Androgel: Has Anyone Tried It?

[Thrax]

Originally Posted by sexyshelby

I agree, eating enough is the hardest thing about being healthy. Most people struggle to eat less, I struggle to eat enough!

Well, yeah, you're right, but the whole concept is ruined for me because you're talking about HEALTHFUL food.

Dammit!

Now I'm hungry for a KitKat.

[Uomo]

[quote=highlander]I've used androgel for over a year now. [quote]

So what are your observations of the product? Does it work?

What has it done favorably for you (in your opinion)?

Any negatives to speak of?

I'm quite curious. Do tell.

[intuition897]

Originally Posted by sexyshelby

Wow...listen to this girl...She really knows her stuff.

~SS

:rollseyes lol I just read a lot. I'm lazy enough that I need to know why I'd make myself go through with a heavy workout in the first place as opposed to a nice long walk.

[sexyshelby]

Originally Posted by Thrax

Well, yeah, you're right, but the whole concept is ruined for me because you're talking about HEALTHFUL food.

Dammit!

Now I'm hungry for a KitKat.

KitKat is definitely heathy!

[sexyshelby]

Originally Posted by intuition897

:rollseyes lol I just read a lot. I'm lazy enough that I need to know why I'd make myself go through with a heavy workout in the first place as opposed to a nice long walk.

Agreed. Although I prefer to lift because it's quicker. Better results from a 30 minute lifting session than a 30 minute walk. And I prefer the shorter so that I can go back to sittin on my butt being lazy!


~SS

[highlander]

Originally Posted by Uomo

So what are your observations of the product? Does it work?

It works. However, if you are paying full price, the stuff from a compounding pharmacy works as well-for about 30% the cost.

What has it done favorably for you (in your opinion)?

More alertness-helped me regain strength/muscle I'd lost as part of aging. I didn't experience a huge increase in libido-but that wasn't a problem for me going into this.

Any negatives to speak of?

There is risk here. Doctors are NOT united about the long term effects of testosterone therapy. I personally think the risks are worth it-and can be mitigated.

You'll need to choose your doctor carefully if you use this stuff-and you'll need to explain it to main of them(and get lectures on it).

Side effects? If you don't cycle properly you'll stop producing much sperm after a while(you'll come, but havfe little ejaculate). Also, if you take enough, you'll get oily skin like a teenager.

[funfitcouple]

The wifee has been on androgel for a year or so, and works great. It is paramount to get a doc that really understands females and thier hormones. It requires a full panel blood test. while guys worry about three different levels, women need to juggle 3-5. It also takes women far longer to adjust to the compound amounts and recheck the blood levels. Guys can take a beating, and the women can seriously perminantly hurt themselves if not careful using these drugs. There are several levels that women need to be looking at prior to taking testosterone., thyroid, progesterone, test, estrogen.

We're both very into fitness / bodybuilding, and we can't stress enough it is all diet, period. Working out is only half of the equation. Without the right diet, you will not alter your body. Everyone has different diet needs. I follow a very high calorie diet, about 6500 per day (High protein, high fat, low carb). The wifee responds better to lower fat, higher carb, high protein. Everybody is differnet, but there are some basics to start with.

I always get a kick out of the girls/women in the gym that do all the cardio. They always look terrible, and will continue on this downward spiral until they understand how the body works. It is paramount to work out with wieghts, period. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn. The cardio bunnies have no muscle, do cardio for 1 1/2 hours and never change, and do not eat to top it off. Women should 1) eat right. 2) Weight train. 3) Add cardio at a minimal rate say 20 min 4 times a week. Trust me women will never "bulk" up to much by working out, they just don't have the test levels to do it naturally. The wifee trained 18 years, heavy, and still isn't overly buff.

If your do start on androgel, the packets that are sold right now are made for men. You would only need about 1/4 to 1/5 per 5g packet. Make sure it stays on you for at least 12hours, and do not miss any days. The half life is really short, and missing days will jump your levels around to much. I'd say (but I'm no doctor) start low and continue to retest your blood levels until you get to were you should be. I would test levels every 12 weeks until your good, then every 6 after that. Hope this helped.

[intuition897]

Originally Posted by funfitcouple

We're both very into fitness / bodybuilding, and we can't stress enough it is all diet, period. Working out is only half of the equation. Without the right diet, you will not alter your body. Everyone has different diet needs. I follow a very high calorie diet, about 6500 per day (High protein, high fat, low carb). The wifee responds better to lower fat, higher carb, high protein. Everybody is differnet, but there are some basics to start with.

I always get a kick out of the girls/women in the gym that do all the cardio. They always look terrible, and will continue on this downward spiral until they understand how the body works. It is paramount to work out with wieghts, period. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn. The cardio bunnies have no muscle, do cardio for 1 1/2 hours and never change, and do not eat to top it off. Women should 1) eat right. 2) Weight train. 3) Add cardio at a minimal rate say 20 min 4 times a week. Trust me women will never "bulk" up to much by working out, they just don't have the test levels to do it naturally. The wifee trained 18 years, heavy, and still isn't overly buff.

OMG FunFit, how in THE HELL can you consume 6500 calories a day in protein?...Oh...wait...you mentioned the high-fat part, too. I was gonna say... holy shit, you'd have to just pour your skim milk right into the tub of whey protein! Great fitness advice. Thanks!

[funfitcouple]

Intuition - I'm a pretty big guy, and weight alomost 270lbs. My diet is mainly meats, brown rice, yams, eggs, and flax oils. I've also been bodybuilding for almost 15 years, and eating very clean for 12 years.

