Hypogonagism without insurance

August 22, 2010

Hello all,

I'm a 47 year old male that was diagnosed with low T three years ago. It all

started when I had an accident at work and tore my quadricep tendon. This was

followed by surgery and 13 months of physical therapy, while taking

100-150mg/day of hydrocodone. The physical therapy was followed with work

conditioning, which consisted of 4 hrs./day of weight training. I had no energy

and my body was constantly shutting down to the point that I didn't have the

energy to get out of a chair. I was depressed, had no interest in sex whatsoever

and basically gave up on everything. My complaints to the doctor were ignored,

as the workers comp insurance company decided what treatments I would/wouldn't

receive. The doctor finally demanded to check my T levels, as my symptoms

couldn't be ignored anymore. My levels were vey low (150-160) and he put me on

Androgel(5g/day). After two months there was no change, so he changed it to

10g/day. A couple months later I started feeling better and felt like living

again. My levels were checked and were around 300. The insurance company decided

that this was a normal level an discontinued treatment.

Two years later bring us to today. My knee has not recovered well. It has

been determined that I cannot return to work as I knew it. My job is long gone

and so is my insurance. Finding a new job/insurance with my physical

restrictions is impossible.

The past year has been pretty grim. I have the same feeling of

weekness/depression/lack of desire. Last month, my wife finally had enough and

made me get checked again. I went to a urologist and my level was 189. He put me

on 5gm/day of Testim, as he said it worked better that Androgel. He said he

wanted me on it a for a couple of years. He wants to see me and check levels

monthly for the first six months, then once every six months after that.

The office visit was $113, the blood test was $195 and a 30 day supply of

Testim is $300. That's $600 a month that I just don't have. To make things

worse, I don't feel any change with the 5gm/day Testim. If he bumps it up to

10gm/day, that will be another $300/month.

As much as I want/need to continue this treatment, I can't do it. I'm afraid

my quality of life will continue to decline to the point where (nevermind).

I would love to hear from others who are in the same situation. I would also

appreciate any ideas on how to get treatment that's affordable. Thanks for

reading and sorry for rambling...

Jeff

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