drob31
Senior Member
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- 1,487
My free testosterone was low, although my total testosterone was normal. (free: 9.1 ref :11 -25. total: 685 ref: 390-1100) This is due to high SHBG. Because the SHBG stays high, my doctor suggested trying testosterone replacement. Knowing my adrenals were burdened by **SOMETHING** I knew that the subsequent up regulation in metabolism might be hard on the adrenals.
I was correct. After trying 40 mg testosterone cypionate, after an initial pleasant feeling and energy (a few hours), I became very tired for the next few days. The further away I got from the shot, the less tired I became. It was not a "tired but wired feeling," either.
Rewinding to last year, I tried slow release t3 and cytomel. Both seemed to raise my cortisol through the roof and made symptoms worse. In comparison, the testosterone just made me tired, almost like a need to sleep and heal, and I plan to do more experimentation.
However, it dawned on me my that HCG may be the way to go. HCG mimics LH, and besides causing your testes to produce testosterone (if male), it also causes them and your adrenals to produce pregnenolone. At one point supplementing with pregnenolone was very helpful, but the dose and bioavailablity were questionable.
I was also prescribed hydrocortisone, 20 mg/day to try. I have tried a single dose of hydrocortisone here or there, but I didn't feel anything in particular. Does it need to be used for a long period of time?
I was correct. After trying 40 mg testosterone cypionate, after an initial pleasant feeling and energy (a few hours), I became very tired for the next few days. The further away I got from the shot, the less tired I became. It was not a "tired but wired feeling," either.
Rewinding to last year, I tried slow release t3 and cytomel. Both seemed to raise my cortisol through the roof and made symptoms worse. In comparison, the testosterone just made me tired, almost like a need to sleep and heal, and I plan to do more experimentation.
However, it dawned on me my that HCG may be the way to go. HCG mimics LH, and besides causing your testes to produce testosterone (if male), it also causes them and your adrenals to produce pregnenolone. At one point supplementing with pregnenolone was very helpful, but the dose and bioavailablity were questionable.
I was also prescribed hydrocortisone, 20 mg/day to try. I have tried a single dose of hydrocortisone here or there, but I didn't feel anything in particular. Does it need to be used for a long period of time?