[decobuddha]

About 9 weeks into a Test Cyp cycle and having horrendous anxiety. Not quite panic attacks, but waking up with a racing pulse, intrusive thoughts, generally feeling like I want to jump out of my skin. Has been a couple of weeks now.

Am also taking hCG (250IU EOD), and was taking dutasteride to prevent hair loss but have stopped.

Any thoughts as to the root cause of this? Am awaiting bloods to check my E2 levels.

 

[simonboyle]

Outside of the blood tests how's your BP

 

[DLTBB]

Bloods might help you get to the bottom of it. It could be a million different things and any answer you get before you see your results will be an educated guess at best. I wouldn't start messing around with AI dosage etc. before you see the results as you could make things worse.

 

[funnerno1]

Doses, doses what are your doses? Instead of dutasteride try topical finasteride. Does the job and doesnt have systematic sides.

 

[decobuddha]

350mg Test Cyp per week, in two divided doses. Not taking an AI.

BP is fine, 120/68.

 

[FatScrub]

Do you have anxiety outside of your cycles? Or family history of mental health issues?

 

[Vic90]

Blood test will give you an idea of where your estradiol/E2 is at currently.

My personal experience is that my heart rate and sleep quality are affected as mine creeps up. My resting heart rate sits at about 15-20bpm more when I'm on 500mg+ of test per week without an AI. Saying that, I don't suffer from anxiety issues and prefer my estradiol/E2 at the higher end than on the lower end as I suffer badly from low E2, in the form of creeky joints, low libido, muscle cramps. Other compounds don't seem as effective when my E2 is lowered either.

 

[decobuddha]

Do you have anxiety outside of your cycles? Or family history of mental health issues?

Not normally anxiety, but depression - and there’s a history of mental illness in some family members, yeah

 

[Digger18]

I’m on tritest 400 and my anxiety is through the roof. But I suffer mild anxiety and depression anyway, find gear just enhances it. Lucky me

 

[FatScrub]

@decobuddha You must find a way to manage your depression because adding juice will have an impact on your well being. Mood swings, highs & lows, aggression etc.

Mental health is a massive topic with many angles so I don't want to write too much about it here. Anxiety and depression are linked, many people that suffer from depression will be susceptible to anxiety attacks as well.

An anxiety attack is basically your body reacting to a perceived danger or threat (even when there is none). It triggers adrenalin which is why you get a racing pulse. So use the standard techniques such as deep stomach breathing (your stomach must expand, not your upper chest), counting back from 100 to 1 and focussing on that only.

And like others have said: check your BP and do your bloods as well, just to be on the safe side. Anxiety and mental health problems happen way more often than you'd think so don't be disheartened by it all.

 

[decobuddha]

@decobuddha You must find a way to manage your depression because adding juice will have an impact on your well being. Mood swings, highs & lows, aggression etc.

Thanks. Am normally on SSRIs and quite stable, but this has thrown me for a loop - had to take last week off work. Am preparing to just stop the cycle altogether at this point, but keen to know if there's anything I can do in the meantime before throwing in the towel... Will post bloods when I get them

 

[felladrol]

Thanks. Am normally on SSRIs and quite stable, but this has thrown me for a loop - had to take last week off work. Am preparing to just stop the cycle altogether at this point, but keen to know if there's anything I can do in the meantime before throwing in the towel... Will post bloods when I get them

I can't tell for sure but I am afraid no, especially considering your background.
It is well documented that androgen receptors are expressed all over the body including brain and various parts in the brain region. Obviously increasing your androgen levels will also more than likely increase the severity of this already existing behavioural symptoms.

But again, that's just what I've read and I am definitely not an expert when it comes neurology/neurochemistry and that kind of stuff.

 

[PaulNe]

Don't worry I usually get anxiety on cycle incase i pull doors off their hinges when opening them

 

[UK2USA]

Not a dig in any way mate, but some people are just not suited to taking certain chemicals and maybe you're better off being natty. I have kidney disease and high blood pressure and most orals are out for me and even mild stims can cause massive spikes in my blood pressure so I work around that and only do what I can do - I'm better off without them.

 

[nWo]

I can't tell for sure but I am afraid no, especially considering your background.
It is well documented that androgen receptors are expressed all over the body including brain and various parts in the brain region. Obviously increasing your androgen levels will also more than likely increase the severity of this already existing behavioural symptoms.

But again, that's just what I've read and I am definitely not an expert when it comes neurology/neurochemistry and that kind of stuff.

Yeah, androgens stimulate the central nervous system. So if you're prone to anxiety then you'll most likely experience and increase if you have increased androgen levels.

 

[decobuddha]

Results are in:

Estradiol isn't out of range, but was 82 before I went on cycle so a bit of a jump. Not sure if it's worth adding an AI to dial it back; I haven't been taking one while on cycle at all so far.

 

[Vic90]

Results are in: View attachment 216662

Estradiol isn't out of range, but was 82 before I went on cycle so a bit of a jump. Not sure if it's worth adding an AI to dial it back; I haven't been taking one while on cycle at all so far.

Your estradiol is too low compared to your T. It must come up somehow.

 

[decobuddha]

Your estradiol is too low compared to your T. It must come up somehow.

What do you suggest?

Things are starting to feel more normal at last. At the moment I'm planning on ending my cycle here; maybe these compounds just aren't for me.

But I'd quite like to know how you'd go about tracking down which component of this was likely to be triggering the anxiety - or is that just not possible?

 

[Vic90]

What do you suggest?

Things are starting to feel more normal at last. At the moment I'm planning on ending my cycle here; maybe these compounds just aren't for me.

But I'd quite like to know how you'd go about tracking down which component of this was likely to be triggering the anxiety - or is that just not possible?

You seem to be a low aromatiser, so while your test is nice and high, your e2 is lagging. It's all about the test:e2 ratio. To get it up you could up the HCG. It's barely budged for you on a decent dose of test.

Although I read that you normally take SSRIs. We're mixing things that I'm not qualified to comment on. Knocking it on the head is a sensible thing to do. Your test will come down and the ratio will come right.

If you're keen on staying on, upping the HCG will increase e2, as will throwing in some dbol, 20mg a day. With the latter you're adding a new variable into the mix which might make things worse though.

 

[Imperitive.Intel]

I've heard of supplementing GABA for anxiety, and that's all I know. Just heard it on a thread where Anxiety from EQ was an issue.