Libido report

[Fruitbat]

Howdy,

with the pressures of kids etc in my early 40s my libido has been up and down.

it was pretty dead when we went through a very stressful time. We then had a 2 week holiday and it came back with a vengeance - unbelievable levels like a teenager.

Now, the country I visited had different conditions. I’m going to list what changed:

- I stopped vaping THC. This has a profound impact in every way and I’m done with it for life.
- Bottled water over tap. Not sure if this did it but I’ve maintained it.
- unprocessed foods. As an example, my libido was still through the roof on return. I had a day of sandwiches and McDonald and boom - depressed, lethargic etc.
- I ate more vegetables and more fatty meats. Broths, pork belly etc. not much bread and not much sugar.
- Stress was reduced on holiday but since returning I’ve made commitments to meditate and also, not work so hard. Not worry so much, just stop caring so much. If work suffers, get a new job, and explain why- I can’t operate in a stressed out way. If they don’t like it, fine, I can take a new job who will - and to hell with the money, I’m not killing myself for an extra thousand a month.

All these things have had a profound impact. I thought I was getting physical ED but that’s nonsense. It was all about psychology and lifestyle

 

[AmsterdamAssassin]

Unhealthy living kills you libido, yes.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Get on TRT and say bye to the stress and ED.

TRT has absolutely nothing to do with stress. If you don't sleep, your body will still be stressed.

It just won't effect your T levels, but that has nothing to do with the adverse effects the stress will still have on the body over time.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Poor sleep and poor diet are probably the two biggest issues for most people.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Yes it does. But as always you're right.

In this case I am. What you stated doesn't even make sense from a physiological perspective.

Cortisol is the stress hormone and TRT has zero effect on the release of cortisol. Also the most stressful thing to your body is lack of sleep. Which would raise cortisol levels and lower T levels. Since you are taking exogenous T, it will not effect that, but your body will still have the cortisol increases regardless.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

If you have a supply of Optimal Testosterone, cortisol will be reduced, better sleep, better mood, better erection, $hit won't affect you as much, you'll be able to deal with $hit way better, you're happier than having low T, therefore low stress.

You have low T cause you're stressed therefore you lack of sleep therefore your test leves are low, its s feedback loop.

You can say whatever you want but I lived it, I experienced it.

Yes, TRT can help with sleep but if a person chooses to stay up til 2am and only sleeps 5 hours a night their body is going to be stressed the fvck out no matter how much T they take.

Most people who don't sleep enough do so not because they can't sleep, but because they stay up way too late watching TV, being on their phone or playing games. That screws up the body's natural Circadian Rhythm and favors stress hormones, ghrelin release and other issues that help cause carb cravings and overeating to increase Serotonin levels which are depleted and eventually helps cause metabolic syndrome if it continues long enough.

"testosterone administration did not appear to suppress cortisol release, as serum cortisol concentrations decreased gradually across the 2 hours, reflecting cortisol’s normal circadian rhythm, and levels did not differ significantly between transdermal testosterone and placebo treatment
5
. This suggests that at least in the context of this study, a single dose of transdermal testosterone did not have a significant impact on cortisol levels."

 

[Fruitbat]

Get on TRT and say bye to the stress and ED.

I don’t need TRT, I was tested about 6 months ago and I was 690.

it’s psychological. When I can get some time out my mind returns to sexy things. In the working week with gym, work, then young child, my mind just doesn’t go there. Saturday and Sunday I feel relaxed and that’s when we do it. Once in a blue moon do I feel in the mood on a weekday.

I also find lifting heavy negatively impact my libido. Doing quite easy only slightly challenging workouts improves it.

They say overtraining is really hard to achieve but I find pushing it in any way means that my rest time is so exhausted that all I can do is recover. There’s a lot to be said for only doing just enough.

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

TRT has absolutely nothing to do with stress. If you don't sleep, your body will still be stressed.

It just won't effect your T levels, but that has nothing to do with the adverse effects the stress will still have on the body over time.

Okay but stress lowers Test and if you take Test you will still have much higher T regardless. Having high T and high stress is probably better than low T and low stress.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

My urologist is pro TRT and we talk about it a lot, he’s a really cool dude. While my levels are in the 600s, and I generally have no issues with my interest or ability. He often says to me that it’s about quality of life that it affects everything including our mental state as men.

He wants to bump me into the nines and see how I feel. He says that he done so for others and that they report great results related to state of mind, interest in sex, and they actually look better.

I figure when I drop below 600 I will.

 

[Fruitbat]

My urologist is pro TRT and we talk about it a lot, he’s a really cool dude. While my levels are in the 600s, and I generally have no issues with my interest or ability. He often says to me that it’s about quality of life that it affects everything including our mental state as men.

