Posts
6184
Joined
8/27/2006
Location
Acworth, GA, USA
Edited Date/Time
8/23/2012 9:32am
My testosterone levels are pretty low and I got a prescription for androgel but I don't think I am going to take it.
I am pretty sure it will make me feel better and give me my sex drive back but I don't like the fact that it increases prostrate cancer risk quite a bit.
I also don't like the fact that the gel can easily rub off on my 2 year old daughter and wife if I am not careful. I just can't risk it. I may think about the injections if I decide to go that route.
My question is: Is there any of you guys using it and what do you think about it?
I am pretty sure it will make me feel better and give me my sex drive back but I don't like the fact that it increases prostrate cancer risk quite a bit.
I also don't like the fact that the gel can easily rub off on my 2 year old daughter and wife if I am not careful. I just can't risk it. I may think about the injections if I decide to go that route.
My question is: Is there any of you guys using it and what do you think about it?
There is no increase prostate cancer risk. However, if you get prostate cancer it is likely it will spread faster while taking Androgel. Just have regular PSA and prostate screening and there is nothing to worry about.
With Androgel 1.62% I am able to get it on my shoulders and a t-shirt keeps me from having any transfer issues. After 8 hours the transfer issue is minor and I do not wear a t-shirt at night or when I fool around with my wife and there has not been any transfer issues and we are in contact with each other quite often. I do wait about 5-6 hours after application before any skin to skin contact with my wife in that area. If it is less than 6 hours I wear a t-shirt.
Overall, it has been the best thing I have done in my life. I am not some muscle geek and still overweight but I feel so much better than without it.
Ivan
This is what I notice with me:
Low energy and lots of fatigue
No motivation
Pretty much zero sex drive
Mental fogginess
Can't think very well
Foggy
Anxiety
Kinda depressed and blah
Now my Internist does it all but he is just maintaining my treatment, not diagnosing.
Before I got my hormone levels tested I had docs wanting to put me on SSRI's, Xanax, etc. for the depression, anxiety and lack of motivation. Nobody did a single blood test until I went to my Urologist for a separate issue. He did a hormone panel as part of his normal tests and then called out the low T and had me referred to an Endo.
The only drug I take right now is Androgel. I have no Anxiety outside of normal Anxiety (like speaking in public or something) and am not depressed at all. I am still somewhat lethargic but that is my lifestyle more than anything else. My sex drive is great and everything in my life just feels right for the most part.
Ivan
My wife uses this for hormone therapy. It works great and no worry about accidental transfer. It's about the size of a grain of rice.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Seriously though, I wish I'd have known about this sort of stuff when I was racing.
Honestly, things like this are so difficult to self diagnose. At times I think I may have low testosterone but I always just chalk it up to being lazy and tell myself I need to get off my ass and "snap out of it". It's the same sort of thing people try and do to themselves when they suffer from depression. Either way, self diagnoses doesnt really work in these cases.
Is their a blood test that can be done? Personally I dont trust going off of my own symptoms.
After altering my diet and taking some probiotics, and some other stuff i am now back ABOVE normal levels without any Androgel! They also had me take vitamin injections because so many of my levels were low from eating foods i shouldn't. And we aren't talking french fries, etc.... I found out i wasn't supposed to eat shrimp, broccoli, egg yolks, sesame, soy, etc... the list goes on. From talking to the nutritionist they had me seeing, SOY is the number 1 reason men are having issues with testosterone levels. Soy increases estrogen levels, which results in your body decreasing testosterone production. He told me some statistics on men with low "T" and it is mind bloggling. He says its the next epidimic and most doctors don't know how to treat it other than pump you full of testosterone, which is not healthy. The gel is basically equal to 10x the amount of testosterone your body produced at your peak years (18-25). Think about that, how could that be healthy? Going to this doctor was truly amazing. He has a blog that he writes every once in a while, check it out, you won't regret it.
http://www.seasonswellness.com/
I encourage you to check out his site. It seems like everytime i go to see him i get a chemistry lesson on the body and come out amazed every time. I've lost 20lbs since i first went to see him and feel great!.... Dam that sounds like an androgel commercial!
Man vs. Estrogen: It’s Not Just A Woman Thing!
Testosterone is the defining hormone of a man. Estrogen is the defining hormone of a woman.
So when we talk about estrogen, it’s that word men whisper in secret when the women in their lives seem a little hormonal, right? When people find out that my wife and I have 3 daughters, the resulting comment is usually, “Wow, that’s a lot of estrogen in your household!” (Thankfully, I have a son, too, who helps balance the estrogen to testosterone ratio at our house!)
