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Testosterone - welcome back?

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User
Posted 06 Feb 2022 at 12:30

Sorry about this, but I need a little rant.

Had the full 37 RT shots in October 2018, but since May 2018 I've been on hormone therapy.  I was taken off Prostap (last jab was June last year) and put onto a regime of blood test monitoring only at the moment.  Obviously my testosterone has been on the move since, going from virtually nil to who knows what when I have my next test at the end of this month.

I don't mind the naughty thoughts that have re-emerged into my mind, although carrying them to any sort of conclusion is still somewhat problematic, it's the rest of the side effects that are peeing me off.

Smelly sweat has begun again, the bedroom stinks of musky male again in the morning, and laundry and deodorant consumption has increased.  Greasy hair has returned.  My beard has thickened up, and is growing more quickly than it has been.  There's bumfluff growing back under my armpits.

But worst of all, it's the SPOTS.  I've got teenage bloody acne again.  It's horrible.  If anyone ever says to you "wouldn't it be great if I could go back to being sixteen again", remind them of the crap you had to endure as a teenager.

It's worse than being a teenager, because as a teenager I knew I would eventually grow out of my acne.  I don't know if that will happen this time round.  The solution, I suppose, would be to go back on Prostap.

Rant over.  Thank you for listening.

 

User
Posted 08 Jul 2022 at 11:53

Strangely for me the return to normal was not gradual and was nine months after the last HT injection. So keep doing penile rehab and anything else you are doing until you return to normal.

I can't remember my exact testosterone levels but at six months after the last HT injection they were well below normal, but not what you would officially call castrate level. At nine months post HT I got a few spontaneous erections. I had a testosterone test at 12 months post HT and it was back to normal.

I would say it was between nine and twelve months post HT that I recovered from its effects. Maybe that is gradual in some peoples opinion? But the first change at nine months was abrupt and welcome.

Dave

User
Posted 06 Feb 2022 at 13:29

Forty years ago you came out the other side as a Man. This time you're going to come out as a Snowflake.😁

Dave

User
Posted 06 Feb 2022 at 17:38

My Testosterone came back very suddenly in October, 9 months after the last Zoladex ran out, together with a little acne, but less than I had as a teenager, and it's gone for the moment. Yep, back on the deodorant again!

The beard is a bit of a pain - I'd got used to trimming it every couple of weeks but it now needs doing a couple of times a week or it starts looking a mess.

User
Posted 06 Feb 2022 at 20:50
Thanks for the "rant". It's actually a valuable, detailed account of the return of testosterone for those of us who are still wondering. Commiserations on the acne!

Jules

User
Posted 08 Jul 2022 at 15:06

Same here - nothing happened for 9 months after the last injection ran out and Testosterone remained under 0.4.

Then suddenly it returned to normal over no more than 2 months I think, and has for the moment overshot the normal range, which I hope is just temporary.

I believe hot flushes are usually the last symptom to go and can continue on for a good while after Testosterone returns, albeit diminishing. I didn't get them, so can't talk from personal experience on that one.

I'm now some 18 months after last HT injection ran out, and have put back on most of the muscle I lost, although sadly the fat gain is showing no signs of going yet.

User
Posted 08 Jul 2022 at 15:13
There are sometimes anomalies. I remember when TopGun woke up one morning with an erection and knew immediately that his most recent injection had somehow failed, and Bazza's hormone levels would rise before he even made it to the next injection so they had to give him the 3 monthly injection every 8 weeks just to keep his testosterone down! If everyone's testosterone took 9 months to recover, it wouldn't matter so much that the injections have to be done every 28 days / month or 84 days / 3 months - men could just leave it an extra week or two (or month or two!)

As for the reduction in side effects, there is a generalisation: if the side effects developed slowly for you, they will disappear slowly and if they were rapid onset, they should disappear rapidly. So for example, breathlessness and loss of libido often comes on quickly and goes quickly while the changes to your pelvis and muscle tone develop over time and are hard to recover.

John has found the hot flushes to be permanent but he was on bicalutimide not decapeptyl so it may be different for you.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 09 Jul 2022 at 14:42

Hi John

The hot flushes went away quite quickly for me (they're back now that I'm back on Prostap again!)

The acne was strange, as it was only a few spots that actually erupted, although there were plenty under the skin hiding away that I could feel when I rubbed my face.  Particularly bad was the area around my nose, which became increasingly greasy as I reverted to teenage yuk.  I didn't need specs as a teenager, now they were slipping down the slope all the time!

Now that I'm back on Prostap the complexion has returned to "mature adult".

I found that even with the testosterone I still needed some chemical assistance to make things a little more like they used to be.

