Exercise Tips by Nelson Vergel

Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) can be life-changing for many men suffering with low testosterone symptoms. However, there are crucial facts that most men are not told by their physicians before they start TRT. This episode covers in less than 5 minutes the top facts that every man considering TRT should know.

More information: https://www.discountedlabs.com/blog/testosterone-replacement-therapy-products-and-costs

Discovering natural testosterone boost methods can significantly impact your overall health and wellness. Testosterone is a key hormone that helps to regulate sexual functioning, hair development, and sustaining muscle mass. As we get older, our testosterone levels drop, so it's important to find ways to raise and maintain healthy levels.

To maximize your testosterone levels, we will look into the benefits of exercise regimens such as weightlifting and HIIT, dietary strategies with zinc, vitamin D and magnesium-rich foods, sleep quality for hormonal regulation, and stress management techniques like meditation and yoga. We'll talk about nutrition tips by looking at foods high in zinc, vitamin D, and magnesium, which help the body make the most testosterone.

Furthermore, we'll discuss the significance of sleep quality for hormonal regulation while providing practical stress management techniques such as meditation and yoga. Last, we'll look at how a healthy body weight helps keep testosterone levels at the right level. Embark on this journey towards better health by incorporating these evidence-based approaches into your daily routine.

How to Increase Testosterone Naturally

Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is one of the most effective ways to combat low testosterone levels, but it's vital that you understand the risks associated with the treatment. As with any form of hormone replacement therapy, there are a few downsides to receiving regular injections of testosterone. One of the main TRT side effects is increased hematocrit.  This article will explain why this happens, the potential long-term health consequences, and how to prevent or manage this issue.

Since abnormally high hematocrit values can pose serious health problems, this article will analyze the correlation between testosterone therapy and high hematocrit. TRT, sleep apnea and smoking are contributing factors that can cause high hematocrit that can increase cardiovascular risks if not properly managed. This podcast explaibs the basics of how to manage high hematocrit while using testosterone therapy.

https://www.discountedlabs.com/blog/high-hematocrit-caused-by-trt-how-to-lower-it

In today's medical system we can all use lab tests to get a diagnosis for a wide variety of diseases such as diabetes, low testosterone, low thyroid, anemia, heart disease risk, etc.  After the lab analyzes your blood, health care providers can identify specific ailments quickly, helping you get the required treatment on time.

However, the bad thing is that analyzing your bloodwork can be a seriously expensive and time-consuming procedure. Most people feel put off by surprising and unexpected medical bills of several hundred or even thousands of dollars for a blood test weeks after they got them done at their doctor’s office.

How Does Bloodwork Get Processed?

Let's say that you want to check the level of glucose or A1c in your blood or determine if your diabetes is in control. You can do that with simple blood tests which check for specific biomarkers. Based on that, the doctor can make lifestyle recommendations to avoid the disease or treat it successfully.

But to get your blood test done, you need to speak with your primary healthcare provider first. This fact seems to make people run into a lot of different problems caused by a poorly managed healthcare system.

This article strives to highlight some of these problems and help you find ways to deal with them. Luckily, direct-to-consumer blood tests are increasingly popular these days, and we'll be covering them in greater detail at the end of this article, so keep listening.

https://www.discountedlabs.com/blog/getting-affordable-blood-tests-with-or-without-insurance:-top-barriers

It is very difficult to know what supplements have been proven to work in clinical studies. Nelson Vergel helps to demystify all supplement information

Nelson Vergel, author, advocate and founder of www.ExcelMale.com, www.DiscountedLabs.com, and www.HormoneAccessCoalition.org interviews Scott Brunner, CEO of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding (www.compounding.com) about the current threats to people's access to affordable and customized hormone products in the U.S. and what you can do about it. The FDA is considering banning compounded estradiol, estrone, estradiol cypionate, estriol, pregnenolone, progesterone, testosterone, testosterone cypionate, and testosterone propionate and all pellet cBHT therapies. Also, under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BPCIA) – Protein-based drug products like hCG, FSH, and hMG that had been approved as “drugs” over 15 years ago are now considered “Biologics” and now fall under the jurisdiction of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). These 3 compounds are gonadotropins that have been used in fertility and hormone replacement in women and men. Compounding pharmacies have been compounding urine-derived hCG, FSH, and hMG and increasing patient access to these medications for 50 years. Under the new law, compounding pharmacies are no longer allowed to make these products unless they go through a new lengthy and costly Biologic License Application (BLA). Scott also explained how proposed USP changes in "Beyond Use Dates" will increase cost and need for frequent refills for patients. Take Action Now! Add your testimonial about what compounding hormones have done for you here: https://compounding.com/testimonials To send emails to Congress, visit: https://compounding.com/findmyrep To send emails to the FDA and Congress: https://hormoneaccesscoalition.org/take-action/