He wants to bump me into the nines and see how I feel. He says that he done so for others and that they report great results related to state of mind, interest in sex, and they actually look better.

I figure when I drop below 600 I will.

Are you in the US?

there seems to be a big difference between our doctors and US ones. Every third American I speak to is on various pills for ADHD (virtually unheard of in adults) and pain (I had major surgery and I got one tiny strip of codeine so I was In pain - to stop addiction potential)

I’m not having a go, but UK doctors would never medicate like that. It’s to stop deficiencies, they won’t say things like “try this and see how you go”. They would say “you are in normal range. Bye”

in fact this very thing happened to me. I got fat and lost interest about 5 years ago. They tested and I was about 450 I think. Door closed. I said I feel no interest and they said you’re normal range, lose some weight. That was that

Now this can be obstructive. As an example, I can’t get diazepam so I can sleep on flights. When I used to get it, I had to argue with the doctors to get 10MG each way not 2. However, I do feel Non-state healthcare doctors are salespeople wanting to hook you in to treatments you don’t need.

My wife’s country is private healthcare. She had a fever and went to hospital, the doctors put her on a drip and were telling her she needed this and that. I was laughing my ass off as in UK they would laugh you out the building and tell you to rest and take paracetamol. Think this is called acitemorphen in states. Literally no hospital is taking people in to a bed and giving them a drip for a cold.

Every time my wife visits doctors there she comes home thinking she needs treatment for something.

If you don’t have problems then I don’t see why a doctor is treating you on something which can have long term impact on your natural functions.
my guess is because he or she stands to make money out of it.

I’ve heard once on TRY you’re on it for life, or will have issues coming off. More stuff they can treat you for or a lifelong customer. That’s pretty fking evil of you ask me!

if they had treated me then rather than tell me to lose weight, I would be stuck on TRT forever.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

Ok

U.K.'s Healthcare Horror Stories Ought To Curb Dems' Enthusiasm For Single-Payer

One look across the Atlantic, to the disaster unfolding in the United Kingdom's government-run healthcare system, ought to curb any enthusiasm for Medicare for All.

www.forbes.com

Your answer shows a glaring lack of foundational knowledge of testosterone replacement therapy, or the effects of lowered testosterone in adult males. That’s ok…

And don’t worry the NHS will catch up at some point:

TRT UK | Testosterone Replacement Therapy | Manual

Learn about Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) in the UK, including its benefits, risks, and how it can enhance your health and well-being.

www.manual.co

Are you in the US?

there seems to be a big difference between our doctors and US ones. Every third American I speak to is on various pills for ADHD (virtually unheard of in adults) and pain (I had major surgery and I got one tiny strip of codeine so I was In pain - to stop addiction potential)

I’m not having a go, but UK doctors would never medicate like that. It’s to stop deficiencies, they won’t say things like “try this and see how you go”. They would say “you are in normal range. Bye”

in fact this very thing happened to me. I got fat and lost interest about 5 years ago. They tested and I was about 450 I think. Door closed. I said I feel no interest and they said you’re normal range, lose some weight. That was that

Now this can be obstructive. As an example, I can’t get diazepam so I can sleep on flights. When I used to get it, I had to argue with the doctors to get 10MG each way not 2. However, I do feel Non-state healthcare doctors are salespeople wanting to hook you in to treatments you don’t need.

My wife’s country is private healthcare. She had a fever and went to hospital, the doctors put her on a drip and were telling her she needed this and that. I was laughing my ass off as in UK they would laugh you out the building and tell you to rest and take paracetamol. Think this is called acitemorphen in states. Literally no hospital is taking people in to a bed and giving them a drip for a cold.

Every time my wife visits doctors there she comes home thinking she needs treatment for something.

If you don’t have problems then I don’t see why a doctor is treating you on something which can have long term impact on your natural functions.
my guess is because he or she stands to make money out of it.

I’ve heard once on TRY you’re on it for life, or will have issues coming off. More stuff they can treat you for or a lifelong customer. That’s pretty fking evil of you ask me!

if they had treated me then rather than tell me to lose weight, I would be stuck on TRT forever.

 

[Fruitbat]

Ok

U.K.'s Healthcare Horror Stories Ought To Curb Dems' Enthusiasm For Single-Payer

One look across the Atlantic, to the disaster unfolding in the United Kingdom's government-run healthcare system, ought to curb any enthusiasm for Medicare for All.

www.forbes.com

Your answer shows a glaring lack of foundational knowledge of testosterone replacement therapy, or the effects of lowered testosterone in adult males. That’s ok…

And don’t worry the NHS will catch up at some point:

TRT UK | Testosterone Replacement Therapy | Manual

Learn about Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) in the UK, including its benefits, risks, and how it can enhance your health and well-being.

www.manual.co

Agree to disagree on that one.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Are you in the US?

