23 Year-Old with Low Testosterone

[Mark Rippetoe]

But was it hardly getting out of bed or not getting out of bed at all?

He might have been pissing the bed, but I doubt it.

[HailMary]

Chubby Viking, is hiring a coach in reach, financially? If at all possible, highly recommend.

[TheChubbyViking]

GPs are generally not the folks to talk to about testosterone. Providers like Wittmer Rejuvenation Clinic and Tier 1 Health and Wellness are what you're looking for. They are equipped to discuss all the associated issues with you, including fertility and such. In my experiences with Wittmer's folks, they're not just a revolving TRT mill - they deal with you as a whole patient.

As someone who's dealt with depression most of my life, let me preface this next bit with a caveat: I am NOT saying "just suck it up and stop being depressed." As the analogy is sometimes given, that can be like telling an asthmatic "just breathe better." Rather, what I'm about to tell you is HOW to get better at functioning, even in spite of being depressed.

Structure and responsibility have always been major factors for me. As Rip's question about staying in bed gets at, I had a much harder time fighting it when I had more options to stay put, a long time ago. As many intense situations and environments teach us, it's amazing what you can do when you have no choice - military training, emergency response, having people depending on you, positive peer pressure, not having the option to bail on a hard set...these are all instructive, and help to build the mental capacity to deal with depression and stress. This is where a lot of advice here is coming from, like doing BJJ or similar - there's a liberation to the urgent, and practicing being in such situations can be very therapeutic. The external forming builds internal strength to turn intention into action.

This ties into my experience with TRT. The symptoms of low T crept up on me slowly - and I was hitting PRs during that time, too - but I was increasingly aware of depression-like symptoms growing. The big thing it gave me back was agency, and amazingly quickly. Agency is vital to dealing with...well, everything, and depression in particular. It may or may not be part of your solution, and that may change over time, but Dr. Wittmer's / Dr. Nichols's clinics can help you figure that out. The more you seize agency, the better you get at it, and the more you can function, then thrive, even in the dark.

Standard disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, etc., these are just my experiences...

But I know I'm right.

Thanks for sharing your personal experience--you seem pretty spot-on to me!

But was it hardly getting out of bed or not getting out of bed at all?

He might have been pissing the bed, but I doubt it.

Haha I was at least able to keep from soiling myself. My week consisted of being in bed for 12 hours a day and being on the couch the other 12 hours of the day. I think I left the apartment twice.

Chubby Viking, is hiring a coach in reach, financially? If at all possible, highly recommend.

Currently, no. But I will be getting a new job this summer and then it is certainly more feasible. I love Adam Martin and SS Atlanta and would love to get in there full-time.

[Jovan Dragisic]

Haha I was at least able to keep from soiling myself. My week consisted of being in bed for 12 hours a day and being on the couch the other 12 hours of the day. I think I left the apartment twice.

You shouldn’t have gone to the shrink. Get some molly or something when you get another fit.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You shouldn’t have gone to the shrink. Get some molly or something when you get another fit.

Goddammit, EVERYBODY take note: CV is now and forever a Psychiatric Patient. Don't do this to yourself.

[Jovan Dragisic]

Goddammit, EVERYBODY take note: CV is now and forever a Psychiatric Patient. Don't do this to yourself.

I think they got him pretty good. Shrinks are a bit like priests, they have a good way of rewiring your brain to make you think your every action, thought or emotion leads to some kind of hell if you don’t continue to give them money, so they can guide you down the right path.

[TheChubbyViking]

Goddammit, EVERYBODY take note: CV is now and forever a Psychiatric Patient. Don't do this to yourself.

I think they got him pretty good. Shrinks are a bit like priests, they have a good way of rewiring your brain to make you think your every action, thought or emotion leads to some kind of hell if you don’t continue to give them money, so they can guide you down the right path.

Gentlemen I hope you are being a bit tongue-in-cheek here. It is possible to wean off antidepressant medication (which I have almost finished doing) and stop seeing a psychiatrist (I have no plan to meet with him again). We may charitably disagree about whether or not the treatment path I took was best, but at the very least it worked and I am doing substantially better than I was beforehand.

I do appreciate everyone's insight into how to continue forward (unwarranted proclamations of my eternal state as "sucker" nonwithstanding, ha.) I look forward to continuing to progress in training ASAP and receiving feedback and encouragement from this forum.