TRT erection issues
- Thread starter atlien2488
- Start date
It really is a kick in the balls. In my experience, it really does have a lot to do with the dose, frequency, and where E2 is. Throughout TRT I’ve had rock solid erections, and I’ve had a few periods where that thing was like a limp noodle. It blew my mind how little control I had over it. My whole life I thought if you start playing with it, it gets hard. But there’s been times where I’ll be watching my favorite porn, and trying hard as hell to get it up, and it doesn’t cooperate. Just flaccid as could be. It was literally the most annoying thing I’ve ever experience. Because in the moment, there was literally nothing I could do. I can’t improve my hormones in minutes. It was extremely frustrating. Other times, I just think about sex and it gets completely erect, without any porn or physical stimulation. Luckily, I’ve spent most of the time in the ladder, and am currently having zero issues. But it just taught me a lot about how slight fluctuations can make a world of difference. Some of those times where it was very difficult to get an erection could of also been in between protocol changes, and my body just getting used to new levels. But either way, things are usually never lost forever. I’ve heard of so many reports about guys in their 70’s that haven’t had a libido or been able to get a solid erection for years. Sometimes 15-20 years. Then they find what works for them, and it all comes right back. The main thing, imo, is to just not give up.
Also, don’t underestimate the role thyroid has on libido and erections. That’s something I learned while trying to figure out my thyroid recently. Read many stories about guys getting their thyroid balanced, and libido and erections came right back. Makes sense. There’s T3 receptors on literally every cell of the body. Including all the parts of the brain that control libido, and also in every cell of the penis. It’s called the master gland for a reason.
Also, don’t underestimate the role thyroid has on libido and erections. That’s something I learned while trying to figure out my thyroid recently. Read many stories about guys getting their thyroid balanced, and libido and erections came right back. Makes sense. There’s T3 receptors on literally every cell of the body. Including all the parts of the brain that control libido, and also in every cell of the penis. It’s called the master gland for a reason.
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Yes, its insane how the balance of hormones matter so much. Ive had times when Ive been ROCK HARD and super horny, being able to go all night.
Then other times, most of the times, my penis is so fucking weak and my arousal is just gone.
This fucking sucks, I just wanna be as when I was 16, when I could get aroused at any time and fuck at any time, thats how its supposed to be damnit!
Then other times, most of the times, my penis is so fucking weak and my arousal is just gone.
This fucking sucks, I just wanna be as when I was 16, when I could get aroused at any time and fuck at any time, thats how its supposed to be damnit!
Haha trust me, I feel ya. But one thing I’ve learned throughout HRT, is nothing is permanent. And the other thing I’ve learned, is nothing is lost forever. You can absolutely get your libido raging, and erections rock solid again. Figuring out how, now that’s the hard part! But just knowing that it’s possible, should give you hope. As long as you remain optimistic, and don’t give up, you’ll eventually get there. Unfortunately there’s no cookie cutter path, and we all have to find what works for us as individuals. But I wouldn’t give up if I were you. It’s gonna all be worth it once you figure it out.
OK brothas - I'm going to offer a different perspective and hopefully some advice that might help. TRT has helped my erections. Things are not perfect and I do use daily low dose Cialis, but I feel that it is the TRT which has brought back nocturnal erections, which has helped a lot with overall function/penile health. That said, it just one piece of the puzzle.
Being over 40, I never expected TRT to bring back teenage level erectile function. I don't see that as a realistic goal, at least not for myself.
Also, understand that there is a huge mental component to ED. Guys don't want to admit this to themselves or to anyone else, but it is true. I am fortunate to be with a great wife who I've been with for 15+ years, and we're extremely comfortable together, and it was STILL embarrassing and quite the mental hurdle to get over. I can't imagine being a single guy and trying to work through it with new girlfriends who you do not know as well and where "performance anxiety" is likely much higher.
Once you've had one single failed erection, it seems like that thought is always in the back of your mind when it's go time. That doubt in the back of your mind, however slight, may be the single biggest factor contributing to your ED. It's a rough mental challenge to overcome and if you have a solid, understanding partner to work through it with, count yourself as lucky.
