I'm curious how many...

[ASaxon]

I'm curious as to how many people are on 250mg or more of of Depo-T a week?

My doctor upped my dose to 500mg every two weeks because I was getting hot flashes at about day 11 after a 400mg shot. I know 500mg equates (roughly) to 250mg per week which seems like a high dose as I typically see that people on this board are on around half that dose. Just curious...I felt okay for the 11 days while on the 400mg shot.

[1cc]

At that dose your T levels are over the top.

[chap]

I've done that kind of dose for a while, and it gets where side effects like water retention, low libido, acne, and hot flashes start to be a problem.

How are you feeling now as far as the above?

[wildfox]

Sounds like a recipe for estrogen (due to aromatization).

WF

[ASaxon]

On around day 9 (after injection) or so I started having libido and ED issues that got worse by the time I got to day 11. Then I started getting hot flashes. I called the doc and he thought that the dose may need to be upped (it was 400mg every two weeks) so he upped it today to 500mg every two weeks.

The reason why I’m asking is that I’m thinking that the 400mg might have elevated my T levels very high and that the libido and ED problems might be related to high E2 issues and the hot flashes related to when my T levels dropped too rapidly from a possible super high level.

My approach is to wait and see what this 500mg shot does. If my libido and ED symptoms do not abate then I’d want to go check E2 just to see if that’s the problem. If my libido and ED return then I could only figure that 400mg was too low a dose.

We’ll see...

[chap]

so libido is great for the week or so after the shot, then goes bad?

2 week injection spacing is way too long, you will have a quite varied hormonal level from injection day to the next injection day

[ASaxon]

This two week inject schedule is temporary while the doc figures out the correct dosage before I self inject weekly and then fine tune. I know two week is not optimal but it should be okay with minor issues with yo-yo-ing I would think.

But that was my first injection after coming from Gels so the good libido might have been from the Androgel and while 400mg inject was working it's way into my system and rebalancing my hormones it could have taken a week or so for all the other hormones to do their thing. That’s why I think it could be E2 related. If it is then the 500mg shot I had will not do anything for my ED or libido and then I’ll be pretty sure it’s one of the ancillary hormones like E2. Seems like a logical way to approach this from what I understand..

[pmgamer18]

Originally Posted by ASaxon

On around day 9 (after injection) or so I started having libido and ED issues that got worse by the time I got to day 11. Then I started getting hot flashes. I called the doc and he thought that the dose may need to be upped (it was 400mg every two weeks) so he upped it today to 500mg every two weeks.

The reason why I’m asking is that I’m thinking that the 400mg might have elevated my T levels very high and that the libido and ED problems might be related to high E2 issues and the hot flashes related to when my T levels dropped too rapidly from a possible super high level.

My approach is to wait and see what this 500mg shot does. If my libido and ED symptoms do not abate then I’d want to go check E2 just to see if that’s the problem. If my libido and ED return then I could only figure that 400mg was too low a dose.

We’ll see...

Scott you know this will not work it can drive up E2 real dam high. I thought you were going to do shots every week. Just show your Dr. the AACE Guildlines I think on page 11 it says to do shots every 7 to 10 days.

[ASaxon]

I know, I know...but I have to do them in his office at first while he doses me. Then I'll get the training to self inject. Insurance won't pay for weekly office injections. I know it could be E2 so if it turns out to be that and my Testos is high then I'll need to trottle back on the dose and then see what happens. I'm not sure high E2 along gives hot flashes. I know hot flashes happen when there's large swings in Testos levels but haven't heard the same for E2 but it wouldn't surprise me.

Anyone have hot flashes with high E2 and stable normal Testosterone?

[pmgamer18]

Yes I have them when my E2 is to high and never had them upping my dose of T. When I have them they set off my panic attacks. Nothing worked on my panic but getting my E2 down and keeping it down. I have done 200 mg shots every 2 weeks and 10g of Testim and it drove up my E2 it went nuts. Dr. John starts men on shots and gives them 200 mgs on the first shot then 100 there after. Doing blood work and adjusting up or down is the way to go. Switching form gel to shots my Dr. had me do the gel the day of the shot then stop the gels. We did blood work after I was on 100 mgs every week for 4 weeks and I was still to low so he upped it to 150 mgs. Your Dr. is going about this all wrong it is easy on the body to go up on T but a bitch to go down. You need to check him before your a mess.

[ASaxon]

I hear ya, I do plan to talk to him before the next shot. I know that aromatase conversion happens more on shots then on gels so it’s entirely possible that my T is through the roof and my E2 is high. This won’t kill me as doctors have been giving monthly 800 to 1000mg shots on men for years but it sure sucks when the ol’ Testos crashes or E2 kicks in.

