Testosterone

[Stew52]

My Uro said testoserone is he foundation upon which male sexuality* is built. Libido . . . and more. The "more" is a feeling of wellbeing (like a steroid shot), the ability to put on muscle and avoid manboobs and your voice raising an octave, more mental focus and clarity (less brain fog), a more active/aggressive versus passive inclination. It does not directly seem to affect ED - I still need a stiff dose of TriMix. And do PT with VED and take 5mg/dy of Cialis to "flex the muscle" daily. And it's effect is subtle, not a roid rage effect. The risks they test for now every 6 months before re-upping the Rx is potential for increased clotting factor and inflammation of the prostate (PSA). It's not covered by Medicare. I've been on a AnstoGel-like cream made at a local compounding pharmacy for several years. It raises me from around 200 to the 500's with 4 swipes daily.

*In fact even women need some testosterone for their sexuality. My daughter is on a supplements due to low-T.

[Appellatelaw]

I am guessing I am primary, however I’m not sure. I had a MRI (with ink) done of my pituitary gland and it came back normal. (Horrible experience. The ink made me sick. I digress). To my knowledge, no other tests were done.

I believe that my balls have always been on the smaller side. I remember using the phrase in high school, “smaller mashed potatoes makes the steak look bigger.”

However… i truest have no clue if I’m primary or secondary.

I don’t know if my tedticles have shrunk. They have always been kind of on the smaller. side.

Yes, my ejaculate has diminished. I remember I used to shoot a huge load, now it’s more like a dribble.

My refractory period has increased. 10 years ago I could have sex 3 or 4 times a day. Today if I’m able to have sex, it’s going to be at least 24 hours until I can get it up again.

Loss of sensation - It does take me a lot longer to cum. Sex used to feel better, But I’ve chalked that up age - 35 vs 25.

I always though my low testosterone caused my Ed…

I really appreciate your help simbarn

As to my estradiol levels, I’ve looked at my last 10 years of tests from quest diagnostics and I don’t see it was ever checked. It looks like they have checked my LDL chol (calculated), chol/Hdl ratio and total non-hdl-c(ldl +vldl). Are any of those what you asking for, frank6665?

[frank66665]

I am guessing I am primary, however I’m not sure. I had a MRI (with ink) done of my pituitary gland and it came back normal. (Horrible experience. The ink made me sick. I digress). To my knowledge, no other tests were done.

I believe that my balls have always been on the smaller side. I remember using the phrase in high school, “smaller mashed potatoes makes the steak look bigger.”

However… i truest have no clue if I’m primary or secondary.

I don’t know if my tedticles have shrunk. They have always been kind of on the smaller. side.

Yes, my ejaculate has diminished. I remember I used to shoot a huge load, now it’s more like a dribble.

My refractory period has increased. 10 years ago I could have sex 3 or 4 times a day. Today if I’m able to have sex, it’s going to be at least 24 hours until I can get it up again.

Loss of sensation - It does take me a lot longer to cum. Sex used to feel better, But I’ve chalked that up age - 35 vs 25.

I always though my low testosterone caused my Ed…

I really appreciate your help simbarn

As to my estradiol levels, I’ve looked at my last 10 years of tests from quest diagnostics and I don’t see it was ever checked. It looks like they have checked my LDL chol (calculated), chol/Hdl ratio and total non-hdl-c(ldl +vldl). Are any of those what you asking for, frank6665?

my doctor says that if you get estradiol when you do testosterone it's like you don't, plus the pills don't work, normal estradiol is as important as high testosterone

[Appellatelaw]

Hmmmm…. I have about 10 years of test results from quest diagnostics and Kaiser, it doesn’t look like I’ve ever been checked for it. Has anyone else on testosterone been checked for those levels?

[ape1100]

Hmmmm…. I have about 10 years of test results from quest diagnostics and Kaiser, it doesn’t look like I’ve ever been checked for it. Has anyone else on testosterone been checked for those levels?

My uro checks it. It did get high when i started T replacement. I now take a pill once a week to keep it normal. My uro confirmed as we replace testosterone, the body makes more estrogen. I never noticed anything though. I do get more temperamental on testosterone. when i did start on testosterone I never noticed increase in libido but i was able to lose some weight but knees are shot and i now can’t really do anything but walk, so the weight has come back.

[Simbarn]

I am guessing I am primary, however I’m not sure. I had a MRI (with ink) done of my pituitary gland and it came back normal. (Horrible experience. The ink made me sick. I digress). To my knowledge, no other tests were done.

I believe that my balls have always been on the smaller side. I remember using the phrase in high school, “smaller mashed potatoes makes the steak look bigger.”

However… i truest have no clue if I’m primary or secondary.

I don’t know if my tedticles have shrunk. They have always been kind of on the smaller. side.

Yes, my ejaculate has diminished. I remember I used to shoot a huge load, now it’s more like a dribble.

My refractory period has increased. 10 years ago I could have sex 3 or 4 times a day. Today if I’m able to have sex, it’s going to be at least 24 hours until I can get it up again.

Loss of sensation - It does take me a lot longer to cum. Sex used to feel better, But I’ve chalked that up age - 35 vs 25.

