New member.. need help and direction….

[billy3z]

I am a 36yr old male.

I have always been in tremendous physical shape and extremely healthy (very rarely got sick ie… flu, colds, etc…).. but this all changed after 2002 when I took my job as a US Federal Air Marshal… My first 2 or 3 years were very hard (but I accepted the responsibility and challenge)… I endured long working hours .. not to mention that I needed to maintain my physical fitness levels with workouts/strength training at the gym, so i would have to incorporate gym time between my missions…. my work schedule flying is 5 days on/ 2 days off… with constant daily delays I am lucky if I worked no less than a 10 1/2-12hr day (and this is just domestic missions not including international).. I was lucky if I was getting at least 6 hours of sleep a night due to arriving late at my home residence and/or mission destinations and having to be back at the airport early the next day for my next mission…. I remember clearly one particular day in december of 2005, I woke up in the morning “not feeling quite right”, later on that day I went to the gym for a workout and I had no energy, I felt kind of “blah”.. this apparently was the start of something not good… so from this point on as the months and years have progressed with my job I started to get sick more than usual, my fatigue levels increased tremendously, I started to become less motivated to workout, I have become physically weaker, I started feeling depressed, my libido decreased tremendously (although ironically I could still perform but what good is that when you dont have the desire), I started to become very agitated and irritable, etc…

Fast Forward to the present…. all my problems have increased tremendously and more problems have arisen… I am experiencing tremendous insomnia and if Im lucky enough to fall asleep I will wake up at least 4 or 5 times a night (the only way I can sleep is if I take ambien and that doesnt even keep me asleep)…. I started to experience Hypoglycemia symptoms constantly… I never was a coffee drinker, I drank an occasional cup every now or then (usually black coffee prior to a workout for energy) but now if I drink a cup of coffee I get Hypoglycemic and I sometimes get hypoglycemic when I wait too long between meals…. I always feel like im catching my breath, when I stand up from sitting or lying down I get dizzy/light headed… now im experiencing diffuse hair loss and hair texture changing, its getting dry and lighter in color( i have no balding or recession just constant shedding all over my head) .. I think this is a hypothyroid symptom and the list goes on..

Each day I am becoming a shadow of myself more and more…. and Im pushing myself to work and stay in shape and deal with the duties of being a husband, a provider, etc…. my wife doesnt seem to understand my plight and I feel so helpless as I drift farther and farther away from my former self… My wife is an awesome person and I am so moody toward her and she doesnt deserve this… I explained to her what i am going through and she says she understands but she really doesnt understand cuz we get into fights when I become irritable and I tell her its not her its me…

I have had blood work done several times and the only thing that draws red flags is my testosterone (free and total) is low normal, vitamin d3 deficient…. Diabetes A1c test was normal…. I had a saliva cortisol test performed back in November 2006 (Neuro Science) and it came back 8.3 @ 8am (normal), 2.8 @ noon (low), 9.6 @ 6pm (extremely high), 2.7 @ 11pm (high)…… now this test was back in 2006 so i assume its probably much, much more out of whack…. Also my most recent blood test revealed high reverse t3 which would explain why I was having hypothyroid symptoms as well as low adrenal symptoms..

I have been to several doctors over the years and have had absolutely no help…. I finally took it upon myself to help myself.. the hypoglycemia started to get so bad that I got the book “safe uses of cortisol” and started supplementing HC @ 20mg/day.. this dose actually helped and I stopped having hypoglycemia bouts, my energy started to increase and I felt pretty good considering.. then I added t3 to help clear out the rt3 but I think I ramped up the t3 too quickly and I felt crashed and fatigued again… so I stopped taking t3 and continued on the HC and although the hypoglycemia has not returned my fatigue has continued…

I have started TRT about 4 months ago and I am on test cyp @ 210mg/wk.. to be honest I really dont notice a difference in energy levels since starting….

I wish i could be more detailed in my post in regards to timelines and happenings but believe or not just writing this post is taxing the heck out of me….

.so right now I am looking for some direction and help….

[pmgamer18]

Hi billy3z,

I have been on TRT 29 yrs now your on a very high dose of Test C / week. Most men start with 100 mgs a week. Did you every test your Estradiol levels doing that much Test C a week I am betting your levels are very high. High levels of Estradiol in med takes away any good the TRT is doing for you. I got bad ED, could not reach an orgasm, had bad Panic Attacks, Rashes, BPH, no libido, felt hot and sweating all day and nigh even looked red on the upper parts of my body and face with sore and hard nipples.