One good thing, my back and knee pain seem to be subsiding, hasn't been bothering me much over the last few days and is a lot better than it was two weeks ago. So this might work if I can figure out the proper dose. :-) I can't expect this to be perfect while I'm figuring it out but in time I think I'll get it right.

[pmgamer18]

That is great news on the pain I feel the shots take care of it I have been down with bronchitis and not able to go to the gym for over 8 weeks. I went on last Monday and man I am back to a low load like starting over. But man did I feel better after a good work out. The next morning I had some pain must have over done it. When I get up first thing in the morning I do my shots get some coffee and go out on my deck into my spa. After 45 min.'s of this rain or shine I am good to go for the day. Tell your Dr. you need to start low and work your way up. Ask him to show you how to give your self shots and start with 100 to 125 mgs and test after 4 weeks and go from there. You are going to crash if your get any more big shots and have to cut back. I have been though this many times and it is no picnic it can take 4 to 6 weeks going down on a dose to feel good again.

[T Man]

Originally Posted by ASaxon

I'm curious as to how many people are on 250mg or more of of Depo-T a week?

My doctor upped my dose to 500mg every two weeks because I was getting hot flashes at about day 11 after a 400mg shot. I know 500mg equates (roughly) to 250mg per week which seems like a high dose as I typically see that people on this board are on around half that dose. Just curious...I felt okay for the 11 days while on the 400mg shot.

With all due respect, but..... Does your Doctor know what he is doing? Honestly... taking a 500 mg shot at once is not TRT, it is being on a steroid cycle. You will constantly have well above the normal levels of Testosterone. Even using the more liberal scale of 300 - 1200 ng/dl as the reference range.

If I took a 500 mg shot it would put my levels up at 4000+ ng/dl peak. A single 200 mg Depo T shot put me at 2200 ng/dl measured at about 48 hours after the shot. Your doc is surely giving you a big dose. You could end up with a lot more side effects than just hot flashes. Namely, polycthemia, edema, mood swings, prostate and erectile problems, elevated liver enzymes.
I think it is time to question your doc and his approach to TRT before you suffer from it instead of benefitting from it.

[ASaxon]

I don’t understand this…people routinely get/got 800mg monthly shots in most cases and although we agree that this is not the best protocol it has been used for decades to treat hypogonadism. I can’t see those shots making people have 4000+ T levels or it wouldn’t have been a protocol at all if it raised T that much. I know it raises T way above the upper range of normal but it’s not 4000+. From what I’ve read aren't steroid doses 2000 to 4000mg of Depo-T every month? Seems that 500mg for two weeks is well within a safe range. I have no doubt that my T levels are high, I'd guess around 1000 to 1500 (RR: 450-1080) but not 4000+. I'd have to see it to believe it.

Secondly, everyone is different. Some people get really high T levels with 5g of Androgel daily while other's take 12.5g. Some people get high T levels with 100mg of Depo-T while other's take 300mg to get the same. This all seems very individualized to me. Although I agree my doctor should start low and work up, not the other way around. And yes, I trust my doc although I need to talk with him I think. He's a good listener.

[Matt Muscle]

Originally Posted by ASaxon

I don’t understand this…people routinely get/got 800mg monthly shots in most cases and although we agree that this is not the best protocol it has been used for decades to treat hypogonadism. I can’t see those shots making people have 4000+ T levels or it wouldn’t have been a protocol at all if it raised T that much. I know it raises T way above the upper range of normal but it’s not 4000+. From what I’ve read aren't steroid doses 2000 to 4000mg of Depo-T every month? Seems that 500mg for two weeks is well within a safe range. I have no doubt that my T levels are high, I'd guess around 1000 to 1500 (RR: 450-1080) but not 4000+. I'd have to see it to believe it.

Secondly, everyone is different. Some people get really high T levels with 5g of Androgel daily while other's take 12.5g. Some people get high T levels with 100mg of Depo-T while other's take 300mg to get the same. This all seems very individualized to me. Although I agree my doctor should start low and work up, not the other way around. And yes, I trust my doc although I need to talk with him I think. He's a good listener.

Im sorry but I have to agree with T man. Your doctor shows very little knowledge of T replacement. I have done what you are doing now. I can say it is definetly NOT HEALTHY. Have you had lab tests for everything while on this supra dose of T? What are your T levels etc?
A 500MG dose will upset so much in your body... long term its a nasty thought. You WILL experience very high estrogen(which may build over time) and will compound any sexual dysfunction you are having. Not to mention gradually elevating your blood pressure and lots of lovely water retention....

When did they routinely give 800MG shots a month??? Doctors(who didnt know better) in Australia used to give 250mgs every 3-4 weeks for hypogonadism..... where on earth did you get the 800mg figure???? That would sky rocket T levels for a couple of weeks.