Does Androgel suppress natural test levels?

[DieTrying]

I'm getting two conflicting opinions from my doctor and an endocrinologist that HE referred me to

My doc wrote me a script for Androgel b/c my levels came in around 300 and I've been having trouble with libido. So he sends me to an endocrinologist who tells me to come off the Androgel b/c I will end up needing to use it my whole life if I continue to use it. He also said that 300 wasn't that low.

I'm confused but the last thing I want to do is supress my natural levels. I really didn't think Androgel was powerful enough to have THAT much of an effect.

 

[Matt Muscle]

Yes ANDROGEL can certainly suppress your natural levels.

 

[Mmartin]

I really don't understand why so many doctors hold the belief that exogenous testosterone will not shut down endogenous production, but then again I guess I'm not a doctor .

I digress - Androgel (or any exogenous testosterone) will have some impact on natural production, though I don't believe it's an "all or nothing" deal unless the time frame is long and/or the exogenous supply is large.

Maybe some more knowledgeable members could chime in here?

 

[Weatherlite]

Ok, here's an example. Say your body produces 300 T normally. Your LH is 3 points higher than it should be. This is indicitive of primary hypogonadism. LH production is increased as far as the pituitary will allow. 300 is all you can get.

Now, you add in ANY kind of exogenous T. If you only add enough to get your T to 350 then I seriously doubt that there would be much suppression of natural T production. Why? Because (hypothetically speaking) your body is trying to get your T to 500. When you add enough T to go OVER 500 then shut down will start. What's interesting about it is that once you go over 500 natural production slows so now you may only be at 400. Body says "HUH?" and adds a bit more LH. Kinda fluctuates. BUT, it may never fully reach 500 again. So, now your levels are lower still so you have to add a little more T. Well, a little less LH is produced and the cycle continues. This will continue until your LH is nearly non-existent. However, your T will be in the proper range.

No I used 500 as an arbitrary number. Perhaps your body wants 500...perhaps 800. Who knows. The point is that once you satisfy the body's need for T exogenously the natural production will cease until you stop. BUT, it may not come back as strong as it was before.

300 is not a good number IMO. You could benefit from higher numbers than that. Just remember this though. HRT IS FOR LIFE!!!! You don't cycle this. You don't come off of it to allow your system to function once in a while. The only people who go on HRT and then come off a while later are those who un-naturally suppressed their GOOD T production through the abuse of T or through some other mechanism such as an extremely low fat diet for an extended period.

If your normal T level is truly that low then you probably need HRT.

 

[Astrozombie]

It certainly could, but there is no guarantee that it will surpress your natural levels. In theory you are adding the hormone that your body produces naturally and by adding additional amounts your body could react by not producing as much naturally. This is why your Dr. is correct in saying that for most HRT becomes a lifelong treatment.

You may want to talk to him about some other treatments before trying HRT. HCG may be an option to help your natural production kick in at a higher rate.

 

[DieTrying]

Thanx for the help guys...but I'm still a little unsure about what to do. I have 2 Dr.s telling me different things.

 

[cpeil2]

Thanx for the help guys...but I'm still a little unsure about what to do. I have 2 Dr.s telling me different things.

There's always the "wait and see" approach. You suspect that your T level may be low because you've been on a stringent low-fat diet for an extended period, and you're pretty young. So you could be one of those whose level would rebound with passage of time. You could just do nothing for a few more weeks or months and retest to see where your baseline is, and then decide.

 

[MikeHeavypecs]

I've found something very interesting. I've been on Androderm patches for about 5 years now (primarily to help build muscle mass at my age - (now 50). My balls have shrunken to raisen size, HOWEVER, every time I take Gaspari's Novadex XT, they get much larger and hang alot lower. This leads me to wonder if I will really have to have HRT the rest of my life or will my system recover without the patches....

Mike

 

[pmgamer18]

You are a young man and need to know why your levels are low before going on TRT. You need to find a good Dr. like Dr. John and have every kind of test done to be sure it is not your Diet or a tomur. You can use Dr. John with your Doc. to do this if you can't find a good one. The Endo is out to lunch to say 300 is good the man is nuts.
Here are some links to help you out.
http://www.aace.com/clin/guidelines/hypogonadism.pdf
SECOND URL EDITED BY SWALE: WE DO NOT PROMOTE ONLINE PHARMACIES HERE. THANK YOU.
Also read SWALE's TRT: A Recipe for Success the Sticky above.
There are to many Dr. that do know how to treat or test for Low T.
I know a young man that had a low infection and this made his T levels go down. This made him feel worse he found a good Dr. and they fixed the infection and he is fine now no TRT needed.
You never know.
Phil

 

[buck]

1 month after using androgel I had tests done and my LH and FSH were basically undetectable. So no LH no T being produced, or very little.

 

[Viper1]

I'm also a little confused. My T level was 606 early this month but I feel so bad right now. Went to the doctor today to review my blood test and he said that all of my numbers were normal. But I pointed out to him that my T level in Nov. 2004 was 1157 and now it had fallen to 606. He asked if I wanted to try Androgel to add more and I said yes. I haven't gotten the script filled yet. If it is going to hurt my natural production of T, do I need to go ahead and try it?

 

[Mmartin]

Viper - That's a difficult call to make. A level of 606 is definitely not horrible (assuming the range of ~290-900), and I would guess that many on HRT reach that level only after beginning their therapy.
BUT, everybody is different, and perhaps you naturally require a larger amount of testosterone to feel your best.
That said, it's difficult to predict how your body would react to the androgel; everybody responds differently. There would almost certainly be some sort of supression of your natural production, though the extent of this supression is impossible to predict.
I would suggest one or two more blood tests to ascertain an average for your personal hormone levels.


Going to need some more experienced members to chime in here.

 

[SWALE]

1). HPTA suppression is a sliding scale. Any and all androgen will suppress you to some extent.

2). Everyone is different.

If you have been severely diet-restricted I would certainly want you to let 'er ride for a bit to see how things settle out.

The Endocrinologist acts as if he is treating a laboratory printout, NOT a real, live patient. He has no appreciation for the differences in health and happiness between the first and fourth quartiles for testosterone "normal range". Moreso, he should know that 300 is just way too low for a man your age.

Total Testosterone levels are extremely unreliable. You need to get a Total, Free, Bio T and SHBG levels, and correlate between them before you can trust the Total T.

 

[DieTrying]

Well I've been told to come off of the Androgel, wait a month, then have blood-work to see if my natural profiles have improved since my last test. So my next question is, can I just come off Androgel cold or do I need some sort of PCT (nolva,clomid)? I've been using Androgel for about 6 weeks.

 

[cpeil2]

I stopped a transdermal after about the same amount of time - cold. I felt sub-par for about a week - achey joints, etc. Not hard to tolerate. I'm a lot older than you, so it might be easier for you.

 

[pmgamer18]

I have had to stop many times cold but in your case change your diet and then after a week or two stop the gel cold. And see how it goes.
Phil

 

[SWALE]

If you use some kind of "PCT" you will not be testing your own system. The labs drawn in a month will be the result of artificially supported hormone levels.