All of this gone getting Estradiol levels down you need to get this tested I would do a Quest labs Estradiol test #4021 the range is 13 to 54 pg/ml men do best at about 20 if you over 50 you would need Arimidex to get this down .5 mgs every other day it is one half of the one mg. pill.

The first thing that came back for me doing this was my involuntary nocturnal erections that appear during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. If you don’t have them I lost then for over 25 yrs then your levels might be very high.

Also my Free T levels were very low until I got my Estradiol levels down.
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2008/nov2008_Dangers-of-Excess-Estrogen-in-the-Aging-Male_01.htm

I need a lot of T per week but I do it this way I do 80 mgs every 3 days this helps keep me leveled and holds down Estradiol levels that one gets from one big shot and helps keep my blood thinner. I also add in HCG this acts like the LH message sent to your testis that tells them to make T this gets shut down on TRT so I do 250 IU’s the day before my T shot so every 3 days I do HCG.
http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/90/5/2595

So this is what I find that works and you can read about it in the last link. Get your Total T levels up into the upper 1/3 of your labs range for a young man and keep your Estradiol levels down so you get night time and morning wood every night.

I don’t feel all the stuff going around the web about RT3 is good if you can’t fix why your RT3 is high don’t mess with it because as soon as you stop T3 only meds your RT3 is just going to go back up again. Low Cortisol levels can make RT3 high even a lot of stress will do this. Taking T3 only meds makes SHBG go up and this binds up your Free Testosterone levels add this to high Estradiol and your not going to feel good.
http://www.griffinmedical.com/male_hormone_modulation_therapy.html

[billy3z]

@pmgamer18 3090 wrote:

Hi billy3z,

I have been on TRT 29 yrs now your on a very high dose of Test C / week. Most men start with 100 mgs a week. Did you every test your Estradiol levels doing that much Test C a week I am betting your levels are very high. High levels of Estradiol in med takes away any good the TRT is doing for you. I got bad ED, could not reach an orgasm, had bad Panic Attacks, Rashes, BPH, no libido, felt hot and sweating all day and nigh even looked red on the upper parts of my body and face with sore and hard nipples.

All of this gone getting Estradiol levels down you need to get this tested I would do a Quest labs Estradiol test #4021 the range is 13 to 54 pg/ml men do best at about 20 if you over 50 you would need Arimidex to get this down .5 mgs every other day it is one half of the one mg. pill.

The first thing that came back for me doing this was my involuntary nocturnal erections that appear during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. If you don’t have them I lost then for over 25 yrs then your levels might be very high.

Also my Free T levels were very low until I got my Estradiol levels down.
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2008/nov2008_Dangers-of-Excess-Estrogen-in-the-Aging-Male_01.htm

I need a lot of T per week but I do it this way I do 80 mgs every 3 days this helps keep me leveled and holds down Estradiol levels that one gets from one big shot and helps keep my blood thinner. I also add in HCG this acts like the LH message sent to your testis that tells them to make T this gets shut down on TRT so I do 250 IU’s the day before my T shot so every 3 days I do HCG.
http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/90/5/2595

So this is what I find that works and you can read about it in the last link. Get your Total T levels up into the upper 1/3 of your labs range for a young man and keep your Estradiol levels down so you get night time and morning wood every night.

I don’t feel all the stuff going around the web about RT3 is good if you can’t fix why your RT3 is high don’t mess with it because as soon as you stop T3 only meds your RT3 is just going to go back up again. Low Cortisol levels can make RT3 high even a lot of stress will do this. Taking T3 only meds makes SHBG go up and this binds up your Free Testosterone levels add this to high Estradiol and your not going to feel good.
http://www.griffinmedical.com/male_hormone_modulation_therapy.html

thanks pmg for the reply….

I am taking test cyp @ 210mg per ml/wk.(divided into 2 shots per week on mon .5 ml and thurs .5 ml).. I am also taking adex 2mg week (1mg on mon and thurs)….

I just had blood work taken last week, so I should have the results in another 2 weeks or so….

I have all the signs and symptoms of low cortisol (severe insomnia, hypoglycemia) as well as hypothyroid in regards to rapid hair thinning/shedding/hair texture change/color change (not balding), depression, and fatigue….

Past blood work revealed tsh levels all between 2.0 – 2.36, normal t3, t4 and high reverse t3… I also have low normal blood cortisol levels as well as when tested saliva cortisol I had low normal morning, low afternoon, high evening, very high late evening…. dhea is all over the place with each testing (high and low)….

[billy3z]

@billy3z 3093 wrote:

thanks pmg for the reply….

