It has been 6 months since my castration. Things haven't changed all that much since then because I was chemically castrated for quite some time before the surgery. Throughout most of my chemical castration, my testosterone level was just under 100 with the lab "normals" being 280-1080. I found this level to be pretty livable- I did lose some strength but not an unacceptable amount and had a very low libido. In the month prior to my doctor agreeing to do the orchiectomy, I added more Siterone and had my T level drop to 44. I had no erections even when sleeping but lost more strength, developed an intolerance to cold temps or even normal 68 degree room temps and got very dry and itchy skin. When my doctor agreed to do the castration, I stopped all the chemical meds and he gave me a prescription for replacement testosterone. I felt much better with testosterone level at 100 than a castrate level of 44.

So I have been experimenting with different levels of testosterone to see the effects and be sure my final choice fits my needs. My doctor originally prescribed 5 gms daily of Testim gel- one tube. He assumed this would bring me up into the normal range, but I was pretty sure I wanted to be lower than that. I did only 1/2 a tube daily and my T level was 165. For the next month, we bumped my dosage up to 1 and a half tubes daily which gave me a T level over 700. It was an interesting month as I felt more horny than I had for years but that wasn't all that desired. My skin also got very oily again like a teenager's. But I also developed edema- swelling of ankles with fliud and my heart rate and blood pressure all went up to deal with the edema.

Now I'm down to only taking half a tube of Testim every other day and feel pretty much like I did when my T level was around 100, ie an ideal level for my purposes. I do get nocturnal erections which isn't desirable but don't get erect at all when awake. My strength and energy levels are fine- endurance isn't a good as I would like but I don't run marathons anyway. The edema and swelling of my ankles has been eliminated and both my heart rate and BP are lower again. I've got another T test scheduled in a couple weeks so will get the actual numbers then. My doctor has come to accept that I am content with a very low level of testosterone rather than fitting into his normal range.

I've certainly learned a lot from the EA members as well as from my first-hand experience. I never expected that low/0 testosterone would effect so many aspects beyond the obvious sexual ones. Bobbie taught me about the relationship of low T to osteoporosis so I asked my doctor to to a bone density exam. I had the earliest of cases of osteopina so have added 1200 mg of calcium daily. So hopefully that is covered now.

In the grand scheme of things, I am very happy with my castration. Thanks to all you EA folks who helped me directly or even indierctly with your informative posts.

Talking with you weekly I know that you are happy on the results. Doing the right thing of of the test run gave you a real life test on the effects of castration. You are also very lucky to have a very loving and caring wife who supports you fully in this.

Wish more would follow your trip and have a great and happy outcome.

Clysmanic:

I am glad to hear things are going so well for you, i have been doing the chem thing for about 1.5 years now, and if things continue as they are going, i will do the surgical thing in about 6 months. My T runs around 60 and that seems to work, dont know how much further it would go after castration, but i guess that will be a trial and error thing.

How long did you do chemical castration before the surgery.

Again congrats on the sucess, and hope it continues

DavidB (imported) wrote: Fri Aug 28, 2009 7:28 am Clysmanic:

I am glad to hear things are going so well for you, i have been doing the chem thing for about 1.5 years now, and if things continue as they are going, i will do the surgical thing in about 6 months. My T runs around 60 and that seems to work, dont know how much further it would go after castration, but i guess that will be a trial and error thing.

How long did you do chemical castration before the surgery.

Again congrats on the sucess, and hope it continues

Your T levels will likely change little. You are about where most end up. Seems many are around the 20-60 mark. If you have been at that level for over a year your body has gone through much of the changes already. For some the hot flashes last several years. The only major change that will happen is the mental effects of finally being done. That is when reality kicks in and there is no turning back. There is a special feeling when the cords are cut if you are awake. Or when you wake up and feel the groin and no balls are present. Hopefully it a time of great joy. For me it was.

DavidB

I was chemically castrated for about 2 3/4 years. For all but the last month I was on Depo Provera and spironolactone which got my T level down under 100. My doctor had done a surgical biopsy around the 2 1/2 year mark and told me he would remove my testicles if another testosterone test in three months showed similar or lower levels of testosterone. For the last month before that test, I added Siterone just to guarantee my T level was lower so there would be no further delays from my doctor. The addition of Siterone got my T level down to 44 and the rest is history. The general number used for castration level of testosterone is 50 or lower so if you are at 60, you're pretty close. I experienced several changes when dropping from 100 to 44 but you probably won't feel much if you were to drop from 60 down to 50. I don't know where my castrated T level would be as I started my TRT 10 days before my orchiectomy.