Doc thinks i Should take TRT

[DavidB (imported)]

So I was on androcur for over a year, I loved 90% of the effects. The reduced sex drive, smaller penis and testicles, reduced anxiety and a greater sense of self.

I didn’t like the weight gain, almost 20#s and slight breast development, tired tomaxafin, but didn’t handle it well, lost a lot of energy as well.

I have to admit though that I wasn’t exercising at all and I was well informed beforehand that I would need to to maintain wait and energy level, so that was my bad.

So as mentioned in some post 3 months ago I was diagnosed with kidney cancer and they chopped it out and I am doing really well, but they told me to hold off on the andocur for a while to help healing and reduce stress on my liver with the cancer drugs.

So my T-level started climbing, which even surprised them to 250. I wasn’t really happy about this, but figured for a while it would be fine.

Well they also found the start of osteoporosis, so one of my Docs wants to put me on TRT to get my level up to 650. That seems really high to me.

I had a really un-healthy libido and don’t want to go back that way. But the doc says that my libido would be healthier if my T was higher and the anxiety and other issues are for a therapist. He also said that they don’t even use chem castration for pedophiles anymore, that low T was part of the problem

That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I am thinking there are better ways to combat the weight gain, lack of energy and most importantly the osteo, so ideas and suggestions are welcome

Dave

[mrt (imported)]

I tend to agree with the doctor. At a low range sexual issues can get "weird" I think that at a higher level you will be more balanced out. He is also right about Therapy in my opinion. I've done it and it can be very helpful when dealing with things like anxiety and depression.

Why not give it a try?

[plix (imported)]

A lot of times these issues come down to are you willing to compromise your happiness for your health? Most people would probably answer yes to that question. For some life is about quantity. For others it is about quality. What you are going to have to determine is what life is about for you. You say you are a happier person since ditching the T. Are you willing to give up that happiness in order to reap the benefits of T?

Sure, there are other ways to lose weight. The standard regimen is diet and exercise. But these may not be as effective if your T is below normal.

Energy is a bit trickier. The hope is that your body will adapt to the new T levels over time, thus eliminating the energy problems. But there are no guarantees.

Osteo can be treated with osteo medication, which does nothing to increase T. It can also be helped with increased calcium intake and certain methods of exercise.

I've never heard of low T causing "excessive" libido and boosting that T level decreasing that libido. But I suppose anything is possible. OK, now that I've reread your post I think I better understand what your doctor is saying. And he's farther off than I previously believed. He thinks that low T is the problem for pedophiles? I'd like to see any reasonable doctor or mental health professional back up that statement. Chemical castration for pedophiles is still alive and well, and most people and professionals are actually encouraging expansion of its use. This guy, on the other hand, seems to believe that low T causes an excessive libido, and more T decreases libido. I guess most teenage and 20-something guys are low on T and need some more. I'd suggest searching for a more competent doctor before making any decisions.

No one knows for sure what boosting T levels in older men does over the long term. Does it restore youth and protect against disease or create an unnatural state that causes it? Why do natural T levels decline as we get older? Does this cause certain diseases or protect against other diseases or both? No one knows the answer to any of those questions.

I guess what you'll have to decide is whether you want to take the advice of a bunch of guys you've never met before, none of whom have any medical knowledge or experience, or your own doctor who you've known for presumably a long time and who is extensively trained in medicine. Or you can do neither and go with what feels right to you and will make life the most enjoyable experience it can be for you. That's personally the route I would recommend, but on the record I have to say you should follow the advice of your doctor.

[mrt (imported)]

I'm not a doctor but I'm starting to get to the age when things seem to all start to fail. Age and health problems go together. That I think we can agree on. Thus while impotence (for example) is not ever "normal" its more common in older men then it is younger men. Elevated blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes etc all increase in frequency the older we get.

Thus I think the "natural" decline of hormones is really just worded wrong. My question is this. Is it "Natural?" or Hypofunction? Yes, the average age vrs. Is it natural? Or desired? My function was impared due to viral damage so I didn't decline at the average (or normal / natural if you like) rate. Are the people who attempt to make old age less awful (anti Aging etc) on some wrong track or is this really a good idea? As an older guy I tend to think that its good to wonder if nothing else!

I know there is a similar debate much more heated for women who enter menopause. Some want to experience it "naturally" and the idea of using HRT is just a horror show. Some want to maintain youthful levels of female hormones and extend that part of their life. I tend to agree with the second camp much more then those that want to jump into the rocking chair.

But... Thats just my opinion. I hope it remains an option!

