their minds.
I would see an endocrinologist and get a hormone battery done, specifically check you for hypothyroidism.
No on the orals you listed.
The common/misused taboo oral trt that you will see is typically in UK/U.S. is provirion, clomid or adex. I don't condone this, you can however research this topic more if it intrigues you.
I will always recommend test inj base. Strictly bro science.
Either way keep us updated, and good luck.
I agree with posters below--don't try an oral. It will crash your natural production and make it even harder for your md to get an accurate diagnosis.
I feel for you and understand why you want a quick solution. The only really quick fix would be Viagra or Cialis, but even those mostly affect the ability to get an erection, not drive or desire.
I'm not usually a big fan of homestyle remedies, but I suggest you really look into vitamin D. Try to get your md to include it in your blood test. Vit. D affects testosterone production, immune function, and a bunch of other things I can't remember.
My md told me weightlifters and other very physically active "burn" more Vit D. A large percentage of the population have low Vit D.
I drink a ton of milk and eat pretty healthy, but mine was still low.
This might be a fucked up sexist thing to say but I would get a male doctor. I would hope he would have more appreciation of how important sex drive and performance is to a guy. For her to say you have nothing to worry about sounds like she doesn't care much for what you know is important for you.
Best of luck. I'm sure you will get yourself lined out, just not as quick as you might like.
I come from a very similar athletic background, and it might be overtraining. I used to live up north and was forced to cut back on anaerobic activity in the winter. Then come Spring, I was jonesing to hit it hard.
Then I moved to a much warmer climate where year round training/competing is possible and burned out in a year. I have put myself on a six month on/six month off heavy training schedule.
I have been on trt for almost ten years (started at 40) because I was coming in at total test 180. Like the others said, I wouldn't mess with added test/dbol/var, etc at this time as it will shut you down.
I concur with the opinion that you should go back to the doctor and have them delve deeper for an answer. If you are going to experiment, perhaps ask for a Viagra/Cialis script and see how that works.
Zenak, sorry to hear about your troubles. I'm sure it's even more aggravating when you live such a healthy lifestyle, and end up with Testosterone issues.
I can almost guarantee you the results you would see from a "test" test. Boners, horniness, etc.
Depending on the lab that did the bloodwork, 400 is generally getting on the low side. If you check around a little I bet you can find a mens clinic that would be happy to prescribe TRT with your 400 ng/dl number.
In the mean time, score some viagra or cialis from one of the peptide src's here. It's cheap and effective, and will let you concentrate on banging the ol' lady instead of worrying about .your boner giving out.
If you want to try and boost your own T levels, I found that Vitamin D, about 5000 iu daily helped. I also used DAA ( D-aspertic acid), a supplement you can find online.
You can get your own blood work done, and see what kind of range you get on your Test levels from day to day, its $50-$70 from privatemdlabs, or labsmd.com
good luck
"Would Anavar or Tbol raise my T levels enough for me to see temporary improvements, get a new test with the higher numbers and more or less prove I'm on the right track here?"
No, it will shutdown whatever natural testosterone production you have left in your body making your feel even shitter. When you take a hormone whether its tbol, anavar, deca, testosterone your body realizes this and shutdowns your natural production. So when you take tbol (4-chlorodehydromethlytestosterone),your body shuts down your natural production of testosterone and you dont replace it with test, you replace it with tbol. So you will feel 10 times worse then you do now. Same goes for every single steroid except testosterone.
You need to get your other hormones checked also. The thing i hate about these doctors is what they call normal. The reference range is like 247-like 900 or sometimes a 1100. One guy can be 300 and feel awesome and the next guy can be 400 and feel like shit. Maybe just a few years ago you were 900 so thats a 500 point drop. Thats gonna make a big difference. They need to go by symptoms not numbers.
Go see another doctor, we do not play doctor on eroids.
Sorry bro we are not doctors here, and if your having issues we are not going to tell you to run an oral. Any compound is going to shut you down and make things worse