Testosterone Replacement Therapy

F

FireFighter

New Member
Just curious if anyone has tried one of a hundred on-line places that do the TRT. Any good or bad reviews. I have a doctor that's about 1.5 hours from me that does it, but if the on-line is just as good and the same price then it may be easier.

Just trying to find some info
 
I'm on HRT from a local endo, but I'm a member of enough messages boards and have read enough posts to offer the following recommendation:

If you've got insurance, stay local.

Those HRT clinics do NOT take insurance, they will require the necessary bloodwork for $hundreds and a consultation fee of $hundreds and if you qualify (maybe even if you don't qualify from what I read you can still get HRT) they will mail order your meds to your home at a premium price. The one called "Oasis" seems to have gotten good reviews.

So, yes you can do it but it's going to set you back many hundreds of dollars to start with.

My insurance covers the blood work, endo appointments, but NOT the testosterone cypionate though they did cover the much more expensive Androgel and Testim; which seems ridiculous to me because 10 grams/day of those two run about $500 month while T-cyp runs about $25/month. So after my deductible, it's pretty much running me $30/month for any of them.

Even if your doc is 1.5 hours away, you only need to see him every 6 months for blood work updates so that shouldn't be a big problem.
 
I am on it. The problem is that most endos are clueless about HRT for men. Mine first started me on 150mg of test e every 3 weeks! That is way too low. Lucky for me I did my homework and knew it was low. I found a doc who is literally one of the top HRT docs in the world and took a trip out of state to see him. He has put me on a program. Chances are an local endo won't put you on HCG which is dirt cheap and keeps your nuts from shrinking to the size of peanuts. They will also be much less likely to use things like estrogen blockers which means you could end up with man boobs.

My program looks like this

150mg of test cyp every week
500iu HCG weekly
.5 mg Arimidex every 3 days
25mg dhea twice a day

Lemme know if I can help you with any of this. PM me if you want. Oasis is a pretty good clinic to work with. Or I can give you my docs name. You can either make a trip to see him for the first time and then everything else can be done remotely or he can work with your primary care doc to put together a plan.
 
I seem to have a problem with my doctor so I'm thinking I'm going to be looking for a new one. He doesn't like to give meds and I have a HMO. So to get even a reference may be next to impossible. Heck, I asked him for a blood test to check my cholesterol, which he had checked a year prior and he told me it wasn't necessary, I was young enough and health enough. If anyone knows any good primary physicians in the Flint, MI area I'd be grateful to hear it. Also if anyone knows anyone who does HRT closer to me I'd be grateful for that too.

Thanks for the great info guys
 
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(Spyke @ Jul. 13 2006,21:36)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">My program looks like this

150mg of test cyp every week
500iu HCG weekly
.5 mg Arimidex every 3 days
25mg dhea twice a day</div>
Spyke,

I'm a little surprised Doc Crisler has you on .5 mg Arimidex every 3 days, seeing as how you're only on 150 mg T-cyp weekly. I've seen a lot of guys use 200 mg/weekly T-cyp and not need an anti-estrogen.

What's your total/free T-levels at with this regimen?

Did your Estradiol test too high and you got the Arimidex to lower it?
 
total test is 647 and free test is 2.8 before starting HCG and DHEA. I would guess that I am in the 800 ball park now that I have been on everything for a while.

Yeah my estrogen levels were 4.1 I think. Limit is something like 3.4. Arimidex is just to bring it down and keep it in check.

Here is the thing about TRT. Everyone will respond differently so find a good doc who understands HRT and is willing to customize is a must.
 
I'm on TRT for secondary hypogonadism, idiopathic (that's medicalese for &quot;we can't figure out why your pituitary and balls aren't talking to each other&quot;).

My DHEA has always been very high, and the doc things there's a missing enzyme, but anyway.  I'm in the 600's with daily Androgel or test. cream prescribed by the doctor (Crisler, mentioned by Spyke, as a matter of fact).  I have two kids (with the help of clomind thank you very much) and we don't plan any more, so I don't need my balls to work anymore, I guess.

