I spent months feeling like I was fighting my own brain and body every day. I was exhausted in a way sleep didn’t fix, mentally foggy, struggling to concentrate, depressed, losing my appetite and weight, and constantly trying to figure out why I felt so far from normal. At the same time, I was trying to reduce Suboxone, and that has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to work through. Even small reductions could bring crushing fatigue and mental anguish. Eventually, I discovered that testosterone was a major piece of what was happening. I started taking hCG to stimulate my natural testosterone production, and when my testosterone came up, the difference was enormous. My energy, mental clarity, motivation, and ability to engage with life started coming back. I also found SR-17 and continued pushing forward with my taper. Today, I’m down to 2 mg of Suboxone per day, which means a lot considering how difficult every step downward has been. But the biggest lesson isn’t that testosterone, hCG, SR-17, or any one intervention saved me. It’s that action compounded. For months, I kept making appointments, getting bloodwork, looking for answers, changing things, and working on my Suboxone taper even when I couldn’t feel any evidence that my effort was paying off. There were days when I had almost none of the motivation, energy, or hope that we’re usually told we need in order to change our lives, and I took action anyway. Now I’m finally experiencing some of the payoff from all those decisions. Kelly was instrumental in helping me stay as positive as possible through a brutally difficult experience.