How old are you and her?





 

Also, you might put her on DHEA.  Make sure it's decent stuff, pharmaceutical grade not derived from yams.  It's cheap and may fix her for you.

Don't screw around with the OTC crap.  Just stick her with 10-15mg per week of T.  That should get her engine revved  

Hematocrit refers to number of RBC's not just iron.  Does lowering iron yet keeping the RBC's reverse high hematocrit? I dont think it does, since your blood is still thick.  And thats the primary issue. I dont think taking DE is going to do much for hematocrit. But Id like to see more people try it and find out for sure.

Hematocrit is just a percentage not a total count.  

Low iron, causes the red blood cells to smaller and fewer in number from what I understand.  The link explains it a little.  But like you, I'll wait for someone else to try it.  I bet that shit is gritty.


http://www.emedicinehealth.com/hematocrit_blood_test/page4_em.htm

It's already documented it lowers hematocrit levels , I had the searches on my desk top but canned them after reading.  



 

I have 10 pounds of food grade DE coming tomorrow, tea spoon a day to start.


I read some really well documented cases where it helps a great deal with a whole host of issues in the body.


More than a few people were able to dump their BP meds, more than a few brought down their A1C levels to a normal range,, we'll see what happens , I'll report honestly what we find out.





http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00025H2PY?redirect=true&ref_=ya_st_dp_summary





 

http://www.processedfreeamerica.org/resources/health-news/793-health-benefits-of-diatomaceous-earth-

Ok that was helpful.  I found this info, "Your body needs plenty of hemoglobin to create red blood cells. The easiest way for your body to get hemoglobin is iron. Since red blood cells are essentially what makes up your hematocrit level, avoid eating iron-rich foods..."

The reduced iron level robs your hemoglobin of fuel and that makes less RBC's to replace the current ones when they die off.  The DE is one possible way to rob the hemoglobin, but doesnt lower the hematocrit directly. Now Im curious to try this stuff, but I bet it tastes like chalk and ass. Do they say what the dosage size is for it to work? I bet its significant, like several grams a day.

It says the active ingredient is silica.  I already take silica, so I wonder if I just take more of that it will do the same thing.  This stuff should be about 1.25 g of silica per tsp.  So you are looking at about 2.5 g of silica per day by taking this stuff. Im guessing thats the mechanism of action.

they say start with one tea spoon in a drink, juice coffee or whatever, move up after a week to  2 tea spoons, one in the morning and one at afternoon, it says you can go up to 2 or 3 tablespoons per day





It says start slow with the one teaspoon because as the toxins are eliminated from your body you might feel a little under the weather if you do this too fast




 
 

It's not just the silica, it's the toxin eliminating effects, read how the DE pulls it out



 

Since youre the designated guinea pig here you may want to consider grapefruit also.
"This is because naringin, a flavonoid seen in high concentrations in grapefruit, can lead to phagocytosis, which is a process that naturally removes red blood cells from your blood, converting them into other uses."  Grapefruit is somewhat controversial though. But it would be nice having two mechanisms fighting hematocrit at the same time. Too many things I want to do raise hematocrit levels.

If it was the woman with the insatiable sex drive I suspect the narrative would be a lot more about stepping up to the plate.

Both 34.

Honestly she's always been the perfect wife.  I've never felt like she was broken, but with me being so low on sex drive for a few years, she just got into the groove of not being expected to have sex as often.  I still blame it on myself, i was kind of a lazy slob for a while.  She is perfectly fine, i don't wish being medicated on anyone.  We are way more active now, we go out hiking, biking, hunting, working out together, walks a couple times a week.  Our lives have completely changed because my hormone levels are good now.  I honestly hate having to do the injections 3 times a week but it's just normal for me now.  Maybe if she shows symptoms of low sex drive later in life, we will look into something for her, but she is fantastic currently.

