# TRT not recovering Libido



## thepeoplespamp (Jan 15, 2021)

I've been on TRT for some years now to try and revitalize my libido. I've had many protocols in that time frame. Libido just has never returned for me.

My sweet spot for protocols seems to be around 120mg - 150mg weekly dose, injected multiple times a week. No HCG, No A.I. This helps me feel the best in all aspects of life except for libido, which is always low. However, libido is even more garbage if my protocol is bad.

Some background:

174lbs, 5'10", 32 y.o., male 
Diet is good, sleep is decent, stress is on the lower end 
Symptoms were ED and low libido that brought me on my TRT journey 
Pre-TRT my Total T was 182ng/dL (264 - 916) at 24 years old 
Jumped on TRT at 26 after spending a few years trying natural remedies for raising TT to no avail (diet, exercise, cardio, etc). 
My SHBG appears pegged at 19nmol/L (16.5 - 55.9). Keto doesn't raise it. Higher TRT doses don't lower it. 
I tend to aromatize quickly which has been an issue with HCG in the past 
When I've used HCG I've tried to keep it in check with A.I.'s but never felt good doing so 

Previous protocol numbers:

210mg test Enanthate split into .15mg daily shots, shallow IM, No HCG, No A.I. 
TT: 1344 ng/dL (264 - 916) 
Free T: 32.3 pg/mL (8.7 - 25.1) 
Prolactin: 16.8 ng/mL (4 - 15.2) <--- this was a bit high, but may be an outlier, typically its around 10) 
Estradiol Sensative: 44.8 pg/mL (8 - 35) 
SHBG: 18.6 nmol/L 

I'm currently on 20mg of Propionate daily to experiment with a faster ester and see if it aromatizes a bit less.

For those of you that have had libido issues on TRT, how have you best addressed it?


----------



## Tiny (Jan 15, 2021)

thepeoplespamp said:


> My sweet spot for protocols seems to be around 120mg - 150mg weekly dose, injected multiple times a week. No HCG, No A.I. This helps me feel the best in all aspects of life except for libido,



This is similar to saying this asprin is working except for this headache


Tell your TRT doc. He'll increase the dosage if your numbers will allow


----------



## thepeoplespamp (Jan 15, 2021)

We've discussed. Haven't met a doc ok with raising much over 200mg weekly. The currently doctor I am seeing is flexible with pretty much everything but still caps the total dose.


----------



## Tiny (Jan 15, 2021)

thepeoplespamp said:


> We've discussed. Haven't met a doc ok with raising much over 200mg weekly. The currently doctor I am seeing is flexible with pretty much everything but still caps the total dose.



You're basing this on what? I'm sure the doctor didn't say that to you, so I'm guessing it's based on some other guys cousin's friend who also sees him?

Tell your doc you're having issues, then go from there. He's not just going to say "oh well, you're F'd". If he does, find a new doctor


----------



## Bullseye Forever (Jan 15, 2021)

thepeoplespamp said:


> I've been on TRT for some years now to try and revitalize my libido. I've had many protocols in that time frame. Libido just has never returned for me.
> 
> My sweet spot for protocols seems to be around 120mg - 150mg weekly dose, injected multiple times a week. No HCG, No A.I. This helps me feel the best in all aspects of life except for libido, which is always low. However, libido is even more garbage if my protocol is bad.
> 
> ...



Add 150mg of Masteron/week and you’ll **** like a rabbit trust me!!


----------



## Jin (Jan 15, 2021)

I find that so long as my test numbers are in range (500-1000) it’s really the e2 that i need to dial in to maximize libido. 

I would start looking there. 

How is morning wood? If you have strong morning wood and less desire to have sex I think all you need is some stimulation and you’d be ready to go. 

Also, a lot of times this stuff is mental. So don’t rule that out. 

Have there been times you’ve had a better libido while on any of your trt protocols?


----------



## Jin (Jan 15, 2021)

Tiny said:


> This is similar to saying this asprin is working except for this headache
> 
> 
> Tell your TRT doc. He'll increase the dosage if your numbers will allow



How was your libido when your test numbers were at over 1000?

I doubt more test is the answer. I have a higher libido on trt than I do a gram of test.


----------



## Trump (Jan 15, 2021)

Have you tried a better looking chick?


