6 months into TRT - minimal effects - no libido - thinking of stopping?

[Hai Bodong]

I don't know. It may look like that at first however, there's a few problems:

1. Most people do not go to the doctor to get comprehensive hormonal panel done when they are in their 20s and feeling like rock stars, so we don't know what the set point was.
2. Even if we did, we probably measured the things that could be measured at the time we were 20s, with the technology of the time, and the knowledge of the time.
3. Even if we had the snapshot values, we don't know what relationships to look at. Hormones are not like a multi band equalizer, you cannot simply raise one and leave the others where they are. Usually once you change one, a cascade of changes is triggered.

We really don't know what variables, and which levels those variables need to have to feel like a rockstar. Does HDL, LDL play a role? we don't know. How about dopamine, norepinephrine, choline, serotonin? Or the ratio between norepinephrine and free testosterone? Or 3 times serotonin/choline compared to dopamine*vitamin D? How about even estradiol? Up until very recently, and still some body building communities and even some doctors still say that Estradiol is a "female hormone". Some want to keep it as low as possible, yet some researchers have found that libido decreases with estradiol less than 50 pg/mL. The reality is, with all our technology in the 21st century, we are still in the dark when it comes to this topic.

The thing is that we don't know what we don't know. Every day we'll discover more, and perhaps we'll get some day closer to the truth and what it means not just to live forever, but to live forever feeling as good as when we were in our 20s and 30s. And then a new question arises, what do we do with so many people?

I'm fortunate that I had fantastic 20s and 30s and even 40s, from every aspect of life. Some of my issues started in my 50s and even so, they are still relatively minor, manageable and I can still e enjoy life. It's my mind that likes yo achieve perfection, and ... here I am...

Nice post and lucky you mate.

I tend to agree with you on the E2 opinion.

 

[Willyt]

The body decides a new homeostasis and the physical manifestation is libido ed issues etc.

So if you have the numbers from when you felt like a rockstar in your 20s and manage to replicate them artificially, would you be close to that feeling wise?

I wouldn't recommend chasing that 20s dragon. TRT's suppression of HTPA system makes that virtually impossible. My TRT benchmark is to feel better than I did pre-TRT in my late 40s (which was basically shit)

 

[brookseth]

@brookseth

High Monocyte Count: Causes, Symptoms, and More

Monocytes, along with other types of white blood cells, are a vital part of your immune system. Learn what it means if your monocyte level is high.

www.healthline.com

Interesting read - but I’m not seeing high monocytes on my labwork. Or am I missing your point here somehow?

 

[sammmy]

Your monocyte % is too high on the labs posted. That indicates your immune system is out of balance. The article explains possible causes.