The New PeakT Program

[PeakT]

Most of the men that show up on this board have a common suite of symptoms plaguing them:

erectile dysfunction, low libido, depression, mental fog, fatigue, anxiety, loss of morning erections, etc.

Unfortunately, there are many causes for these kind of symptoms and I am slowly building up different "Steps" for a man to go though (with his doctor) to troubleshoot these issues.

To see this new program just go to my home page

http://www.peaktestosterone.com/

And (at least for now) look on the right side. 

If anyone has any comments/question/suggestions, let me know...

[StevoDevo]

Thanks - was a useful read for a newbie like myself.  I have lots to learn so thanks for pulling these resources together!

[PeakT]

Thanks - was a useful read for a newbie like myself.  I have lots to learn so thanks for pulling these resources together!

Glad something helped.  There's more to come by the way.  I'm kind of doing the "big guns" first, but there are a number of very common things that can also contribute which I will cover shortly...

[Bigjohn]

Thanks Peak for your commitment on this.

[PeakT]

Thanks Peak for your commitment on this.

You bet.  Could you tell that to my wife?   

[spiderman]

Nice overall summary for the newbies PT!..good for quick general reference to..good stuff

[PeakT]

Nice overall summary for the newbies PT!..good for quick general reference to..good stuff

Coming from spiderman, that's quite a compliment...

[FitNLean30]

PeakT, as usual you are providing a tremendous amount of useful information for free.  As has been said I think it's a great primer for folks to open their eyes to what may be causing their problems.  With that I offer the following comments to make it better.

I didn't see any mention of DHT.  As you know low DHT can wreak havoc on a man's erectile function.  I would at least mention it somewhere, in particular for those who may be taking hair growth drugs (FINASTERIDE) or Saw Palmetto.  You mention it elsewhere on your site.  I think it would be a good idea to include info about it in your PeakT Program.

My next comment is heavily laden in my personal opinion, but I'll share it anyway - perhaps there are a few useful nuggets.  I think men are too quick to jump to Testosterone replacement to solve their problems.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for bringing the numbers up but I think Test replacement is an easy fix that has potential side effects we tend to brush aside.  As someone who was on Testosterone, HGC, and Arimidex for a couple years I can speak from personal experience.  This three-peat combo made me stronger, bigger, and more horny.  But it also reduced my testical size, ejaculate volume,  made my face look puffy, and in certain ways made me worse of an athlete (as measured by my reduced ability to run 3 mile timed runs and do pull ups due to my heavier size). 

I think the issue of fertility and testosterone is too often glazed over - Frequently I see on websites - and I paraphrase.. "can cause problems if fertility is a goal or concern."  I think fertility is only half of the issue, the other half of the fertility issue is quality of orgasm.  Even if one doesn't want children they certainly want to enjoy ejaculating as much as possible.  Even with HCG twice a week, testosterone most definitely reduced my sperm count, but perhaps more importantly it had a subsequent effect of reducing my pleasure when climaxing/ejaculating.  Shooting blanks isn't fun regardless of how horny testosterone makes you. In fact, it's kind of embarrassing and can compound the problem.  After all, nothing says alpha-male more than trying to make excuses to your girlfriend why only a thimble full of ejaculate (sarcasm intended) came out.   Yes, HCG is supposed to fix this, but in my experience it never fully restored the function.  And granted, some men are to the point where they aren't producing sperm anyway.  For them I say go forward with testosterone replacement without looking back.  For others, I recommend more of an emphasis on finding ways to make their own bodies produce more T through the Leydig Cells/Luteinizing hormone route.  A secondary approach would be HCG with Arimidex or perhaps Clomid and Arimidex.  I'm hesitant to recommend HCG because it replaces LH instead of stimulating it.  Anything that gives your body a reason to not produce it's own is bad news in my opinion.

Admittedly my suggestion is a harder approach and perhaps not as dramatic or immediate, but in the long run one's testicles will thank you. I'm still trying to figure out how to do this.  Your site has been a tremendous help in my search for an answer.  I'm doing a little experiment on myself that will take 3-6 months but once I come up with some answers I'll be sure to share them with the group.  Again, thanks for your help and advice.

[PeakT]

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_Volume

Also, 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...

[FitNLean30]

Regarding low ejaculate volume on HRT (T, HCG, Arimidex), honestly I hadn't considered other possibilities.  I just assumed it was the T.  Thanks for mentioning retrograde ejaculation.  I'll check into it - (never even heard of it until you spoke of it).

Regarding puffiness, yeah I know it's a sign of too much E2 but my estrogen never got above 30, and usually hovered 25-27 so I should have been fine. 
I think I must be one of those guys that if there can be negative symptoms felt, I will experience them.  The same thing happened with finisteride.  All my friends were on it, but I was the only one who had sexual side-effects.  I'm just very sensitive to hormone changes so I have to be careful.

On the other hand I'm certain I'll be back on HRT at some point, I'm just trying to take a graduated approach to it - only doing the minimum and adjusting accordingly as I age.    Right now I'm trying to focus more on how I feel (sexually, athletically, and mentally) and less on what the numbers say.  By all indications I should be in bad shape - T around 375 and E around 30.  But I actually feel pretty good, and that's ultimately what we're after. HRT is only a tool to get there.

[PeakT]

Regarding low ejaculate volume on HRT (T, HCG, Arimidex), honestly I hadn't considered other possibilities.  I just assumed it was the T.  Thanks for mentioning retrograde ejaculation.  I'll check into it - (never even heard of it until you spoke of it).

Regarding puffiness, yeah I know it's a sign of too much E2 but my estrogen never got above 30, and usually hovered 25-27 so I should have been fine. 
I think I must be one of those guys that if there can be negative symptoms felt, I will experience them.  The same thing happened with finisteride.  All my friends were on it, but I was the only one who had sexual side-effects.  I'm just very sensitive to hormone changes so I have to be careful.

On the other hand I'm certain I'll be back on HRT at some point, I'm just trying to take a graduated approach to it - only doing the minimum and adjusting accordingly as I age.    Right now I'm trying to focus more on how I feel (sexually, athletically, and mentally) and less on what the numbers say.  By all indications I should be in bad shape - T around 375 and E around 30.  But I actually feel pretty good, and that's ultimately what we're after. HRT is only a tool to get there.

Noted.

Be sure to occasionally monitor for anemia.  Sounds like a non-issue for you but quite common in lower testosterone guys.

[mjm111]

Hey Peak,

Under your new program, can all the supplements to naturally increase NO be taken? I take all of them other than Quercetin.

Thanks!

[PeakT]

Hey Peak,

Under your new program, can all the supplements to naturally increase NO be taken? I take all of them other than Quercetin.

Thanks!

At this time, I don't know of any downside.  Of course, that doesn't mean someone won't uncover something.  But, to date, Pycnogenol, Citrulline, Ginseng, Icariin have not had any big side effects crop up that I know of. 

Can they be taken for decades?  Well, no one has studied that.  Ginseng has been used forever in traditional medicine, etc.  However, Citrulline and high concentration Icariin extracts are pretty new.  Pycnogenol has been around for awhile and has been widely used and studied.  But are they okay for five decades every day?  No one knows the answer to that...

As always, I encourage you to take supplements initially to get you over the hump while you're getting a solid exercise program going, learning how to eat right and, hopefully, clearing out your arteries.

[mjm111]

Thanks for the reply. I eat clean &u exercise (too much) ... its good to take time off supplements, IMO, whether its a few days per week or a few weeks every few months ... IMO, it keeps your body responding ...

[PeakT]

Thx bzarfas...