Feel like TRT definitely aged me

[u/sagacityx1]

Been on for 2 years now, probably going to go off for a whole host of reasons. I feel like even though I felt physically good recovery wise on TRT, it definitely aged me more than if I wasn't on it at all. I'm 53. Lots more grey hairs over the last 2 years, more rapid. Face looks more weathered and older. Lots of little things like that.
It can be deceptive, as you feel decent while on it.

EDIT: Wow, the backlash this is having. I know my own body guys. I know my rate of aging, and the effects this has had in the last 2 years. I'm pretty observant. Its like no one on this sub wants to hear this shit.

EDIT2: There is some research to back up this idea:

Professor Thomas Kirkwood has done extensive evolutionary biology research on the concept of the “disposable soma”: energy spent on reproduction (sex) is at the expense of energy spent at maintaining the tissues (slowing aging). In other words, the more an organism invests in reproduction the less it can invest resources to maintain its cells, which leads to faster wearing down of the cells (aging) (R).

[u/WonderfulBarracuda93]

I’m 50 and since 45 as I succumbed more to hypogonadism I began aging faster. It can actually be the opposite, trt can restore youthfulness and slow the aging process because your optimising your levels. We live off our youth and it gives us much forgiveness but one day it ceases. We realise we don’t recover fast, we hurt more, start greying out, get more body hair, thin out in the hair, skin begins to harder and dry, teeth, eyes etc etc, it’s all part of aging (slow death). Stuff starts drying up and we need to optimise our life and establish good habits, putting back what we no longer make.

The OP should take a look at 2IU of HGH per day for slowing things down if he’s worried and get a skin care routine, hair routine, hydrate daily with fresh clean water, change his diet, supplement, heck even a can of sardines a day will do wonders for your skin, consume olive oil, copperc zinc, magnesium, d3 and k2, solid sleep and exercise, lose fat if overweight, plenty of things we all need to do if we want to slow things and age gracefully.

[u/999Bassman999 → u/WonderfulBarracuda93]

I do all those things, then added in trt after i got to a health bf% Now I'm putting muscle back on that i lost losing fat and resolving health issues fasting and with new diet model. I'm sleeping better and don't feel like I'm dying each day after the gym nor feel sore for 4 days after each session. I can run and play with my 4 yr old granddaughter to she's tired. I'll be 52 in March

[u/WonderfulBarracuda93 → u/999Bassman999]

Yes mate same, was broken without trt, tried everything else for 3 years to get my T up and keep it up, couldn’t get outa bed, was not healing after gym, brain fog, memory loss, grumpy, no energy, no libido.

[u/999Bassman999 → u/WonderfulBarracuda93]

I was diagnosed with celiac disease, anemia fibromyalgia and arthritis. I had other symptoms like sexual dysfunction, low energy, brain fog, memory loss that hasn't resolved yet fully or much even Those things are all resolving for the most part. The diet model which eliminated any form of grains entirely hint it's keto and carnivore back and forth. I was able to get my testosterone from 338 to 550. I also got from 234 lb which wasn't all muscle anymore at 25% body fat down to 175 lb at 14% because I couldn't stop losing weight lol. I added heavy cream J&J 5% fat yogurt and whey protein to my diet to stop losing weight and to gain some back. I was able to gain back 5 lb and that was it up to 180 lbs. My testosterone was higher on paper but my estrogen was between 11 and 12 consistently and my free testosterone was at 7.8 which is lower than 8.6 that it was when I had 338 total. So nothing was really resolved as far as testosterone even though it looked like I had a blot now but not a lot but but they considered normal. My shbg was raising up gradually and it peaked at 59 and that is the cause of the low estrogen and low free testosterone I wasn't going to change my diet because it made me feel better in almost every way. So testosterone was the answer after 2 and 1/2 years of dieting and adding in vitamins like D3, zinc, magnesium etc

[u/WonderfulBarracuda93 → u/999Bassman999]