Nelson Vergel, author of the book Testosterone: A Man's Guide (Available on Amazon.com) and founder of the men's forum www.ExcelMale.com speaks about the role of estradiol in men and the consequences of over-treating estradiol with anastrozole and other aromatase inhibitors. Testosterone is the precursor hormone for estradiol. Estradiol is a hormone more abundant in women than men that is produced by the aromatization of testosterone in liver, fat and other cells. Nature created it for a reason. It has been shown to be responsible for healthy bone density but its role in men's sex drive, body composition and other variables is source of great debate. Many anti-aging or men's health clinics prescribe anastrozole, a blocker of estradiol production, to men who start testosterone replacement (TRT). Higher estradiol blood levels not only can cause breast tissue growth (gynecomastia) but also water retention (edema). Some people speculate that high estradiol can also lead to erectile dysfunction but no scientific papers have been published on this subject. Since higher testosterone blood levels can originate higher estradiol levels, the belief is that using anastrozole will prevent breast tissue growth and erectile dysfunction by lowering any potential increase in estradiol. However, we have no data on how high is too high when it comes to this hormone in men. Some even speculate that low testosterone-to-estradiol ratios may be more closely correlated to gynecomastia and erectile problems than estradiol alone. The truth about these speculations is starting to emerge but we still do not have enough data to say what the upper value of the optimal range of estradiol really is. We have a lot of evidence about the lower side of the optimal range since it has been found that estradiol blood levels below 10-20 pg/ml can increase bone loss in men. A recently published study also nicely demonstrated that low estradiol can be associated with higher fat mass and lower sexual function in men. So, be very careful when a clinic wants to put you on this drug without first justifying its use. Another concerning fact is that many clinics may be using the wrong estradiol test that may be over-estimating the levels of this hormone in men. An ultrasensitive estradiol test more accurately measures estradiol in men instead of the regular test that costs less. Fortunately, most men on TRT do not develop gynecomastia even without using anastrozole (gynecomastia is common in bodybuilders who may use high doses of testosterone, however). Those that have gynecomastia at TRT doses (100-200 mg of injectable testosterone or 5-10 grams of testosterone gel per day) may be genetically predisposed to having more aromatase activity or have liver dysfunction. Treating all men who start TRT with anastrozole from the start may be counterproductive since this may lower estradiol to very low levels. Some physicians monitor estradiol blood levels after 6-8 weeks of having a man start TRT alone using the ultrasensitive estradiol test to determine if anastrozole use is warranted. Doses range from 0.25 mg per week to some clinics using excessive doses of 1 mg three times per week. After 4-6 weeks on anastrozole, its dose can be adjusted to ensure than estradiol is not under 20 pg/ml. Fortunately, many men on TRT do not need anastrozole at all.

Nelson Vergel had a fun interview with Dr. Rubin as she tells it like it is! Dr. Rachel S. Rubin is a board-certified urologist and sexual medicine specialist. She is one of only a handful of physicians with fellowship training in sexual medicine for all genders. Dr. Rubin is a clinician, researcher, and passionate educator. In addition to being education chair for the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH), she serves as an associate editor for the journal Sexual Medicine Reviews. Dr. Rubin completed her medical education at Tufts University, her urology training at Georgetown University, and her sexual medicine fellowship training with Dr. Irwin Goldstein in San Diego. #womenshealth #menopause #hormonebalance #sexualmedicine #urology

Today I'm going to be explaining the use of HCG together with testosterone injections (Video Transcript)

Why Do Some Men on TRT Need hCG?

Men with a low testosterone test result need testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), either by getting a prescription from a doctor for a gel, like AndroGel, Testim, Axiron, Fortesta, or getting a prescription for testosterone injections, like Cypionate, Enanthate, or Aveed (testosterone undecanoate). There are many benefits of using testosterone to replenish or to increase your testosterone back to normal levels for your age. However, there are disadvantages. One of the disadvantage of using testosterone is shutting down your own body's production of testosterone. Your testicles basically stop producing testosterone. There are cells in the testicles called Leydig cells that go dormant when you start using testosterone gels or injections. This testicular cell shut down can cause testicular atrophy, meaning your testicles can shrink with time. Testicular atrophy can fortunately be reversed with the use of hCG together with testosterone injections, gels, pellets and other TRT options.

TRT can also cause your fertility and sperm count to go down.  This decrease in sperm count and quality may impair your ability to get your wife or girlfriend pregnant.