[bobbie (imported)]

Osteoporosis is something you have to address no matter what you do about the testosterone. Would consider taking a drug to help treat the disease for some time just to increase the healing process. I have the disease as dose many eunuch. I take fosamax. You also need to be taking no less then 1000mg calcium and vitamin D 400 Pills a day.

Trying to find a the right level of testosterone that you like and one that the doctor is happy with is a different thing. Doctors only know what they think a guys should have and what he should feel like. People that enjoy living with a lessor levels of T seems to not go well with doctors. They find that a low level is wrong and they must make it right or cure you of the low levels. For the most part you enjoyed the side effects of reduced testosterone. The weight can be controlled with diet and exercise. If your lido is above what you are happy with then your doctor should reduce your medication. 250 is a low number. Think it is a common number for a good number of the gray haired men. It is your body and he should not be making you do things that you are not happy doing. That is just my feelings.

[DavidB (imported)]

thanks for the replys. I have been doing the therapy thing for along time, and although i have never suffered from depression, even for the year that my T was below 60, it was only with the lower T that I ever had results dealing with the anxiety, including taking anxiety drugs.

I am still torn, I agree with Mr T that why not give it a try, but I am leaning toward agreeing with Bobbie and Plix that there has to be quality to life and pumping myself up to a higher T level then i had even before being on the androcur doesnt seem like a place i want to be, especially if ther are other options that dont endanger my long term health.

Was also sticker shocked T is expensive even with insurance a one month supply is $125.

In regards to the doc who wants to put on T, Wed was the first time I ever met him, he was referred by the cancer surgen, based on my blood work from before the surgery.

I see my therapist on Tuesday so i am going to bounce this off of him.

I just dont want to go back to being that anxious jerk, who was masterbating all the time on top of it.

[bobbie (imported)]

Just a thought. Depression is common when hormones are changed. With that being said it is nothing compared with dealing with cancer. That is real life changing. Depression would be very common and expected with almost anyone. Dealing with that is a very hard. The unknowns of it returning is so challenging for the coming weeks, months, and years. If you are not on some antidepressant drugs you may consider asking for some. They may be more what you need right now then any thing else. I am not saying that you should live on them but, they can help you over the rough times your are experiencing. Again just my thoughts. Wish you the very best in this very tiring times.

[cb2000user (imported)]

I have been on 50mg of Androcur since 2006 and I have no signs of depression. I love the new me and my wife as never been happier. I see my doctor every 3 month and every three months he gives a script for Androgel even though I tell him I am fine with my T levels in the 90's, but he keeps trying. Do what makes you happy.

[nullorchis (imported)]

I never went the Androcur route. I did experience, over a few months, a sudden decline in T level; partly due to age, partly due to nutrition, and partly due to self-inflicted causes.

Weakness, loss of concentration and mental clarity, anxiety and anger were my enemies. It never turned into depression, but could have I guess.

After almost a year of tweeking with TRT, I think I may, (hopefully) have found a dose and timing that is working for me. I have swung up and down physically, emotionally , and mentally this past year, and my postings show it. Some are just plain irrational, erratic, and inconclusive.

But, with TRT, one dose before going to bed , and with a nutrition routine (soy, flax, licorice root, palmetto) I seem to be striking a good balance of physical strength, emotional stability, mental clarity, and sexual neutrality.

I hope that this continues. Right now, I am in balance. And loving it.

Well, almost loving it.

I would rather be a physical eunuch, but for the most part I am a functioning eunuch.

(not 100%, but pretty darn close).

Final comment, medication and nutrition are going to be different for each of us.

You are probably going to have to experiment a bit to find a combination that works for you. I went to the bodybuilding web sites and found info on how to actually induce lower T levels. (They do this on purpose to enable them to have real low T levels so that they "fail" a T test, and then get a prescription for TRT.......which they really didn't need....... once they stop T-destroying nutrition, they return to normal T levels, plus the TRT prescription they get really pumped up, so to speak.........anyway, I found T reducing info on these sites, experimented with it, and for now, the T-reducing nutrition plus TRT seems to be working for me).

[DavidB (imported)]

Thanks for the info and support Bobbie, i have been on an anti-axiety med since before starting the Androcur a year ago, so that probably helped me avoid the depression caused by the lower T, yes i got freaked and depressed about dealing with the cancer, but it seemed more emotional and less a physical, and i have bounced back well from that.

Nullochis: thanks for replying, that is some great ideas about trying to come up with a balance, i am still working it all out, but those are good options to keep in mind.