I am a 40 year old man in great health except for low testosterone levels. After feeling tired for over a year my doc checked my levels and I was just under 300. He gave 3 shots of test in a month to see if that would kick start me. Went back in a month later and I was at 212. These boards are very very helpful but there is still alot I don't understand about what lab test I should have. I have read the boards but there is alot of abbrevations and other disscisons I don't understand. Can anyone tell me of a book for someone new to this. I prefer to educate myself. Sorry, but I don't trust docs. It was at my own request that my testosterone level was even checked. He started injections again but I can't deal with the high energy boost for the first few days and then crashing and having these hot flashes. Thanks for any advice

Unfortunately most doctors are not up on the latest in treating this and at the same time there seems to be an explosion in the number of men who have it. I would suggest the book The Testosterone Syndrome by Eugene Shippen. The book is getting a little old itself, written in 1998 I think. Things are chainging fast in this area. But it is still very accurate and I understand the author is working on an updated version.

I think you are smart to learn about this yourself rather than trust the doc. Its not his testicles that will shrink up to nothing while on shots. Do you know how much T he is injecting and how often? It sounds like your dose is too high and shots spread too far apart accounting for the energy rush and then crash you feel. In any event, you may not even need T shots depending on what the root problem is that is causing your low T.

I am getting 100cc's of cypo every ten days. He said if the results come in low again he will stretch out the days and give me testim in between shots. I also noticed about 3 or 4 days after my nuts were driving me crazy for about two days. They had shrunk up and were pulling tight. He has ran alot of lab test but hasn't found anything. He thinks it could have set on prematurely due to some major surgurys, a few different times I have broken bones and also before he was treating me I had some kind of infection in my testicles that was never completely diagnosed. This all happened within a 3 year time period. I am a walking accident. Plus I have lived in a few states and never ever seen worse health care then in Florida.

The self injection of "T" told your body that enough testosterone was being produced. So it shutdown the testicles. They then shrink since they have nothing to do. Then the "T" levels drop by how much the testicles were producing.

Another substance,HCG, can be self injected in low doses, 500iu, 2 or 3 times a week to keep the testicles operating & not shrink. Research it.

I do not understand why your doctor would think that injecting T would "jump start you" ... As was mentioned, the exogenous T is going to shut down the natural, endogenous, T.... If you had a problem with your testes then I would have thought the HCG would have been in order to see if that could jump start your own T production.... Not to mention the LH and FSH test that could have told him if you where producing enought of these precursers and that your Gonads where not responding... it seems to me that it is rather easy to tell where the problem is,... ie pituatary or gonads...Why the problem exist is a whole other story, but where the problem is should be very 2+2 kind of stuff....

btw...Test syndrome by shippen is excellent, you can find it used online for very cheap....try that popluar online bookseller....you know the one...named after the rainforest.... :)

thx....

Mojo said it very well. Did your doc do any other tests besides T to make some attempt to find out where the problem is? I think I am going to write up something I can just paste in to posts like these for what tests should be done and why.

By the way, I had the same experience while on androgel, my testicles shrunk and pulled up tight against my body sometimes even disappearing inside my body. It was very annoying. HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) will keep them working and prevent this from happening. At your age its likely that your testicles are still working ok but you have secondary hypogonadism meaning the problem is in your brain (pituitary), not your testicles. For secondary HCG will usually work.

Did you have have a blow to the head in your accidents? That can damage the pituitary.

Thanks for the information. I have ordered the book. The doctor has ran alot of lab work but I haven't got a copy of the results. I am going in tomorrow for my 3rd shot this time around and will ask more questions. I was trying to prepare for it by reviewing these boards. I know now what to ask for when he wants to run my labs again. More than anything I would like to get my libido back. I've gotten to the point where I rather brush my teeth than have sex and I know I can't live like this. And after the injection of 100 cc's of test, I do get morning wood for a day or two and then it's gone again. I forgot what that even felt like it's been so long. I'm 40 and single and know I have to get interested in sex again. And no blows to the head and no medications. I eat healthy, go to the gym 4-5 times a week. And starting to feel really desperate and depressed over this.

You should ask for copies of your lab work. Also, what kind of T injections are you getting? You should be getting T-cyp which is an oil base. It absorbs very slowly. It will peak out about 2 days after you get it but it takes 2 or 3 weeks of weekly shots to reach a steady state. You should not have the ups and downs so bad like you have. Ask what kind of T shot it is and what is the strength. For example my T-cyp is 100 mg/cc and I take about .8 cc per week so I get a total of 80 mg of T per week.

Don't bother with the LH and FSH while on T shots.....your HPTA is shut down and they will be near zero. The only way to find out if you have primary or secondary hypogonadism is to test total T, LH, FSH, estradiol, total estrogen and prolactin all at the same time when you are NOT on any T replacement. It would take at least 2 or 3 weeks of no T shots to get it out of your system. Best to wait at least a month. Maybe your doc has already tested LH and FSH along with total T at least (you should be able to tell if you have primary or secondary from these three alone actually) before he started the shots? Ask for copies of all your blood work so you will know. I would highly recommend to find out which you have so you will know the best treatment.

T shots every 10 days is a little less often than I would like to see. Every week is better. The dose seems about right but you need to know what your levels are to know for sure. Make sure you get an SHBG test. From that we can come up with a target total T level so you know what level to shoot for.

Also, there is no reason you can not give the shots to yourself. Most of us do. I mean suppose you do end up on shots for life....do you really want to go to the doctor every 7-10 days for the rest of your life? My doctor prefers subQ shots also which is easier to give you yourself and less invasive. He feels it minimizes conversion to estradiol because it absorbs slower. For you this may be especially important since you are experience big highs and lows from it absorbing too fast it seems.

Thanks for the advice Heyfarmer. Just one other quick question. Shouldn't I expect my libido to have come back by now? I did 1 injection every 10 days for a month and then a month off. Now I have done the same thing except the 3rd injection was done last Friday. I still have no, none, zilch libido. In the last 15 months I have had sex once and that was to only prove to myself I could do it. I don't have an ED problem. I have had opportunities but just no interest. Any ideas???????

I agree your libido should have improved but we don't know what you actual hormone levels are. You doc does I guess but whether or not he is competent in this treatment is unknown. You need to monitor at least your total T, free T, estradiol, total estrogen and prolactin if you have no libido and see if anything is out of whack. Also, remember a lot of libido is mental. Even when I have my hormones straight my libido is better if my wife's libido is high. I mean a lot of this is state of mind when it comes to libido. I know you hate to hear that because doctors often use that as a reason to not bother to look into it but it is something to consider. Are you having good morning erections? That is a really good gauge as to whether or not your hormones are right. There is not mental aspect because you are asleep so it all boils down to hormones for night time erections (except blood flow problems can prevent them of course).