On TRT, good looking numbers, horrible ED and no morning wood STILL.. help

[Tonyp56]

First I was being a little over the top one of those bad days for no reason. But I will say this back when I switched Dr's I had about 2 1/2 months between when I went off trt and when I started back up at Defy. Like you it started off good, felt great and then things went downhill pretty quick.

Also if I wasn't on ssri's pre-trt why would being on them now be better. Everything you take has side effects and list of negative effects, some take years to manifest. Part of my problem with trt is they want to push more drugs to you to control the side effects that in turn cause more problems. Anastrozole for high estrodial, hcg for lack of sensation sexual organ/shrinking balls, and so on. So far that's where I'm at. I'm wanting to find a reason for how I feel, I want trt to work, but it just don't get better. I try to look at positives "hey you can gain some strength/muscle at gym" issue with that? I never feel like going even when I'm feeling pretty good I go and it's like my body says screw this I don't want to work. Sex? LMAO that is probably the worst (besides depression that hits), I'd say 80% I can't at all, and when I can if I don't lose erection, I may or may not orgasm. There is no way to tell which way it will go. It's worked after the gym before, but next time I go to the gym it don't etc.

This is why I feel the way I do. But like I said I was over the top yesterday

 

[Charliebizz]

First I was being a little over the top one of those bad days for no reason. But I will say this back when I switched Dr's I had about 2 1/2 months between when I went off trt and when I started back up at Defy. Like you it started off good, felt great and then things went downhill pretty quick.

Also if I wasn't on ssri's pre-trt why would being on them now be better. Everything you take has side effects and list of negative effects, some take years to manifest. Part of my problem with trt is they want to push more drugs to you to control the side effects that in turn cause more problems. Anastrozole for high estrodial, hcg for lack of sensation sexual organ/shrinking balls, and so on. So far that's where I'm at. I'm wanting to find a reason for how I feel, I want trt to work, but it just don't get better. I try to look at positives "hey you can gain some strength/muscle at gym" issue with that? I never feel like going even when I'm feeling pretty good I go and it's like my body says screw this I don't want to work. Sex? LMAO that is probably the worst (besides depression that hits), I'd say 80% I can't at all, and when I can if I don't lose erection, I may or may not orgasm. There is no way to tell which way it will go. It's worked after the gym before, but next time I go to the gym it don't etc.

This is why I feel the way I do. But like I said I was over the top yesterday

I’m not even saying ssri would work for you. For me personally it has with to this point zero sides. Like you said down the road they might come. But this route has actually shown to be more effective with my so called low t symptoms then actually being on trt. I have no agenda here I’m not anti trt I’m just sharing my situation. I didn’t start taking ssri for anything other then hopes it would help the low cortisol/low t symptoms. And it has. I’m also on a tiny dose of 5 mg of lexapro. I’ll probably go back down to 2.5 also. I do not feel much of a difference between the two doses.

Ssri have a bad wrap and I understand why. But imo the drs start off on way too high of a dose.

 

[Tonyp56]

I understand what you are saying and not trying to say you have an agenda. Just for me I don't see a way for me to restart. So I'm stuck here on TRT

I'm not against trt or anything for that matter. Things are better than the year I spent at universal men's clinic, but I still am not even feeling like I did pre trt let alone feeling better. I've felt like a test subject and as of yet it hasn't been figured out.

 

[JimBob]

Someone here once said that TRT is "oversold". I believe that, in the future, TRT will be looked back upon as being archaic, as science will be able to turn on the bodies own production of various hormones. For now, TRT is all ya got.

 

[Charliebizz]

I understand what you are saying and not trying to say you have an agenda. Just for me I don't see a way for me to restart. So I'm stuck here on TRT

I'm not against trt or anything for that matter. Things are better than the year I spent at universal men's clinic, but I still am not even feeling like I did pre trt let alone feeling better. I've felt like a test subject and as of yet it hasn't been figured out.

Oh I know just clarifying it cause it might sound like I do. But this is a great thread and I’m glad to see we can have productive discussion on this forum rather then arguing. Being honest with each other one ones self is the only way we are going to push this field of medicine forward.

 

[Gman86]

Someone here once said that TRT is "oversold". I believe that, in the future, TRT will be looked back upon as being archaic, as science will be able to turn on the bodies own production of various hormones. For now, TRT is all ya got.

Very true. We’re all treating our deficiency with a bandaid. Eventually, I also hope they will figure out how to get to the root cause of the problem. This is always the best method when fixing an issue with the human body. TRT is not far behind taking a pill for high blood pressure.

 

[BarryAllan]

Hey

Here are some lab numbers I have

Total T 916

Free T 24.5 (2.7%)

E2: 37 (AI doesnt seem to help and only makes things worse, ive tried arimidex and aromasin)

SHBG: 23 ( a little on the low end, but nothing like i see "low shbg guys" struggling with in the teens and stuff)

DHT: 50 (tested about 2 years ago after starting trt still feel the same now)

Prolactin : 8 (not high at all)

Progesterone looks normal.