If you're single and find yourself serious about a girl (and call me old fashioned but I think you should be if you're going to be sexually involved with her) I think you should just be straight up and talk to her about it. Something like, "Look, this is very hard for me to talk about, but lately I've had issues with ED. It's super embarrassing. Things DO work down there, but at this point it's become a mental hurdle for me and something that I hope we can work through together." Just saying something like that and getting it out there will deflate your performance anxiety a lot. And being able to have a conversation like that and work through it will strengthen your relationship.
Please her in other ways. Ask around and you might learn that most women get off far more easily from oral anyway. Get good at it. While you're down there you might find yourself super turned on and with a woody you haven't had for a while - simply slide up and...
Anyway, shit I'm not a sex therapist, but ED is something with many components to it and something that you need to work through. Dialing in the "magical perfect TRT protocol" is unlikely in itself to "fix" it for you. It can be part of your plan, but ED is kind of a big picture thing with several components that you need to work through. But with persistence and the right partner (and a fair amount of patience and yes, some disappointments) you can definitely work through it.
Being over 40, I never expected TRT to bring back teenage level erectile function. I don't see that as a realistic goal, at least not for myself.
Also, understand that there is a huge mental component to ED. Guys don't want to admit this to themselves or to anyone else, but it is true. I am fortunate to be with a great wife who I've been with for 15+ years, and we're extremely comfortable together, and it was STILL embarrassing and quite the mental hurdle to get over. I can't imagine being a single guy and trying to work through it with new girlfriends who you do not know as well and where "performance anxiety" is likely much higher.
Once you've had one single failed erection, it seems like that thought is always in the back of your mind when it's go time. That doubt in the back of your mind, however slight, may be the single biggest factor contributing to your ED. It's a rough mental challenge to overcome and if you have a solid, understanding partner to work through it with, count yourself as lucky.
If you're single and find yourself serious about a girl (and call me old fashioned but I think you should be if you're going to be sexually involved with her) I think you should just be straight up and talk to her about it. Something like, "Look, this is very hard for me to talk about, but lately I've had issues with ED. It's super embarrassing. Things DO work down there, but at this point it's become a mental hurdle for me and something that I hope we can work through together." Just saying something like that and getting it out there will deflate your performance anxiety a lot. And being able to have a conversation like that and work through it will strengthen your relationship.
Please her in other ways. Ask around and you might learn that most women get off far more easily from oral anyway. Get good at it. While you're down there you might find yourself super turned on and with a woody you haven't had for a while - simply slide up and...
Anyway, shit I'm not a sex therapist, but ED is something with many components to it and something that you need to work through. Dialing in the "magical perfect TRT protocol" is unlikely in itself to "fix" it for you. It can be part of your plan, but ED is kind of a big picture thing with several components that you need to work through. But with persistence and the right partner (and a fair amount of patience and yes, some disappointments) you can definitely work through it.
Great reply. I think for some the mental aspect can be a big part of it. But for some, it has very little to do with it as well. For me, I always test my libido and erection quality by myself. That way I can rule out whether it has anything to do with performance anxiety and/ or my level of attraction to a specific person. So for me personally, a good way to test out whether these two things are contributing factors, I just test everything out when I’m alone.
My method is first I’ll just think about sex, or a hot girl, or just a past experience that turns me on. When everything is balanced, that alone will give me a pretty solid erection. But if that isn’t really working, I then watch porn, without touching myself. That will usually do the trick. I also monitor how quickly I get an erection, and how hard it is. Then if thats not doing the trick, I obv continue watching porn, and also physically stimulate myself. If that’s not working, or even if it takes a while to get an erection that way, I know somethings off. This method has been pretty effective for me, in regards to assessing how balanced things are in the sexual department.
So if things aren’t where I like them, I’ll wait at least two weeks to see if things improve on their own. Quite a few times they have. If not, I’ll usually make a slight adjustment in my protocol to improve things. I would imagine waiting more than 2 weeks would be even better, but I’m unfortunately a very impatient person.
