Great commentary and that's no problem that we don't see perfectly eye-to-eye on everything. But - trust me - there are many men that are very hesitant about traditional HRT for a wide variety of reasons. Now, in my case, and I feel fantastic on the "Trifecta" protocol (cypionate + HCG + low dose Arimidex), but that is definitely not the case with every low T man as you know.
Your comments about the above are interesting to me. I feel SO much better than I did pre-HRT that there is simply no comparison. In fact, I can simply say that HRT gave me the life that I was never able to have. And, to date, I have had no major side effects, but I recognize they certainly can happen.
Also, I want to go to the ejaculate issue. Now it sounds like you feel certain that T caused your problem and I am sure it contributed to it. However, are you positive you don't have some retrograde ejaculation? HRT will not reduce your semen volume dramatically as far as I know:
http://www.peaktestosterone.com/Low_Semen_VolumeAlso, I don't doubt your word, but I have never heard of a female complaining about low ejaculate volume - quite the opposite. Other guys can chime in, but my impression is that most women that's a bit messy anyway shall we say.
So HRT kind of reminds me of capitalism. It's not perfect and it has underlying issues, but there isn't anything that comes close to it at this point.
Also, I'm sure you were all over this, but usually puffiness is from overly high estradiol. If you doctor was using the wrong E2 test, you could have had problems with this or if he/she targeted you overly high. Just a comment.
I definitely agree with you about the fertility issue. We have had a number of men on the board excited about their HRT and then I will ask, "Your doctor told you this would fertility, right?" They said, "Huh?" So it's a problem.
And I agree that Clomid is by far the safest route if you want to have kids. HCG Monotherapy may work for some guys though. This is something I always try to mention.
So points well taken and, again, I don't blame you for being hesitant. Probably a third or a fourth of they guys on the board are very hesitant about HRT, so you're in good company. But, for me, it was a life saver. As I've mentioned, even my boss commented on how much better I was doing. That was kind of embarrassing, but I didn't realize how much low T affected me. And I can tell you that without HRT, I might as well join a Trappist monastery because my venous leakage was so bad.
So I think it depends on a lot of things...