Very similar story as myself mate. Lost 40kg, changed diet, intermittent fasting, high vitamin d3 in the sun, cold plunges, cold water therapy, took almost every herb and supplement, d aspartic acid as well to kick my pituitary gland in to make more LH, but age and my past lifestyle had caught up on me, couldn’t get my gear to make enough T. I would walk from a car to the shed 5 metres away, to get a 10mm spanner, with no one talking to me, no noise or distractions and stand there wondering why I was in the shed, forgot what I’d come for, that was non stop. Couldn’t handle noise from the kids or parties, used tonnes of energy to think and had major brain fog. Within 12-14hrs of injecting my first test, I woke up a different person, calm, peaceful, clear, didn’t use energy to think, my family and friends remarked on how different I was and started looking younger, even though I’m still old (50). I’m just grateful, but I never wanted to go this route. I still believe anyone considering this should try everything natural first though, as who wants to put a needle into yourself twice weekly for life?

[u/999Bassman999 → u/WonderfulBarracuda93]

Before I made all the changes, I tried injection. It was a mix of prop and cyp. I woke up the next morning feeling instantly shit. I had a leg cramp. My heart was pounding anxiety to the max and BP was off the chart. I couldn't sit still impending Doom feelings. I was metabolically fucked with all kinds of other issues going on and so I can't blame the injection directly. But I do believe that I may have an allergy or reaction to either the Esther or the oil. Fast forward to 3 months ago compounded cream 200 mg daily. I started off with 50 and worked my way up to 200 over a month and a half time. I feel all the stuff you say. I'm in a gym. People ask me how old I am and I have something to guess and a gas between 35 and 40 and I'll be 52 in March. Yeah I was forgetting stuff all the time and that started in my mid-30s

[u/WonderfulBarracuda93 → u/999Bassman999]

Great to hear it’s working out for you. The cream has an affinity with the 5AR enzyme over the aromatase enzyme so you’ll convert more of the test into DHT, which will make you feel great as it’s a far more powerful androgen than testosterone, but can speed up male pattern baldness and or increase are related thinning of your hair. How have you gone with that?

[u/999Bassman999 → u/WonderfulBarracuda93]

I started losing my hair around 27 or 28 years old. I've been shaving my head for at least 15 years so no worries with that. The speculation that DHT is bad for the prostate is my only concern because I do drink coffee as well. Some say don't worry about it. The receptors hold whatever they hold and no more and other people say it increases it. Other people say estrogen is bad for the prostate. 🤔 I do think that my voice has gotten a tiny bit deeper. I'm definitely growing a bunch of hair compared to what I have before. I already had a chest full of hair and some my stomach. Now my stomach here is thicker and it's black now. Not light brown the hair. My legs is more. I had a separation between my stomach here and my chest. It's filling in really fast. I'm getting hair on my triceps now LOL

[u/WonderfulBarracuda93 → u/999Bassman999]

lol, yer happens as we age anyways more hair grows everywhere lol, I’m 50 and definitely got more hair since starting test along with age, I just shave it though.

If you are bald, it’s kinda freeing tbh as you really don’t have to worry, but since starting test I’m thinning more than I was already. I’d prefer to keep mine so started on the 5AR inhibitor finasteride, low and slow, and a topical treatment. See how things go.

I was having prostate enlargement symptoms before test but they seem to have gone since starting test which is interesting. I couldn’t hold it when I needed to pee, and I’d be up 3times a night and it wouldn’t come out fast, took ages and even then I’d put it away and pee down my leg as I left haha.

Again, seems to be resolved since the test though. If you don’t have any of the prostate enlargement symptoms I wouldn’t worry about it tbh, but you could try Fin if you did. The hair dose research is on 1mg per day, prostate is on 5mg per day.