After long term TRT, some men may start feeling that TRT is not working as well when it comes to boosting their sex drive. Other men may feel that their penis is not as sensitive when performing sex. So, that's where Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) comes into play. hCG is a peptide obtained by prescription that it's legal and FDA approved in the United States for enhancement of fertility in men and women, and for increasing testosterone in men with hypogonadism (testosterone deficiency). hCG has had a lot of bad publicity due to its use in the “hCG diet”, which is not supported by clinical data and the FDA.  hCG has also been proven by studies to also improve testicular size when experiencing testicular atrophy due to TRT. And last but not least, hCG can  improve men’s libido and penis sensitivity.

How to Use hCG with Testosterone Injections at the Same Time

Most protocols used by different TRT clinics out there use two or three injections a week of hCG either under the skin or in the muscle. Along with hCG, they prescribe testosterone injections either once a week or twice a week. That protocol requires, when you add injections up, five injections a week. I don't know who likes to inject that much! Personally, I do not want to inject so many times per week as I'm really trying to simplify my life and to avoid what we call “needle fatigue”. We're all busy and yes, we want to have the best sex drive, the best mental capacity, the best mood, but not with that kind of commitment to multiple injections.  Therefore, I designed a protocol that will simplify my and everybody's life by using hCG together with testosterone injections only twice per week, with both products combined in the same syringe. I use a very tiny syringe- 27-gauge 1/2 inch.  These type of insulin syringes come in a bag that you can get online without a prescription.

How to Inject hCG plus TRT

You also need alcohol swabs to clean the vials and also your skin. And you obviously need to get a prescription of testosterone, either Cypionate, Enanthate or Undecanoate. This vial contains 200 milligrams per milliliter (or cc) for a total of 10 mL. Depending on the dose, so that you may need only 100 milligrams a week of testosterone, or only 200 milligrams. In severe cases of lack of TRT efficacy, the TRT dose can go as high as 250 per week. You can divide that dose in two injections. In my case, I use 100 milligrams of testosterone per week, divided by two, that's 50 milligrams twice a week. hCG comes in a vial of 11,000 units IUs (or other types of units depending on the compounding pharmacy). hCG comes in a powder and the pharmacies send bacteriostatic water with it that you have to mix it once it gets delivered to your place. The best way to do so is injecting 5.5 mL of bacteriostatic water it into the hCG powder vial of 11,000 IUs, which means basically every cc or mL will contain 2,000 IUs.

So, for 50 milligrams of testosterone Cypionate that comes in vials that contain 200 milligrams per mL, I need 0.25 mL for every injection, twice a week. The same thing goes for hCG. I need only 0.25 mL to inject 500 IUs per injection.   Some men seem to derive benefits from hCG with 250 IUs twice a week. There is debate about what is the best dose of hCG with TRT.

How Do You Know What hCG plus TRT dose is Right for You?

You'll know it within two or three weeks if your testicles are not feeling fuller and you're not feeling more sex drive.  For increased sperm count, it takes a while (8 weeks) to find out if it's working or not.

Take the top off each vial (testosterone and hCG). Use an alcohol swab to clean each vial top.  Then you can inject on my shoulders or glutes at 90 degrees, or subcutaneously under the skin in the abdomen.

I combine the two products in the same syringe. It's only 0.25 cc of each, so it's a total of 0.5 cc. Testosterone is an oil-based product, and HCG is water-based. So, they never really combine in the syringe. I'm just trying to save time and frequency of injections. Two injections of the combined hCG plus TRT per week.

So just pull the top off. I'm going to just draw a little air just so that I can push it into the testosterone vial. Just push it in, and then turn it around, and just very slowly because it's a 27 gauge very thin syringe, so just be patient.  Testosterone cypionate is an oil-based product. So, it basically flows very slowly. But it's not that big of a deal. It's only 0.25 cc, so the wait is only less than a minute. The same procedure for pulling hCG out of its vial.

Just tilt the vial over. Let a little bit more air out there, and then check the air, and pull the hCG out. hCG is water-base, so it flows really fast. So pretty much, there are two products in the same syringe. Just tap it a little to get air bubbles out. And then that's it. Basically, you're loading the syringe with two products, 0.5 cc total. Then inject that volume at 90 degrees in your shoulders. It doesn't hurt. It's really a tiny syringe, half an inch long. Like this. I didn't even feel it. And then push it in. As simple as that!

 I hope this helps. It's not easy to inject so much and so frequently. Everybody's busy. So hopefully this will help a lot of guys to adhere to and comply with the hCG plus testosterone therapy.

Is this interview, HIV activist, author and educator Nelson Vergel speaks about how he handled his HIV diagnosis in 1986 to propel him to become an activist and how we created a program to help HIV/AIDS patients survive HIV wasting syndrome. More information in NelsonVergel.com