Low testosterone levels due to long term opiate use.Anybody use testosterone therapy?

I was just tested for my testosterone level and it came back just barely in the therapeutic range.

Normal Range is 300-1000 and mine was 330 and because of my long term opiate use I was experiencing Depression, fatigue, and loss of motivation caused by the low testosterone levels so my pain doc put me on Androderm 5mg patches.(1 patch every 24hrs)I started 5 days ago and so far nothing but I guess it takes some time.

Has anybody had the same problem? has anybody used testosterone replacement therapy?

Thanks Beck

 Thanks for informing me S.E. on this gentelman and his problem!! Yes rjbeck, I know all about low testosterone! I've been using a

T- replacement of one sort or another for over 5 years now! Yes your 330 is low but still above castration levels so be glad you found out now before it got any worse!! One thing I never used is the patch for T-replacement so I don't know how fast it will work on you? I can tell you that I inject testosterone intermuscular and even this way it taked a couple days for me to feel better if my range slips down to around 300! So I wouldn't expect you to all of a sudden feel better like you do when you take a pain pill or something, it doesn't work that way!! I used the jells for a couple years but when it got to the point of spreading that stuff all over my upper torso daily and still wasn't getting my T-level up enough I switched to shots> Much easier!

One thing I'll tell you about T-replacement that I'm not sure your Dr. told you (Mine didn't!) is that the more you use a replacement, your already lazy testicles become even lazier (and smaller & smaller!) and you will have to take more and more replacement to get the same effect!!! When I started taking the shots it was every 2 mo. b efore I'd drop to around 300, now I have to have a shot every 3 weeks to keep from dropping to or below 300!! Don't get me wrong, I'm not *****ing at all! The shots are well worth not feeling the affects of low T as you already know!!! You will feel better and I would guess your dr. will get you up to around 500~600 on your blood tests and try to keep you there!!

One other VERY important thing, How old are you and if you are over 40, have you had your prostate checked yet???? Good luck and if you have any other questions> Ask, I'll be around if you need me!!!

I started having problems after a radical prostatectomy in 2003 and wasn't diognosed w/ low T or hypogonadizm for 3 & 1/2 years later! It was the worse time of my life which almost ended in suicide! I'm not going to go into all the details, I think you can probably guess how bad it was! I just don't know why all my dr's didn't look for it although they just didn't know that much about it back then! When I finally had a blood test, my T was at 47 or castration level. Then the big shocker! None of my doc's would give me T-replacement cause of my prostate cancer history!! Like I said, they didn't know that much about it back then and no urologist or endocronologist would touch me w/ a 10' pole!! I think I tried w/ 5 or 6 of each!!! I can't even tell you how I felt back then!
I finally me a young Dr. at an "Us Too" (a prostate cancer support group) meeting. When he asked for questions after the meeting I explained my problem. He said that no one should have to live that way and to call his office and make an apt! When I met him at his office, I asked if he remembered me and he did. He told me if I would sign a waiver to not hold him liable, he would treat me!! about 2 weeks to a month (not sure how long, it was a long time ago!) later I started feeling better!! I've been on T-replacement ever since and my "PSA tests" have been goose eggs (zeros = no prostate cancer!)) ever since!! It was a long hard road!! It's much easier for Men w/ a history of prostate cancer to recieve T-replacement now days but back then it was different!!! It changed my life or should I say, saved my life!!

Yep I remember those "Jell days" that stuff is a pain to use! I was living in S.E. Fla. working 10~12hr days w/ an hour to & from work and putting that stuff on in the heat was the pits! Speaking of pits> My arm pist were very sensitive to that stuff! I duno if it was the deotorant I used, the sweat or a mixture of it all but I'd get these awfull rashes at the front of my pits! Has that happened to you?? That also sucks about staying away from the wife & kids!! My wife always complained about it! She said she though she was getting it on her somehow even tho I was really carefull! She was going thru metapause and she blamed the mustash hairs on me!

Anyway, I haven't had any side effects at all from the shots and like I said, I get them every three weeks! It started getting expensive going to my Urologist (a speciallist) for the shots so after asking my Doc, he lets my wife give me the injections now after she came in and was shown how by one of the nurses! He a nice Doc!! At first she had a problem sticking my butt because of the size of the needles ( it actually bounced off!)> size #20 & 21> Very big! The T comes in oil so it's hard to load and slow to inject! Thats why you have to use large needles!! Other than that I haven't I haven't had any problems! They do like you to get a blood test every once in a while, I'm every six months along w/ my PSA test cause I've been doing it so long! It used to be blood tests every month, then every quarter but my T levels have been good the last couple blood tests so we've been sticking w/ 6mo. intervales. Sorry but I duno anything about leg swelling???

I've been on low dosage of oxy for a couple of years due to unremitting pain in legs from back surgeries/ epidurals/ nerve damage from arachnoiditis and now a pituitary aedonomea. I have been dealing with tested 140-155 T level for at least six months. Doc's seemed to not believe test results as I just had my fifth T level blood test today - at last they finally started androgel 6 weeks ago. 2 weeks ago the test results were still at 140!
I will say I'm less frequently drenched in sweat and can do a little more around the house without feeling like crap. (61 yrs old) w/ 2 pumps of 1.62% per day. Of course the doc's office actually asked me if I was really using the androgel after the least test. -Hence another blood draw today.
So - I can't give a glowing recommendation on Androgel - I'm actually hoping to find a more effective alternative that will at least get my T level up to the normal range. But at least it doesn't seem to have made matters much worse. So give it a go.
At the same time, If anyone has recommendations for me to discuss with docs - I'd appreciate it - it may be that I just need to find a more specialized group of docs than can be found in this relatively rural area.

Sometimes dealing with doctors in a rural setting can either be a pain in the edit and other times it can be a blessing as they can be better versed in various treatments for what ever ails a person because they know they can't simply ship you off to another doctor.

Jim, please take care to watch the language.

Post Edited By Moderator (straydog) : 6/13/2014 8:20:47 AM (GMT-6)