My method is first I’ll just think about sex, or a hot girl, or just a past experience that turns me on. When everything is balanced, that alone will give me a pretty solid erection. But if that isn’t really working, I then watch porn, without touching myself. That will usually do the trick. I also monitor how quickly I get an erection, and how hard it is. Then if thats not doing the trick, I obv continue watching porn, and also physically stimulate myself. If that’s not working, or even if it takes a while to get an erection that way, I know somethings off. This method has been pretty effective for me, in regards to assessing how balanced things are in the sexual department.
So if things aren’t where I like them, I’ll wait at least two weeks to see if things improve on their own. Quite a few times they have. If not, I’ll usually make a slight adjustment in my protocol to improve things. I would imagine waiting more than 2 weeks would be even better, but I’m unfortunately a very impatient person.
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I would argue that in this case mental factors are still playing a role, even when you're alone and not worried about performance.
Just the very subtle act of even thinking about your erectile quality - whether it's in front of a computer screen by yourself with a box of tissues, or with the hottest girl you've ever seen, or with a wife that you love - introduces a mental element that men who have never had any erectile issues never deal with.
In thinking about how long it takes to get an erection, evaluating how hard it is, etc we introduce a subtle psychological stress that in turn, negatively affects the very thing we're focusing on improving.
Certainly not trying to tell you what YOUR experience is - nobody knows that better than you and you seem to have a good handle on things. Just trying to generally explain that the mental aspect can be so insidious that it does indeed affect men even when they're doing something as simple as a little five on one.
We’re obv both right. You’re absolutely right, and I agree, it’s very important to consider the mental aspects that could be causing issues. The brain is way more powerful, and has way more control over things than we’d probably like to admit. Even if it’s on a subconscious level that we’re unaware of.
When I use my personal method, I make sure to only use the same few porn videos, so that there are less variables to consider. And one could argue that maybe those videos get old, and they have less of an effect. But it doesn’t seem to be the case. What controls how I feel about them, and how they effect me, seems to be all related to my hormones. At least for me. And even I could be wrong. Maybe there are mental things going on at a subconscious level that I’m not aware of that’s effecting things.
Even though the mental aspect does play a role obv, it has always just bothered me a little on a personal level, when people chalk things up to it being a mental thing that we can overcome, or will ourselves through. I honestly think I might be coming from a biased perspective, as I’m only basing these things off of my own experiences, but hormones have way more control over things than we realize. Again, in my experience. For instance, while on clomid, my thoughts were completely different, how I treated people was completely different, had extreme depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, libido was in the drain, erections gone, energy gone. Just dark thoughts all day. This was while making no mental changes in my life. No added stress, still eating the same, still working out like I always do. Literally changing nothing. It was all from hormones, imo. For me, libido and erections are the same thing. I change literally nothing in my life, and hormones appear to control these things almost entirely.
But again, you’re right. The mental aspect has to be considered as well. Performance anxiety is absolutely a real thing. Level of attraction doesn’t matter too much imo. If you’re hormones aren’t balanced, and you’re with a very attractive girl, you might go from a limp noodle to being able to get a decent erection. But I doubt being attracted to a person and a high level of intimacy is going to take you from low/ no libido and limp noodle, to 16 year old libido and erections. I’ve found that a lot of the mental aspects can help a little, but without the hormonal foundation, you’re still playing with a handicap.
But again, this is just my current opinion. I respect anyone that favors the mental aspect a little more than I do. And obv the world works on a balance system. So the real answer is to focus on balancing out both. Not just focusing on one or the other.
When I use my personal method, I make sure to only use the same few porn videos, so that there are less variables to consider. And one could argue that maybe those videos get old, and they have less of an effect. But it doesn’t seem to be the case. What controls how I feel about them, and how they effect me, seems to be all related to my hormones. At least for me. And even I could be wrong. Maybe there are mental things going on at a subconscious level that I’m not aware of that’s effecting things.
