What is Recovery?

 We recover from illness, accidents, surgery, divorce, financial loss, drugs, alcohol dependence, and various other life situations. Recovery is defined as, the act or process of becoming healthy after an illness or injury and returning to a normal state. We all experience some form of recovery throughout our life and Testosterone or Anabolic Steroid Recovery is not new, it has been around for years.

Recovering from testosterone replacement therapy, or anabolic steroids, put the test of free will in front of me as challenging as Jonah in the whale or Job, who lost everything but faith. To recover from testosterone replacement it takes courage, will, and professional assistance. In my personal experience, I had the WILL to move beyond this disaster, to face what I had done to myself and to others. And the inner-knowledge (intuition) to seek out the resources I needed to get me from hormonal hell and put me on the path of hormonal heaven!

 Testosterone – otherwise known as an anabolic steroid hormone – is classified as a schedule III controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Agency. There are five schedule categories according to The Department of Justice.  http://www.justice.gov/dea/druginfo/ds.shtml

Substances in the schedule III category are accepted for medical use, have moderate to low physical dependence and possess moderate to high psychological dependence. They include drugs such as, Vicodin, Hydrocodone , Ketamine and Tylenol with Codeine.

 Recovering from testosterone can be very different than recovering from other substances like Alcohol, Hydrocodone or any other drug. 

 The biggest difference recovering from testosterone is that it stays in your system.  Depending on how it is administered into your body will determine how long it will take to recover. It took me a good solid year before I was in a place that was healthy and my testosterone was at its natural level. When making the decision to recover from testosterone replacement therapy you most likely will experience the following symptoms:

 Depression.  This could last up to a year, depending on how it was being administered and how much they were dosing you with. Don’t worry you will be ok. 

Irritability

Fatigue

Weight loss

Weight gain

Vomiting

Nausea

Anxiety

Hands Shaking

Psychological or psychiatric symptoms

 Recovering from testosterone is not easy; however, it is worth it if you’re “willing” to stay the course.  It’s all about getting “raw & real” with yourself.

 Why did you choose to take testosterone?

Did you want to look better?

Did you buy into all the hoopla and marketing hype?

Did you think it would help your marriage?

Sex drive?

What was missing in your life at the time?

By being on testosterone, did you make choices that were out of character for you?

Did you have wandering eyes?

 Your story is YOUR story and that is the beauty of recovering from testosterone replacement therapy.  You can feel great again and regain your sense of self – it’s just going to take some work.  Are you up for some work on yourself?

 If you or a loved one have become or think you might be addicted or dependent on testosterone replacement therapy it’s imperative you seek out resources.

 Find a trusted Cognitive Behavioral therapist in your area, locate and contact a trusted Endocrinologist and check out the Recovery Connection at http://www.recoveryconnection.org/steroid-addiction-abuse/

 Having studied recovery and being a trained life coach, I felt I was fortunate. I knew what needed to be done and was willing to face the pain knowing the outcome would be well worth it.

 When recovering from anything, it is important to create an environment where you feel safe and secure.  For me I created what I call it, my “Sanctuary.” It’s my safe space, where I nurture my spirit, get into my own energy and spin my “cocoon.”  While cocooning I read, read, read, mediated, meditated, meditated, walked barefoot in the grass, learned to love myself again, got centered with two feet on the ground, and trusted in God that I would be okay, trusting that there was a bigger purpose to my three-year testosterone-induced life.

 In addition to my own healing practice and coaching myself; I had a team of physicians I trusted, who truly had my best interest at heart and didn’t want to put me on more medication. 

 If you’re in the Phoenix metro area I highly recommend, therapist, Arnold Lopez, Colette Toronto, a nurse practitioner at Parkway Medical in Scottsdale; as well as Dr. Alamir at Endocrinology and Associates.  

 You too can live a vibrant healthy testosterone replacement free life.

Love & Miracles,

Lisa Marie