----------



## CJ (Jan 15, 2021)

thepeoplespamp said:


> I'm currently on 20mg of Propionate daily to experiment with a faster ester and see if it aromatizes a bit less.
> 
> For those of you that have had libido issues on TRT, how have you best addressed it?



Even though it's daily, you'll still get a higher daily peak with Prop than you would with Cyp. Higher peak usually means more estrogen conversion. Try daily Cyp injections for E2 management. 

My libido is best on a TRUE TRT dose, where my blood levels are between 750-1000 ng/dl. I don't get a higher sex drive with higher doses. That's just me though.


----------



## Naktakala (Jan 15, 2021)

So I've experienced this very same thing. There was a point where everything felt optimal then it got worst again even though my T was high. It's all estrogen (how else do some woman have high sex drives). If it was low I had no interest in sex, no morning wood and borderline ED. When the estrogen was too high by a bit my dick would stop working and I would start to lose interest. My doc started me on anastrozole (a little 1mg pill) once a day which was way too much then we dialed that back to once every 4 days. Nowadays I pop one pill one day after pinning cypionate and that seems to be optimal to curb the spike in T (and thus conversion). In any case you should ask your doc to give you Anastrozole/Arimidex, its good to have.

Incidentally, there are drugs that are DHT based and are androgenic AND anabolic, yet they cant aromatize and therefore they suck at providing estrogen. Nandralone alone doesnt work for TRT for that exact reason. It converts to a different estrogen that is less potent.

Check some videos from MorePlatesMoreDates, specifically the video about deca only cycle
Also check out the AnabolicDoc


----------



## creekrat (Jan 15, 2021)

Your hormones are synergistic.  Make sure you get them to test your albumin levels as well.  Everyone is different so you will need to find that sweet spot for you.  If you have no problem getting wood then maybe you just need to make the conscious decision to fukk over a period of time to get back in the groove. 

I'll second what CJ said.  I would use cyp ED or even EOD if you tend to aromatize more.  The longer ester will yield more stable levels and keep you from peaking.  Your highs would be lower but your lows would be higher and overall you'd be more consistent.


----------



## Adrenolin (Jan 15, 2021)

I sometimes use that protocol for my trt - 30mg cyp daily, though I do subq, and will still occasionally use 250iu twice a week of hcg. Hcg will increase pregnenolone which your body will use to create its needed baseline of hormones. I also find proviron to be about the most effective sex aid for myself right next to tren... makes me ready to **** just about anything that moves


----------



## midevil (Jan 15, 2021)

I had that issue once .. it lasted for too long. 

I shot test prop twice a week and was back at it in the sack within the week (advice given to me by littlemags). Stopped the prop and was still good.

~or~ just bump up your test dose per week. Prop will make it happen sooner..


----------



## NbleSavage (Jan 15, 2021)

Doubling down on the need to get yer E2 checked and dialed-in. 

Yer E2 was a bit high in the bloods ye posted. 

IMO ye may want to try a bit of exemestane (low dose - think 12.5 mg every 3 days to start) for a few weeks and then get bloods done again & have a think if yer feeling a bit more randy.

Same again as said above: if yer GP won't consider working with ye on upping yer dose because "reasons" then find one who will.


----------



## thepeoplespamp (Jan 16, 2021)

Is it common for a GP to raise over 200mg weekly? I'm in the U.S. for reference. And as Jin mentioned, is more test actually better for libido? I'd assume more complications would arise.

 I've had 4 serperate doctors. The one I'm currently with I'm happy with and he lets me experiment more than others have (daily shots, ester types, adding cream/hcg/ai etc). He doesn't like to go much higher than 200mg (which puts me close to 1350 Total T), but that's higher than the other's would go. They stopped if my Total T even touched 1000.

Also, I tend to feel better on lower doses, although I've never done a blast or anything to see. My low t symptoms all disappear at 120-150mg and I feel great aside from libido not returning. Any higher and I get complications from e2  which tend to make things worse. I haven't been able to dial that in just right.

Regarding e2, it's always been a bit difficult to figure out where I feel best on it. If my e2 is super high I feel like crap, but if my e2 is on the low end (not even tanked) I also feel pretty poor. Low end as in ~20 in this case (8 - 35). How do you get the Anestrozole dosages just right?

Regarding the propionate, it's been a bit of an experiment. After I get labs I'll likely switch back to cyp/E


----------



## Adrenolin (Jan 16, 2021)

It's a long trial and error type of process with continual blood work at a given dosage and ai protocol. I don't use an AI on trt, and actually prefer my estrogen in the 50's.

