Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 19, 2024, 06:06:30 am

Login with username, password and session length


Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 772785
  • Total Topics: 66296
  • Online Today: 290
  • Online Ever: 5484
  • (June 18, 2021, 11:15:29 pm)
Users Online
Users: 1
Guests: 205
Total: 206

Welcome


Welcome to the POZ Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and others concerned about HIV/AIDS.  Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning:  Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

  • The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own physician.

  • All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

  • Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators of these forums. Click here for “Do I Have HIV?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ community forums.

  • We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are true and correct to their knowledge.

  • Product advertisement—including links; banners; editorial content; and clinical trial, study or survey participation—is strictly prohibited by forums members unless permission has been secured from POZ.

To change forums navigation language settings, click here (members only), Register now

Para cambiar sus preferencias de los foros en español, haz clic aquí (sólo miembros), Regístrate ahora

Finished Reading This? You can collapse this or any other box on this page by clicking the symbol in each box.

Author Topic: Is it the meds or testosterone?  (Read 5492 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline egello

  • Member
  • Posts: 907
  • cb
Is it the meds or testosterone?
« on: January 27, 2007, 06:00:34 pm »
Hi everyone

I got my shot of testosterone 1.5 week ago and a couple of days after that i started Rayataz, Norvir and Truvada. I have been feeling funny since then, and starting from yesterday, omg, i feel like I drank a ton of caffein. I feel nauseous, angst, highly temperamental, all these unatrual energy that I am scared to use because of my low cd4 count, edgy, jittery, feel like someone hit me over the head with a brick, anxiety and caffein high. My appetite is through the roof, I don't sleep well at night, I dream about sex and food.

Whats causing all this? And why past couple of days especially?

Ah.... I feel nauseous...
1/29/07 14 T, 300 k V, 1.8 %
2/22/07 197 T, 247 V, 6.8 %
3/27/07 164 T, <50 V, 5.4 %
5/28/07 177 T, <50 V, 8.2 %
7/28/07 214 T, <50 V, 9.6 %
10/3/07 380 T, <50 V, 10 %

Offline poet

  • Member
  • Posts: 934
  • Poet living and working in Central Maine
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2007, 07:32:27 am »
Sorry that you seem to be having so many side effects.  The answer may come through forums posts, people who have experienced some or all of the symptoms you have posted.  But the direct answer will come from: 1) looking at the information sheets which came with your meds. to see if the symptoms noted are those you are experiencing; 2) contacting your p.c.p. or i.d. with as exact a pattern as you can, i.e. what you have experienced, when you have experienced it, how long it lasted, etc.  The more details the better. Win
Winthrop Smith has published three collections of poetry: Ghetto: From The First Five; The Weigh-In: Collected Poems; Skin Check: New York Poems.  The last was published in December 2006.  He has a work-in-progress underway titled Starting Positions.

Offline bear60

  • Member
  • Posts: 4,105
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2007, 09:50:11 am »
Quote
"contacting your p.c.p. or i.d. with as exact a pattern as you can, i.e. what you have experienced, ..."
...................................
That would be "primary care physician" or "infectious disease" doctor.  Egello, Win is correct in telling you to check your meds for side effects and talk to your physician ( or call his office and talk to someone, if only the Nurse). Be specific about when you took these meds and when the side effects started. Have the side effects gotten worse or are they getting better.
Poz Bear Type in Philadelphia

Offline redhotmuslbear

  • Member
  • Posts: 605
  • A genuine certified freak of nature, and a hot one
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2007, 11:06:26 am »
Egello, Win is correct in telling you to check your meds for side effects and talk to your physician ( or call his office and talk to someone, if only the Nurse). Be specific about when you took these meds and when the side effects started. Have the side effects gotten worse or are they getting better.

And I would encourage you to talk to other HIVers about their experiences starting that specific combination of meds, as well as those who have had testosterone injections.  Perhaps re-post your concerns here under a title like "Reyataz-Norvir-Truvada messing with my mind"?  I have three friends locally who have had similar complaints about that collection of meds, and two have gone back to their old twice-daily combos.