I understand what you're saying but you don't understand how bad it got.  I felt like was going to lose her if i didn't do something because my self esteem was so low.  She has always said i would never lose her but i could tell i wasn't pleasing her the way i should be as her husband, you know?  I'm just blunt, i communicate everything, i tell it how i feel it, and she likes that i do that.  It was just a case of misunderstanding.  I don't want her to be my sex slave, but i didn't only go on this lifelong treatment for me, i also did it for her.  Now, we are both extremely glad i did.  She is just as amped about sex as i am and she doesn't need to be on anything, she just needed it communicated what i wanted.  She knows i would do anything for her, and i'm not asking for twice a day or even every day, just 5 or 6 days a week.  Most people work 5 days a week, is it so hard to do something you enjoy every time, like have sex, 5 days a week?  I don't think it is and i don't think it's too much to ask of a wife, especially if you don't have kids, which we don't and aren't planning to/may not be able to.

I seriously do get what you're saying though, it's just how we communicate.  She talks to me the same way.  It works for us.  I didn't say it in a rude way, i just basically said it in a way that was like, hey do you want a man or do you want what i was 6 months ago.  If it was talking down on anyone it was myself.

You're not alone.  That same conversation has been had around my house.  Wives can get complacent especially after kids.  Mine also got used to me being lazy and uninterested in sex.  So there I was back to my usual horny self and she didn't know what to do with me.  At one point she told me just go fuck someone else if that's what you want.  She was bluffing and I knew it.  I told her to send me an email because I was tired of being horny all the time.  She got the point.  

And about 9 months ago her sex drive dropped off a cliff, that's when she decided to get tested and went on TRT herself.  

Kind of on topic but funny:  Before satellite radio, I listened to a lot of talk radio.  One day while surfing channels, I stumbled across doctor Laura.  She had a woman on the phone complain her husband wants sex all the time.  Dr. Laura's response was epic.  She told the woman (paraphrasing) "he agreed to sleep with you and you, therefore if he wants sex that's part of the deal."   I nearly drove off the road.  

ETA:  http://www.foxnews.com/story/2003/10/01/dr-laura-tells-women-just-do-it.html  - I can't make this shit up

Not sure if this is the place for it or not, but anyone else really creaky in the joints?  My knees and back are suddenly so terribly stiff and sore that I feel like I'm barely moving.  If I go workout I usually feel better, but only for a few hours and the stiffness and low-grade pain is back.

Might this be from the TRT?  It seems to roughly coincide with the treatments.

You probably should get your E2 checked.

Do high values or low values contribute to this?

Low. Purpose of estrogen in men is bone and joint health.

Way ahead of you (and almost the ER)

I take a channel blocker for my BP being a little high, a big no no grapefruit is when taking a channel blocker.



 

Yep, too low E2 and you'll feel like you have arthritis & the flu



 

I am thinking about switching over to Subcutaneous T injections.

What are the benefits besides the no holes in muscle tissue?



I have read you get a more balanced effect of the T?

A lower E2 production?  

I've read it has a more controlled breakdown thus helping maintain the levels at a more consistent point.  Lower e2 is reported and have seen stated it seems to increase your fat burning potential from the test.  I'll try to go dig the study up if I can remember where I read it.  Does do away with the need to aspirate the syringe as the chance of hitting a vein is slim to none.

 

I've read it can take 2 to 3 weeks to get back to where you were with the IM injections.  Mood swings, sleepyness, etc.  But a lot of people like it.  Use less T for similar or same result, slower metabolizing, less pain at the injection site.  Some have reported losing weight fairly quickly and the gyno can be less of an issue if you have issues with that, which i do.  Losing the weight i did helped a lot but i still got fatty man tits.  Been considering the same thing, going to sub Q, but i'd need to talk to my doc first to see what he says.

Feeling like crap and don't know why??

Just got blood work.
T Free 34.15
% Free T 4.5
Insulin Growth Factor 1  280
E Sensitive  25.6
T Serum. 759

I should be feeling good.

Do you sleep good because if not, your Adrenals could be shot. I'm going through it right now with getting up every 3 hours with a newborn. I feel like shit and constantly tired.

I switched to sub-C and told the doc after.



What's the doc gonna tell you?  

Yes...

No...

What...


Does he hold your pee-pee when you pee?

I asked the nurse if she could help me out when I did my sperm test.

She declined but I know deep down she wanted to.

