Testosterone and neurological problems

From my own experiments Im seeing a connection between testosterone levels and neurological problems.

Im a 46 yr male, migraine sufferer for 30 years, and I've also burnt out twice from working too hard in the computer business, requiring months of rehabilitation. This resulted in permanent neurological problems, for example problems concentrating, unable to work for long stretches of time, dizziness, "foggy" brain, on/off loss of sensation in the forehead, etc.

I try to stay in shape by exercising in the gym and hiking, this helps keeping the migraines away. And of course I try not to live a stressful life.

I typically have one or two attacks per year, always triggered by stress. They are really severe and I usually end up in the ER, and then I have to stay home for a week to recover.

No migraine medication has ever helped me, and I have tried them all. Last time in the ER I begged for morphine as usual, but in 30 years they have never given it me. However this time they did and it completely took away the pain so I could sleep. I later went back and got a prescription. This is a huge relief, knowing I have a way to survive the next attack.

I've tried injecting testosterone, primarily for better results in the gym. To my surprise it also took away all my neurological problems. I know this is an illegal substance in most countries (=anabolic steroids), so Im not advocating anyone reading this to do it. However here in Thailand where I currently live, they are legal to use. No migraines, no nerve problems, nothing. I suddenly felt like a normal person. I dont think it is a coincidence; migraine is probably linked to hormone problems.

There is a thing called Testosterone Replacement Therapy, or TRT, where you do weekly injections of testosterone to raise the level in the body to that of a younger man. I have a testosterone level of 405, which is in the normal range (300-1100), but at the lower end. I feel pretty confident that raising it to the upper level will do the trick for me, so that is why I will start the therapy next week to see.

This something all of you could have checked if you visit your local endocrinologist. He can put of you on a TRT program if needed. However this is something you do for life, so its no easy decision.

I would be curious to learn if anyone else has seen the migraine - hormone levels connection? I guess it is easier to see in women, where it sometimes is connected to the menstrual cycle.

I am very surprised that Morphine completely took away the migraine.  I've had injections of Demerol before (basically same thing) and it decreased the pain by only about 40%.

My dad had to get testosterone replacement starting around the age of 35 or so and he does have migraines occasionally.  I'm not sure if the hormone replacement helped his migraines; he went to the doctor due to feeling depressed and the tests showed his testosterone was too low.  Perhaps if he hadn't gone when he did his migraines would've gotten worse.  That's interesting.  Whenever I can save up enough money I was planning to go to a doctor and ask for my hormone levels to be tested.

Seaine wrote:I am very surprised that Morphine completely took away the migraine.  I've had injections of Demerol before (basically same thing) and it decreased the pain by only about 40%.

My dad had to get testosterone replacement starting around the age of 35 or so and he does have migraines occasionally.  I'm not sure if the hormone replacement helped his migraines; he went to the doctor due to feeling depressed and the tests showed his testosterone was too low.  Perhaps if he hadn't gone when he did his migraines would've gotten worse.  That's interesting.  Whenever I can save up enough money I was planning to go to a doctor and ask for my hormone levels to be tested.

Thanks for your comment Seaine. I've never tried Demerol, but it looks like its somewhere between Morphine and Codeine is strength, listed as Pethidine here:

(Wikipedia's page on Equianalgesic)

I've tried Codeine before and I cant feel even the slightest difference.

At the ER they first injected 3 mg of Morphine, which didn't do much. Then they tried 6 mg and within 3 minutes it took away all the pain, as through magic. People say Morphine should give a euphoric happy feeling but I just felt totally numb, like I was lobotomized or something. Then I started vomiting pretty hard, but I dont mind that. The important thing for me is to get the pain low enough so I can fall asleep.

I suspect different people have different sensitivity to Morphine. I am really sensitive to Caffeine for example, which is a related substance. However Cafergot does nothing for my migraines.

Its now almost two weeks ago and Im still not 100% recovered, and this is unusually long time. Not sure if it is related to the Morphine, but thats the only thing that was changed.

Interesting about your dad. Maybe his testosterone needs to get even higher? Or maybe my theory is wrong. I know from experience that it helped me short term, now I will learn if it helps me long term or not.

Well, he gets migraines only a few times a year.  So I'm not sure his migraines are bad enough that you'd really notice if they were a little worse, I guess.  But maybe it is related.