I am taking test cyp @ 210mg per ml/wk.(divided into 2 shots per week on mon .5 ml and thurs .5 ml).. I am also taking adex 2mg week (1mg on mon and thurs)….

I just had blood work taken last week, so I should have the results in another 2 weeks or so….

I have all the signs and symptoms of low cortisol (severe insomnia, hypoglycemia) as well as hypothyroid in regards to rapid hair thinning/shedding/hair texture change/color change (not balding), depression, and fatigue….

Past blood work revealed tsh levels all between 2.0 – 2.36, normal t3, t4 and high reverse t3… I also have low normal blood cortisol levels as well as when tested saliva cortisol I had low normal morning, low afternoon, high evening, very high late evening…. dhea is all over the place with each testing (high and low)….

Also my body temp is always 96-97.8 degrees…..

[pmgamer18]

I worry your doing to much Arimidex at one time most men do good taking .25 mgs every 2 to 3 days. Men with levels above 50 pg/ml need more .5 mgs every other day. Here is a copy of a file I made on how to not go to low on Arimidex. Going to low is just as bad as being to high.
=====================================
How To Take Arimdex and not go down on your Estradiol to Low.

What I found is if you go to low taking arimidex, it’s the length of time your to low, if your too low say for 8 weeks it can take your body a longer time to make more Estradiol. Bottom line is to know how not to go to low. Keep a log on your dose and how you feel men going to low can’t get it up taking Viagra. I went to low when I first tried Arimidex and did not know about going to low or how one feels to low, so I was low a good 8 weeks. I did not know I was low until my next labs.

The best gage I have found to control your Estradiol levels is to gage your night time and morning wood. At good levels or what I call the sweet spot you get your night time and morning wood back so strong it will wake you up and you can hang a coat on it.

Most men do good taking .25 mgs or 1/4 of a 1mg. pill, I use a pill cutter to cut the small pill in half then I stand it on the cut end and use a single edge razor to cut this in half. A good way to take arimidex is by how high your levels are. I tested over 90 pg/ml so we tried doing .5 mgs every other day after 8 weeks my next set of labs showed it did not move below 90, test said >90. So we did .5 mgs. every day in about 2 weeks I got some strong night time and morning wood back after not having them for many yrs.

I kept doing this dose and in 8 weeks my next set of labs said <20 back in the day labs were like this they did not have to good labs we have today they could not read lower the 20. My Dr. told me this looks to low to stop taking the Arimidex. The one thing I noticed was my wood stopped and stopping the Arimidex my wood came back in about 7 weeks my next test at 8 weeks was 24 pg/ml. So we went back on the Arimidex but the Dr. told me to take .5 mgs every 3 days I was on this dose not a week and lost wood. This is when I figured out going to low you lose wood. And the longer your too low the longer it takes to get levels back up.

I stopped the arimidex right away and got my wood back in 4 days. I then after playing with the dose for a time found the best dose is .25mgs every 2 to 3 days.

So lets say your labs are less the 50 pg/ml if your take .5 mgs you can go down so dam fast your miss the sweet spot of your wood and go to low. It’s best with lower levels 50 and under to do less Arimidex .25mgs every 2 days if later your lose wood when it comes back go to every 3 days.

I have found estradiol is the hardest hormone to control, it goes up or down from month to month some times I need .25mgs every 2 days other times I need .25mgs everyday most of the time I do well on every 3 days.

So between wood and labs I do great and so do most of the men I have told this to. I keep a log on how much I am taking and how I feel. Doing this and reading back in my log I was able to tell when I was going to high or to low my Dr. lets me dose my arimidex by how I feel.

Over the yrs. I have posted this story until I am blue in the face.

[billy3z]

Right now as we speak, I have no problem with libido or getting it up…. I havent really paid attention to if I am having morning wood or not, I will have to keep an eye on that right now… Im kind of in a rock and a hard place right now cuz the adex i have is dosed at 1mg capsules.. In the beginning when i started trt i did not use the adex for a good 2 months then at about week 9 I started having nipple tenderness and I added the adex (1mg) on every day that I took a shot (mon/thurs)… I also ran a quick dose of nolva @ 20mg for about 10 days until the tenderness disappeared then I stop the nolva and continued with the adex. So now I am about 4 months in to my trt and I havent had any sexual problems as far as performing or getting it up… Hopefully on my next visit to my trt doc I can see if I can get smaller dose capsules of adex.. I do however have exemestane 25mg tabs on hand as well.. I once played around with them about a year ago during a cycle just to try out and they crashed my e2 levels as I was having very bad joint pain (I think I used 12.5mg eod)….

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