POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Questions About Treatment & Side Effects => Topic started by: Teresa on July 13, 2006, 09:16:02 am
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Hubby started this this morning. Has anyone been on this before?
Did you have any side effects?
How long before you noticed any results?
One of the side effects listed in the patient instructions was breast development. Hubby said if he started getting boobs he was gonna quit...LOL cant blame him.
Thanks
Teresa
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Hey Teresa,
I have never been on AndroGel. Here is a link for patient information from the company that makes it. I hope this can give you some insight till someone that has possibly taken it can respond to you. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader and there is a link to download it on this link. http://www.androgel.com/patientinfo.asp
Good Luck!
AppleBoy
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My best friend uses it. He's been on it for 18 months. He says that he sometimes gets itchy in the area that it is applied, abdomen and upper arms I think. He had a testerone deficiency to the AndroGel brings it up to normal. I think that your husband is some from breast growth as long as his testerone comes into and stays in the normal range.
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Hubby is safe from getting boobs (gynecomastia), especially if his testosterone levels are low and the gel is being used to bring them up to normal range. I've used AndroGel, though now I use Testim (same thing pretty much) -- one pouch of 50 mg of which 5 mg gets absorbed by the body. So that's adding only 35 mg of test. a week -- not a dose where you start getting "bitch tits" or man boobs etc. The doses for that to happen need to be waaaay higher; usually seen only in bodybuilders who take large doses of test. (400 to 1000 mg is not unheard of) with other anabolics as part of a steroid "cycle." And if 5 mg doesn't work, you can bump up to 10 mg (under doc's supervision), checking the test. levels periodically. Mileage varies with these things.
I felt a noticeable difference in about 4 days -- greater energy, greater motivation, less apathy. No side effects like rash or itchiness. Odd feeling a bit sticky on your arms and shoulders but that's trivial.
Jay
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Thanks guys!
Everytime hubby has a new medication I have to ask if anyone else has taken it and how it affected them.
Just want to be prepared for anything and everything.
Hugs
Teresa
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My partner was on Androgel for about 8 months. He got very moody and didn't like the way he felt, so he quit....cold turkey. He then went into a very deep depression (had never been clinically depressed before) and ended up comitting suicide.
Obviously I'm not a doc...but I think there are mood issues related to hormone replacement therapy to be considered.
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My doctor tested my testosterone, it was rather low, and consequently put me on AndroGel. I have been using it for almost a year. I do believe there was a short period of adjustment in the first few months with quick-to-anger, but this has smoothed out and I feel emotionally balanced. Although I cannot quantify the effects in regard to the AndroGel, I feel energetic, stable moods, good sex drive and I am losing some of the baby gut. However, I am also vegan, exercise, love my job and have been taking a lot of supplements as well... I am poz since March 2004 and not yet on meds, however recent labs and getting colds a lot are making me consider starting soon.
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i was diagnosed with low testosterone about a year ago. i was wasting, fatigued and felt like crap.falling asleep at 7 pm, loosing weight and wasting away. i started Androgel and it made me a bit agitated and kinda roid raged at first. after a few weeks it lessend. it can cause lipodystrophy and testicular-atrophy but there really isn't another alternative after discussing all these issues with my Doctor.
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I've taken Androgel for some time, and have never had any negative side effects. Just a pleasant increase in libido (those morning woodies are a nice change) and an overall improvement in mood. No development of breasts (althugh my nipples did perk up -- in a good way) and no anger issues. For me, the effects were pretty quick -- maybe even the first day or so. Hope your hubby has a good time with it!!
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My doctor put me on Testim (testosterone gel) when I first went on meds, because not only my my immune system is lousy shape, but my testosterone level had dropped to near nothing. Thank God for insurance, because that stuff is EXPENSIVE!
EFFECTS: It made me feel better, gave me more energy, etc. No unpleasant side effects that I could determine.
One very interesting aspect of Testim is its slightly sweet, slightly funky odor. Whenever I had rubbed on a tube of Testim, women would often remark how GOOD I smelled!
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::recalls the days of having to get twice per month injections of this stuff in the ass cheeks before androgel appeared::
Seriously though, this stuff is such kid's play compared to the shots. That stuff peaked hard in your system days after and you'd climb the walls, yell at people and whack off furiously