Testosterone

[Blackout]

Sertraline is indeed a bad guy. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24642156
I also took that shit pill for a good two years.

I've only done T reading once, a few months ago, after following recommendations on this site for a while https://www.anabolicmen.com/
Total T was 38 nmol/L (1096 ng/dl), SHBG 31 nmol/L, which seems pretty good. T/SHBG ratio = 1,22.
Been meaning to get a new test to see if it was a fluke, but my beard was growing pretty well then despite libido being obliterated.

What other things have you tried? How is your diet? I think there's safer things you could try before resorting to DHT analogues,
like pregnenolone and low-dose DHEA, fat soluble vitamins A D E & K, possible diet modifications, zinc, etc.

I've already tried DHEA for several months since I have low levels too, but there was no difference. I tried pregnenolone at the very beginning of my PSSD, just a bottle, but I didn't feel anything either. I'm taking vitamins A, D and E since several months ago, and tried a K bottle but I finished it and haven't purchased another. Also trying 30 mg zinc for years -at some point tried 50 mg-. I have gastrointestinal issues which still have not been diagnosed, however what I can see for myself is that I have malabsorption, my total, LDL and HDL are very low -HDL lower-, and I believe that I have been B12 deficient for a while and that's what is impairing my short term memory more than the damage from sertraline, I'm trying intramuscular B complex EOD.

I have mentioned that among the lots of things that I've tried, the combination -or something among the combination- of levothyroxine, lamotrigine, memantine, omega 3 and i guess SAM-e too, gave me partial erectile functionality back in early 2013, with no libido nor genital sensibility. And mianserin, despite making me ill, although it didn't help sexually at all, was the only thing that appeared to ameliorate my anhedonia. Ultra high dose piracetam with CDP-choline appeared to have a minimal, really minimal -MINIMAL, I repeat- effect on my erections, but I was unable to sustain the cost.

Aside from that, nothing else has helped me, but several things made me worsen along the way: low dose trazodone, low dose ziprasidone and low dose quetiapine -just a single quarter pill- all made me permanently worse in mid 2013, and mirtazapine in late 2014 worsened my anhedonia too although it reverted back to PSSD baseline after quitting. Finally I made the mistake of taking T3 for 6 months this year and I worsened to point zero, all my remaining functionality is low and now I'm fully unable to produce a single tear from sadness. Although my gastric issues also worsened a lot this year, so it may be related with my sexual and emotional worsening.

[nonesuch]

Man, i'm sorry to hear about your struggles. I like you have trouble feeling many things at all but i can at least sympathize with you having to deal with this crap. Yeah DHEA + pregnenolone haven't produced miracles for me, but it has been a component to my testicles going from total shrinkmode back to at least 50% low-hanging. I've become more buff, better bodyshape too from using them, even at this low dose (5 mgs-ish each/day) so that at least seems like something is going in the right direction.

Yeah the intestinal stuff is probably a big factor. What symptoms have you been having? Personally, i feel i've been constipated pretty much since quitting the drug three years ago. I don't remember much when i was on it but i do remember diarrhea happening. Knowing serotonins role in gut motility, there's bound to be an impact.
Or do you think it is unrelated? Maybe it could be worth going to a doctor for. Can you eat a way that you feel mitigate the stomach problems?

How large of a t3 dose did you take? I've read taking too much can turn it into reverse t3, which isn't gonna be fun. Though i'm not completely comfortable around that topic. I've been taking small amounts, 6 mcg t3 + 12 mcg t4/day for about 3 weeks. I can't say it's done much yet.

[Coraggio]

Very interesting. I am going to check mine too. I've tested only testosterone and 17Beta-estradiol and they were in the normal range. My drug was citalopram. I' ll post my tests.

Ps: do you remember guy on dr. Bob site recovered with licorice root? Licorice decreases total testosterone but was found to increase free testosterone in saliva test. I really don' t anything but maybe, IF that report was true, PSSD could be linked with a change in steroidogenesis? Open question.

[nonesuch]

Yeah, i think SSRIs will very likely affect your steroid synthesis, for one thing serotonin overload will jack up cortisol, which will hinder normal steroid production;
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8382638

The LH-->5HT-->CRF inhibitory loop serves to continuously buffer the stimulation of androgen production by gonadotropin. 5HT, the immediate stimulus of testicular CRF secretion, is released during stress and is locally increased in the testis in pathological conditions associated with impaired testicular function (i.e., orchitis, varicocele).