Even though the mental aspect does play a role obv, it has always just bothered me a little on a personal level, when people chalk things up to it being a mental thing that we can overcome, or will ourselves through. I honestly think I might be coming from a biased perspective, as I’m only basing these things off of my own experiences, but hormones have way more control over things than we realize. Again, in my experience. For instance, while on clomid, my thoughts were completely different, how I treated people was completely different, had extreme depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, libido was in the drain, erections gone, energy gone. Just dark thoughts all day. This was while making no mental changes in my life. No added stress, still eating the same, still working out like I always do. Literally changing nothing. It was all from hormones, imo. For me, libido and erections are the same thing. I change literally nothing in my life, and hormones appear to control these things almost entirely.
But again, you’re right. The mental aspect has to be considered as well. Performance anxiety is absolutely a real thing. Level of attraction doesn’t matter too much imo. If you’re hormones aren’t balanced, and you’re with a very attractive girl, you might go from a limp noodle to being able to get a decent erection. But I doubt being attracted to a person and a high level of intimacy is going to take you from low/ no libido and limp noodle, to 16 year old libido and erections. I’ve found that a lot of the mental aspects can help a little, but without the hormonal foundation, you’re still playing with a handicap.
But again, this is just my current opinion. I respect anyone that favors the mental aspect a little more than I do. And obv the world works on a balance system. So the real answer is to focus on balancing out both. Not just focusing on one or the other.
If reverse T3 is under 15, natural desiccated thyroid medication is what the majority of people do well on.
It also depends on your free T4 level. If that is high, and free T3 is low, it means you’re not converting your T4 to T3. So in this scenario, straight T3 is what would probably do the trick. Unless you can find a way to improve T4 to T3 conversion through diet and lifestyle modifications.
I guess I did go pretty far down that rabbit hole lol. I certainly don't think ED is something people just need to "get over". But I do feel that the mental aspect is a huge issue though, and one that is uncomfortable for a lot of guys to accept and confront.
For the record though, I will say again that I'm 100% convinced that in my case, TRT was a very important piece of the puzzle.
atlien2488
Member
Yeah its largely mental I don't doubt that. Its just ironic I got all of the benefits of TRT while making erections noticeably weaker and harder to get up than on trt at 780 than it was at 280. I've been with multiple beautiful girls that I've found attractive in the last year and really didn't feel as if I had any anxiety going into it and I've had to resort to doing everything else besides sex which is pretty embarrassing to look back on. I do see a correlation with younger guys having more problems with trt than older guys in these forums, and I feel for those 30ish and under like me. I'm at an age where I'm thinking, should i wait 8-15 years and start back up? because surely I'll need it at some point if I wanna stay feeling young, and getting off and on take a pretty long damn time, and seems like it could take a lot out of me.
I'm going to definitely try to do shots twice a week against the decision of my doctor (having steadier blood levels couldn't hurt) I'll stick with the HCG cycled, pregnenolone (which has helped to a slight degree), possibly DHEA because even though its downstream from pregnenolone, I've heard it has work pretty well with others. Aromasin has kept me around the 22-26 range by the end of the week shot which is perfect but hopefully the twice a week shots will help me balance it out. Might have to raise that slightly if i start using DHEA but two shots a week hopefully will help on its own to some degree. I have viagra on hand which absolutely helps with hardness once I get it going but hopefully I'll conquer the rest of issue with starting and maintaining better because all the other side effects like acne and having to inject biweekly still make it seem worth it to me. My other theory is that since it literally made my dick bigger (i'm not kidding) so maybe the need for increased blood flow is an issue in some way, even though it logically should just fill right up with blood. If all else fails I'm gonna get off and maybe eventually HCG on its own or just try to be natural til im 40 then start up again. Or something to that degree. The key is to stay optimistic is what I keep telling myself lol. I'll prolly ask for DHEA/DHT tests to see if those markers are good since it wouldn't make actual sense to take something I don't need.
