Diagnosed Low Testosterone - Doctor has options - Seeking Advice

[joecool722 (imported)]

So I'm looking for a little advice.

My doctor recently diagnosed me with very low testosterone levels. This was an Endocrinologist. He's not sure why it's so low, but he gave me the option of going on Clomipheme which he said might stimulate my pituitary into stimulating my testicles to produce testosterone, or if that doesn't work, he could put me on straight testosterone. He said the side effect of going on the testosterone is that it's usually a lifelong thing as once on it, the testicles tend to atrophy and shrink.

We went ahead and tried the Clomipheme but after a few weeks it doesn't seem to be doing much and if anything I seem to have a lower sex drive.

Now given that I'm on this forum, I have some alternative feelings about all this. The idea of going on testosterone and having my testicles shrink is very exciting. Also the idea of being able to control my sex drive is very interesting to my wife as well (we have a Femdom relationship). We've always fantasized about messing around with things like this and now it seems like it will be an option.

I wanted to see if anyone else has had experience taking testosterone supplements. Did your testicles shrink? Do they really not come back to normal size? This would actually be pretty funny for me as I have always had a small penis, but really large testicles. Now my testicles would match my penis...

Also, how much can you play with the testosterone levels later? If I get on it for a few months and my testosterone levels go up to normal and my testicles shrink down and atrophe, would that mean that if I stopped the testosterone for a little while my testosterone levels would go down to virtually chemically castrated? I've always wanted to try what it would be like to be fully chemically castrated, but without having to take all the anti-androgens etc.

Anyway, any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated. I figured you guys on this forum would probably know more about a lot of this stuff than the Endocrinologist. At least in terms of playing around with it for alternative reasons...

Thanks,

JoeCool

[nutme248 (imported)]

Hi,

I've been on testosterone for a number of years now and this is my experience. When I was just on T, I didn't notice any testicular shrinkage . What I did notice on just T is that my estrogen spiked in sync with T levels. I finally went to an endocrinologist who also put me on HCG, which inhibits estrogen production and counters any testicle shrinkage. Your mileage may vary.

Dave

[joecool722 (imported)]

Interesting. Did you have any physical cue's that your estrogen spiked? Or was it just the result of blood tests? The doctor did mention that if testicular shrinkage was a concern there were some medications that could make it less visibly noticeable, but he seemed to say that once you are on T, your testicles just shut off producing T and generally don't come back if you stop T, so you end up having to be on it perpetually.

[Cainanite (imported)]

Interesting. Did you have any physical cue's that your estrogen spiked? Or was it just the result of blood tests? The doctor did mention that if testicular shrinkage was a concern there were some medications that could make it less visibly noticeable, but he seemed to say that once you are on T, your testicles just shut off producing T and generally don't come back if you stop T, so you end up having to be on it perpetually.

That's why, for now at least, I've chosen not to go on testosterone. I'm not at a zero level of T, just very low. My doctor offered it, but I have declined thus far. I'm rather happy with my current level of sexual functioning, and unless that drops even further, I'll stay where I am.

[joecool722 (imported)]

Yeah, with my current low level of T, my libido is actually lower than I prefer. But I like being able to play with it. The idea of being able to get on T and have it kill my bodies ability to produce even the small amount of T that I now have and then at some point in the future if I want to try to see what it would be like to be chemically castrated, it would (in theory) be as simple as stopping my T dosage.

[paring (imported)]

It'll take at least a month and up to 3 months to get Clomid full effect. You may as well go on with this treatment to see how it goes. When you'll know for sure it doesn't work just switch to TRT. Clomid acts like FSH which is responsible to trigger T production in men, if there is nothing wrong with you testicles it should work. Without endogene testosterone you'll be infertile. With TRT your testicles will shrink but this doesn't happen over night. it'll take year(s) to notice the difference. TRT does not turn the switch on and off as you wish, It'll take days to lower your libido and lose your erections and some more days to recover.

[smoothie36 (imported)]

First of all you have to decide what you want to be and do what it takes to get there. Too many "what if's" don't help. Sounds like doing nothing will effectively make you a eunuch like many of us here. Is that what you want?

[joecool722 (imported)]

Well I guess honestly, I like the idea of having my testicles shrink and atrophy to become essentially non-functional. The idea of being able to manage my T level and subsequent libido via medication is appealing. I think I'd probably like to make the move to full TRT (which I'll probably have to do anyway) and once on that for a while have the T supplement be my primary means of adjusting my libido etc. In theory, it would be nice after being on TRT for a while to be able to stop it for a period of time and "try" what it's like to be chemically castrated if that's possible.

[_g (imported)]

Just remember that "your mile may very"! When I went on HRT due to low sex drive I also had to take the blue pill to get an erection. My testicles did atrophy helped along with alcohol injections and the testicles have not recovered after stopping the HTR. For me the testicles atrophied with in 3 months (to 1/3 the starting size) before they got the first alcohol injection.

[nullorchis (imported)]

Testicles that atrophy are subject to tumor development. Maybe benign, maybe cancerous. Tumor development is treated differently in different places and by different doctors. Some will recommend removal, some will recommend biopsy. There are inherent dangers in biopsy. If the tumor is cancerous taking a biopsy punctures the shell of the testicle and can permit cancer cell(s) to escape and be set free which could perhaps move about and cause cancer elsewhere. Each case of course is unique.

TRT is not a light switch and does not just activate and deactivate sexual drive. Hormones in the body are interdependent, and their interaction have a cascading effect.

If you start tinkering around with T level and making it go up, and go down, and go up, there will be consequences. It would depend on your age, health, and other factors, but basically, IT'S NOT NICE TO FOOL MOTHER NATURE.

Then, lastly, if you let your T level remain low for long enough you will of course start to lose body mass, be impotent, perhaps develop confusion, loss of mental clarity, gain body fat, and a whole host of other things. That;s the down side. On the plus side you will gain a feeling of peace, calm, loss of agitation, and possibly lose any interest in tinkering around with T. Once thoughts and cravings for sex diminish you start to realize that there are more important features in life than sex.

There are no clear answers, other than, not choosing to keep your T up all the time, or down all the time, you very likely will reap more problems than benefits.

Why do I say this. Well, been there, done that. Seemed like a neat idea in advance. Turns out, not so much, and unnecessary.

Now I just use a maintenance level of T. Low enough to remain sexually neutral, high enough to not suffer low-T side effects.

What level is that? Well, I experimented on my own to find the level that worked for me. I doubt that any doctor could possibly predict this.