I still highly recommend the hcg with proviron or the masteron that someone else mentioned.


----------



## thepeoplespamp (Jan 16, 2021)

Yeah, curious about mast and proviron but haven't tried either. BTW can Anavar help? I've read it's similar to proviron. I can get Anavar much easier than proviron.

I'n the mean time I'll add some HCG to the protocol and see what happens. Maybe start it off at a low dose and monitor the estrogen side effects.


----------



## Bullseye Forever (Jan 16, 2021)

Once my blood was checked for test Ethan na it was well over 1700 and my libdio sucked ,couldn’t understand it until I got my Estradoil checked and brought it down an then it was fine


----------



## lfod14 (Jan 16, 2021)

thepeoplespamp said:


> We've discussed. Haven't met a doc ok with raising much over 200mg weekly. The currently doctor I am seeing is flexible with pretty much everything but still caps the total dose.



If you're using a Uro or and Endo they won't. The go to blind "standard of care" cookie cutter treatment is 200mg. A TRT Doc / Optimization doc doesn't care about that. Most will have you in the 1200-1500 range. For me that's 250mg/wk.


----------



## Texan69 (Jan 17, 2021)

Jin hit the nail on the head 
When testosterone levels are in range or even high and there’s libido issues or even erectile issue it’s usually estrogen which is the culprit too high or too low of estrogen can do this. Estrogen is a driving factor for a lot of things in this TRT journey


----------



## thepeoplespamp (Jan 19, 2021)

Yeah, and I know I convert e2 quickly. I've never felt dialed in with e2 though. Under 20 I feel terrible, over ~60ish I feel terrible, in between I haven't been able to find that sweet spot.

Also, Adrenolin, would adding HCG without the proviron boost libido? I'm skeptical as it jacks my e2 super quickly, but do have a.i. on hand.


----------



## MrInsensitive (Jan 19, 2021)

I’ve been having libido problems too. 
on a pretty high dose of test and 300mg of mast weekly. No avail. Zinc vitamins have helped a lot lately. But this is all due to my out of wack estrogen. My prolactin got a little high and my dummass tried to remedy this with an AI. Lol. So I crashed my E2 and my prolactin levels stayed high. Ever since then, i haven’t been the same. 
if your test levels are in check and you’re still struggling with sex drive, your ester may be too high. Check the numbers. Being on trt for that long without an AI, ever, makes me wonder. 
as for the prop, I don’t believe the ester attached to testosterone aromatizes any differently than other test bases. I could be wrong but I don’t believe the ester weight really matters. I’m sure there’s 10-1 odds these other guys could blow me out of the water with their superior knowledge of such things. 
but try a zinc supp. Hit at least 300% of your daily recommendation and see if that helps. You should know within a day or so. Good luck man.


----------



## MrInsensitive (Jan 19, 2021)

My bad. Texan said everything I did. So yea, these guys are telling you the truth. Dial In your e2 my dude.


----------



## Adrenolin (Jan 19, 2021)

thepeoplespamp said:


> Also, Adrenolin, would adding HCG without the proviron boost libido? I'm skeptical as it jacks my e2 super quickly, but do have a.i. on hand.


I don't get much libido boost from hcg alone. That's a perk of the proviron.. it can function as a mild AI, without the sides of traditional AI's nor the worry of over doing the AI.


----------



## thepeoplespamp (Jan 20, 2021)

Thanks guys, I will continue experimenting. I have a.i. on hand but haven't been using it due to some potentially bad advice to "let e2 ride" that has become prevalent on other forums. Unfortunately proviron or mast is not an option for me yet, but will keep it in mind.

Regarding a.i. I've used it in the past but just never felt i hit a sweet spot. It honestly doesn't feel like i'm taking anything until I crush my e2 which feels like garbage.


----------



## Bullseye Forever (Jan 20, 2021)

Texan69 said:


> Jin hit the nail on the head
> When testosterone levels are in range or even high and there’s libido issues or even erectile issue it’s usually estrogen which is the culprit too high or too low of estrogen can do this. Estrogen is a driving factor for a lot of things in this TRT journey



And part of mine one time was prolactin being sky high and I wand my even on deca or tren...so my doct prescribed me Caber snd I’m  now I’m on it all the time and when my prolactin levels went down my libido got bettsr


----------