I always though my low testosterone caused my Ed…

I really appreciate your help simbarn

As to my estradiol levels, I’ve looked at my last 10 years of tests from quest diagnostics and I don’t see it was ever checked. It looks like they have checked my LDL chol (calculated), chol/Hdl ratio and total non-hdl-c(ldl +vldl). Are any of those what you asking for, frank6665?

It sounds to me that the original doctor who ran all your tests did not tell you what the diagnosis was (if indeed they made one!). That is if they considered you to be suffering with primary or secondary hypogonadism.
I feel this is bad medicine on their part for a start. This is basic information that should be given to the patient so they understand their condition.
An endocrinologist who specialises in hormones, would have most likely discussed this with you. A urologist is not a hormone specialist.

I am very concerned that your doctors have not assessed your E2 levels period! This strongly suggests to me that they have little understanding of hormone replacement for men. This is not uncommon.
They probably have no idea that 200mg of testosterone weekly is more than likely going to spike E2 levels over the limit. More on this below.
From what you have said I would not be surprised if they had not tested your LH and FSH levels either in the beginning.

There is no reason to suggest you are primary or secondary at this stage. Many young guys have smaller testicles that produce ample testosterone.
How many tests did the urologist do in the beginning to check your hormones? Did he repeat these tests at least 3 times in the early morning?

The loss of ejaculate is for the most part caused by the decrease in FSH. Without this hormone the stimulation to produce semen in the seminal vesicles is markedly diminished. FSH also stimulates sperm production with the help of LH.

The increase in your refractory period is often a side effect of testosterone replacement. Mostly due to the shutdown of upstream hormones: LH and FSH. When semen and sperm production is lowered this lengthens the time or the urge to ejaculate again.
This is one of the reasons T replacement alters sexual function in the young male. This lengthening of the refractory period also affects erectile function. The whole purpose of sexual function is the production of sperm and the fluid for it to travel in; semen and for this fluid to be expelled out of the penis. Remove the stimulus to produce these two very basic elements of evolutionary design and sexual function must suffer! Suffer it does without doubt as you can feel in your own body. As I have.

Your loss of sexual sensation is indicative of excessive estrogen and this can also be caused by a too high level of T over time and also the loss of LH and FSH. High levels of T can desensitise the androgen receptor as I discussed in another post. Yes, aging can cause this too, but the change from 25 to 35 should not be that noticeable.

Some men still produce just enough gonadotropins whilst on TRT to keep semen production occurring and even sperm, especially if their protocol is very well tuned for them. Dr Crisler said quite a few patients of his were still able to get their wives pregnant whilst they were on his TRT protocols and they were not on HCG. However, some men will shut down completely with any form of TRT.
Your high dose of T will most certainly completely shut down any production of LH and FHS in your body.

Given that high dose of testosterone that your doctor has prescribed, your estradiol levels will most likely be incorrect for you. This will also negatively affect semen levels and the urge and ability to ejaculate again. As the other poster just mentioned and as I mentioned in my previous posts the excessive conversion of T into other hormones, most notably estrogen, causes many deleterious effects in the male. The best way to fix this is to lower the T dose to where it more closely resembles what your body may have produced naturally.
The use of aromatase inhibitors is something I would avoid. It is very difficult to control estrogen with these drugs.

I think there could be a good chance that your natural hormones could be reinstated with a correctly run restart protocol. It is much rarer for a young man, for the testes to be at fault, so you are much more likely to be secondary at the time of your initial diagnosis. Older men suffer with testicular failure due to the aging process. So they are more prone to this dysfunction.
I was perplexed by your initial post in that you had no other low T symptoms other than ED. I will be very interested to know the answer to how much testing that original urologist did before he put you onto TRT.

[kidagain73]

Most MD's and Uro's don't know shit about TRT! I get my injectables from very legit Royalmedicalcenters.com in Florida. Google or Face Book them for more. Those people have been a life changer for me cause that's all they do! My testosterone cypionate is mixed with anastrozole which is an estrogen blocker (Must do!) Also inject Gonadorelin which tells pituitary gland to tell my boys to produce more natural T otherwise my junk will shrink. I'm 77 and my T level now about 900-1100 like when I was 28. NO SIDE EFFECTS
Totally legit US outfit!! DO your homework kids.

[tomas1]

My former GP doc had me get T shots at his office for $80 for 4 weekly shots. $90 if I paid with credit card or even debit card. Gee, that sounds fishy.

I found that at that time I could get a vial that would last me 6 months for $60.
I asked for a prescription, and he sanctimoniously told me that it's a controlled substance and he wouldn't jeopardize his license by trusting me.

I found another GP even closer to home who would.
That worked fine until I didn't like a PA he had and went back to my previous doc. That was a big mistake when he preached politics to me. That was a deal breaker. He had formerly been a chiropractor so maybe that tainted him.

I had switched because my uro also prescribed the same T for me. If I wanted to, I could get it from both docs, but I don't.

I did go back to the second doc and I haven't seen the PA since going back.

[stmfttr]

tomas1,
Interesting - I inject every 2 weeks. That's 6 vials and 6 syringes for 3 months. Under $3 (with insurance). Got the script from my urologist.
stmfttr

[dg_moore]

Years ago, in my 50s, my T was below 200. With Androgel I got it above 700. it made no difference whatsoever- none of the benefits so many others have reported. I discontinued it, and felt no different in any way afterward.