I feel pretty advanced on this kind of stuff at this point since I've researched it like crazy for years but I definitely don't doubt there's quite a few that know a great deal more than me, so I love new input and insight. I've tested pretty much everything else but I have the appt tomorrow to discuss next steps so hopefully I get on the right track.
Appreciate everyone's posts tho a lot, bless.
I'm going to definitely try to do shots twice a week against the decision of my doctor (having steadier blood levels couldn't hurt) I'll stick with the HCG cycled, pregnenolone (which has helped to a slight degree), possibly DHEA because even though its downstream from pregnenolone, I've heard it has work pretty well with others. Aromasin has kept me around the 22-26 range by the end of the week shot which is perfect but hopefully the twice a week shots will help me balance it out. Might have to raise that slightly if i start using DHEA but two shots a week hopefully will help on its own to some degree. I have viagra on hand which absolutely helps with hardness once I get it going but hopefully I'll conquer the rest of issue with starting and maintaining better because all the other side effects like acne and having to inject biweekly still make it seem worth it to me. My other theory is that since it literally made my dick bigger (i'm not kidding) so maybe the need for increased blood flow is an issue in some way, even though it logically should just fill right up with blood. If all else fails I'm gonna get off and maybe eventually HCG on its own or just try to be natural til im 40 then start up again. Or something to that degree. The key is to stay optimistic is what I keep telling myself lol. I'll prolly ask for DHEA/DHT tests to see if those markers are good since it wouldn't make actual sense to take something I don't need.
I feel pretty advanced on this kind of stuff at this point since I've researched it like crazy for years but I definitely don't doubt there's quite a few that know a great deal more than me, so I love new input and insight. I've tested pretty much everything else but I have the appt tomorrow to discuss next steps so hopefully I get on the right track.
Appreciate everyone's posts tho a lot, bless.
atlien2488
Member
This is the last tests I've had. Tests are taken on the 7th day after injections so the trough would probably by around 750 or so. Everything else looks good as of last time.
atlien2488
Member
dosages are test cyp once (now twice possibly) 160 mg a week, hcg 500 mcg 2x per week and aromasin 6.25 mg twice per week (low dosage) then thinking about adding in the DHEA and keeping the pregnenolone going
Vince Carter
Banned
Curious point in this is your time on this forum and your self proclaimed advance knowledge, and much we harp on the proper E testing but youre still getting it wrong, nor working within the accepted bits about low SHBG dosing protocol's.
If you were injecting once weekly, and got these labs done on the 7th day after your weekly injection, wouldn’t these be your trough levels? Why would you think your trough would be around 750?
With your SHBG, you would probably benefit from EOD injections. Twice weekly might not be frequent enough for someone with your SHBG level.
I want to piggy back on this post. I've been on TRT for more than a year now and so far the only thing that has been effective for me as far as giving me confidence in the bedroom is taking my antidepressant. Antidepressants usually lower libido, but my libido was as low as it could be before and during TRT. I finally realized that anxiety was giving me massive performance anxiety. The antidepressant was the game changer for me. I actually had sex twice in one week for the first time in years. It's all about feeling relaxed for me. My libido is still the same so I'm really leaning towards ending TRT since I've had no improvement in that department pre-antidepressant anyway. Perhaps losing weight will help in that department, I don't know. I too am worried of what the withdrawal process would be like. I have my 90 day with Defy coming up soon so I'll discuss it with them, however I'd like to hear from guys who did go off cold turkey.
atlien2488
Member
Yeah I meant peak would probably be 750, the trough is the seventh day...but yup hopefully today I can convince my doc to do twice a week shots, if not I’ll just do it on my own....yeah my shbg is low but it’s not that low and I would never pin myself every other day that’s too many lifelong shots for a guy my age... id like to hear from guys that have come off too, I’m curious how bad it can really get dropping your levels that low..
Charliebizz
Well-Known Member
Ssri sides are so dose dependent. Drs start Patient’s way too high. I’m on low dose lexapro and have zero side effects. And I saw more benefit from my alleged low t symptoms with ssri then trt. So you are not alone brother. The nt/hormone connection is huge.
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