Finally Starting TRT - 8 Months Post Operation

It's been a real journey in terms of how I feel. There have been ups and downs for sure and I know I am very blessed to have what I have, even if I am not optimal at this moment. There is nothing wrong with trying to feel and be better, to optimise ones health not just for the body but also the mind.

I was fortunate enough to have my appointment with my endocrinologist moved up a couple of weeks and the appointment went well. My doctor was concerned with my low Testosterone and enlightened me that some of the heart drugs I am taking can also affect Testosterone production making it low. This was news to me! I am not sure if this was a big contributor but it is worth mentioning...

As my Testosterone has been fluctuating between 1 and 1.2 nmol/L I have been put on a TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy) to get me to a target range of 20 nmol/L which will hopefully allow me to feel a lot better and get my life back.

I am not looking for huge muscle gains from the TRT as a level like this is right about in the middle of what is natural and normal. Rather I just want to feel good and have more motivation and energy so I can do the work it takes to achieve the fitness level I aspire to.

So here we are at the beginning of my TRT! in this video I talk  more about the specifics and also show you what I am looking at these days, could be a lot worse for sure but hoping to make some improvements over time...

 

Going Off TRT - Is it a Good Idea

One question I get asked a lot about TRT is about getting off of TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy), So when someone is asking me if they should stop taking TRT. My usual answer is why did they get on it in the first place. if it was because they had low Testosterone and/or symptoms of low Testosterone, then would coming off be such a good idea? What are the chances that all of a sudden their Testosterone levels would go back to normal healthy ranges when they did not have good overall Testosterone levels before going on TRT?

Of course there are other reasons people go on Testosterone and going off may be a good idea for them for health reasons depending on how long they have been on and how much they may or may not have abusing Testosterone.

In this Video I discuss this topic in some detail and answer the question about if going off TRT is a good idea or not.

 

7 Months Post Operation - Short Term TRT

Here we are just over 7 month post Open Heart Valve replacement back in January of this year. If you have been following my journey then you will know I am doing pretty good overall considering I almost died. My Testosterone levels on the other hand are almost non existent as I have been completely off of TRT since early January. My last bloodwork results came in at 1 nmol/L which is lower than some women.

In my last video I talked about hoping on a quick round of Testosterone to get some of my life back as I was really struggling in many areas but my main concern is how that will affect my upcoming bloodwork right before seeing an endocrinologist. My plan was to get on something fast acting that is in my system in and out quickly so I can come off of it about two weeks before and hopefully not affect my bloodwork too much but it will no matter what.

In this video I talk about all of this and go into more detail about what I am doing and how it has affected me.

 

No TRT For Me! - What's Next?

Last video I mentioned that my doctor wanted me to go one more month to see if my natural Testosterone levels would bounce back at all and then the way I understood it, we would look at the possibility of me going on TRT. Well that's not how it turned out. My Testosterone levels from my most recent bloodwork show that they have dropped again by a fair bit and rather than bouncing back it looks like my Testosterone is just crashing harder now, almost 7 months after quitting TRT cold turkey back in January.

So when I had my latest doctor consultation I was expecting we were going to talk about a game plan on what kind of TRT we should consider but instead my doctor wants me to see a hormone specialist which will not be for another couple more months... That was a hard pill to swallow "yah I know" as the last month has been a real challenge and I was hoping some relief was coming soon, but that is not the case. Another two more months of this and then maybe my new specialist will put me on some sort of TRT program?

To be honest I am at my wits end and all I want it is to feel normal. I have been doing everything the right way and not trying to produce an outcome that I am looking for, but I feel enough is enough and sometimes you need to take your personal health into your own hands ( I am not condoning or recommending anything). That said, I am contemplating getting on a fast acting Testosterone for a month just to get me through to my specialist appointment but the problem is that is going to affect my bloodwork to some degree, even if I make sure to get my Testosterone levels back down to their low level before my bloodwork, I am sure a hormone specialist would be on to me looking at all the bloodwork results. I will most likely just tell my specialist what I did as they need to know what is going on to be able to figure out a plan moving forward, I do hope they will see my 6 months of being off TRT and come to a conclusion that my natural Testosterone is probably not coming back.

Well what do you think I should do? Tuff it out or do what I need to do to get my mental and physical health back?

 

Road to Recovery - 4 Months Off TRT

In this video I talk openly about what I feel like being off TRT 100% for 4 months. As many of you know I had major heart issues that I became aware of in early January 2023 resulting in my having to have open heart surgery to replace my Aortic Valve and a portion of the artery above it. This was a result of a genetic defect I was born with.

Because of this I stopped all hormone therapy 100% and at the moment I am getting blood work to check on my Testosterone levels to see where they are at after several years of being on TRT. As expected my Testosterone is not very high now being off TRT but surprisingly better than I thought it would be. I will being getting my Testosterone checked out again in a couple of weeks to see where I am at and then have a discussion with my doctor to see what may be the best course of action moving forward...

I also talk a lot in this video about how I am personally feeling and how this is effecting me now that my testosterone is very low as compared to when I was on TRT.