How effective is male HRT

[micdavo12 (imported)]

I am currently working my way through the hoops with testicular pain and have reached the nerve block in the spine section, which I am not finding as effective as the doc thought it would be, so I am seriously leaning towards having them removed and going on HRT.

My next appointment with the urologist, a new one, is on September 7th and my partner will be going with me to see the guy. We intend laying out what has been done so far and since it seems from what most of you guys here have experienced, we are going to ask him to perform the surgery.

I have talked my options through with my partner and she is very supportive, but since we enjoy an active and fun sex life, I have to ask, how effective is the HRT for you guys who have gone this route post castration.

[jake-mo (imported)]

i've been on hrt for 9 years works fairly well. not as good as real thing. the biggest problem is getting dose correct. if you still can and are making testosterone get tested first so you have a base line testosterone.

[iBorg317 (imported)]

I've been on some form of HRT for about five years. I still have my balls but they're decoration only. I came to this site to learn about various options as the patches weren't working for me.

Getting the dose right is VERY hard. Stay with it. I finally went to weekly injections over the objections of my doctor. The gels and patches were causing major skin reactions.

What I find is a pre-menopausal state if my injection is more than two days late. I truly turn into a bitch without any emotionally stability.

I also need Cialis to have a pleasing erection.

I hope this helps.....

iBorg

[Testman (imported)]

Different forms of testosterone do feel differently as well. Some increase sex drive more and some not as well. Some are even better for erectile function. Also, many men on HRT state, even the ones who have a better sex drive while on HRT, say they don't orgasm as easily. From my understanding, this has something to do with some other hormones, even others besides estrogen.

Out of the injectables, I've seen many HRT men say they do better on Sustanon than any of the other injectables. I would say this has been my experience as well. Also, there are even testosterone pellets that can be implanted as far apart as two years. I've seen some men swear by the results also. As with the creams/gels, I would say the Australian Andromen does crazy well for erectile function. Out of all the testosterone esters I've used over the last 15 years, the ultimate combination for me for sex drive was either Cypionate stacked with a little Sustanon, or a couple hundred milligrams per week of Cypionate stacked with Androgel.

[clysmaniac (imported)]

I think one factor to consider in TRT is to have a doctor that will allow you some or a even a major input as to your eventual testosterone level rather than just fitting anywhere in his lab's normal range. The lab my doctor uses has a range of normal from 280-1080 and that is a pretty large span. You can have blood drawn now to establish your baseline level to try to match later but you may really want something a bit higher or lower if you had some personal input. He may be happy if you have a level of 325 but maybe you'd be happier at 750. You need to be able to find out what's best for your needs.

[coinflipper_21 (imported)]

I am currently working my way through the hoops with testicular pain and have reached the nerve block in the spine section, which I am not finding as effective as the doc thought it would be, so I am seriously leaning towards having them removed and going on HRT.

My next appointment with the urologist, a new one, is on September 7th and my partner will be going with me to see the guy. We intend laying out what has been done so far and since it seems from what most of you guys here have experienced, we are going to ask him to perform the surgery.

I have talked my options through with my partner and she is very supportive, but since we enjoy an active and fun sex life, I have to ask, how effective is the HRT for you guys who have gone this route post castration.

You have the most important part...a supportive partner. I use Androgel. It's not the same as when I was producing my own testosterone, but it does work. You might want to search out the posts by MrT on the subject. He had what sounds like a similar situation to yours.

[mrt (imported)]

Yes, I had the same issue. Orchialgia. I did nerve blocks, nerve pills, all sorts of stuff and it either didn't work or the side effects made it undoable.

The surgery for me was done long after I was on HRT and I can't say how long before that I "should" have been on it but I think I can state that if you get the right dose your sex life will stay as strong as you want it (or more!)

Dose is SO important. The type of hormone as well. I used Androgel and it worked fine. I use Depo Testosterone now (Costs, Insurance) and it works very well also. The problems you might have are solved by speaking up and making detailed comments about symptoms and insist on changes. There is a very wide range of "normal" and its ok to be in any part of that. Don't accept a "your in the bottom end of normal and thats JUST FINE" It rarely works...

Your wife maybe worried *Tell her not to be. Do ponder implants now. Its far easier to put them in when your testicles are being removed then later. They have a few types out there and I think its a plus to have a nice healthy "pair" even if they are store bought. My wife likes them and I love them.

If the surgeon oks you for surgery insist on two things. Get it done as a Radical (Openings in the pubic area NOT the scrotum) ask the doctor to inject nerve blocks to the cords / testes before he removes them. *Lowers the risk of Phantom Pains. And cut high! No cords to dangle around...

Anyway, don't fret. Keep you weight under control and good luck with the surgery. I can give you post op tips but in short....

Frozen peas make wonderful ice packs.

Take lots of laxatives BEFORE you go on narcotics.

Don't laugh or sneeze after the orchiectomy scars heal (Lean forward or it hurts)

Keep your sex life going even when your not 100% its easier to maintain then it is to start over.

[TheOtherSide (imported)]

Personally, and this is just my opinion...

I use the injections. 100mg testosterone cypionate, injected myself, every week (Friday, if you must know). While it's better than the 200mg every two weeks that the doc considered acceptable, it's not the same as the real thing. I find I have more issues now getting and maintaining erections, as well as achieving orgasm. That said, desire is pretty much dead on from what it was before. If I had to choose between testosterone HRT and the real thing, I'd choose the real thing ever time. That said, if i had to choose between HRT and nothing, I'd go with the HRT. There's a larger difference between 0 and 75% than there is between 75% and 100%.

[moi621 (imported)]

I know of one member very satisfied and with good labs using a skin absorption product.

Anyone with experience using, sub-lingual?

All y'gotta do is bypass the GI tract, where T is - digested and fails reliable absorption.

Then again I imagine there are some, artificial T products that might work swallowed. I have not researched it.

But -

Why get tied into an injection regimen?

Thank You

Moi

[Iwearabra (imported)]

After finding out that my testicles were now totally dead, and useless, and not producing any testosterone, I finially went on HRT. The patches and jells did not work at all, so my doctor, put me on injectable Testosterone Cypionate, USP, 200mg per ML. Im injecting once a week, and injecting 1.5ccs per injection. I will say, its not the same testosterone that my body made prior to my testicle failure. I do wake up at night with a intense erection from the "FULL BLADDER SYNDROME" like I used to get when a young lad. I still can't seem to get an erection from just thinking about sexy things, like I used to be able to do. Erections now, seem to only happen, when I see something that really turns me on fully. When I masturbate, I find myself still ejaculating with a nearly limp penis. The amount of ejaculate is back as before, although now Im sterial. I had a period here last month, when I missed my injection for 3 weeks in a row, and I took a terribly "plunge" emotionally. Just re-injecting didn't fix it all too quickly either. It took me about 3 more weeks, with a injection once every week, to get back my prior blood levels again. My advice, is don't miss you injection for more than 2 days. I would say Im about 65 % satisfied with the HRT. And wonder, if adding Sustanon would help?