My doc does not take insurance, but my insurance gives me about 50% back as they just consider him &quot;out of network&quot;.  Insurance pays for all of the labs.  Fortunately Quest will be insurance directly.  I only have to get labs about twice a year.  They always get confused because my doc doesn't have whatever magic number they say they need to accept his &quot;order&quot;.  Gotta just figure out how to work the system.  I pay $250 a month into my insurance, so they sure as heck better pay for this stuff.
 
I had a question, how is this different from AAS? Is it just that TRT restores your levels to &quot;normal&quot;, while AAS boosts it to unnatural levels?
 
Peak, that's about it. I have two questions for ya guys...did your libido come up with the HRT much, and does anyone know of a clinic around Atlanta? The VA won't even talk to me about HRT so far.
 
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(Peak_Power @ Aug. 23 2006,21:14)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I had a question, how is this different from AAS? Is it just that TRT restores your levels to &quot;normal&quot;, while AAS boosts it to unnatural levels?</div>
Also, TRT is prescribed by a doctor and therefore is legal. AAS is not legal... well, at least not in the USA.
 
Could TRT be used by someone, legally, to boost testostorone levels to an unnatural levels (ie. if they abused it or took more than the prescribed amount etc)? Are there strict controls against this happening? (I hear Ronnie heading to the doctors now..)
smile.gif
 
I know of a few guys who &quot;accidentally&quot; used the wrong dosage during TRT for about 16 weeks or so before going down to a normal dosage. Not really sure how it works out legally or with their doctors. Maybe they just claimed to have dropped a vial on the floor so they could get more of them?
 
It helps. I have a medical problem where TRT is part of the treatment. Yes, getting your test up to normal will give you a big advantage over where you were at if you were abnormally low. If you are normal, what's the point - you will just suppress your own endogenous test level and replace it. By making you normal it will give you results in the gym that you deserve because of all your hard work instead of just wasting your time.

Going beyond what is needed to take you to normal levels is illegal and no doc will do it. They would simply get into too much trouble.

You don't have to go to an endo for TRT, any physician who is willing can prescribe it. Lots of blood work and testing is involved. It is expensive. Gear is cheaper but then you run the risk of going afoul of the law.

Yes libido improves but if there are other ED problems, it won't solve them. You've got to get the cialis to go with the test in that case.

If you've got a normal test level - don't bother with TRT because it would be a waste of money.
 
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(vagrant @ Aug. 24 2006,12:04)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">If you've got a normal test level - don't bother with TRT because it would be a waste of money.</div>
What about &quot;low-normal&quot;. Last time I had it checked, my numbers were in the low 300's. I wonder if it might be worth looking into. The only problem I have, medically, with TRT is the possibility that it might make the prostate more prone to enlargement. The older males in my family (65+ yr old) have a bit of a problem, though no cancers or anything.

I think I read in one forum where a guy has some progesterone mixed in with it for this reason..
 
TRT replaces your body's own testosterone production, but under the doctor's direction, it keeps you in normal (hopefully high-normal) range. It took me a while to find a doctor that would put me on it because many say that &quot;barely normal&quot; (e.g. high 200's) is still normal. I had to travel across a couple state lines to get to my TRT doctor, but that was worth it.
 
What symptoms would you have if you had low test levels? I'm pretty sure I don't as I put on muscle fairly easily (noticing results and weight gain after just 2 weeks), but as you said if I was low-normal then I'd least want to know.
 
I'm about the same as Tradnyx. Low normal and the doc thinks I'm okay as is. But that doesn't help me sleep, a low libido, slow healing, feeling worn out all the time and so forth. But for me, I don't have insurance or a lot of money to try a bunch of doctors. It's also VERY hard to gain muscle with low test, henceforth my interest in HRT, or TRT as some are calling it.
 
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