TRT for a recovering anorexic

[luke77]

Hello everyone,
I have been reading through the archives of this forum and have come across a number of threads dealing with testosteron replacement therapy, and reading these threads has actually raised a few questions in my mind. I am currently recovering from anorexia (yes, I'm a guy btw) and my testosterone levels were quite low (about 85 - I'm not sure what units this is in). My doctor prescribed androderm 5mg and upped it to 10mg after two weeks when my levels had not improved to a significant degree. After several weeks at this dose my levels stabilized at about 470 and have been at this level for a few months. I know that 470 is within the normal realm but I still have symptoms of low T such as slow beard growth, lack of sexual desire, etc. - although all of these symptoms have improved somewhat since being on TRT. I am considering asking my doc to up my dose further in order to get my level into the higher range of normal...but I am semi-concerned about the long-term health benefits of doing so.

First, I have read that with trt there is the risk of further supressing the body's natural t production (possibly permanently). Would increasing the dose increase this risk? I know that my doctor expects that my natural t production will eventually return to normal (because it was caused by inadequate nutrition) and I'm worried that increasing the dose will inhibit this. At the same time though, I have been at a healthy weight for about 4 months now and my natural production has not increased...is it possible that it will never recover, no matter what?

The second question I have has to do with other tests. On a previous thread someone suggested that another guy with low testosterone go on a short run of clomid or nolva in order to test...something - the discussion was a little over my head. I was just wondering if this is something I should explore/ask my doctor about. My doctor is a good doctor and very competent, but I know that most general physicians aren't experts in endocrinology, and this is why I am asking for advice from you guys. I don't want to push for a greater dose of testosterone and end up totally screwing up my body, but at the same time I would really like to increase the dose to help with my energy, sex drive, etc. Thank you very much in advance for any help, suggestions, or comments.

Luke

 

[HeadDoc]

welcome aboard. Suggest you start by reading Swale's stickies: Receipe for success and Labs I run to start.

 

[Weatherlite]

Exogenous (provided from outside the body) Testosterone will always suppress natural T production to some extent regardless of the dose. Going higher will only supress it further. Also, if I recall, most docs don't want to go over 10g of gel/day. If you need more they usually like to go with a shot. Of course, you need to make sure you are spreading that gel over a sufficient area. Too little skin won't absorb all of the T.

As for your problem...it really depends on the individual. Some will ecover easily. Others never will. First thing is to make sure you have a healthy diet (which I assume you do since you say you are at a healthy weight). Also, you need to be sure that you are getting enough fats. T is produced from cholesterol and if you have an extremely low fat diet the body can't produce T efficiently.

As for the Clomid, what they were referring to is a trial to see if your HPTA (basically your ability to produce the necessary hormones in the body) is still capable of functioning normally. Clomid has been shown to stimulate certain sections of the body to help produce T. I don't know a lot about it though.

When SWALE shows up I'm sure he'll be able to elaborate. Until then, I would re-read that thread about the Clomid. If I recall it had a lot of good advice on how to help get that guy's system started back up.

And BTW, I don't think being on the gel is the best idea for a long term solution. All you are doing is supressing your own production. It may be possible to gradually lower the dose to try to convince your body to start producing again. But, I'm not a doc. Search around on here. I'd bet that the answer is out there somewhere.

 

[Douche_Nutz]

SWALE, could you comment on this old thread?

 

[Cryptochid]

Luke
Interesting with the anorexia. in 1997 I went from 57kg down to 41kg and didnt get a diagnosis, nor any treatment.

Earlier this year I went onto androderm starting at 5mg. It dropped my T level from 23 down to 13 in a week and I decided to up it to 10mg for 4 days. The test results came back somewhat high @ 31, so the dr suggested 7.5mg which worked out well levelling off at 23 again.

The problem was it caused 10% weight loss for me. I went from 63kg down to 57kg over 4 months.

For me, I didnt find the androderm very successful in weight control, infact the opposite results to sustanon.

Has this weight fluctuation been your experience?