Originally Posted by
Leisesturm
The first doctor I went to favored injections. After a year of that I went to a second doctor that said that bi-weekly injections was insanity and put me on the compounded cream that I use to this day. I never really acheived all those glowing superlatives that were supposed to be results of T replacement therapy. On my own I decided to test E2. I was 12 on a test where 2 is high. That was mostly from injections since I hadn't been on the cream that long by this. Aromatization occurs in the liver. It doens't matter whether you inject of apply cream, the first pass throught the liver is going to happen. You cannot prevent it. Some men can take a lot of T and not have it all turn to E. I take only a little T and my E goes way up. I use Arimidex to lower E2. They are so powerful and work so fast that I was too low before I knew it and was just making things worse by taking 1/2 pills EOD. Eventually I tested E2 again and discovered this. To say that doctors are mostly clueless about this stuff is an understatement. Google is your lifeline. My doctor really functions as a legal front door through which I can acquire the therapies I need. I drive the research and direction of the ongoing adventure that is finding an optimum level of vitality and vigor in later mid-life.
H
Your experience is very interesting. It is marvelous to hear that you were able to find a Dr. that listened to you and research. It is refreshing to see a Dr. willing to be a partner in health instead of an authority... From all the stories and research I've done, seems like people are individuals with individual characteristics...
Might I ask how old you are? And what your body composition is like? Does your fat cluster around your mid section or evenly distributed? How long before you realized you were low on E?
Aromatization occurs in liver AND fat. The higher the spike the higher the aromatization. Hence 2 week protocols suck. Some Doc's do monthly. Must be one hell of a roller coaster!
I was on compounded (5%) and it was ~ $30 month and light years better then Androgel. Eventually, I stopped absorbing that as well.
2 week injections do suck. I self administer 2x weekly, sub q, not IM. Sub Q offers a slower release, lower spike and therefore lower amoratization. But for me, the best part is I'm much less likely to hit a gusher. I inject in the quads and would hit a blood vessel about every 4th time. OBTW, I'm almost 48, 6', 265 about 20% body fat.
Others I know do lower dose every other day.