I’m sorry to burst your bubble, guys, but estrogen is not exclusive to women. We make estrogen, too. In fact, some of us make a LOT of estrogen. Too much, in fact. And it creates some serious problems.
But before we talk about estrogen, we need to talk about testosterone. Testosterone levels in American men are at an all-time low! There are four major reasons for that: stress, weight, endogenous estrogens, and xenoestrogens. In this post, I’ll address three of those – stress, weight, and endogenous estrogen.
So let’s get started learning four important facts about testosterone, estrogen, and men!
What problems do high estrogen levels create in men?
1. High estrogen = low testosterone. One of the primary causes of low testosterone is a high estrogen level. Estrogens can be endogenous (produced by your body) or exogenous (from the environment, also known as xenoestrogens). Estradiol and Estrone (two of the three kinds of estrogen produced by your body) feed back to the hypothalamus and pituitary and shut off testosterone production.
2. High estrogen = inflammation. Not only do high estrogen levels decrease testosterone in men, they also increase inflammation. And this is VERY significant. Inflammation, just like stress, is a biochemical process.
Inflammation is the natural result of the immune system. Remember the last time you got a paper cut? It was incredibly painful, probably red, warm and swollen, all cardinal symptoms of inflammation. Inflammation, in the right setting, is actually the body protecting itself. However, when the immune system becomes imbalanced or chronically activated, the immune system causes damage through inflammation. For example, chronically activated immune cells in the brain (glial cells) play a pivotal role in the development of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Multiple Sclerosis.
Inflammation is a SERIOUS issue. Chronic inflammation has been linked to many of the chronic diseases of aging: Type II Diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cancer. In fact, a new term has been coined to describe inflammation arising from the gut which results in many of the above listed disease states – metabolic endotoxemia.
Pain meds also decrease your testosterone quite a bit. Many doctors don't know that but it's pretty documented. The thing is I think I had low T before starting pain meds because I was only on them for about 3-4 months when I got tested the first time and it was a low dose. Who knows. I think I will start the gels and see how I feel. Kinda scared but also hate feeling like shit. I am 39 years old. I have multiple health issues like TMJ, stress, anxiety, etc. Weird fucking issues. I think I need to get myself healthy and start eating better and most of those would probably clear up.
Nice!
I hope all of you find the "Net-Result" that you are after!
Manny
I am not in the medical industry, I just think doctors are a bit quick to pull out the old tablet to increase profits when there are alternatives.
Website- www.rogersonfitness.com
Email- Rog447@comcast.net
I am at a loss to be honest. I really don't want to get on T therapy but I feel like shit also. I feel like there are other things I can do such as lifestyle changes and quitting pain meds.
The thing that really scares me is being on them for life. I don't know how accurate that is. I would assume that if my low T levels are due to the pain meds then once I quit the pain meds then I can discontinue the T therapy and hopefully my levels will go back up. If I truly have low T not due to pain meds then I'm not sure what to do.
Ryan, why would you have to stay on them for life? I know T therapy stops your natural production but once you quit the levels should stabilize even though they might be low still.
If is SOLELY because of the meds, you may have a chanc at getting to "normal" level again, but "normal"levls are a whole seperate topic. "Normal"is considered ~200-800. If you are 28 years old and test a 215......thats BAD, an 80year old man should have those levels. That is a huge range and the medical field is really screwing that one up.
As as being on TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy) for life, if yor body is no producing testosterone anymore to optimal level you will need it from another source, Their are things they can do to TRY to get your body producing again but you just never know. You are correct in saying they will stabilize even if low if you came off TRT, I just meant keeping them in optimal levels.
He said once you start taking them your body will shut down production. He said they are just starting to see the side effects from estrogen therapy they pushed years and years ago and now testosterone is the new wave.
He said unless you are really low and have a legitimate reason to take them I wouldn't recommend it.
2 years ago he was willing to give them to me no problem so something must have changed his mind.
He also said most patients don't feel anything from them. They just are more hungry and eat more and nobody really notices any difference-my Dad being one of them.
The injections I just don't think I want to do. I don't want that "surge" and then crash until the next shot.
I trust experience.
Pit Row
1) Get off the pain meds
2) Start exercising
3) Eat better
4) Quit smoking
It's obvious my lifestyle is contributing to how crappy I feel but yet I continue to do it. I think I am looking for a reason for no motivation or lack of energy and pointing to taking Testosterone to get me out of this funk.
I really don't take the pain meds for pain. I take them for off label reasons but they really don't provide much relief for that. It's just a bad cycle.
300-890, I believe are "normal".
The normal range on the lab work is 250-1100 for total T and 35-155 for Free T.
Thanks for the info and opinions guys. It makes me wonder.
I think you are making the right decision by staying away from the injections and creams.
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