# My experience getting on TRT (hypogonadism, fertility, Dutch healthcare system)



## AcidTears (Jul 6, 2022)

*TLDR;
Background: *Got diagnosed with secondary hypogonadism at the age of 28. Got a lot of shit from a lot of doctors. Was put on a shitty protocol and have learned a lot since!
*Currently: *Now doing my TRT via a Dutch Urologist and my new (and awesome) GP - got perscribed 125mg every 5 days. 
As I'm working on my physique goals I've been on "athetic or sports HRT" (thanks mr. Chavez) of 250mg test/week + 50mg of DHB (odd choice I know) and blood work/health has
never been better!
*Fertility: *Managed to get my sperm count up from 90.000/ml to over 40.000.000/ml using OTC supplements and 3000IU of HCG/week + 225IU of HMG/week - wife got pregnant with our son about 2.5 months after starting this protocol. 

*Context:*
Allright, because every 18 year old I meet in the gym these days asks be where to get gear or how to get on TRT I figured I'd put some of my story together in hopes of helping people - let me know if this is complete garbage or if I need to change / further explain some things.

*Background story:*
I'm a 32 year old male (turning 33 this year) and i've been diagnosed with secondary hypogonadism when I was 28 via a private clinic, but how I got there requires some explaining.
I noticed my training (lifting since the age of 18) and body composition taking a dip for the worst around the age of 22/23. This was around the time I was finishing my studies to become a nurse and when I met my wife. Whatever I did or changed it didn't have the effect it used to have (high volume or low volume training, upping kcal/protein, the works). I was constantly fatigued and my libido/sex drive also took a nosedive without any clear reason, I was putting on bodyfat despite eating the same amount of food and always had DOMS for three days after a serious gym session.

This was when I started doing the usual stuff people do, you talk to your GP, you run some thyroid labs, check for mononucleosis, STD's, etc. All came back in range and in case of mono and STD's I was negative (thank god) - so nothing that could explain my symptoms other than stress/work/life/etc. Two years go by with me reading up on the subjects and stumbeling across an article about low testosterone symptoms (this was before the whole TRT internet craze). I could check nearly every box and I got excited, not because it meant a free pass to shooting up testosterone but maybe fixing my symptoms and getting some quality back into my life!

Made an appointment with my GP (woman) and asked about running a testosterone lab check. She laughed in my face before pointing first at my face while saying I had a beard and secondly pointing at my crotch asking me if I could still get an erection. I'm a nurse and it's not easy to get me flustered but I had a face like a tomato and could only nod. Still sniggering she left the office and I went to search for another GP that morning after filing a complaint. She never took me serious and actually wrote a letter to my current GP saying she thought I was seeking PED's. My (awesome) GP called her while I was in the office and put her right. She got called in front of the board and had her licence suspended a year before she was to retire all because she didn't want to let go of something so trivial as a (valid) request of a lab test.. Never wanted this to happen but it did.. I've put it behind me. 

Got another GP (not my current one), ran labs and total test came back at 4.9 nmol/L (about 140 ng/dl) where the Dutch minimal value is determined at 4.1 nmol/L (about 118 ng/dl) - low and behold I was told I was normal. No amount of asking could waver my GP's certainty that a 140 ng/dl total test was normal for a guy of 25 that had every symptom in the book. 

Long frustrated internet searches later I came to a private clinic in the UK (pre Brexit) that would take my case and run labs, I was 27 at the time and had a temporary desk job which meant normal hours. Took every supplement under the sun (Ashwagandha, DAA, horny goat weed, etc) and my total came back just over 210 ng/dl. Better but nowhere near normal. They put me on the most absolute shit protocol of 250mg sustanon every 15 days which meant massive bloating, pubecant like sex drive for the first three days post injection and near depression mental states two days before my next shot. 

*Control & Fertility: *Quickly took matters in my own hands and ended up still using the sustanon but dosing 125mg every 5 days. This leveled out my blood levels enough to get rid of most of the side effects I was experiencing, mainly due to a big drop in serum E2 (never took an AI). Eventually the private clinic became more expensive because of Brexit and I switched from sustanon to using regular test-e. Never felt better and both my quality of life and marriage improved beyond my expectations! 

We wanted a kid and after a year of trying we had my sperm tested. It was terrible to say the least and I never had any sperm frozen or checked because of the shitty way the private clinic manages their clients. The OB/GYN we got refered to wanted us to do ICSI which meant all sorts of medication and painfull treatments for my wife, when it was my sperm count that was in the gutter. This did not sit right with me and I reached out again to the private clinic. Seeing dollar signs they were more than happy to perscribe me HCG and HMG therapy which cost us a fortune out of pocket but did the job! After 2.5 months and about €1500 in expenses she got pregnant and 9 months later delivered our very healthy and happy son! 

My protocol at the time was:

125mg test/5 days I.M. 
HCG 1000IU 3x a week
HMG 75IU 3x a week
OTC supplements:

Ashwagandha 400mg each night
Zinc 25mg 
Copper 2mg
CoQ10 400mg (yep that's a lot)

Had a sperm analysis done by the same OB/GYN and she (ofcourse it's a she..) didn't believe the numbers (90.000/ml to over 40.000.000/ml) and was even more astounded when we anounced my wife was pregnant - we had the biggest smirks on our faces at the time because we did it "all ourselves". I still bump in to her at the hospital at times and she's since helped about 8 other couples get pregnant using the exact HCG/HMG protocol I used and is very happy we defied her advice because it opened up a whole new world for her. 

*New GP after moving and finally getting treatment:*
After about 4 years after my initial diagnosis I moved to a different city and got a new (and younger, male) GP that completely gets health isn't the absence of decease and has a sports background. He got me in touch with a good urologist and after two visits I was put on my own protocol of 125mg every 5 days. Only types of testosterone perscribed here in Holland are Sustanon and Nebido, so I got sustanon but can call for an ampule or two of nebido if I need to go on vacation and don't want to carry test. 

*Current enhanced TRT:*
Currently running an enhanced cruise/bridge using Testosterone Enanthate 250mg/week split up in two injections (mon-fri) and 50mg/week of DHB until I blast again later this summer. Have done two cycles of about 18 weeks each and have gained plenty of muscle from them and have learned I respond very well to DHT derivatives. But that's something for another post I guess. Never had better blood markers and better health!

Hope it helps someone, feel free to shit on this post if it's not for you/too much rambling or ask questions if you have any  I'll try and answer to the best of my ability!


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## IronSoul (Jul 6, 2022)

Thanks for sharing your story. Hopefully some can take some pointers away from it. 


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## Bridgestone (Nov 5, 2022)

50mg/week of DHB?

aside from no negative blood work, are you seeing any changes from only 50mg?


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## AcidTears (Nov 5, 2022)

Bridgestone said:


> 50mg/week of DHB?
> 
> aside from no negative blood work, are you seeing any changes from only 50mg?



So yes actually. I generally respond very well to DHT derivatives and I find DHB gives me the biggest “bang” for the injection volume buck. I like the extra neural stim it gives me (focus) and I generally experience a (little) bit of extra recovery from a training aspect  hope this helps 


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