Older Guys Can Ya Give Me Some Input?

Thank you for your input. Experiences like this is what I was hoping to learn from. Good to hear that your body recovered and corrected T level. I had a cardiologist look me straight in the eye and said just because you are fit doesnt mean you are healthy.

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If you think you’re feeling a little down now, wait until you go on TRT for a couple months and then try to stop. TRT is a little like thyroid medication: you are committed to taking it for a very long time. Probably forever.

I’m not a proponent of taking exogenous testosterone in any form. Ask your doc, ‘What happens if I do nothing? What happens if I just take an aromatase inhibitor instead?’

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FWIW. Are you seeing an endocrinologist? My wife works for the medical board. Unless you have a medical condition, testosterone hormone therapy is off label use and there is no standard of care. Which is a fancy way of saying your doctor might be applying bro science. I’m ok if somebody calls me out on those words. Something to think about.

I’m a few years older and starting Feb 2020 did the following:

  • increased resistance training
  • dropped doing TR intensity and moved to another respected training companies off-the-shelf plan averaging ~8-10 hours/week on the bike

Within 4 months my performance increased over two years of TR. My resting heart has dropped from 71 to 63 over the last year. I’m stronger and more durable. The ‘equipment’ down there is working better than anytime in 5-10 years. And in the last few months I’ve been slowly shedding some of the excess weight. I’d recommend trying that route over T, but hey it’s your body, your call.

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Have any of you tried any over the counter natural testosterone boosters? Maybe that could be something harmless @tx246 could try in addition to weight training and a bit of rest from endurance sports for a short period?

I’m taking 5000 IUs per day. Lots of alternative doctors are recommending this much since a solid D level (like 40 to 50) correlates with lower incidence of severe covid. If you get regular D testing you can keep adjusting your intake until you get into the 40-50 range.

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A little sun on your face is hardly any exposure at all to increase levels. Summer riding though helps with leg exposure.

The best thing you can do is to lay out in your swim suit if you can and get full body rays. I’ll lay out 10-15 minutes per day when I can (even in the spring, summer, or winter when possible). It’s just enough for a vitamin D boost with no risk of burning. It’s also good for mood.

I also think that D supplementation is not the same as getting it made from UV exposure. Research is showing that UV may be good for the heart. It’s good for T levels.

Google, “boost testosterone levels naturally” and you’ll come up with things like weight lifting, sleep, sunshine, and eating adequate protein. Athletes need a lot of protein to support training.

For the ED: Get some samples or a script from your doc for some cialis or equivalent. Just try it.

It’s really a huge deal to remove the anxiety of not being able to achieve or maintain an erection. I took adderall for a year in my late 30’s…it caused lasting vascular constriction. Cialis let me not have to think about it, not obsess over my dick status and be able to pay attention to my wife instead. Liberating.

I live in the NW of England and after supplementing all summer with 1000IU a day I still only had just barely sufficient VitD to be OK. I now take 2000iU per day all year round. The official daily maximums are basically both a guess and a joke. Vitamin D is particularly essential during this pandemic.
https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/04/28/covid-update-focus-on-vitamin-d/

Re: Vitamin D - you should supplement if you are not getting regular sun on your skin. My blood pressure dropped from about ~135/80 to ~110/70 within a few months when I reduce my consumption of meat/dairy/eggs/fish to around 1-2 servings per week, and has remained in that range. There is lots of research to showing that reducing saturated fat can reduce blood pressure. There is also a connection (backed by research) between saturated fat and ED, so look into this, and consider cutting most saturated fat (animal products, coconut oil, margarine etc) from your diet.

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FWIW I also have low T and know what your going thru…point blank it sucks without treatment. It’s good that your doing research before jumping right into something like TRT as there could be other factors like stress and over training driving your T into the toilet. Luckily for us endurance sports are known to lower T levels, so we got that going for us. You might want to consider getting off the bike for several months and hitting the weights hard. Lifting heavy is known to increase T production and might just do the trick. Also be sure to find a doctor that specializes in this stuff, don’t go to a GP for this. At a minimum to see and endo, preferable one that specializes in the reproductive system. Any good doctor should also order an MRI of your pituitary before starting you on any HRT.

The low T levels you stated are total T and are not really relevant, free T is where it’s at. It is actually possible to have low total T and normal Free T is you have low SHBB (which I happen to have). This low SHBG made my first few months on TRT interesting. My levels were thru the roof before we dramatically lowered my dosage and switched to injections 3 times per week. For the past year I have been off injections and switched over to an off lable drug called chlomid. It is a female fertility drugs and in men it stimulates the pituitary glad to release LH and signal the testicles to make T. This is much better than injections IMO but this treatment is not for everyone.

