Would HRT help or hurt me?

[Poindexter]

First I have to say thanks to whomever created this board, I've found it to be very informative and sometimes entertaining. My question is very serious to me though, so I hope to get some serious and honest replies, here goes. I've been training for over 25+ years and I've got a pretty good body out of the hard work I've done, but I was diagnosed with Rhuematoid arthritis in 06, but with the help of a good doctor I have fought my way back to where I was before I was diagnosed. I am 40 years old and even without RA I still felt like I was not the same due to lower testosterone production which comes from just getting older. The size is there 210lbs on average, 18" arms everything else is in proportion, but I'm softer and weaker. I was wonder if TRT is even possible with meds for RA. I have a RA Dr, and a General prac. The General would cover me, but the RA would freak out I know she would. Have you ever heard of any Pros or anybody for that matter who used AAS successfully while on RA drugs such as enbrel etc? I thank you in advance for all serious responses.

 

[D BO]

I don't see how this could not be of assistance to you I have only seen studies mostly done for women with this issue except for one i will show below
I believe every one knows there body best though so you will surley know when you get there. Most women dr's will always raise an eyebrow to TRT but think of it as nothing to mess with their hormones. This being said and your yrs of training im sure you know that Deca in my opinon is very good for the joints although I hate what it does to you emotionally and if you need more test you sure won't find it there but maybe you could add small doses in with your trt if wanted to make life a little easier some times.

my source is Arthritis & Rheumatism
Volume 34,issue 1
January 1991

Maurizio Cutolo MD1,*, Enrico Balleari MD2, Massimo Giusti MD3, Ettore Intra MD4, Silvano Accardo MD5

A hypogonadic condition characterized by low serum testosterone levels has been identified in male patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Seven men with active RA were treated daily for 6 months with oral testosterone undecanoate plus a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug in an attempt to evaluate the immunologic response, the overall clinical response, and the sex hormone response to such replacement therapy. At the end of the 6 months, there was a significant increase in serum testosterone levels (P < 0.05), an increase in the number of CD8+ T cells, and a decrease in the CD4+ :CD8+ T cell ratio. The IgM rheumatoid factor concentration decreased significantly (P < 0.05). There was a concurrent significant reduction in the number of affected joints (P < 0.05) and in the daily intake of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (P < 0.01). The well-known immunosuppressive action of androgens probably contributed to our findings in these RA patients.

Hopefully this can be of some assistance for you.

 

[HOTROCKS]

Decreased testosterone levels in men with rheumato... [J Rheumatol. 1994] - PubMed result

 

[Poindexter]

Poindexter thanks you

Thanks D-BO and HotRocks, I've read about some of this in an arthritis magazine, and this info lets me know it's not just in my head. Bodybuilders know their body, and this explains the sudden smooth look I cant seem to shake,( I was ripped, not shredded, all the time ) the decrease in libido ( I was horny most of the time ) lol, decrease in strength and now I struggle with 235lbs on the bench, this use to be a warm-up. I know we have to accept the fact of getting older but this is not normal in my opinion, and this gives me some insight on what to discuss with my Dr. Thanks again.

 

[DosXX]

At you current age I think you would definitely benefit from HRT/TRT. I just don't know enough about RA so I can't make any comments regarding mixing it with TRT. Good luck!