ptsd Any Info On Testosterone Injections?

[Philip Rogers]

I received testosterone injections thru the VA for over a year and would recommend against them. Testosterone replacement therapy increases your chances of a heart attack. I also found myself looking at porn sites, which I've "never" had an interest in. Since I ceased the injections, my sex drive is zero but I'm okay w/that. I am also back to having zero interest in porn sites. jmo

pr

[broncovet]

Interesting. Very interesting. Generally, its best to persue the least aggressive therapy first. In other words, if you go to the Doc with a hangnail, they usually dont do a Coronory Bypass "just in case" the heart needs one. This would mean that some sort of pills, patches or cremes would be preferred to an injection...unless pills pathches or cremes are ineffective. Each time the skin is broken by a needle it means that there is a risk of introducing into the body some sort of infectios disease...such as AIDS, Hep. C, etc, and a host of others.

Just ask "Asknod" about those immunizations the military used to perform with a jetgun about how these carry a risk of infection, each time the skin is broken. Personally, I can not understand why patches or gel testosterone would not be perscribed unless there was a complelling reason to opt for testorene injections instead.

I think you should get a second opinion. IM not a doc, so you should take your docs advice over mine, tho.

Testorone injections preferred over patches or gel seems to be more about VA concern that one will sell the patches or gel, rather than about medical necessity. This is the pot calling the kettle black, reminding you that a few years ago, there was a report that the VA "could not account" for something like a billion dollars worth of drugs. Im 85% certain that there is some corruption in VA where "inside people" are stealing prescription drugs from VA.

The VA's solution to this problem was to make drugs like Vicodin harder to get for Veterans that actually need them. Now, using VA twisted logic, that will fix the problem?

Edited April 4, 2015 by broncovet

[boomer2]

I just saw an indocrinologist about low T and he told me I had 2 things against taking it. A-fib and prostate cancer. He said the A-fib is probably worse than the prostate cancer as the T treatments cause your blood to clot and it could cause a stroke. I have the same problems as nlaulam82 no energy, depression, no sex drive, can fall asleep almost instantly, loss of body hair. They did take off 2 meds I've been taking for the PC finisatride and megastrol so we'll see how that works.

[nlualum82]

Keep commenting, please. Good posts so far and I want as much information to weigh as I can get.

The decision on the first injection could be just days away and it is pressing on my mind.

[broncovet]

Just the other day, I saw a law firm commercial on, you know the type, "If you have used testorone, and suffered a heart attack, you may be entitlted to a settlement".

This does not bode well for t therapy. IMHO the dose is important. If a little is good, more is not better. This should be an advantage of injections, since the doc's office should not be giving you too much.

Keep reading and use wise decisions. I would like to ask what your symptoms are, that lead you to believe you have low T? Is it only weight gain?

Dont count on T to be a magic bullet in that area.

Do these things, instead:

1. Park at the furthest away parking place not the closest. I read where that simple thing will shed 10 pounds in a year.

2. Exercise three hours a week. Walking is good. Dont look for things to get out of exercise, but look for things to do more.

3. I use stairs and almost never use elevators. Stairs are like "un-cigarettes" in that climbing stairs improves your heart health in proportion to the number of stairs you climb daily, the exact opposite of cigarettes.

[Mike_S]

I'm glad I spotted this and finally get to contribute a little info for a change.

I too was tired all of the time taking frequent naps and was no longer motivated to do anything. I wanted to do all sorts of things, work on cars, boats, my house and everything else that I always did in the past.

A few years ago there was a television commercial showing my symptoms and it mentioned low T. I don't know why they didn't just say testosterone in the commercial, I had to google it.

I mentioned it to my PCP and was tested. Yep, very low. They (VA) started with the patch and that had minimal effect on my T level. The patch is worn all day, every day, was uncomfortable and irritated my skin. The adhesive is hard to remove and stays on your skin for days.

Finally the gel became available and I started using that. It was much better and you can adjust the dose with the amount you apply. For me, that was better but the dose was still not enough to raise the T level to a low normal range.

It took over two years of screwing around slowly increasing the dose every 6 months to finally get injections. TESTOSTERONE CYP 200MG/ML IML IN OIL is what I have. It started with one injection per month, then twice monthly and finally one and a half of the 200mg/ml vials twice a month.

It did help with energy and motivation. I had heart bypass surgery several years ago and had been going to the gym 3 days a week long before getting testosterone and that did not help my energy level at all. In fact it was nearly impossible but I had to do it.

At first I had to drive to the VA and wait to get an injection twice a month but now they send it to me and I do it myself.

As a heart patient there was an issue that came up about a year ago with testoserone therapy and a high red cell count. I was instantly cut off and really pissed. They sent me to a Hematologist who checked me and I was back on T again. On my own I have cut back the dose. The initial report of potential heart problems has been largely dismissed even by the cardiologist that had stopped it out of an abundance of caution.

You may also check to see if you have sleep apnea which can also do the same thing. I also have sleep apnea and am now using a cpap machine. The combination of the two have me nearly normal.

Mike