Has anyone ever regretted TRT?

[krm]

Hi guys

I'm almost at the point where my endo, after long discussions, is at least open to trying TRT.

He gave a long talk though that he has a lot of patients in his practice that were prescribed TRT by doctors who were not really looking into other causes, and now they are stuck with a "life-long commitment", they regret it now (or don't want to commit to life-long treatment) and he is busy trying to restore their f*cked up hormonal axis.

So my question is:

Any of you guys who has started TRT - and regretted it afterwards, for whatever reasons?

Thx

 

[sh1973]

Yes I regret it.

 

[krm]

Hi Sh1973 - thanks for your reply. Would you mind explaining why?
Thank you very much...

 

[sh1973]

Don’t really want to get into it on here. I’ve made several posts regarding my frustration with trt. You can pm me if u want.

 

[mooseman109]

Absolutely happy with it here. I did not start until 50 years old

 

[1Draw]

Hi guys

I'm almost at the point where my endo, after long discussions, is at least open to trying TRT.

He gave a long talk though that he has a lot of patients in his practice that were prescribed TRT by doctors who were not really "looking into other causes," and now they are stuck with a "life-long commitment", they regret it now (or don't want to commit to life-long treatment) and he is busy trying to restore their f*cked up hormonal axis.

So my question is:

Any of you guys who has started TRT - and regretted it afterwards, for whatever reasons?

Thx

Good point by your endo. "Looking into other causes" should include a full thyroid panel which most endo's and md's do not consider once they see blood test result of low testosterone. T therapy will not work if your thyroid is not functioning properly. Here is a great explanation of how symptoms of low T and hypothyroidism are very much alike:

https://www.restartmed.com/thyroid-symptoms-men/

Blood test for thyroid should include FT4, FT3, ReverseT3 ( very important), and thyroid antibodies.

 

[Vince]

Good point by your endo. "Looking into other causes" should include a full thyroid panel which most endo's and md's do not consider once they see blood test result of low testosterone. T therapy will not work if your thyroid is not functioning properly. Here is a great explanation of how symptoms of low T and hypothyroidism are very much alike:

https://www.restartmed.com/thyroid-symptoms-men/

Blood test for thyroid should include FT4, FT3, ReverseT3 ( very important), and thyroid antibodies.

That's what I regret, not getting my thyroid levels right before starting trt.

 

[Weasel]

I do regret not looking into other causes. I have very little pre-trt labs. I saw TRT as an opportunity to start feeling better and jumped at it.

For me, TRT did indeed make me feel 10x better initially. But now I mostly feel flat. zombie like if you will. some days are better than others, some days worse.

 

[Vince]

The worst part for me pre trt was the brain fog. Trt completely took away my brain fog.

 

[Weasel]

The worst part for me pre trt was the brain fog. Trt completely took away my brain fog.

It did for me for awhile. Now it seems to have returned at least in part.

 

[IamNotShepard]

For me, TRT did indeed make me feel 10x better initially. But now I mostly feel flat. zombie like if you will. some days are better than others, some days worse.

That's intresting. Have you changed your protocol? Shouldn't you feel the same all the time if you're doing the same amount of T consistently for a long period of time?

The worst part for me pre trt was the brain fog. Trt completely took away my brain fog.

Vince - do you feel as good as when your blood levels have stabilized doing 16mg of T every day? How long are you on this protocol anyway? Thanks.

 

[Systemlord]

Only after finding a knowledgeable doctor am I starting to respond well to TRT, no regrets.

I'm still making some tweaks to my TRT protocol.

 

[Vince]

That's intresting. Have you changed your protocol? Shouldn't you feel the same all the time if you're doing the same amount of T consistently for a long period of time?



Vince - do you feel as good as when your blood levels have stabilized doing 16mg of T every day? How long are you on this protocol anyway? Thanks.

I'm not sure how long I've been on this protocol but I know it has been at least all of this year. I felt better at 20 mg of testosterone daily but now that I'm starting to get my thyroid levels in place, I'm starting to feel as good or better than before.

 

[IamNotShepard]

I'm not sure how long I've been on this protocol but I know it has been at least all of this year. I felt better at 20 mg of testosterone daily but now that I'm starting to get my thyroid levels in place, I'm starting to feel as good or better than before.

That's good to hear. But why have you reduced the amount of T from 20 to 16 in the first place? E2 problems?

 

[Sean Mosher]

No regrets.
It seems most of the problems lie in poor protocols or guys being put on it who didn't need it and/or had other issues, thyroid, etc....
That's why it's absolutely crucial to find a top notch doc who knows what he/she is doing and takes an overall comprehensive approach (nothing in isolation).
Then of course lifestyle choices factor in as well such, sleep, diet, exercise, etc....
A multi-faceted approach is critical for success.

 

[S1W]

I don't have any regrets but I'm only a year in. There are still times I wonder what the hell I'm doing, but I feel like that is because it's now easy for me to take for granted the positive changes TRT has brought to my life. For me, TRT has been tricky that way - the changes are not extreme enough to be like "hey wow I'm a totally different person" so it's easy for me to take it for granted. But when I think about my life now vs a year ago, it's clear to me that TRT really works for me.

Call me crazy but I actually like injecting and look forward to my twice weekly injections. I don't feel like it's inconvenient at all.

I can relate to some of your hesitations. I felt the same way when I started. In fact, I started out over two years ago, got one injection, and seriously questioned my decision to start and decided to stop TRT after the one injection. I then spent a year trying to do everything in my power to bring my levels up naturally. They didn't budge. So I hopped back on TRT and committed and I'm glad I did.

Regarding the "for life" comment - that is a source of contention in TRT. My doc, who is well-respected in the field, told me something along the lines of there not being a single documented case where someone on TRT, using TRT doses, failed to eventually return to what would have been their baseline after stopping treatment. And to be sure, lots of guys have been on TRT and quit and gone back to normal lives. However, you will come across anecdotes from guys who claim they couldn't recover and are indeed "stuck" on TRT.

 

[Weasel]

That's intresting. Have you changed your protocol? Shouldn't you feel the same all the time if you're doing the same amount of T consistently for a long period of time?

I stopped TRT for fertility reasons. Tried Clomid and felt horrible on it. Returned to TRT w/HCG and regained fertility. It just hasn't felt the same since. I have tweaked my protocol here and there for some time now.

 

[Vince]

That's good to hear. But why have you reduced the amount of T from 20 to 16 in the first place? E2 problems?

No I had no issues, I didn't know if I should keep my testosterone levels that high. That was the only reason.

 

[Airborne Warrior]

Only been on TRT around 8 months though it's the best thing that's happened to me in long while. I feel alive again. The only thing I regret is not starting it a decade ago.

 

[lowe2sucks]

I would say trt did not meet my expectations and I was trying to figure out if it was my expectations that were too high or if trt isn't working for me because other things are broken in my body.. I decided to try to do it without trt for a while and see if I will feel same or significally worse (also couldn't afford defy medical and I wouldn't risk doing trt with regular endo imo you really need a top notch professional when working with hormones)