Uomo, my apologies I misread your post and thought it was being asked from a female's perspective. Androgel will definately help you. The range for free test is 300-950 or so, being at your age, you will be lucky to be at 400-500. Taking the andgogel will maybe get you to the high side or a little over. It is a pretty mild dose, and you would have to take like 3-4 packets a day to really get your levels to a point where it might harm your overall health. Disclaimer *** I'm not a doctor, just learned from my experiences** I was at a level of 200 about 4 years ago, and went on the andgo 5g packets. Was tested about 12 weeks later and was at about 800. Also test your thyroid, HGH, prostate (sp), and estrogen. Those all need to be in the right levels and you will feel much better.

The benefits: Increased sex desire, muscle gain's, less worn out feeling, well being feeling. The draw backs: Once your tested and shown to have low test levels naturally, chances are that you will need a hormone therapy for life. It's not really something that you would cycle on and off for. Just a constant small dose to maintain a even higher level. Most standard doctors are not that up to date on Hormone therapy, best to find a anti aging doc, or a sports related feild.

Also, give up the cardio and start training with weights. The amount of cardio should only be about 20min 3-4 times per week. Cardio should not be the way to control your wieght, but a way to slightly increase your metabolism. It's paramount to build the muscle, and no you won't bulk up like arnold in 3 weeks.

Finally, never ever step on a scale or take your body fat. Those measurements are not motivating and mean nothing. It's all how you look and feel that matters. I'm 60lbs over weight, and have tight 6 pac abs. The whole HWP or giving stats means nothing.

Sorry for the long posts, but I love this stuff.

[makingtime4fun]

I have experience with Androgel. My ex was on it and a few other testosterone replacements because his body was also low. Before he started taking it he had a sex drive but his attractions were different. I would call his sex drive before the hormones fairly normal. He wanted sex about 3 or 4 times a week. To tell you the truth after starting hormones his sex drive was out of control. He was having sex 5 to 6 times a day and still was not satisfied because every time he turned around something would set him off again.
Another problem we had was the hormones changed his personality. He went from being loving and caring to being all about the sex. His drive was so strong that he did not care where the sex came from as long as he was getting it. He spent all day on the internet trying to find partners and started being unfaithful. He was having sex with complete strangers and people that he never would have been with before the hormones. He quit spending time with me and the kids because sex was more important.
The biggest problem I found was the mood swings. This was a man who had all the patients in the world and after the hormones his moods would change for no reason. He became angry and short with everyone. I personally think that it was because no matter how many times a day he had sex he was never satisfied.
I would never recommend this to anyone because it destroyed our relationship.

[Couples Touch]

This is an older thread, with the last thread dating back to April of this year. Since I am new and felt I had something to add, I wanted to throw my .02 cents in.

I am 35, and 3 years ago had just some routine blood work done. I was into my 30's, and working out harder than ever. From the time I turned 30, until I had the blood work done, I had gained about 25-30 pounds, and I was working out and being more active than ever.

At first, everyone thought I looked great, and I was actually getting compliments. I think everyone thought through my clothes I was putting on a bunch of muscle. Finally, I had to do something, because I was feeling bad as well and working out and being active was no longer enjoyable.

To make a very long story short. I had been diagnosed with "Andropuase", which is the male version of Menopause. At 31-32 I was in shock and horrified.

The ONLY symptoms, thank God, was the weight gain and fatigue. Luckily, because I was still young, it was not hurting my sex drive or performance!

After seeing about 4 Doctors, 2 of them being these new "Anti Aging Doctors", and being placed on several different mixtures of Meds, I finally saw one that I feel did something for me.

The meds I was placed on was Androgel, Shots of HCG (which is to make your own testicles make your own Testosterone), and an Anti-Estrogen pill.

I was spending at one time, about $800 per month on these different combo's of medications.

Did it help?!?! Yes.... No... Maybe... Yes... No.... I still have a hard time knowing if it did or did not.

During the treatments, I went through mood swings, not being able to get hard when I wanted (even though I was taking testosterone), insomnia, weight gain, weight loss, emotional, angry, temper, and much more!

What I found, was getting to and maintaining a "normal" hormone level, while using these very powerful meds, is a science!! And even the best doctors I could find, I felt were playing a guessing game with me.

I finally found another Doctor, as I was just not set that at my age I would be experiencing Andropause. He ordered me to have a series of several Brain Scans, to find I had a damaged Pituitary Gland (and possibly a small tumor, which are almost a common thing).

He took me off all of the meds, and I actually felt a little better and the sumptoms seemed better than before.

What I found was that Men produe Estrogen like ladies do. It can be like a poison to you if your Testosterone level is off. I feel my bad experience with the meds was the Anti-Estrogen was too strong and made mine go to low, and then they would take me off of it, and while you are injecting or rubbing Testosterone, it is going to make your body produce more Estrogen.

See, it is a science!

My advice, as I continue to work with my Doctors to attain a "normal" level, is to be very careful.. READ.. READ.. READ... Inform yourself! I even read Susan Sommers book about her battles with Hormone Replacement. Her son at 40 battled it as well.

See a good Doctor, one that specializes in Hormone Replacement Therapy, and communicate constantly with him/her about your results and how you feel.

Hope this helps someone who might come across this.

And for those of you that know me, you know I have a great, healthy sex drive and I do not even have to use any help from Viagra. If you are battling what you feel is hormonal, then get help, because it is out there for you!

soapbox

I now step down! haha!

[HotMoCpl]

If you doctor is worth his salt, he should first do blood workups to verify that you do or do not need testosterone replacement.

GNC stores would be a good place to start, and if the sales person is good, they should answer ALL of your question. I'm currently using Mega Man and there was another from them I tried.