HRT from family physician

din'e warrior · May 4, 2009

What do I ask my doctor for when I go in for my check up? Do I tell him all of my symptoms or do I ask him to do bloodwork?

din'e warrior · May 4, 2009

what I mean is should I tell him my symptoms and see what he does or should I just be up front and tell him what I want.

maldorf · May 4, 2009

Just be honest and tell him your symtoms and that you know about TRT and wonder if he would test your levels and see if youre low. Worst thing that can happen is he wont help, but he could refer you to an endo. An endo would be better anyhow.

finny · May 4, 2009

Most family docs are not too keen on starting people on HRT - either don't understand it or against it.

If availabe, I would ask for a referall to see an endo.

din'e warrior · May 5, 2009

Should I ask for blood tests and if they come back low ask to be referred to an endo.

sadie · May 5, 2009

i would think to just tell them the symptoms and do the blood work. if you have low test they will send you to an endocrinologist.

triathloncoach · May 5, 2009

HRT

How old are you? Many Docs don't want to hear about it unless you are 40. But the blood work isn't everything. If you find the right doc you can get treated even with normal levels. You may have normal levels, but you have all the symptoms of low test. Good luck. I know I'd love to hear how it goes. I know when I went I was shot down after the blood work came back. And I was 43 and had a "Text Book" list of symptoms.

EasyEJL · May 5, 2009

din'e warrior said:
Should I ask for blood tests and if they come back low ask to be referred to an endo.

depending on how much you are willing to pay out of pocket vs have insurance cover, you may want to go with a longevity clinic vs an endo, or at least one of the real specialty doctors who deal with mens health vs a general endo.

triathloncoach · May 5, 2009

Longevity Clinic

My friend owns one in Tampa - it's not cheap. You better have a lot of cash and be willing to accept HRT dosing.

Ivanko · May 5, 2009

If you're an athlete with any noticeable size, or even if you just have body hair, they may want to do a drug test as well as some testicle exams.

When I went to my doc for TRT, I told him my symptoms were:
1. I am lethargic and tired all the time
2. My strength sucks
3. Low sex drive
4. I gain fat easily in spite of working out

I told him that I did some research on my symptoms and think my testosterone maybe low and/or estrogen maybe high.
He agreed to check my test and estro but had some concerns. Since I was a big guy with body hair he suspected that:
1. I was on steroids and have recently came off and am now experiencing steroid induced hypogonadism and this was an attempt to get free test. (which was true)
2. I was a normal guy with no problem just trying to get a script for testosterone.
3. I had damaged my testicles and have a genuine problem.

The last thing he thought was that I had a natural case of hypogonadism that came out of nowhere.
If #1 is true, you need to know how to pass a drug test and then be prepared to grow through testicle exams to find out why your balls are small. However, more then likely you will in the end get a script like me.
If #2 is true, you will not get a script for test.
If #3 is true just tell your doc everything. You will get refereed to an endo and at least get a script for a testosterone patch or gel.

finny · May 5, 2009

Just to add to the above, most will start you with gel or pills and go from there. Last they want to do is prescribe injectable. Even if they do, they might have to administer them or your family doc - depends on the doc and the setup.

EasyEJL · May 5, 2009

finny said:
Just to add to the above, most will start you with gel or pills and go from there. Last they want to do is prescribe injectable. Even if they do, they might have to administer them or your family doc - depends on the doc and the setup.

Mine started me at 300mg/wk of cyp, arimidex .5mg EOD and hcg 500iu 2x a week from day 1.... its all about the doctor.

The gels are nice if you are a total hermit, but if you are married and have kids, its not safe.

Ivanko · May 5, 2009

EasyEJL said:
Mine started me at 300mg/wk of cyp, arimidex .5mg EOD and hcg 500iu 2x a week from day 1.... its all about the doctor.

WHAT? I'm really jealous. What were your test levels when you got tested? My doctor made me go threw so much shit just to consider TRT and my testosterone was 100 and estrogen at 90. How much is your co pay for all that?

EasyEJL · May 5, 2009

Ivanko said:
WHAT? I'm really jealous. What were your test levels when you got tested? My doctor made me go threw so much shit just to consider TRT and my testosterone was 100 and estrogen at 90. How much is your co pay for all that?

Can't recall precise #s, but test was around yours, and estrogen was over 60. LH + FSH were at bottom of measurable.

Well, see thats the only downside to this doctor. They don't directly accept insurance, so you'd have to submit for reimbursement (which I still haven't done yet). The plus side is that at least blood tests you can do directly on insurance. All the scripts have to be filled through their compounding pharmacy. So its $110 for 10ml of 200mg/ml cyp, $3 per .5mg tab for the arimidex, and $110 for 11,000 iu of HCG. not too bad considering its really pharmaceutical grade, and I can carry it on a plane as I have a prescription for it.

It took a while for me to find this doctor, I spent a lot of time talking to people on TRT. He believes in not worrying too much about what your total test goes to or free test (as far as how high) so long as estrogen is under control and PSA stays in line.

VitoBrata · May 5, 2009

Some doctors are willing, some are not. It's actually becoming more commonplace than it used to be though.

There is a local Urgent Care doctor around here that will do injectable HRT, my friend went to him. His test was very low though. He's only getting 200mg Cyp per MONTH, and testogel though. Not really enough to do anything. I told him to ask the guy to let him get the bottle (because now he has to go every month to get his shot) and bang out at least a shot a week for 10 weeks. This is a guy who has never used AAS and is just naturally very big. I would think that he would respond pretty well.

scottbe · May 5, 2009

go to an endocrine doc-i went 1 time for bloodwork and 2nd time i had a script for 200mg test/week and 7.5 test gel pack/a day. all for $10/month!

ENraged · May 6, 2009

When I approached my doc I told him I want to run a full blood work up. When he said why I told him I felt like crap and was researching the possible causes and left it at that. They work for you if he or she is unwilling to play ball seek out a new doc.

VitoBrata · May 6, 2009

scottbe said:
go to an endocrine doc-i went 1 time for bloodwork and 2nd time i had a script for 200mg test/week and 7.5 test gel pack/a day. all for $10/month!

What did you blood profile look like?

maldorf · May 6, 2009

wow, 200 and 300 mg/wk, thats a damn high HRT dose. Just 100 mg/wk put my total test at 518. Just had my dose increased to 150/wk. I am curious to know what you guys find your total test at with doses like those. Also wondering if you are having problems with your hematocrit getting too high after being on doses like that for a long time.

finny · May 6, 2009

EasyEJL said:
Mine started me at 300mg/wk of cyp, arimidex .5mg EOD and hcg 500iu 2x a week from day 1.... its all about the doctor.

The gels are nice if you are a total hermit, but if you are married and have kids, its not safe.

That's a cycle not HRT.