That could be it.
It's been a bad year. Need a vacation.

Just think how bad it could be if you didn't have some kind of octane in the tank.

When you switched over did you get a lag , like your T dropped for a while until the sub T injections catch up?



 

I switched early on to Sub-Q after I saw Dr. Crisler's video.

I don't remember any noticeable difference. I don't think there is any.

In addition, I expect there isn't a doc who knows one way or another ---unless they are using TRT themselves, and even then what they think ---as well as what I think ---is no basis to make a personal decision to use S-Q ---or not.

You just try it yourself and see what happens.


This said, something that HAS been noticeable was recently when I upped my dosage .05 ml every 4 days of T-C.

From .3 or .35 ml to .4 ml. Of 200mg/cc TC.


There have been some significant [dramatic] improvements in motivation, sex, waist line measurement and strength. See pix of me on barn 2 pgs back. I'm in my 70's.



The past 2 years I had been sort of trying to accommodate my Primary doc [who no longer prescribes my T-C, just occasionally observes the data when I happen to show him a lab, and has often commented I had "Too much testosterone". The same doc who 2 yrs ago refused to prescribe HCG and Arimidex. --To go along with the T-C he DID prescribe....

He wants to see it in the 600 or 700 range. That would make me just another Metrosexual Sheeple Drone.

I'm likely in the 1000 to 1100 range right now 4 days after a Sub-Q inj. I don't let him see this data.

He's a little younger than me [guessing 66 or 67 YO] and he may have some 'negative emotional psychology' that I'm doing TRT and he isn't at his age.

I joked to him last time I saw him that he may or might soon be using it and he was very quiet...  




So I have for a long time been trying to "PLEASE HIM"   and see how little I could take and still get positive results.

Recently I arbitrarily increased the dosage as defined above, and have gotten significantly 'better' ?  results.


I'm going to see my HRT doc this week and ask them to increase my dosage  a 'step'.  

This is NOT to be construed I pay any particular attention to their recommendations, I still do my own thing and make dosage decisions I feel are best for me.


Simply put, I'm not a uninformed patient Sheeple who let's med folks make ARBITRARY DECISIONS for them.



Like most everybuddy else.


Also, initially when I first went to my Primary Doc, 2 yrs ago, and he sent me out the door 20 minutes later with a script to self inject T-C @ a dosage of .25ml [of 200 mg/cc] twice a week,  BUT he FIRST tried to talk me into creams, patches, and other non-sense.

I flatly rejected them and insisted on self injections.

I didn't take the time to read the thread, but I make quite a few different testosterone preparations at work. From cream you can apply on your forearms to pills. All custom doses we make for our patients. We get their levels drawn, and adjust dose accordingly.

For those of you who are doing SQ injections, are you just back filling insulin pins or do you have other methods/syringes.

Currently quad IM, looking to go SQ abdominal.

Yes this is what I am going to do I am pretty sure.

Just have no idea if I should keep doing the 1/2 Ml twice per week or go lower as what I have read it works more efficiently when doing sub injections?



 

Then I guess I will have to be the DE/ Naringin guinea pig. I have labs in about a month, but I suspect that wont be enough time to show significant results. So maybe in about six months Ill have more evidence to contribute.

I dont think it matters. Quad, abdom, glute, whatever.  I dont notice a difference either way.  I would never go back to IM though. SQ is like a vacation compared to IM. Slin pins are a breeze.

So back to my original question...if you are doing SQ, what syringes are you using and do you have to backfill them?

I use 27ga 1/2". I load them like I do any other needle.

Insulin needles.

So draw needle and then switch, or you just draw with the 27ga?

I draw and inject with the same 27ga. It takes some time but I'm not really in a rush when I do my injections.

I'm usually in a hurry and use 26ga just like the ones for intramuscular.

It doesn't matter the length of the needle, I stick them in about 1/2" and as I inject move the needle in and out a bit to distribute the injectable.

IMO, switching needles for draw and inj is silly.

As well as a waste of a perfectly good needle.




From time to time I equalize pressure in the vial by disconnecting the needle from the syringe while the needle is in the vial. A bit of understanding of physics helps...