T related depression

[desperate believer]

Hi everyone. I've been on Testosterone for about two months and have noticed increased depression. Granted I've been prone to depression before starting T but it is getting worse now. Yesterday I was more sad than I've been in a long while. My Testosterone is not low; I have nearly a week before my next shot is due (I take bi-weekly injections). I was wondering how some of you guys have handled hormone related depression. ~hope

[Jared]

Hey, are you on meds? If so, have you asked your doc if you can take T and the med too safely? I had massive depression and took meds, now I take them every 3. days. But I think it's not weird having some mood swings, you started taking a new hormone, your body needs time to adjust to it.

[Simon]

I felt really down towards the middle to end of my shot cycle when I took it every two weeks. My doc put me on every ten days and it helped (then every week really picked things up). Have you had your levels checked close to the end of the cycle? That would tell you if your T is low. Injectable T has a half life of 10 days so once you're reaching the 14 days mark it's really loooow. If you still have your ovaries that would probably also effect your mood once the T gets on the low side. Just a thought.

[desperate believer]

Jared yes I take two anti depressants. My psychiatrist knows I started T. I have an appointment with them in a little over a month and will certainly let them know of my increased depression. Simon I have yet to have blood work done; I'll have my first check up in a month. Then I will ask to switch from injections to patches or gel. Steady daily doses of T should help level out my mood, I hope. I'm glad you two learned of ways to deal with your depression. Thanks to you both. ~hope

[Jared]

Allright I hope you'll get better! 

[desperate believer]

Thank you Jared =) ~hope

[whitehat]

Hmm. It's a hard thing, transitioning, its a really long process too.

the only thing ive found to help is to be proactive. when i'm depressed i am very passive and just roll with whatever happens, dont speak up about anything, dont participate, dont get outof my head. when i'm not depressed i attack life - challenge myself to do better - be itat workor the gym or with budgeting or study or anything.

the real challenge is flipping that switch from passive to active living.
one day at a time. one change at a time. this last round, i started by making sure i got up earlyenough to make my vegetable juice every day. i felt a lot better, knowing i was taking care of myself at the start ofthe day set meup to do the same thing later on. no more skipping food and just drinking coffee. then after that, i started thinking aboutmy future - career choices - blah blah.

i was pretty depressed for 2 months and just crawled outof it a few weeks ago. i might be back there next week,but i'm going to keeppup with the small things that seem like a pain in the butt but really are helping me stay solid.

[desperate believer]

Whitehat, I live life passively even when I'm not depressed. Nonetheless I think I understand what you're saying. When I'm depressed I should fight to get out of it rather than let it continue on and on. I need to do things to get my mind off the depressing thoughts and emotions. You're right, being productive while depressed seems like a major pain in the Ass but it's better than staying sad indeed. You made another good point about doing little things to try to prevent the depression in the first place. Thanks  ~hope

[Jared]

You're welcome dude    What whitehat said is really good. Don't let yourself think too much. Try some sport if you feel like. My mind goes off while I'm doing sports. My psychiatrist suggested to plan every day, every hour, no empty time not even half an hour. It didn't work for me cause I'm a college student and my time is unpredictable but it might be good for others.

[desperate believer]

Maybe planning my days is a good idea. A schedule would ensure I'm doing things to take care of myself each day. I don't work so I have a lot of free time.

PS: That's a very cute cat in your photo 

~hope

[Jared]

Then it really could work for you.
Thanks, the pic is not mine but I had a cat similar to the photo I really like that qoute from The Crow, one of my favourite movies

[desperate believer]

The Crow is the best  ~hope

[Arch]

I used to trough pretty badly toward the end of my two-week cycle; fortunately, I had already experienced menopause, so I don't think I was getting too much E-related resistance, or not for long. Also, I was on a high dose of T, so I suppose my levels didn't get really low until after ten days. Anyway, my mood evened out considerably when I went to weekly injections.

I know a guy who has lots of mental health issues and who cannot tolerate much variation in his daily T level. He does gel or cream, and that seems to work for him.

[desperate believer]

Arch, I'm glad your moods leveled off. I hope to switch to patches or gel/cream in a month when I have my first check up. Yesterday I felt good and today I feel fine. Perhaps I can continue the trend  ~hope

[Adam (birkin)]

As always YMMV, but I found after the first 2 months of being on injections, the mood swings went away. But for the first few shots, I had pretty terrible mood swings before the next one. I would be crying and totally hopeless, sometimes I think it's a miracle my friend Keaira even put up with those.

[desperate believer]

Prof HB, I'm glad you among others here have experienced your depression easing up. ~hope

[Arch]

I think I'm susceptible to hormone-related depression because I used to have similar problems before T. I just have a brain that is sensitive to chemical changes. Maybe you do, too.

I know that transition had a beneficial effect, but I can't tell whether the T itself made a dent in my depression. Probably not. Just starting transition made me feel better, although my anxiety was through the roof because of job issues, my breakup, moving out, and dealing with transition logistics.

I still get seasonal depression and bottom dysphoria, and I didn't feel right when I decreased my dose below a certain level, so I raised it up again. However, I was on finasteride at the time, so that was a factor.

Sure is complicated...

[desperate believer]

When I had periods I would get severe cramps and significant depression every time. I think my body is indeed sensitive to hormonal changes. It sounds like you had a very stressful time when you started transitioning. I'm glad it all worked out though  Thankfully I don't have a job nor a romantic partner to worry about. Compared to many people my transition shouldn't be nearly as difficult and for that I am very thankful. ~hope

[Jared]

The Crow is the best  ~hope

Definitely 

Yesterday I felt good and today I feel fine. Perhaps I can continue the trend  ~hope

I'm glad about it 

[Arch]

Thankfully I don't have a job nor a romantic partner to worry about. Compared to many people my transition shouldn't be nearly as difficult and for that I am very thankful. ~hope

I guess being single and jobless has certain advantages! When I was getting ready to transition, some of the people in the community were envious, saying that I had someone to support me through the process. Um, no, not so much.

I know that a few relationships last past the first few months or year of transition, but most that I've seen or heard about have not lasted much longer than that. And most of the couples went through all sorts of hell while trying to work things out. Ugh. Much simpler to be single.