Thyroid, diabetes markers, all look good and normal

no other major health issues


morning wood is non existant, libido is low, erections suck, i can get it up but i lose it very fast and easy, sensitivity sucks, my dick feels like it has about as many nerve receptors as my pinky finger

otherwise i feel mostly good and fine in terms of energy levels etc, nothing amazing but just normal

its like everything is about a 7/10 in terms of how i feel and sexual function is a 2/10

I already take every day injections of testosterone cypionate daily IM

I tried taking 250 IU HCG once per week recently, also tried before at twice per week, no difference, if i take more than that it boosts my E2 really high and AI doesnt help any of my issues

im only 29 years old

Not sure how much longer i can deal with this, i cant have a relationship with anybody

Ive never seen anyone with numbers as good as mine having these issues

anyone have any ideas on what else to investigate?

its really bad, 100 mg viagra barely helps and 20 cialis barely does anything


one other thing is sometimes i get random fluctuations, ill get morning wood for a couple weeks, or ill get really good erections for a couple weeks, then it will all randomly go away, E2, total t free t and SHBG stays the same meanwhile while tested in good and bad cycles

what else could be causing this?

Any updates? Improvements?

 

[Cataceous]

I've understood an AI to be less effective in the testicular environment, not ineffective, but it may just be splitting hairs.

Usually I would take this as a sign that your E2 is too low, for you. When E2 is like this you can't get wood no matter what you do.

I agree about the testicular environment. My understanding is that AIs can be there, but the intratesticular testosterone levels are so much higher than in serum that AI's are much less effective.

I've mentioned that I recently had a period of at least a couple months with undetectable estradiol. An interesting feature of this time is that nocturnal erections were normal and even during the day normal erections were possible. However, libido was completely absent, meaning there was no desire to even have an erection.

Running the OP's numbers through a free estradiol calculator yields a value of 1.05 pg/mL. My impression is that this can be on the high side for some guys.

 

[wondering]

I understand what you are saying and not trying to say you have an agenda. Just for me I don't see a way for me to restart. So I'm stuck here on TRT

I'm not against trt or anything for that matter. Things are better than the year I spent at universal men's clinic, but I still am not even feeling like I did pre trt let alone feeling better. I've felt like a test subject and as of yet it hasn't been figured out.

Have you tried adding T Cream?

 

[wondering]

Hey

Here are some lab numbers I have

Total T 916

Free T 24.5 (2.7%)

E2: 37 (AI doesnt seem to help and only makes things worse, ive tried arimidex and aromasin)

SHBG: 23 ( a little on the low end, but nothing like i see "low shbg guys" struggling with in the teens and stuff)

DHT: 50 (tested about 2 years ago after starting trt still feel the same now)

Prolactin : 8 (not high at all)

Progesterone looks normal.

Thyroid, diabetes markers, all look good and normal

no other major health issues


morning wood is non existant, libido is low, erections suck, i can get it up but i lose it very fast and easy, sensitivity sucks, my dick feels like it has about as many nerve receptors as my pinky finger

otherwise i feel mostly good and fine in terms of energy levels etc, nothing amazing but just normal

its like everything is about a 7/10 in terms of how i feel and sexual function is a 2/10

I already take every day injections of testosterone cypionate daily IM

I tried taking 250 IU HCG once per week recently, also tried before at twice per week, no difference, if i take more than that it boosts my E2 really high and AI doesnt help any of my issues

im only 29 years old

Not sure how much longer i can deal with this, i cant have a relationship with anybody

Ive never seen anyone with numbers as good as mine having these issues

anyone have any ideas on what else to investigate?

its really bad, 100 mg viagra barely helps and 20 cialis barely does anything


one other thing is sometimes i get random fluctuations, ill get morning wood for a couple weeks, or ill get really good erections for a couple weeks, then it will all randomly go away, E2, total t free t and SHBG stays the same meanwhile while tested in good and bad cycles

what else could be causing this?

If you're still on here, did you ever find your solution?

 

[MIP1950]

I agree about the testicular environment. My understanding is that AIs can be there, but the intratesticular testosterone levels are so much higher than in serum that AI's are much less effective.

I've mentioned that I recently had a period of at least a couple months with undetectable estradiol. An interesting feature of this time is that nocturnal erections were normal and even during the day normal erections were possible. However, libido was completely absent, meaning there was no desire to even have an erection.

Running the OP's numbers through a free estradiol calculator yields a value of 1.05 pg/mL. My impression is that this can be on the high side for some guys.

I recall @ggenovez posting that he(working with his PA) was titrating upwards with anastrozole, eventually getting to .5 mg daily and I believe 30 mg, IM, test, daily His libido and erections were solid. If he took any less anastrozole, nothing. An outlier for sure, but highlights that for a few men or maybe more, possibly, pushing E2 to <5 works. I was also wondering about liquid anastrozole applied to the scrotum. I have a bottle from BSP and might try a small or moderate dose.