Heroin Opiates and low testosterone

[zebedee79]

So I recently got sent to a methadone clinic and had some blood tests, turns out I've got very low testosterone (I'm a bloke). Now I've done a bit of reading seems this is quite common with heroin/opiate abuse but I've a couple of questions I hope someone can help me with.

First has anyone had the same problem, is there medications that can help and if so did they help? Did they help with depression? Now the clinic wants to put me on subs, which I'm not to keen on, they're fine for a taper but I'm pretty much being forced into maintenance (I'll lose my job if I fuck up) and the thought of staying on subs is horrible, they make me feel awful.

Finally are there any supplements/lifestyle tips that can help (besides quitting opiates). Can diet have an impact?

Thanks for reading, hope someone can help

 

[ShroomySatori]

Hey, I just went through this and believe me I know how much it sucks. But my experience might not be too common. As a heroin addict I did not have a sex drive. After I CT detoxed I met a beautiful girl and started getting laid a lot, like every day. It was embarrassing at first, because I as so numb down there for so many years sniffing dope all day that you can't really last until you get a lottttt of practice in hehe. It's been a month and I'm good now... I've heard to wait a long time before even considering testosterone replacement therapy. Honestly dude, sex / masturbation is what you need to be doing as much as possible (this is what I've heard and it's totally true). Not sure about diet (I just eat really healthy and clean) but oh actually Maca Root Powder might help, check it out. It's a health supplement you can put in smoothies or just milk that can make ya real horny. Oh yeah and this was the main thing with Low-T for me. I'm not sure what other effects it has but I doubt you have much of a stable sex drive right now haha eh?

If you can exercise (I couldn't, and still can't as much as I'd like, as I did it CT and I have serious physical pain problems) - exercise will absolutely help. Especially larger muscles like the legs. Hard exercise will get your testosterone up for sure man. Don't worry... it just takes time and patience. If you stay on maintenance forever, you still might have it? I never considered methadone or subs, so I don't know if they cause Low-T as well. They probably do, as they are opiates. You might not be able to stay on them forever.

 

[Runtoparadise]

You can have testosterone prescribed & IM daily.
That's what some guys require. Generally, they also have other health issues going on as well though.

Try Shroomys advice. Aloha dude xx

Rtp

 

[Jabberwocky]

Yup, long term opioid use can definitely mess with hormones, and low T among such users is not entirely uncommon, but in my experience folks who have issues with this seem to be predisposed to it to begin with. I have heard that folks with low T can benefit from medicating the condition, with an associated mood/energy boost from proper replacement therapy (topical test doesn't seem to work that well though).

Hopefully others with first hand experience with this can chime in. We have more than a couple BLers taking test replacement and using opioids.

 

[HoldBack]

If my options were to either have low t or be on methadone (vs sub), I'd stay on methadone 100%.

I don't know what having a sex drive is like, I've been on opiates for the entirety of my sexual maturity. But being strung out makes my life bad more than sex makes it good.

 

[Jabberwocky]

In my experience the low t issue is less often an issue with methadone patients than some make it out to be. For some people it is an issue, but it isn't super common by any means.

I say that because most people I've met, what I see on BL (and earlier opiophile), and from the medical literature on the topic that I've seen, one shouldn't assume it's an issue without a test for it. Methadone and opioids generally can mimic some effects of low T, without actually causing it for most.

 

[zebedee79]

Hey thanks for all the replys guys, appreciate all the help. So my health has generally gone down hill recently, haven't been eating/sleeping etc, the whole addiction things starting to wear me down. The masturbation thing makes sense, and I've done a bit of reading and certain foods can help. So it looks like wanking and eating steak might be what I'm looking for, so it could be worse.

Was pissed off at first, being forced into maintenance as the clinics are very restrictive. But maybe it's a good thing, I'm 38 and have been addicted to heroin/painkillers for almost 10 years I think, I probably can't keep this lifestyle up much longer. Again thanks dudes, I'll update here if I get any more info, or if I'm offered any testosterone replacement.

 

[FLA]

So I recently got sent to a methadone clinic and had some blood tests, turns out I've got very low testosterone (I'm a bloke). Now I've done a bit of reading seems this is quite common with heroin/opiate abuse but I've a couple of questions I hope someone can help me with.

