Most of you have heard my story, years of abusing my testicles, one testicle removed in 97, the other back in March this year. However, to keep myself potent and sexual, I tried all kinds of stuff, especially Tribulus Terrestris. I didn't cycle as instructed, but took about 750mg's of it everyday for at least 3 or 4 years. This kept my testosterone levels up quite a bit, if it had not been for Tribulus, my testosterone levels would have been about 150/170ml. I did a few blood tests without using it and then with it, which put me up to about 225/250ml. So I knew it worked. However, back in 2002 I started to have pain in my side and guessed correctly that it was probably the tribulus. When I stopped using it, no pain. So I stopped using it and tried a few other testosterone upping pills, "staminex, yohimbe, etc., etc." However, I think that was the end of things. Whenever I tried anything to boost my "T," I got pain in my side and nothing worked anymore. I think I fried my testicle by overusing this stuff. My testosterone plummeted to about 110ml and I lost my sexual desire, erections, etc. I didn't want to use testosterone supplementation, why? I don't have an answer. But the pain in my side subsided and eventually went away, until now.

Then in March of this year, I decided to have my remaining testicle removed, and went to Kimmel for my castration. Somewhere my mind changed gears and I knew I wanted to be a eunuch, but I wanted to avoid some of the health problems and I'm still married and the wife wanted me to be somewhat sexual if possible. So I went on low dose testosterone. If you've read my threads, my last blood test, using 5mg's of testosterone daily, was 150ml. But the pain in my side has returned. It's not horrible and it's not constant, but it's there. So when I see my Endocrinologist on Tuesday, May 30th, I'm going to spill my guts about my history. Question: Has anyone else ever experimented like me with lasting side effects? Hash

I've used a lot of pro-hormones, including Tribulus, and and never had much problem.

You should definitely see a doctor. A lot of hormonal issues can affect the liver, so you should get work done regarding liver function. Also scary is that testosterone can fuel cancerous growths, so you should get checked for that too. It all really depends on where the pain is -- you doctor should be able to locate the related organs and do the appropriate testing.

Thanks for the advice and caution. It is a little scary. However, I had a a CAT Scan for this same pain last year and nothing showed up. The pain is on my lower right side and when I use Tribulus, it causes pain. There's something about the over use of these andro boosting stimulants that messes up your body's own manufacturing of testosterone. But I think it's messed something else up, I'm wondering if it's plugged something. I'm wondering if it's appendicitis.

Also recently, I was taking a multivitamin called "Vitalert." But I stopped using it and wouldn't you know that the pain seems to have diminished. It has "ginko biloba & Panax Ginseng, & Guarana in it. I think the Panax Ginseng has some androbolic effect, though I'm not sure. My guess is that that's partly responsible for the new pain. However, I will certainly tell Dr. Ono, my new Endocrinologist about it on Tuesday. She'll probably order another test. Oh well, it's an adventure and everytime I have to see a new doctor I get an opportunity to share that I'm castrated. Hash