Best,
David
"The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do." - BF Skinner
12-31-09   222wks VL  2430 CD4 690 (37%)
09-30-09   208wks VL  2050  CD4 925 (42%)
06-25-08   143wks VL  1359  CD4 668 (32%)  CD8 885
02-11-08   123wks off meds:  VL 1364 CD4 892(40%/0.99 ratio)
10-19-07   112wks off meds:   VL 292  CD4 857(37%/0.85 ratio)

One copy of delta-32 for f*****d up CCR5 receptors, and an HLA B44+ allele for "CD8-mediated immunity"... beteer than winning Powerball, almost!

Offline egello

  • Member
  • Posts: 907
  • cb
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2007, 12:30:44 pm »
um,,, i asked my doctor about it last week, and he said that most of the crazy angst side effects are due to the testosterone.

supposedly they go up really high and level out to "normal" level

actually, that angst caffein high feeling went away yesterday, i guess past couple days, it was at its peak.

anyone know how long those test shot last?

In terms of the medcieines I am taking, I still can't figure out wheather i should take them at night or in the monring.



Thanks
1/29/07 14 T, 300 k V, 1.8 %
2/22/07 197 T, 247 V, 6.8 %
3/27/07 164 T, <50 V, 5.4 %
5/28/07 177 T, <50 V, 8.2 %
7/28/07 214 T, <50 V, 9.6 %
10/3/07 380 T, <50 V, 10 %

Offline Miss Philicia

  • Member
  • Posts: 24,793
  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2007, 12:30:54 pm »
Egello -- I had most all of those symptoms when I began testosterone shots in 2000.  The shots are VERY different in one's body than using simple Androgel is. Also ask your doctor how long you will stay on the shots and if at some point you can switch to the gel.  The gel is less frantic inducing.

I'm not sure what your specific weight loss situation is currently but my weight had dropped about 33 lbs (my normal stats:  6 ft, 170 lbs).  However, these shots WILL help you regain the weight.  I think I also had to balance all of it out with a prescription of klonopin, which is in the benzodiazepines and others will jump in the thread and shout "omg it's addictive!" but if you keep the dosage around 1mg you'll be able to ween yourself over it at a latter date with no problem.  It will help some with your sleep issues as well as calm down any panic/anxiety.  But yes, please discuss all of these concerns with your HIV specialist and of course you will need to do this anyway if you want to ask for a benzo prescription.

The important thing though is to eat, and once you gain some weight back start hitting the gym.  I gained my weight back in a year.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline egello

  • Member
  • Posts: 907
  • cb
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #6 on: January 29, 2007, 04:53:18 pm »
i weigh normally 145, at my gym peak at 150.

since I started getting thrush, my weight was at 140 and during my pcp, my weight was at 128. Before the testosterone, i was at 138 and now I am at 143. The testosterone shot is making me want to eat and eat and eat. I am looking sort of out of shape actually. However, should I be going to the gym at t cell of 16?
1/29/07 14 T, 300 k V, 1.8 %
2/22/07 197 T, 247 V, 6.8 %
3/27/07 164 T, <50 V, 5.4 %
5/28/07 177 T, <50 V, 8.2 %
7/28/07 214 T, <50 V, 9.6 %
10/3/07 380 T, <50 V, 10 %

Offline Miss Philicia

  • Member
  • Posts: 24,793
  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #7 on: January 29, 2007, 05:06:50 pm »
Well, it's good it's making you eat and eat.  You seem to have gained your weight back close to normal.  As far as working out on 16 t-cells I don't know what to say, as I've not been in that position.  I assume your PCP was recent so I'm not sure I'd advise strenuous activity.  What's your doctor advised you?

Ask about using Androgel now since you're back to your desired weight.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline lydgate

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,022
  • Virgin, can't drive
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #8 on: January 29, 2007, 05:19:03 pm »
The other testosterone gel brand is Testim. Some people claim that it's absorbed better through the skin, though I have yet to see the hard science backing that up.

The testosterone, for weight gain, will work best if combined with a high-protein diet and resistance training (lifting weights). But, like philly said, I don't know what to tell you given that your T-cells are on the low side. I would like to know what your doctor has advised you.

Another thought about the shots: you could ask your doctor to lower the dose in the injection, or increase the frequency at which they are administered (usually once every two weeks). This helps many minimize the "peak-trough" effect -- ie, very high levels of testosterone in your body for a few days, followed by levels falling until the next shot etc.

Very glad to hear your appetite is back though!

Jay
Her finely-touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.