First has anyone had the same problem, is there medications that can help and if so did they help? Did they help with depression? Now the clinic wants to put me on subs, which I'm not to keen on, they're fine for a taper but I'm pretty much being forced into maintenance (I'll lose my job if I fuck up) and the thought of staying on subs is horrible, they make me feel awful.

Finally are there any supplements/lifestyle tips that can help (besides quitting opiates). Can diet have an impact?

Thanks for reading, hope someone can help

My testosterone was off-the-charts low when I was an Methadone and still is but I think to a lesser degree on bupe. But I'm old and have thyroid issues though so I'm not really sure if it was the opioids or just old age. Now that I get testosterone, I take .6 cc (200mg/ml solution) IM testosterone weekly, not daily like Runtoparadise said. I'm thinking he meant weekly. Jeez if I took that shot daily I'd be so aggressive I'd probably kill somebody or so horny I'd probably rape somebody. I'm sure it has some risks but quality of life rather than length of life is more important to me.

 

[zebedee79]

Cheers FLA, gonna see the docs Monday so hopefully I can get some sort of testosterone replacement. I cold turkey'd about a year ago and my sex drive came back with a vengeance, if I end up on meth long term I'm going to need something, no point in all this if I can't get some normality in my life and I'm sure my Mrs will appreciate it as well.

 

[BeachBum4u]

Low testosterone is definitely a bad side effect of being on opiates, as you've discovered. This happened to me as well. In fact, my doctor told me that my levels were the lowest he'd ever seen for someone my age. I was immediately put on Androgel, which is a gel you rub on your upper body daily. It truly helped me and may for you as well. I hope things work out for you going forward.

 

[Båtmannen]

1. Well, this happens to basically everyone who is on a permanent dose of opiates. It's actually the only way the body takes actual physical damage from opiates.

And, it's not really damage, since one of the reasons women live longer than men, seems to be the more general anabolism in men, making them more prone to cancer.

It can make your life miserable, though.


2. The only way you're going to affect the testosterone significantly by diet is if you are lacking some nutrient. People will tell you zinc increases testosterone, but this is only inj people who haven't eaten enough for a long time.

You can DECREASE it, though, by eating stuff like soy and liqorice.


3. Almost all places who use long-term methadone/buprenorphine also use TRT for those who need it. It's pretty simple stuff, and it works.


I have used exogenous for years and I will never stop using it.

 

[zebedee79]

Cheers for that mate, it's good to know the treatment worked.

 

[kleinerkiffer]

This might be a good read http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376871615000733

 

[FnX]

This might be a good read http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376871615000733

Appreciated, this one too https://jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2093682 titled "Opioid-Induced Endocrinopathy". Testosterone is just part of the issue. Personally I am very curious about the relationship of prolactin, dopamine and testosterone. Could cabergoline possibly alleviate endocrine issues related to long-term opioid use and/or withdrawal? I know one person who is also a chronic pain patient (long-term opioids) who was prescribed cabergoline for endocrine issues that were at least influenced by opioids. They had problems with vascular side-effects though.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7900271 titled "Opioids and the pulsatile prolactin secretory pattern: effects of hyperprolactinemia."

There's also research that isn't exactly related to opioids but that shows long-term cabergoline treatment normalizes testosterone levels in males with elevated prolactin.

And if you really, really want to get to the complexity of these interactions and some of the feedback loops involved: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2778443/ titled: "Prolactin and Male Fertility: The Long and Short Feedback Regulation"

to quote one particularly interesting part: " ...In support of the earlier observations suggestive of feedback repression by testosterone, the in vivo study suggested that prolactin could autoregulate its own secretion by upregulating the synthesis of testosterone."

Would be interesting to see if one could upregulate the synthesis of testosterone by suppressing prolactin with cabergoline and if healthy testosterone levels would be reached, would it eventually lead to an elevated state of homeostasis? Exogenous testosterone supplementation has the unfortunate side-effect of suppressing testosterone synthesis to my knowledge, so if we could increase low testosterone levels through a different mechanism it might be quite beneficial indeed.