Anxiety Issues after TRT discontinuation

[btmhwb]

Good morning everyone, I am reaching out for some help after a year and a half period on TRT. I was on TRT initially with TRT nation but didn't feel that they were worth the money so I went on getting T through underground sources for the rest of the time. I ran various doses and experimented with AIs but really tried to stay away from them. I can provide more information if necessary but I don't really feel that the specifics of what I did will help with my ultimate issue. About a year in or a bit after that, I started getting heavy breathing and tight chest. I thought initially it was hematocrit, so i gave some blood but that didn't help. It kept getting worse, with this strange very uncomfortable feeling in my chest and lungs. Right at about a year and a half in, i went gull blown panic mode when I was with my son out of town and had to go to the ER. I thought I was dying,.......I was up all night with crazy physical symptoms like tight chest, super high BP, crazy racing thoughts, sweating, hard to breath, you name it. I went to ER and they told me it was a panic attack after testing a bunch of stuff. I had been feeling these symptoms for a while but they kept getting worse so I ended up quitting T cold turkey. Of course thats hard to do but I was already feeling so bad that I just did it. Fast forward to now.....its been roughly 9 months since I quit. I have had my T tested and I am producing T (350 total but that was a whle ago) but I cannot shake this anxiety. The feelings are less intense but still present. I have this terrible feeling in my mid section all day that never seems to let up, along with tight chest and other symtoms. I have felt depressed at times and it comes and goes. I have tried pregnenolone and magnesium quite extensively with no help. I have tried basically every supplement on the market also.....different vitamins and such. 5 HTP and all sorts of things. My question is this - is there anyone else on this site that has experienced this? And if so, how long did it last?? I was fully prepared for a battle but thought for sure I would be through it by now. Any suggestions that I have not tried? A few months back I had a virtual appt with Dr Rob Kominarek after seeing a video about anxiety and TRT on Youtube and he basically said that I likely have a polymorphism that caused this and I should not take anything hormone related ever again lol. He said to try an SSRI like lexapro but I am scared to death to never be able to get off of them. Please help if you have experience with this !!!!

 

[Systemlord]

He said to try an SSRI like lexapro but I am scared to death to never be able to get off of them.

I don’t understand why you think a forum guru member is going to have more clinical and medical experience than Dr. Rob. From reading your post it doesn’t seem like you gave him a chance to solve your issues which doesn’t happen after only one visit.

Did Dr. Rob do any more extensive lab testing to determine or confirm what’s causing your issue?

How long have you been a patient with Dr. Rob?

About a year in or a bit after that, I started getting heavy breathing and tight chest.

How long did you do well on TRT initially?

Did you ever have anxiety, panic attacks before TRT?

Did you ever have your ferritin levels checked?

Reason I ask, is you say these symptoms were worse on TRT than off. If your ferritin levels were, are deficient, and you went off TRT, your symptoms would be less than they are on therapy because higher testosterone utilizes more iron.

When I was doing daily injections of cypionate, I had all the symptoms you speak of, and my ferritin levels were found to be deficient. I had the racing heart rate, heavy breathing, and tightness in the chest which would happen several hours after my injections.

 

[btmhwb]

I did some pretty elaborate testing before even talking with Dr Rob. Unfortunately I didn’t follow through with anything after talking with him because he said there was not much he could do for me besides recommend a diet and vitamin/supplement plan to potentially help. I have watched his video on anxiety no less that ten times and tried everything that he suggests in the video minus ssris. I was just looking for some similar experiences as to what I am going through because I know they are out there. I’ve heard so many horror stories a it ssris that I’m scared to try them even though they may help. Scared to be dependent on them for ever. My ferritin levels were normal, based on my lab work from Dr rob. I was in trt for about a year before this happened.

 

[btmhwb]

I wasn’t looking for someone with more clinical experience but was looking for someone that has gone through this and gotten to the other side and felt normal again. I’m simply curious if it could be that my body is still trying to work things out.

 

[Polynaeu]

I wasn’t looking for someone with more clinical experience but was looking for someone that has gone through this and gotten to the other side and felt normal again. I’m simply curious if it could be that my body is still trying to work things out.

Maybe it wasn’t caused by the testosterone use. What you’re describing sounds a lot like panic disorder. I’ve been through the same thing myself. Have you considered trying Valium or Xanax? When used short term, they don’t cause dependence for most people. Plus, since they work quickly, you’d be able to tell if your symptoms are anxiety related. Of course, it’d be best if you saw a doctor.

 

[btmhwb]

I have a small amount of Xanax that I took and it seemed to help for about a day. I just dokt want to get hooked on the stuff. I was perfectly fine all
Of my 40 years of age before trt, never any issues. Were you able to overcome it?

 

[excelnelg]

Just FYI, "panic attack" is the go-to ER diagnosis for "you're not having a heart attack but we're not going to bother finding out what's really going on right now". Trust me. I know. I've been to the ER half a dozen times and I all I have to show for it are bills. It took years before almost accidentally figuring out that my chest pains and related "panic" were being caused by gastro issues. Gastrointestinal problems can cause referred pain in the chest, chest tightness, etc. and with any of that your brain is going to go into panic mode. Just throwing this out there for you to consider because it happened to me and it's something that is (apparently) easily overlooked. Also consider a checkup with a cardiologist or pulmonologist in case you've got a little asthma. Honestly, lay off the supplements. Think about everything you're ingesting. I wouldn't be so quick to treat the symptom without trying to find out the cause and because of my experience, I'm a firm believer that panic/anxiety is a symptom of another problem.