George Eliot, Middlemarch, final paragraph

Offline egello

  • Member
  • Posts: 907
  • cb
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #9 on: January 30, 2007, 02:59:02 pm »
Hi everyone.

The doctor said that for what I had, I am doing extremely well. Last night, I worked out and omg, although my muscles have lost some strength, I was able to pump pretty hard, thanks to that testies shot. I am back at work 20 hrs a week.

Today, I started the Androgel, hope I am not getting addicted to this stuff. I am actually enjoying what testosterone is doing to my body. It definitely gives me lots of energy and it builds incredibly fast.

My doc said that even though my cd4 count is so low, I am pretty much covered from all the OI (mepron, azithromycin, Famvir and Fluconozole, and no cmv), and that I just make sure that I don't eat any raw food. However, I am crazing sushi soooo sooo much. So I feel good. However, I do realize that this energy I have, isn't natural but somehow fake. It could also be the HIV meds too. I have been on them for 2 weeks now, and holy cow, my stool looks very good.

Anyways, I seem to be doing ok, I think. All this I am feeling is so new to me. Is this how the Borgs feel when they first become half robot, thus feeling all mighty, powerful and renewed? because thats exactly how i feel.
1/29/07 14 T, 300 k V, 1.8 %
2/22/07 197 T, 247 V, 6.8 %
3/27/07 164 T, <50 V, 5.4 %
5/28/07 177 T, <50 V, 8.2 %
7/28/07 214 T, <50 V, 9.6 %
10/3/07 380 T, <50 V, 10 %

Offline Miss Philicia

  • Member
  • Posts: 24,793
  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #10 on: January 30, 2007, 03:02:55 pm »
Ha... well like I say, once you go on meds your entire life is fake.  I'm glad you are feeling good and on the mend!  When I went on testosterone my body got so great from the gym it was "shirts away" on the dance floor.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline egello

  • Member
  • Posts: 907
  • cb
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #11 on: January 30, 2007, 08:41:55 pm »
is that why so many gay guys have beefy bodies?
1/29/07 14 T, 300 k V, 1.8 %
2/22/07 197 T, 247 V, 6.8 %
3/27/07 164 T, <50 V, 5.4 %
5/28/07 177 T, <50 V, 8.2 %
7/28/07 214 T, <50 V, 9.6 %
10/3/07 380 T, <50 V, 10 %

Offline Miss Philicia

  • Member
  • Posts: 24,793
  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #12 on: January 30, 2007, 08:47:21 pm »
Well, no I don't think so.  A lot of negative gay men will do a cycle of roids that they buy from a huge bodybuilder illegally at the gym.  The one's that are HIV+ are the one's that are emaciated one month and THEN the next month are more muscular.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline egello

  • Member
  • Posts: 907
  • cb
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #13 on: January 31, 2007, 01:16:35 pm »
r u still on testosterone?
1/29/07 14 T, 300 k V, 1.8 %
2/22/07 197 T, 247 V, 6.8 %
3/27/07 164 T, <50 V, 5.4 %
5/28/07 177 T, <50 V, 8.2 %
7/28/07 214 T, <50 V, 9.6 %
10/3/07 380 T, <50 V, 10 %

Offline Miss Philicia

  • Member
  • Posts: 24,793
  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: Is it the meds or testosterone?
« Reply #14 on: January 31, 2007, 01:39:12 pm »
No.  I stopped a year ago.  I did the shots for about 3 years and the gel for 2.  My testosterone numbers are sufficient on their own now... at the lower end of what is normal.  I can tell I'm fine though as I'm horny enough without it and a healthy producer of jism.

At the time I began I'd lost about 30 lbs or 15% of my body weight (better to use % for this).  I gained it back in a reasonable amount of time, but when I switched doctors in '02 there as a bit of gap in my testosterone shots coupled with bronchitus so I lost it all again (majorly sucked), so I went back on it and stayed a bit longer.  I've been off of it now about 2 years and everything is fine... weight is stable (in fact I could lose about 5 lbs).

I guess what I'm saying is that once you hit your target weight I'm not sure I'd recommend immediately going off of it.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

 


Terms of Membership for these forums
 

© 2024 Smart + Strong. All Rights Reserved.   terms of use and your privacy
Smart + Strong® is a registered trademark of CDM Publishing, LLC.