An update

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

Apologies that I haven't been around a lot of late. I guess when

things are going well there seems to be less of a need to seek the

company of fellow travellers; still, perhaps I can offer some

encouragement to those who are new here.

About a year ago I noticed my libido was falling off. I have the

great fortune to have a first rate doctor, and once he did the

appropriate tests and diagnosed primary hypogonadism, he pretty much

let me determine the course of my treatment. Based on help from this

board and to a lesser extent the impotence support newsgroup, I

started with shots.

At first it was terrific, but the effect quickly wore off. My

breasts began to itch. Excess conversion of T to E. I asked for and

got Arimidex. The itching stopped.

But even with weekly shots, at half a vial, I was on a roller

coaster. If I took the shot on Wednesday, I'd be great for the

weekend but so-so the rest of the week. I asked for and was switched

to Androgel.

After a month, I found my libido sagging. My dosage was upped to

7.5 grams a day. Still no improvement, so I thought about going back

to the shots. The doctor was willing. But I had a lot of gel left,

so we upped the dosage to 10 grams a day.

Bam! Just like that I was back at full throttle. I'm putting

one packet on the arms and shoulders, the other goes to the inner

thighs. I feel great and have been consistent since I found this

dose.

It took a lot of time, a lot of trial and error, but I seem to be

doing just fine these days. I wanted to drop back and offer this as a

message of hope to those starting out on this road, and I'd like to

publicly thank the members of this group who helped me find my way,

particularly Oreon and ldslifter. You guys rock!

It's a wonderful thing to have an enlightened caring physician,

and a support group like this one. Thanks again to this group. I

can't tell you how much better I feel these days, but without the

advice I found here I suspect I wouldn't be where I am now.

And I'm sure my wife will join me in that!