AlcahueteJ
Member
Clomid Success Story: 18 Month Follow-Up
I apologize for the delay in getting this out. I kind of forgot about everything. Maybe this is why they're called "Clomid Unicorns"...once things are going well, you don't post as much.
Anyways, the link above is to my last thread (and there's links within that link to the rest of the threads) if you don't know my entire story.
For reference, I'm a 36 year old male, and my total testosterone was 158 ng/dl before I began Clomid treatment. I've been off Clomid since March.
Last I posted I was on half a pill (25 mg) per week of Clomid from November 2017 until January of this year. I had tapered since March 2017 when I was at 50 mg 3x/week. I was on that dose for the entire year prior to that, from March 2016 to March 2017.
My testosterone dropped from 610 to 452 ng/dl (lab range is 280 to 800) from November to January. SHBG is typically always higher, and went from 52 to 55 nmol/L (lab range is 14 - 48). They take other blood work, but honestly the numbers either have barely changed, or aren't meaningful (they calculate free T, and they don't do the sensitive test for estradiol for example).
I still felt good, and I had continued to slowly lose weight/fat, but my endocrinologist suggested I stay on the half pill until March, so that way I'm taking a full year to taper. In March my total T was 515 and SHBG was 56. At this point we decided to come off the Clomid and see how I do.
In April I was 473 for total T, and SHBG was 53, things were still going well. In May it dropped again, this time dramatically, to 291 and SHBG was 48. I had minor symptoms of low T, but nothing concerned me or affected me much. NOTHING like it was before treatment. We decided to retest in a month and see if I would need to go back on Clomid.
My June total test was 304 and my SHBG was 47. I still felt good, albeit minor symptoms, so we decided I would stay off Clomid and retest in September. Unfortunately my endocrinologist left my hospital, so I meet with a new one this week.
I was tested last week and my testosterone shot up to 474, SHBG was 49. I feel great, possibly better than I did when I was on Clomid and weighed more. 400 - 500 is a sweet spot for me.
I've even lost more weight since June. I'm as lean as I was before I gained weight initially to help boost my testosterone (along with the Clomid). Back then my testosterone was 425, but my SHBG was about 68 I think, so my free T was much lower. And I had all the symptoms of low T still, despite being on 3 x 50 mg/week of Clomid. The Clomid helped my total go from 158 to 425, but like I said, SHBG was still sky high and I had all the symptoms. It wasn't until I gained weight that my testosterone shot through the roof.
What's the only difference between now and June? I started taking an SSRI for anxiety in July. Both my primary and endocrinologist said stress can cause lower testosterone. I'm curious what my new endocrinologist will say this week.
I'll keep you posted.
I apologize for the delay in getting this out. I kind of forgot about everything. Maybe this is why they're called "Clomid Unicorns"...once things are going well, you don't post as much.
Anyways, the link above is to my last thread (and there's links within that link to the rest of the threads) if you don't know my entire story.
For reference, I'm a 36 year old male, and my total testosterone was 158 ng/dl before I began Clomid treatment. I've been off Clomid since March.
Last I posted I was on half a pill (25 mg) per week of Clomid from November 2017 until January of this year. I had tapered since March 2017 when I was at 50 mg 3x/week. I was on that dose for the entire year prior to that, from March 2016 to March 2017.
My testosterone dropped from 610 to 452 ng/dl (lab range is 280 to 800) from November to January. SHBG is typically always higher, and went from 52 to 55 nmol/L (lab range is 14 - 48). They take other blood work, but honestly the numbers either have barely changed, or aren't meaningful (they calculate free T, and they don't do the sensitive test for estradiol for example).
I still felt good, and I had continued to slowly lose weight/fat, but my endocrinologist suggested I stay on the half pill until March, so that way I'm taking a full year to taper. In March my total T was 515 and SHBG was 56. At this point we decided to come off the Clomid and see how I do.
In April I was 473 for total T, and SHBG was 53, things were still going well. In May it dropped again, this time dramatically, to 291 and SHBG was 48. I had minor symptoms of low T, but nothing concerned me or affected me much. NOTHING like it was before treatment. We decided to retest in a month and see if I would need to go back on Clomid.
My June total test was 304 and my SHBG was 47. I still felt good, albeit minor symptoms, so we decided I would stay off Clomid and retest in September. Unfortunately my endocrinologist left my hospital, so I meet with a new one this week.
I was tested last week and my testosterone shot up to 474, SHBG was 49. I feel great, possibly better than I did when I was on Clomid and weighed more. 400 - 500 is a sweet spot for me.
I've even lost more weight since June. I'm as lean as I was before I gained weight initially to help boost my testosterone (along with the Clomid). Back then my testosterone was 425, but my SHBG was about 68 I think, so my free T was much lower. And I had all the symptoms of low T still, despite being on 3 x 50 mg/week of Clomid. The Clomid helped my total go from 158 to 425, but like I said, SHBG was still sky high and I had all the symptoms. It wasn't until I gained weight that my testosterone shot through the roof.
What's the only difference between now and June? I started taking an SSRI for anxiety in July. Both my primary and endocrinologist said stress can cause lower testosterone. I'm curious what my new endocrinologist will say this week.
I'll keep you posted.
