Androgel and Moods

[Qunuch81 (imported)]

Hi Everyone,

I've been off the forums and only on chat very sporadically for the past few months mainly because I've been going through a lot of changes lately. I was castrated by Dr. Arnkoff back in June and promptly got on Androgel (1.62%, 2 pumps a day). Life was going great--I loved and still love being a eunuch--and I decided to make some changes to my psych meds in August (I have OCD along with a general tendency towards depression and anxiety). The following months got very messy...partly I think because of the medication changes and partly because I was finally addressing a lot of issues in therapy that have plagued me throughout my life. I was having depression and anxiety like I've never had before...deep, suicidal despair on the one hand--panic-inducing anxiety on the other.

The good news is that I'm doing better. I have a great therapist, a psychiatrist, an endocrinologist for hormones, and a GP. All of the above know about my orchiectomy and understand why I did it. I think I'm going to make it through okay.

However, what I want to ask the board is, do you think Androgel might have also played a role in this? I read that "emotional lability" (mood swings, etc.) are a rare side effect. My endocrinologist doesn't think that hormones or the orchiectomy have caused my swings, but I thought I'd check and see if any other eunuchs recognize what I've been going through.

Thanks; all best!

[eunuched (imported)]

If the reason for the orchiectomy was to lessen your depression and/or other related issues, then the amount of androgel you are applying could easy put put back as much or more T. You might want to consult with your endrocrinologist to cut back to one pump a day.