I'm pretty sure my nuts are fried after 6+ years of TRT.... Here's my story.
About 8 years ago I had my test levels checked after a friend of mine suggested I have it done and my total test was around 200. I was 30 y.o., 6ft, around 280lbs and was constantly feeling like crap. The doctor recommended putting me on TRT (Cypionate) .5ml 2x a week. I started on that and felt great, started working out more, and eventually ended up losing around 60lbs and felt like I was on top of the world. Fast forward 5 years, i'm married now and want to have a kid with my wife. I tell the doctor this and he very nonchalantly recommends I go on hCG and in about 3 months I should be "good to go". So 3 months go by, I have blood work done and my test levels are in the high 600s. He tells me everything looks great and I should be conceiving in no time. Well, 6 months go by and nothing yet, so he recommends I do a seamen analysis. We get the results and it's literally zero. Right around now is when I start noticing that i'm feeling like crap again and the weight is really starting to come back on. He says it's unrelated to anything and increases the dose of hCG from 2000iu 2X a week to 2500iu 2X a week. Another 6 months go by and still zero seamen count, still good blood work results, and still packing on the pounds. He increases the doses of hCG to 3000iu 2X a week and starts talking about the possibility of taking a seamen sample via in injection into my testicles if in 3 months we still have no results.
It's now been 3 years of trying to conceive and my doctor claims that the lack of results have anything to do with my 6 years of being on TRT. I remind him that I have a 9 year old child and that one point in my life (before being on TRT) I was able to conceive just fine. I have asked about my 60lbs weight gain since I was put on hCG and my very high estridol levels and he says that it has nothing to do with being on hCG. I've started doing some research on my own and find that there is just too much out there for me to form a viable solution for the next steps. a year ago I stopped taking the hCG and figured If I came everything that hopefully my seamen count would return to normal (since the hCG was clearly doing nothing for me). I definitely felt like crap for the first month but I noticed that my testicles returned back to normal size and so did my seamen volume. I was starting to become hopeful that things were returning back to normal and that my seamen count would also. I had another analysis done earlier this week and we got the results back..... zero. Literally zero. I told my doctor I was off of hCG and that I started feeling normal again and he said I need to go back on it. I just feel stuck. Damned if I do, damned if i dont.
My hope is that I can avoid having needles stuck in my testicles and that I can somehow figure out how to get my count back up naturally. I really need someone out there to give me there opinion on what exactly is wrong here. Part of my problem is that this doctor is very well known in my area and when i've tried to get a second opinion, other doctors say they typically just refer patience to my current doctor. Some of the things i've suggested to him have been trying a different medication other than hCG, like perhaps clomid. I've suggested taking a look at my estridol levels and why i'm gaining so much weight and have zero motivation. He says none of those things will change anything and says we can either increase the hCG dose or go the surgical route.
I finally got connected with an actual fertility doctor in my area 9 months ago and he looked at my history and recommended hCG + clomid. I get on that protocol and go in for a semen analysis around month 6. Zero... So here we are today. around 3 years of hCG and the last 9 months were hCG+Clomid. Lab results show my LH and FSH are within normal range. So when I mention to him that "hMG sounds like it will help me" he always replies that my levels look good and that hMG or Gonal F would only be doing the same thing that i'm already doing. Does anyone have any advice??
I'm scheduled for the surgery for next month, but honestly i'm not very confident that it's going to prove successful. My testicles are not as full and large as they were before I started TRT and I'm afraid that they are just completely fried.
Anyone.... please....
About 8 years ago I had my test levels checked after a friend of mine suggested I have it done and my total test was around 200. I was 30 y.o., 6ft, around 280lbs and was constantly feeling like crap. The doctor recommended putting me on TRT (Cypionate) .5ml 2x a week. I started on that and felt great, started working out more, and eventually ended up losing around 60lbs and felt like I was on top of the world. Fast forward 5 years, i'm married now and want to have a kid with my wife. I tell the doctor this and he very nonchalantly recommends I go on hCG and in about 3 months I should be "good to go". So 3 months go by, I have blood work done and my test levels are in the high 600s. He tells me everything looks great and I should be conceiving in no time. Well, 6 months go by and nothing yet, so he recommends I do a seamen analysis. We get the results and it's literally zero. Right around now is when I start noticing that i'm feeling like crap again and the weight is really starting to come back on. He says it's unrelated to anything and increases the dose of hCG from 2000iu 2X a week to 2500iu 2X a week. Another 6 months go by and still zero seamen count, still good blood work results, and still packing on the pounds. He increases the doses of hCG to 3000iu 2X a week and starts talking about the possibility of taking a seamen sample via in injection into my testicles if in 3 months we still have no results.
It's now been 3 years of trying to conceive and my doctor claims that the lack of results have anything to do with my 6 years of being on TRT. I remind him that I have a 9 year old child and that one point in my life (before being on TRT) I was able to conceive just fine. I have asked about my 60lbs weight gain since I was put on hCG and my very high estridol levels and he says that it has nothing to do with being on hCG. I've started doing some research on my own and find that there is just too much out there for me to form a viable solution for the next steps. a year ago I stopped taking the hCG and figured If I came everything that hopefully my seamen count would return to normal (since the hCG was clearly doing nothing for me). I definitely felt like crap for the first month but I noticed that my testicles returned back to normal size and so did my seamen volume. I was starting to become hopeful that things were returning back to normal and that my seamen count would also. I had another analysis done earlier this week and we got the results back..... zero. Literally zero. I told my doctor I was off of hCG and that I started feeling normal again and he said I need to go back on it. I just feel stuck. Damned if I do, damned if i dont.
My hope is that I can avoid having needles stuck in my testicles and that I can somehow figure out how to get my count back up naturally. I really need someone out there to give me there opinion on what exactly is wrong here. Part of my problem is that this doctor is very well known in my area and when i've tried to get a second opinion, other doctors say they typically just refer patience to my current doctor. Some of the things i've suggested to him have been trying a different medication other than hCG, like perhaps clomid. I've suggested taking a look at my estridol levels and why i'm gaining so much weight and have zero motivation. He says none of those things will change anything and says we can either increase the hCG dose or go the surgical route.
I finally got connected with an actual fertility doctor in my area 9 months ago and he looked at my history and recommended hCG + clomid. I get on that protocol and go in for a semen analysis around month 6. Zero... So here we are today. around 3 years of hCG and the last 9 months were hCG+Clomid. Lab results show my LH and FSH are within normal range. So when I mention to him that "hMG sounds like it will help me" he always replies that my levels look good and that hMG or Gonal F would only be doing the same thing that i'm already doing. Does anyone have any advice??
I'm scheduled for the surgery for next month, but honestly i'm not very confident that it's going to prove successful. My testicles are not as full and large as they were before I started TRT and I'm afraid that they are just completely fried.
Anyone.... please....