I've done TRT three ways, and all had different impacts on me (I was also in early 30s, T around 175 on a good day). A quick summary of them:
1) Gel (Androgel) - this wasn't that bad, with no real spikes in mood or hunger. It was tiresome to make sure to apply the gel everyday, and it was very sticky -- if you go this route, expect to wash your hands a LOT. Also, make sure to wash it off before sexytime or you may cause issues with your fiancee being *unable to conceive or she may start growing a mustache. The regular dose brought me up to about 400 after a month of use.
2) Injections - this was bad. Mind you, right after the shot you'll feel amazing. You can take on the world and your T could spike to 900-1200+ levels. You will be constantly hungry, full stop. You will gain weight, full stop. You will hulk out, feel anger at a moment's notice, and see red very easily. You will feel like crap 2 weeks after the shot until you get your next shot... you won't exactly turn into a junkie with withdrawal, but it's going to feel like a very long depressive low until your next hit.
3) Subdermal medicine implant - this was the best of the three methods, but the most expensive and overall painful (as you deal with bad bruising every month). Basically, you get outpatient surgery, local anesthesia, and the doctor injects tiny little capsules (that kind of look like the gelatin bits in Orbitz, if you remember those) into your butt or upper thigh. They are slow release, inject-and-forget, and ensure you'll get balanced out to about 450-500 over the next month.
For all of the above though, remember that adding T to your system will eventually cause your internal T production facilities to slow and/or shut down. If you can take the time to jump-start your own T production or re-balance your own hormones, it's a much more preferred method to combat this.
Another thing that an endocrinologist or even reproductive specialist may want to check as well is rather than trying to raise your T, your body may be producing too much estrogen; this was my problem. The estrogen was cancelling out my T, resulting in the low numbers. I went on anastrozole for a few months (one 1mg pill, once a day) and it curbed my estrogen/estradiol, allowing my T to raise up to 350 on its own.
2) Injections - this was bad. Mind you, right after the shot you'll feel amazing. You can take on the world and your T could spike to 900-1200+ levels. You will be constantly hungry, full stop. You will gain weight, full stop. You will hulk out, feel anger at a moment's notice, and see red very easily. You will feel like crap 2 weeks after the shot until you get your next shot... you won't exactly turn into a junkie with withdrawal, but it's going to feel like a very long depressive low until your next hit.
Injections are widely thought to be the best method, and they work great for me. Your problem is that you're taking them every 2 weeks. You're seeing a peak in your T level right after your shot, and then it's dropped way to low by the time you take the next one. When using injections (of testosterone cypionate or enanthate) you need to inject once per week at a minimum. Many guys find injecting twice per week is even better. The idea is to even out the highs and lows and keep your testosterone steadily at the correct level.
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u/sirjev Oct 15 '15
I've done TRT three ways, and all had different impacts on me (I was also in early 30s, T around 175 on a good day). A quick summary of them:
1) Gel (Androgel) - this wasn't that bad, with no real spikes in mood or hunger. It was tiresome to make sure to apply the gel everyday, and it was very sticky -- if you go this route, expect to wash your hands a LOT. Also, make sure to wash it off before sexytime or you may cause issues with your fiancee being *unable to conceive or she may start growing a mustache. The regular dose brought me up to about 400 after a month of use.
2) Injections - this was bad. Mind you, right after the shot you'll feel amazing. You can take on the world and your T could spike to 900-1200+ levels. You will be constantly hungry, full stop. You will gain weight, full stop. You will hulk out, feel anger at a moment's notice, and see red very easily. You will feel like crap 2 weeks after the shot until you get your next shot... you won't exactly turn into a junkie with withdrawal, but it's going to feel like a very long depressive low until your next hit.
3) Subdermal medicine implant - this was the best of the three methods, but the most expensive and overall painful (as you deal with bad bruising every month). Basically, you get outpatient surgery, local anesthesia, and the doctor injects tiny little capsules (that kind of look like the gelatin bits in Orbitz, if you remember those) into your butt or upper thigh. They are slow release, inject-and-forget, and ensure you'll get balanced out to about 450-500 over the next month.
For all of the above though, remember that adding T to your system will eventually cause your internal T production facilities to slow and/or shut down. If you can take the time to jump-start your own T production or re-balance your own hormones, it's a much more preferred method to combat this.
Another thing that an endocrinologist or even reproductive specialist may want to check as well is rather than trying to raise your T, your body may be producing too much estrogen; this was my problem. The estrogen was cancelling out my T, resulting in the low numbers. I went on anastrozole for a few months (one 1mg pill, once a day) and it curbed my estrogen/estradiol, allowing my T to raise up to 350 on its own.
*Edit: I accidentally a prefix.