Show Most Thanked Posts
User
Posted 06 Feb 2022 at 13:29

Forty years ago you came out the other side as a Man. This time you're going to come out as a Snowflake.😁

Dave

User
Posted 06 Feb 2022 at 17:38

My Testosterone came back very suddenly in October, 9 months after the last Zoladex ran out, together with a little acne, but less than I had as a teenager, and it's gone for the moment. Yep, back on the deodorant again!

The beard is a bit of a pain - I'd got used to trimming it every couple of weeks but it now needs doing a couple of times a week or it starts looking a mess.

User
Posted 06 Feb 2022 at 20:50
Thanks for the "rant". It's actually a valuable, detailed account of the return of testosterone for those of us who are still wondering. Commiserations on the acne!

Jules

User
Posted 08 Jul 2022 at 09:34

Hadn't banked on the return of acne!  My HT treatment concludes on the 28 July 2022, 12 weeks after my last injection of Decapeptyl SR 11.25 mg and I was wondering what happens in the return to "normal".  Obviously testosterone will return and I assume it will be a gradual return.  I have blood tests (that will include testosterone levels) scheduled for late September 2022 and March 2023.

I currently take daily dose of Tadalafill 5mg and do penile exercises three days a week to prevent penile atrophy.  Should these stop when my last HT dose runs out or should these continue and, if so, for how long?

I'm hoping the hot flushes/sweats will stop and currently take MenoCool Black Cohosh tablets.  I have found these reduce frequency of hot flushes/sweats by about a third.  When do the hot flushes/sweats stop?  I assume they reduce gradually but it would be good to know what others' experiences are having completed their HT.

I've had hair loss and thinning but this was not a concern but it sounds as if pubic and body hair will start to re-grow back to "normal".

I think I got off quite lightly with side effects, which (besides those referred to above) included shortened penis (can't do anything about that I guess!); weight gain, so hopefully this will reduce provided I continue to exercise (daily walk up to 5k when I can manage it).  Also weak urinary flow (now mostly at end of day) so I assume this will return to "normal" quite soon.

Thoughts from those of you who have experienced the "return to normal" at the end of HT, either in person or as a partner, would be very welcome.  Thanks.

 

 

User
Posted 08 Jul 2022 at 11:53

Strangely for me the return to normal was not gradual and was nine months after the last HT injection. So keep doing penile rehab and anything else you are doing until you return to normal.

I can't remember my exact testosterone levels but at six months after the last HT injection they were well below normal, but not what you would officially call castrate level. At nine months post HT I got a few spontaneous erections. I had a testosterone test at 12 months post HT and it was back to normal.

I would say it was between nine and twelve months post HT that I recovered from its effects. Maybe that is gradual in some peoples opinion? But the first change at nine months was abrupt and welcome.

Dave

User
Posted 08 Jul 2022 at 15:06

Same here - nothing happened for 9 months after the last injection ran out and Testosterone remained under 0.4.

Then suddenly it returned to normal over no more than 2 months I think, and has for the moment overshot the normal range, which I hope is just temporary.

I believe hot flushes are usually the last symptom to go and can continue on for a good while after Testosterone returns, albeit diminishing. I didn't get them, so can't talk from personal experience on that one.

I'm now some 18 months after last HT injection ran out, and have put back on most of the muscle I lost, although sadly the fat gain is showing no signs of going yet.

User
Posted 08 Jul 2022 at 15:13
There are sometimes anomalies. I remember when TopGun woke up one morning with an erection and knew immediately that his most recent injection had somehow failed, and Bazza's hormone levels would rise before he even made it to the next injection so they had to give him the 3 monthly injection every 8 weeks just to keep his testosterone down! If everyone's testosterone took 9 months to recover, it wouldn't matter so much that the injections have to be done every 28 days / month or 84 days / 3 months - men could just leave it an extra week or two (or month or two!)

As for the reduction in side effects, there is a generalisation: if the side effects developed slowly for you, they will disappear slowly and if they were rapid onset, they should disappear rapidly. So for example, breathlessness and loss of libido often comes on quickly and goes quickly while the changes to your pelvis and muscle tone develop over time and are hard to recover.

John has found the hot flushes to be permanent but he was on bicalutimide not decapeptyl so it may be different for you.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 09 Jul 2022 at 14:42

Hi John

The hot flushes went away quite quickly for me (they're back now that I'm back on Prostap again!)

The acne was strange, as it was only a few spots that actually erupted, although there were plenty under the skin hiding away that I could feel when I rubbed my face.  Particularly bad was the area around my nose, which became increasingly greasy as I reverted to teenage yuk.  I didn't need specs as a teenager, now they were slipping down the slope all the time!

Now that I'm back on Prostap the complexion has returned to "mature adult".

I found that even with the testosterone I still needed some chemical assistance to make things a little more like they used to be.

 
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