I'm not following you. Rip was talking with a doctor here on this very thread???
I have been on this board for quite a few years and I have never seen Rip advocate a patient not talk to his doctor...ever.
Rip advocated an initial dose of 400mg because the guy is probably quite low and needs an initial boost to see if it will work at all. After that he will go back down to the normal dose that most people are on--if it works.
How you interpreted Rip as advocating to "throw darts" is beyond me. He is advocating a "test" to see if it works. Isn't ANY prescription from a doc initially a "test" to see if it will work?
Actually, I'm confused by what you have written.
First, I'm glad it helped you. I really am. It has helped a lot of us. That said, Rip never suggested T will "magically rid someone of the black dog for good." He said he has seen it help many people--not ALL people.
Ben...take a chill pill. Ad hominem attacks are not helping anything. Rip is arguing that it is prescribed with caution--remember the guy has presented to a doc with problems so he's not advocating sticking it in the ass of everyone who walks into his gym or into a doctor's office.
I think Rip is simply having a conversation with the good doc (and fortunately the rest of us). He simply asked why the doc doesn't prescribe T when the patient presents with depression. The doc answered he really doesn't want to because he isn't trained for it. It is an entirely reasonable question and a very reasonable answer from the Doc.
Keeping with the discussion, the link between hypothyroidism and depression in women is pretty well established (as I understand it). Doesn't it follow that men could have hormonal issues with depression as well? For men, from the link below, "There are several lines of evidence, both clinical and research, that support the idea that testosterone and similar androgens may be useful in the treatment of depressed men."
Hormone treatment of depression