Darned if ya do....

November 15, 2004

I have low testerone and have been on androgel at one time but quit

because My wife and I want to have kids very badly and I heard that

while on androgel you cannot have children because your body stops

creating it's own testosterone while taking synthetic and I wasn't

really noticing any diffrence while taking it. Well when my wife

started going to her new OBGYN he diagnosed her with PCOS and

ordered me to have a seaman count done and said that my count was

around 7 mil. I told him that I had been on Androgel because of my

low testosterone at one time and he told me that could have very

well been why my count was so low. The way I had understood it was

that when you take the synthetic T for so long and stop then your

body should start making it's own and at higher levels? Was that

wrong? How long does it take to notice any diffrence? and has anyone

on here fathered children during or after treatment? if so how long

did it take?

TIA

November 15, 2004

If you are secondary you can inject LH (HCG) and FSH to increase sperm count.

Do you have any blood tests?

And yes taking testosterone will shut down your own production and shut down

your

HPTA axis. But if you have hypogonadism then your HTPA is already shut down,

blood

tests would show low LH and FSH.

>

> I have low testerone and have been on androgel at one time but quit

> because My wife and I want to have kids very badly and I heard that

> while on androgel you cannot have children because your body stops

> creating it's own testosterone while taking synthetic and I wasn't

> really noticing any diffrence while taking it. Well when my wife

> started going to her new OBGYN he diagnosed her with PCOS and

> ordered me to have a seaman count done and said that my count was

> around 7 mil. I told him that I had been on Androgel because of my

> low testosterone at one time and he told me that could have very

> well been why my count was so low. The way I had understood it was

> that when you take the synthetic T for so long and stop then your

> body should start making it's own and at higher levels? Was that

> wrong? How long does it take to notice any diffrence? and has anyone

> on here fathered children during or after treatment? if so how long

> did it take?

>

> TIA

November 16, 2004

Hi & Christy

My wife and I conceived a child in August. I have been on Androgel

since April. I was applying the 1% 5 gram dose to stomach once a

day in the evenings. Although I feel better when I use injections

or use about twice that much Androgel daily, the one dose was enough

to restore good sexual function for me without causing testicular

atrophy. I never had a sperm count, so I don't know if my sperm was

low or not but we conceived in less than a month while having sex

every other day. I'm not certain but I expect that every man can

find a low level of testosterone supplementation with gels that will

still allow him to conceive a child. I also think that if you only

use it once a day at a low dose your testicles are more likely to

function. Maybe you could just decrease your dose weekly by small

amounts until your testicles grow back closer to their normal size.

That would likely be a sign that they are producing sperm again. My

Urologist tells me that the sperm that one ejaculates was actually

produced by the testicles 2 months earlier. I don't know if that is

true, but that is what he says. HCG might be a good idea but I have

never tried it. By the way, If your insurance doesn't pay for the

androgel, I would consider buying a compounded T-gel from a

compounding pharmacy. I am using Women's International Pharmacy. I

was paying $212/month for Androgel but now only $34/month for the

compounded gel. The compounded gel comes in a little tub so you can

apply as much or as little as you want.

-Matt

>

> I have low testerone and have been on androgel at one time but

quit

> because My wife and I want to have kids very badly and I heard

that