there seems to be a big difference between our doctors and US ones. Every third American I speak to is on various pills for ADHD (virtually unheard of in adults) and pain (I had major surgery and I got one tiny strip of codeine so I was In pain - to stop addiction potential)

I’m not having a go, but UK doctors would never medicate like that. It’s to stop deficiencies, they won’t say things like “try this and see how you go”. They would say “you are in normal range. Bye”

in fact this very thing happened to me. I got fat and lost interest about 5 years ago. They tested and I was about 450 I think. Door closed. I said I feel no interest and they said you’re normal range, lose some weight. That was that

Now this can be obstructive. As an example, I can’t get diazepam so I can sleep on flights. When I used to get it, I had to argue with the doctors to get 10MG each way not 2. However, I do feel Non-state healthcare doctors are salespeople wanting to hook you in to treatments you don’t need.

My wife’s country is private healthcare. She had a fever and went to hospital, the doctors put her on a drip and were telling her she needed this and that. I was laughing my ass off as in UK they would laugh you out the building and tell you to rest and take paracetamol. Think this is called acitemorphen in states. Literally no hospital is taking people in to a bed and giving them a drip for a cold.

Every time my wife visits doctors there she comes home thinking she needs treatment for something.

If you don’t have problems then I don’t see why a doctor is treating you on something which can have long term impact on your natural functions.
my guess is because he or she stands to make money out of it.

I’ve heard once on TRY you’re on it for life, or will have issues coming off. More stuff they can treat you for or a lifelong customer. That’s pretty fking evil of you ask me!

if they had treated me then rather than tell me to lose weight, I would be stuck on TRT forever.

250 is now considered "normal range" because T levels keep dropping year after year so they keep lowering what is "normal".

Does that actually make any logical sense?

Do you know what you'd feel like at a T levels of 250? Like a giant pile of elephant dung. And probably would look pretty close to that also, since T levels are directly correlated to abdominal fat storage as it's effects on muscle cells are to increase insulin sensitivity while alsoaking fat cells insulin resistant, making it harder to store fat.

We know there are many environmental factors destroying the male endocrine system over many decades now and instead of actually looking to help reverse it, they are complicit in its demise.

So you'll have to excuse me for not caring what doctors think on the matter since they don't actually care about a man's optimal health. They literally cannot if they are OK with someone having a T levels of 250.

Once again, there is a big difference between what is considered "normal" and what is considered "optimal".

 

[Fruitbat]

250 is now considered "normal range" because T levels keep dropping year after year so they keep lowering what is "normal".

Does that actually make any logical sense?

Do you know what you'd feel like at a T levels of 250? Like a giant pile of elephant dung. And probably would look pretty close to that also, since T levels are directly correlated to abdominal fat storage as it's effects on muscle cells are to increase insulin sensitivity while alsoaking fat cells insulin resistant, making it harder to store fat.

We know there are many environmental factors destroying the male endocrine system over many decades now and instead of actually looking to help reverse it, they are complicit in its demise.

So you'll have to excuse me for not caring what doctors think on the matter since they don't actually care about a man's optimal health. They literally cannot if they are OK with someone having a T levels of 250.

Once again, there is a big difference between what is considered "normal" and what is considered "optimal".

Fair point. I was at 690 so I’m happy enough. Although my body stores all its fat round my gut and libido could still be better, but mine is a-ok when work stress isn’t present so it’s psychological.

still haven’t had the full T screen so no idea of my oestrogen but I bet it’s high, so additional T would be a bad idea IMO.

690 at 42 is more than enough from what I hear.
I have energy but I just need to lose fat

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Fair point. I was at 690 so I’m happy enough. Although my body stores all its fat round my gut and libido could still be better, but mine is a-ok when work stress isn’t present so it’s psychological.

still haven’t had the full T screen so no idea of my oestrogen but I bet it’s high, so additional T would be a bad idea IMO.

690 at 42 is more than enough from what I hear.
I have energy but I just need to lose fat

Total T is important as a guidelines but that most important thing to know is Free T, which is T that is bio-active and available to be used by the body.

Someone on the forum, can't remember who, posted they had total T of like 1000+ but their free T was lower than mine at 600 because their SHBG is very high meaning it binds to the T and renders it inactive in the body...

Do you know what your free T levels are? If not, next time you get tested make sure to ask for that test as it's more important than Total T.

 

[sangheilios]

@Fruitbat

You should seriously be reconsidering why you are taking advice about this from strangers on an internet forum. It's normal for libido to fluctuate and many of the claims being discussed on here are marketing gimmicks used to bring revenue for male health clinics pedaling TRT. Once you go on that ****, you very likely will have to rely upon that for the rest of your life. You also may be putting yourself at risk for strokes and heart attacks.

