A while back, I posted about my problems with Androgen Deficiency. This seldom-diagnosed problem affects a lot of middle-aged men, and can really make a mess of your life. It has been almost six month since that post, and a lot has happened. This seems like a good time for a follow-up report.
NOTE: For the basics of Androgen Deficiency and how it impacts guys, please check out my previous post on this subject.
A Quick Recap
Shortly after my original post, I went to an endocrinologist here in Ecuador. He ordered a battery of tests that showed promising results. By changing my diet and the supplements I was taking, I had managed to get some of my hormone levels into the proper range. But my total testosterone level was still too high, while free testosterone was too low.
The endocrinologist prescribed a powerful anti-androgen to drive down my level of total testosterone. He also prescribed some things to mitigate potential side effects of the treatment.
So how did that work out?
Results of Anti-Androgen Treatment
The initial results of this treatment were very encouraging. I felt great. I had more energy and more focus. My sex drive came roaring back. My wife and I both loved the changes.
But then things started to go wrong.
My sex drive waned. So did my energy and focus. After about a month of treatments, I was back where I started from.
Things continued to get worse. I lost all desire for sex. All motivation to do anything. I spent more and more time staring off into space, accomplishing nothing.
Then I started having chills and hot flashes. In the middle of the night I would wake up so cold that I needed to wrap myself in every blanket I could find. Then I would lie there shivering until I fell asleep again. A couple of hours later, I would wake up drenched in sweat. What the "#$%?
Clearly, this was not working. I had to do something.
What Do You Do When the Treatment is Worse than the Problem?
I thought about going back to the doctor to find out what the hell was going wrong. But first, we decided to do more in-depth research into the meds the endocrinologist had prescribed.
We found that the medications were good choices for reducing my testosterone level. But the dosage of the anti-androgen that the doctor prescribed was crazy.
One use of anti-androgens is to eliminate testosterone from the systems of guys with Stage 3 prostate cancer. Testosterone stimulates prostate growth. Eliminating it makes sense for guys who have bad prostate cancer. While this helps with the cancer, crushing a guy's Testosterone levels can have ugly side effects. These include: low or no sex drive, loss of energy, chills, and so on.
The endocrinologist had prescribed a dosage for me that would serve a guy suffering from heavy-duty prostate cancer. The symptoms I was experiencing were those you get when you have almost no testosterone in your system.
If You Can't Trust Your Doctor, Who Can You Trust?
At this point, I could have gone back to the endocrinologist to find out what the hell he was thinking when he gave me that prescription. But we had no faith in the guy after this. The plan was to get my testosterone levels into the normal range, not turn me into a whimpering mess.
We decided I would take things into my own hands again.
Progress Against Androgen Deficiency Without the Doctor's "Help"
First, we cut the dosage of the anti-androgen by 75% to get it into a range that seemed more normal based on the information we could find online. And I kept on doing the dietary things that had put my other hormone levels into their proper ranges.
This helped a lot. I wasn't feeling or performing at 100%, but I wasn't a pathetic excuse for a man, either.
After about a month of that, we decided to eliminate the anti-androgen altogether. I was happier to be free of that stuff, but I did start backsliding a bit. Things were okay, but I wanted to feel strong and healthy again. To be productive and aggressive and fit again.
Getting Help From an Old Friend
I decided to try an experiment. For a while, I used an aromatase inhibitor to maintain my free testosterone levels. At the time, I thought my problem was low total testosterone. I didn't know that there is much more to androgen deficiency than your total "T" levels.
This product had worked for more than a year, but lost its punch over time. You should cycle potent substances like that. That is, you take it for a month, then take 2 to 4 weeks off, some system like that. If you don't, you can cause negative reactions in your body. Your body will also adapt to the treatment, requiring higher doses for the same effect.
I had overdone it with the aromatase inhibitor by the time it stopped working for me. But now it had been several months since I used the stuff and it only made sense to give it another go.
Wow!
About a month ago, I started taking the lowest dose I could of my old aromatase inhibitor. The effect became obvious in days. I'm suddenly back to sharp and strong and fit and productive. My sex drive is good, and everything functions better than it has since I was in college (many, many moons ago).
While things are great right now, I realize this isn't a final solution for me. Based on past experience, I expect that this effect will start to weaken in a few more months. But we've bought some time. I can now find a new endocrinologist, or study the literature, and find a better solution.
Lessons Learned
There are several morals to this story. Here they are, in no particular order:
- If you are a middle-aged guy, feel like carp, and don't know why, get tested! Many doctors don't even want to give guys the most basic sex hormone test (it shows total testosterone). But even that test will only give you incomplete, possibly misleading results. Getting a complete set of sex hormone tests (total testosterone, free testosterone, estrogen/estradiol, SHBG) is the only way to knwo for sure what is going on.
- Even if your doctor is a recognized expert in his or her field, do your own research to confirm what they are telling you. That includes double-checking the dosages that are prescribed. If I had done that, I could have avoided some really unpleasant side effects.
- Androgen Deficiency is a real, yet not widely-recognized condition. And diagnosing it may take more than the standard tests most doctors recommend.
- Self-medication carries risks, but it does give you a route forward if you can't find a doctor that can help you. There are alternative treatments out there for most situations.
- Sometimes, the best thing you can do is buy yourself time. Going back to something that worked in the past, gives me the time and energy to look for a better solution.
While this condition is bad news for any guy, it can be a killer for entrepreneurial folks (like us Steemians). I can recall long stretches of time (not hours or days, but weeks and months) where I did virtually nothing all day. When I tried to work, all I could manage was to stare at the computer screen and read random online crap.
If you are in your 40's or older and don't feel like you have the drive any more, don't chalk it up to age just yet. Male hormone problems are becoming more and more common, and they get worse as you age. You might not be a worn out lazy bum. You might simply need to tweak your hormone levels a bit to revive your old, masculine self.
I hope these posts help you to understand this illness and encourage you to get tested and treated as soon as possible.
Good Luck!
NOTE: A version of this post originally appeared 