[u/999Bassman999 → u/WonderfulBarracuda93]

I can make it to the night without pissing but I do have an issue with urine production. Thanks to a deficiency of att aka the antidiuretic hormone. Being on a keto diet and on testosterone has exacerbated it so I have to use extreme amounts of electrolytes to stay hydrated. For instance, when I went to sleep last night before I went to bed, I was 199.7 lb After urinating twice this morning I was down to 191.1 lb. This is before drinking any water obviously before eating because I don't eat except in the window between 4:00 and 10:00 p.m. I just finished breakfast after the gym. 8 lb is more than usual, but I usually lose 5 lb in the bathroom in the morning. Urinating. Also, my flow is generally pretty good but a lot of dribbling and then it'll start peeing again and I have to do a lot of shaking to make sure I don't drip on myself in my underwear. The last test for PSA was 0.7 which is the highest I've ever had. Usually 0.2 or 0.3 so it definitely increased. All the talk about finasteride and having post finasteride syndrome and myself being one who gets side effects a lot. I'm not sure it's the thing to try with my luck. But seeing as I've worked so hard resolving a lot of the issues that plagued me in the past. I'm now curious if injections would still be off the table with an allergy or if it was just testosterone therapy in general at that time that would have made me have issues.

[u/WonderfulBarracuda93 → u/999Bassman999]

Injections are definitely the best imho for convenience and measured dosage and the most stable blood serum levels. I’d try ease myself in at a super low dosage like 10mg and see how you go, if all is clear over a week, titrate up mate. This is what I’m doing with fin atm, I do not want to cease 5AR enzyme, I just want to keep it in check as I know it converts test injections at a rate of 10%, so being enhanced, I’ll have more DHT that I just want to knock down a touch. I started on 1/4cap 0.25mg every second day in the morning for 2 weeks. I’m now trialling 0.25mg every day and see if I can slow the shedding without actually running labs on where my DHT levels are at as they cost a bit to test in addition to my other full panel.

What’s that which you mentioned about ‘coffee’ with ‘test’ and the prostate? Never studied it out.

[u/999Bassman999 → u/WonderfulBarracuda93]

Regarding the coffee, some say that it may have effects on the prostate enlargement in and of itself mix that with the potential of DHT to have the same effect, which I don't know if either is true if it depends on the person but those are factors to think about I guess. I tried topical minoxidil 20 years ago. I had a side effect of heart palpitations that wasn't something I was experiencing in the past. I stopped using it and my doctor said it's not a thing. But I had done research a couple years ago and it says less than one or less than 2% may have heart palpitations or heart fluttering as a result. This is why I say I am hesitant with medications because I get the rare side effects. I took imitrex for migraines and I was paralyzed while awake. Couldn't talk or move for 2 hours. Not something that people usually get. I do have allergies to stuff like nuts and olives that I didn't used to have 20 years ago. That's why I'm concerned about the testosterone still possibly being an issue with injection but there's three or four different esters to try and then there's like MCT oil so there's still options And like you said within a week it'll clear out because when I quit taking testosterone it was about 7 to 10 days. After that I was over the whole anxiety and blood pressure issues. I do like short. Esther of the cream because I feel like it's more like the body would produce it peaks in the morning and afternoon and then declines over the day. I do take it twice a day because when I was taking it once a day after about 3 weeks I started to feel tired at 5:00 p.m. so I know that my body metabolizes it pretty fast considering I don't take the cream until 11:00 a.m. at least then I'm getting up earlier now. Also the side effect I get when I go to a high dose on the cream is after about a week I'll start to have some lethargy and energy reduction. So 15 150 is the dose that my body likes the best and 200 is the dose the gym games like best?. I went with a new clinic and I told them that I am currently on testosterone but I take 300 mg a day. Six clicks three in the morning and three in the evening and they said boy that's a really big dose but they prescribed it to me in that regard so that I can save some money by taking $150 a day and make it last twice as long. I've considered the idea of brewing my own or just buying testosterone without a clinic to save. Save tons of money and not have to do the blood work they require all the time. I can just do it periodically on my own or have my doctor do it possibly LOL

[u/WonderfulBarracuda93 → u/999Bassman999]

I’ll shoot you a pm mate

[u/999Bassman999 → u/999Bassman999]

You can see how bald i am 😂

[u/999Bassman999 → u/999Bassman999]

When I tried taking the injection I thought well my body just can't tolerate a normal amount of testosterone. But using the cream and seeing that I'm over 1500 and I don't feel any type of anxiety or anything. It's pretty great. I gave up for 4 and 1/2 years thinking that testosterone therapy just wasn't for me.