 

[Fruitbat]

@Fruitbat

You should seriously be reconsidering why you are taking advice about this from strangers on an internet forum. It's normal for libido to fluctuate and many of the claims being discussed on here are marketing gimmicks used to bring revenue for male health clinics pedaling TRT. Once you go on that ****, you very likely will have to rely upon that for the rest of your life. You also may be putting yourself at risk for strokes and heart attacks.

Yo. I’m not taking TRT and not really taking it as advice, some of the info I’m getting is solid, like checking free T etc but I’ve already made it abundantly clear I won’t be even considering TRT as a treatment.

I did say above I got tested and it was lower and it’s naturally raised so I’m glad I didn’t go that route.

I do disgree with some on the use of TRT but I might consider it if I get clinical symptoms like depression, dead libido and this is probably a matter for my 50s

each to their own I say and don’t worry, I won’t make any decisions without rigorous study and professional opinion.

My main issue when libido lowers is stress, not T levels as off the charts I’ve seen my levels are fairly good for someone who is 30, not 40s, so I’m lucky in this regard.

As soon as I am away from the grind of kids/work/kids/work I am like a 16 year old. Back into the cauldron and I can at times become like an asexual monk.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

@Fruitbat

You should seriously be reconsidering why you are taking advice about this from strangers on an internet forum. It's normal for libido to fluctuate and many of the claims being discussed on here are marketing gimmicks used to bring revenue for male health clinics pedaling TRT. Once you go on that ****, you very likely will have to rely upon that for the rest of your life. You also may be putting yourself at risk for strokes and heart attacks.

No you won't, unless you don't get blood work done and don't pay attention to Polythecemia, which is where those risks lie.

Again, falls under the people who do stuff without knowing anything about what they are doing.

The easy fix is to donate blood every 8 weeks. I do it like clockwork, no issues.

Low T levels cause far more damage than higher ones do as long as they are within range and you take proper measures to deal with potential side effects.

Not all people have that issue but the ones that do need to donate blood.

 

[Fruitbat]

No you won't, unless you don't get blood work done and don't pay attention to Polythecemia, which is where those risks lie.

Again, falls under the people who do stuff without knowing anything about what they are doing.

The easy fix is to donate blood every 8 weeks. I do it like clockwork, no issues.

Low T levels cause far more damage than higher ones do as long as they are within range and you take proper measures to deal with potential side effects.

Not all people have that issue but the ones that do need to donate blood.

Just FYI I just paid for the full screen. I tested T alone and it was fine.

Now I’m going for T, oestrogen, SBHG and prolactin.

I suspect as I’m chubby we will see more info, and I expect the answer will just be lean up and lift weight.

If T is still high (690 ish) then any advice on how to affect the others appreciated.

I think we may have discussed before but won’t be able to find thread without a lot of work

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Just FYI I just paid for the full screen. I tested T alone and it was fine.

Now I’m going for T, oestrogen, SBHG and prolactin.

I suspect as I’m chubby we will see more info, and I expect the answer will just be lean up and lift weight.

If T is still high (690 ish) then any advice on how to affect the others appreciated.

I think we may have discussed before but won’t be able to find thread without a lot of work

Did the just T screen include Free Testosterone as well as Total?

That's the important one, although you can kind of guestimate what it will be based on where your SHBG levels are.

For some reason my SHBG levels are always low(like 7 or 8 usually) so I have higher Free T levels relative to normal even tho my Total T is usually around 600.

If there is a way to get your Progesterone levels checked also that would be a useful addition. If you have low Progesterone levels you can still have Estrogen dominance even if you T:E ratios are good. Estrogen dominance is based on the interplay between T:E levels...that is not widely known to checked for by doctors, but a key component in hormonal balance.

Many mistakenly believe it's "just" a female hormone but it isn't. It plays an important role in men as well, similar to how Testosterone plays an important role in women, even tho they have 1/10 the levels men do.

If T and free T are good but you have some SHBG/E issues, you want to make sure you are getting enough Zinc in your diet. It's a key nutrient that helps reduce aromatization and positively expresses genes, as the body contains "zinc fingers" on its DNA in certain genes. Without enough zinc those are switched off and not expressed. Zinc can be thought of as the "quintessential male" mineral. It's found in good amounts in red meat, chicken, etc. Harder to trust from plant based sources because soil quality is poor these days and even in the same fields, levels of nutrients can vary widely from normal to almost none at all.

Can look into taking Zinc supplement if need be, I take 50mg every other day or so to make sure I have enough.

Also can look into taking Stinging Nettle Root for high levels of SHBG as that binds to it which prevents it from effecting Free T levels too much.

DIM is also another supplement that you can use if you have high E levels as that ****s down aromatization, although zinc is good at this as well, especially in higher doses(150-200 mg). Alternatively can eat lots of broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables as they contain DIM in them.