New Here and General Test Questions

[BLT85085]

I'm a 54 year old male. I weight train 5 days a week, and do cardio 6 days a week. My most recent bloodwork showed, 366.67 ng/dl. I've complained to my primary care doc of lack of gains in the gym, difficulty sleeping, memory loss, and more difficulty keeping body fat at ideal levels. He said that I'm in the Normal range, but based on what I've seen on here and in other sources, it seems like I could benefit from TRT.

At one point, after persistence, I did convince my physician to prescribe Androgel, but it only got my level to 521 ng/dl. My physician felt that was too high, so he wouldn't write any refills.

To-date, I've taken over-the-counter test supplements, but I'm doubtful that they're doing anything. I'd love to know the thoughts of others, and if there are any recommended, qualified centers in the Phoenix, AZ area that could help me.

Thanks!

 

[Vince]

I live in Wisconsin and use defy Medical, you could also consider Prime body. Both advertise here, I would give him a call I'm sure they will help you out.

 

[CoastWatcher]

Welcome to Excelmale. You've experienced what many of us have (I did)...the inability of topical preparations to restore appropriate levels of testosterone. To be fair, the response of some patients to compounded creams (as opposed to big-pharma gel) is better. Nonetheless, you're still looking for help and that help includes another doctor. Again, all too familiar. If you can afford out-of-pocket care, that is, not covered by your insurance, we can certainly provide you with the names of doctors who could treat you at the highest level. The cost might not be as high as you fear.

 

[Sean Mosher]

PrimeBody is located in Phoenix, AZ.
I would be happy to discuss in more detail with you and answer any questions you may have!
Feel free to email me directly at: [email protected].

 

[jasinc81]

I also live in Wisconsin and recently switch to Defy medical. I am a 36 yo male and went through the exact same issues you mentioned. Over a year ago I finally convinced my Dr to get the blood tests, and they came in around 160 ng/dl. The re-test was just barely in the normal range and was told I was "normal" and not to worry. After I pleaded that quality of life was in jeopardy (no libido, marriage/job suffering) he finally referred me to an endo, which had a 4 month waiting list. I was able to get in early (only 2 months) and was initially prescribed clomid because I think the Dr assumed I had taken steroids (which I didn't). After a 2 months of that, it still didn't work...finally convinced him to put me on gel (Fortesta). Did that for 4 months, my levels came in over 1500ng/dl, but still no libido and gained about 20 lbs (3+ inches around the waist). My E2 tested extremely low (7.2 pg/mL), and he told me not to worry and just lowered my fortesta pumps.

I finally had enough and called Defy. They had me repeat a few labs and my initial consult with Dr Calkins was about 3 weeks ago. He was able to breakdown all my blood work and explain why the gel wasn't working for me and why I wasn't producing enough estrogen. He also told me where each test should be and how we were going to get there. He put me on .35mL of test injections E3.5D along with 500iu of HCG. Since then, I am starting to feel a little better, but it's still too early to tell. Long story short, I feel a lot more confident that Defy will get me "dialed in" than the endo I was seeing in Milwaukee.

Based on the advice from everyone in this forum, I learned that many Dr's are just mis-informed about HRT and will lead you on a long, cumbersome path. Don't try and save a few bucks just because insurance will cover it...invest in yourself and put your health first.