... Serotonin acts on 5HT2 receptors in the Leydig cell to stimulate CRF secretion...

Serotonin is part of the testicular feedback loop, signaling to increase CRF (corticotropin release factor) which then stops steroid production in the testis.
In a decently normal body where serotonin is tightly regulated, it works ok; when serotonin is excessive, i guess that would lead to excessive calls for CRF -> steroid production is halted. Lowering serotonin (blocking 5HT2 receptors)/cortisol (and/or regaining SERT-function to regulate serotonin) should then be helpful for testicular steroid synthesis. My anectodal story would be balls swelling from cyproheptadine and mirtazapine.

You could ask your doctor for LH and FSH too, that should help paint a bigger picture.

[DoIt]

Hmmm, I have PSSD my total T is low for my age but my free T is upper reference range.

[Blackout]

Yeah the intestinal stuff is probably a big factor. What symptoms have you been having? Personally, i feel i've been constipated pretty much since quitting the drug three years ago. I don't remember much when i was on it but i do remember diarrhea happening. Knowing serotonins role in gut motility, there's bound to be an impact.
Or do you think it is unrelated? Maybe it could be worth going to a doctor for. Can you eat a way that you feel mitigate the stomach problems?

How large of a t3 dose did you take? I've read taking too much can turn it into reverse t3, which isn't gonna be fun. Though i'm not completely comfortable around that topic. I've been taking small amounts, 6 mcg t3 + 12 mcg t4/day for about 3 weeks. I can't say it's done much yet.

I believe that I have IBS, but don't know if it is the only cause. Yes, my gut was bad with chronic colitis since PSSD, but it worsened a lot at the start of this year. Stool has been alternating between normal and green since three months ago. I'm still not diagnosed because I depend on the public healthcare system, and they will check me until January, a endoscopy and colposcopy, and some blood tests.

My T3 dose was small too, 5 mcg T3 + 25 mcg T4/day. It did nothing positive, but the opposite.

Hmmm, I have PSSD my total T is low for my age but my free T is upper reference range.

How would you rate your symptoms, erectile capacity, libido, sensitivity, and also emotional ones if yo have, when your PSSD was at its worst? And what SSRI caused you the problem?

[danny]

In my hormone tests, my testosterone is always within the normal limit, but just close to the lower line.

As others I have tried in the past, my doctor prescribed me gel testosterone (Testo max) that helped for a few days and then stopped helping.

I'm thinkink to try to raise my tastosterone level naturally, by eating special foods, vitamin D and more.
Has anyone tried it before?

[Bunny]

Lately I have been seeing some success for sexual functioning (but NOT mood) with compounded testosterone cream. I am also taking the max dosage of NAC for high cortisol, and inositol for OCD. A copy/paste from my thread:

"I posted in a few other threads that I took a urine test last month and was found to have extremely low androgens/testosterone and was prescribed a compounded testosterone replacement cream (that also contains estradiol, DHEA, and other hormones for balance, etc.).

Well, after taking the cream for a week (along with the max dose of NAC daily for high cortisol)... I'm now experiencing regular, sustained, and very good mental arousal, with good and pleasurable orgasms. Everything feels normal. However, I am EXTREMELY depressed/anhedonic in literally every other aspect of my life. I recently discontinued bupropion XL (most likely for good this time) because it's just not effective enough and am now trying to fight my OCD and depression with therapy and CBT... the way I SHOULD have done eight years ago instead of hopping back on SSRI's. I might even go for TMS if my insurance will cover it.

I haven't spoken to my psych yet and don't know how long I'm supposed to be on this treatment, but it's very encouraging. My main problem now is literally being so depressed that I just ignore my sex drive. So I know it wasn't just being depressed that killed my libido, but there was something else going on (something hormonal)."

And a copy/paste of hormone test results:

Pregnanediol 820 (ref. range 13 - 370 nmo/dL)
DHEA 4.9 (ref. range 11 - 76.3 nmol/dL)
Testosterone 4 (ref. range 10 - 48 nmol/dL)
Estradiol (E2) 2.3 (premenopause ref. range 0.6 - 11.2 mcg/g)

[Jaxx]

any reason to test pregnanediol (instead of progesterone)?

[Bunny]

I think it just happened to be included in the comprehensive panel that Genova provided, whereas progesterone was not.