I'm still working through this thread, but if you all could discuss the effects of STOPPING TRT after a couple years on it I would appreciate it. I know it is a fairly slim chance, but with the way supply chains and the economy/society are looking things could get pretty ugly fairly soon, the only thing holding me back from jumping on it now is the worry in the back of my mind that I will be a low-T trainwreck if things go south and I can't get testosterone to inject.
I may be below optimal levels, but I am still very virulent and strong af as is, don't want to ruin that in a worst case scenario that is becoming ever more likely with each passing day.
Testosterone is really simple. You get the benefits while you take it and you will lose the benefits once you stop it. The literature is very clear on that and studies where men were on testosterone and then taken off they lose the benefits within a year but then when they put them back on they once again regain the benefits. It's quite simple in that you get the benefits while you're on it. If a man decides to stop testosterone he will go back to producing what he would've been producing had he not started testosterone. It takes about an average of three months for that to occur. I've never seen a man or read about a man in any study that was permanently shut down by taking just testosterone. You can see this with men that abuse multiple anabolic steroids and other substances though
That is a very reasonable and correct statement
Following up on the sperm production question: Assuming an individual has been on TRT for several years sans HCG, etc., is it safe to assume they’re firing blanks?
I know there’s a medical “You should always wrap it up” and “there are no guarantees,” line around here somewhere, but fertility doctors readily admonish men for taking TRT if they’re trying to knock up the old lady. This means there must be some pretty standard data out there.
For those of us who don’t want to knock up our wives, girlfriends, mistresses, or the Tijuanan whore we paid $20 for at our buddy’s bachelor party… What does male fertility look like with prolong TRT use?
Doc, can you expand on the utility of DHT, since raising testosterone would lead to a DHT increase (assuming the man in question has 5-alpha reductase available to act upon the testosterone)? Does DHT do certain things that testosterone can't do - or does it do some things better than T? My elementary understanding is that DHT is the more potent of the two.
Guys have widely varying opinions on finasteride for hair loss (typically 1 mg) or enlarged prostate (typically 5 mg), which inhibits the conversion of testosterone to DHT. One guy here is strongly against it: Penile Implants but I lack the background in this to stake an opinion.
Regards,
Taking testosterone will inhibit spermatogenesis making it very difficult to get someone pregnant but not impossible. It is therefore not a guaranteed form of birth control. If a man that has been on testosterone for years wants to become fertile again then the first step would be to add human chorionic gonadotropin injections to regain spermatogenesis. I hope that answers your question
The reference ranges should be called the “average ranges”. In Europe things are just as bad as in the US.
The lab of my local hospital has updated its ranges for total testosterone since december 2020 (and the average patient doesn’t even know it changed):
Man < 50j: 197,58 - 669,58 ng/dL
Man >= 50j: 187,72 - 684,19 ng/dL
Yeah, you read that correctly: below 200ng/dL is not considered deficiënt and from 670ng/dL and up is considered supraphysiological, except of course if you are over the age of 50, because we all know testosterone goes up as we age. So I am sorry, Dr. Nichols but since old men are more likely to die of cvd and apparently have higher testosterone than young guys, we shouldn’t be on TRT or TOT but rather on TAT (testosterone avoidance therapy).
In all seriousness: Thank you, Dr. Nichols, for sharing your knowledge! Your last podcast with Rippetoe being a prime example. I have learned a great deal from you and Dr. Rouzier, just by listening to podcasts and seminars from you two that are available for free on the web.
This might be helpful to others who have a total testosterone measurement in the upper 200s to low 300s and would like their insurance to cover TRT, but insurance refuses unless it is below the “reference range”. There was a study of the Metformin medication that shows lots of positive benefits to using the medication long term. Two of the downsides to using it is that it makes building muscle more difficult and it lowers your testosterone levels by 80 points on average over 3 months.
It does in fact seem to work counter to your body being able to recover, only taking 500 mg for two weeks, from what I have found. However after doing this for just two weeks it has lowered my total testosterone from 264 to 225. I’m going to do one other blood test and then get off of this, since that will provide evidence of two low measurements giving the insurance company what they want to cover TRT. All told I will only have been on the medication for about 3 weeks to get my two low measurements and then get off the medication, so that I can return to making progress in the gym.
To get the prescription I simply went to AgelessRx and after filling out a quick 15 minute form and waiting about a week or so got the prescription paying cash for $90 for a 3 month supply. I wanted to keep insurance out of the loop in paying for this in case they are smart enough to take the testosterone lowering effect of this medication into account for approval. This might be a workaround for many on these boards struggling with low testosterone, that is not low enough. It sure feels good getting insurance to pay for what they should be paying for anyways.