True. At the same time I've seen some guys transition well when coming off. Steroids in over HRT doses make you at least slightly tense and wired and I've heard a few say "wow I can't believe how good I feel now that I'm off, much more relaxed overall. Though a few months down the road many of them start to feel something is missing Steroids can also mess with other neurotransmitters, GABA and serotonin, causing anxiety (e.g. boldenone messing with GABA, probably why it can cause severe anxiety in some). Since TRT became more popular and acceptable for docs to prescribe here, I saw other docs in the news warn that the initial kick you get from TRT doesn't last long and in the long run you feel worse. That's probably not quite right as a rule.
This is normal under those circumstances. Stress tolerance, management, and resilience go down the shitter under long term gear usage.
Simply put:
-Obviously, HPA axis uncoupling leads to lower basal cortisol and reduced cortisol variability (blunted stress signaling, poor stress anticipation. Stress responses become more “reactive”).
-Dopaminergic desensitization, as mentioned in the above post (less reward contrast, stronger novelty-seeking to compensate. Initial mental clarity possibly leading to emotional blunting, as you mentioned).
-Serotonin imbalance via chronic brain AR activation (irritability, reduced frustration tolerance, less “buffer” against stress). This is due to the loss of this neurotransmitter’s natural troughs. Serotonergic “recovery windows” are basically lost.
-Not exactly anxiety per se, but there might be decreased emotional reactivity under load due to loss of GABAergic tone (relaxation signals in the brain)
-Impaired GnRH natural pulsatility from a constant negative feedback loop (hypothalamic dysregulation), which leads to the loss of pulsatile neuropeptides like allopregnanolone and DHEA-derived neurosteroid signaling. This can cause low dopamine variability (reward feels “flat”). It may also expose you to brain fog and mood flattening that cannot be explained by T levels alone.
Chronic LH suppression may also affect memory consolidation.
At the moment TRT isn't quite physiological even in low doses because you don't get the natural daily fluctuations so it's not quite the same as natural production even if the tests show you are in the physiological range. And with TRT there may be a lack of downstream metabolites like DHEA and so on and all of it can affect mood. It's pluses and minuses
Funny that you brought up this phenomenon.
Stable or elevated T levels throughout the day fuck with a thing called circadian androgen signaling. Under normal circumstances, testosterone acts as a body-clock modulator. Morning T peaks and acts as a signal that helps align hypothalamic output with the active phase of the circadian cycle.
The morning androgen rise also increases dopamine synthesis and release. In other words, motivational circuitry is synchronized with circadian phase, not simply activated.
Also, cortisol peaks slightly before waking and synchronizes with testosterone.
With constantly elevated androgen levels, this little neuro-symphony is fucked (sleep fragmentation, “flat” motivation across the day, and a subtle inability to feel pleasure, despite normal libido).
This is all due to the fact that testosterone acts as a downstream effector.
Micro-dosing and a script for hCG currently seem to be the most reasonable protocol.
Now, this all sounds very bleak, but this largely context dependent and comes down to individual experiences obviously.
For example, males with higher sensitivity to androgens (their AR receptors gob androgens like crazy) will obviously experience stronger neurochemical side effects than soy boys - the joys of androgen receptor polymorphism (shorter CAG codon repeats on the first exon of the gene coding for them).
If you are interested, there is a great book, The teouble with testosterone, written by neuroscientist and neuroendocrinologist Robert Sapolsky, professor at Stanford University.
It explains and clarifies many misconceptions about testosterone and its roles and functions.
https://dokumen.pub/qdownload/the-trouble-with-testosterone-and-other-essays-on-the-biology-of-the-human-predicament-9781439125052-1439125058.html