As soon as its in the 70s Im without a shirt plenty. Live not very far from the lake. Sail and windsurf along with cycling. I am constantly getting grief from the wife about skin cancer. (Had to do the chemo on the face and scalp last winter…not fun). Really think Vitamin D deficiency will go away as the weather warms but will test for it. I lift quite a bit at work. I work in a meat dept. Boxes weigh 10 to 85lbs. 3 to 4000 lbs a day. Most of it is upper body and core. I have always been moody when the sun goes behind the clouds for days. I know I gotta have it. Maybe something instinctual. I really only could lose 10lbs and it would be really hard. I used to weigh 190 and now @ 173. Im only 5 7 but built like a linebacker. I have been doing my research on Test and really the two issues are centered around elevating cholesteral and prostate cancer. Having low Test doesnt cause the prostate cancer but low levels of test means low level of growth. A decided benefit. If you are taking test to achieve a normal number, the cancer growth would be the same with the natural t levels. The lipids could be tested for and kept in check with diet. Right now those levels are good.

Yes. on the pituitary. I understand benign tumors can wreck that testosterone loop. The doc Im going to is a sports medicine guy. Yes on the free test. Thats what we are looking for. The initial dosage is really low. Ive seen some stuff about chlomid. I really dont know what more I could do to lift more. Again, I work in a meat dept. Move boxes that weigh 10 to 85lbs all day. 3 to 5000lbs a day. It is mostly upper body and core. How has your body reacted to the chlomid?

Thats very encouraging. Looking at going this route.

I have watched Gamechangers several times. It has sparked thought on food in our house. I am now aware of animal protein and pitfalls. We have been doing Meatless Monday for a year now and its quite painless. We are aware of animal products and have been making the carbs/vegetables/fruit the main course and meat as more of a side. Grilled meat still smells delish. Ha. The diet modifications didnt help my BP. For years it was 135/75, but last summer it hit 140/80, then 150/90. Knew I needed to get that sorted. Not afraid of healthy fats ie avacados but do try and minimize the bad fats.

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Pro tip-Cialis specifically takes longer to take effect but lasts like 2 days. Another way to take your mind off performance. Date night with the wife tonight? Take a pill at lunch and it’s still effective the next morning…and afternoon…and evening. :slight_smile:

(and to be totally crass…you will be reminded of your teenage days, ready to cut glass!)

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Reminds me of the Richard Pryor routine of being able to cut diamonds with his boner. :joy:

Follow up for those who want to know. After completing research, I decided to go the T route. Started with once weekly. Later in the summer split the dose and took two shots. The results were encouraging from the get go. I felt better and much more normal energy levels but could still get crash days after too much exercise stress. Ability to recover was still definitely off. First part of summer I added Cialas to the bedroom and that worked remarkably well. BP in Feb was in the 150/90 range but with a 25mg dose I was soon about to pass out because it was too low. Currently I take a quarter of that 25mg a day and BP is in the 120/70 range. My training year was reduced by 100 hrs or 25%. Skipped or modiified Club group rides by making them shorter. Because I dont have a great motor these rides would be in the 275-300 TSS range. Did a big week in Or that had a 1200 TSS that buried me for 3 weeks. Currently I am doing TR LV RoadRace with AT and its going great. I did cut off the second part of build as I was concerned with the sustained intensity and restarted SSB with a new FTP. I feel training is in balance and I feel tired when I should and rest days make me feel better. Sometimes I need more rest days than I would like but thats ok. The whole time my resting HR has been in upper 40s to low 50s. Garmin Body Battery wont charge well until my resting HR shows upper 40s. In December, I missed my second shots several times and still felt normal. Dosage is half of what I started with and slowly reducing that. Natural erections have been maintained! My overactive skin issues have slowly went away as well. I am hoping to be able to eliminate the T this year.

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Before you start TRT I would first try to boost T naturally because once you start you have to take it for life : lose weight, supplement vitamin D (10000 IU/day at least since you are deficient), get enough zinc and saturated and omega 3 fats in your diet, reduce carbs and alcohol. Supplementing boron and ashwaghanda (ksm-66) and D-aspartic acid could also help

And optimize your sleep, very important too…

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Agree 100%. Do all you can to raise T naturally before you turn to Big Pharma.

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While I agree that one should exhaust all non-pharmaceutical potential solutions, the above statement is not accurate. I was on T for a while to get me past some medical issues and now have been off it since 2012. If under the care of a proper doctor you can supplement your T and then wean/taper off it.

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