You think you know, but you have NO idea (blatant MTV diary ripoff)

[dizzle]

about the oil withdrawing slow. Are you injected air into the bottle first? Also, I like to use an 18 gauge needle to draw, then switch up to a 25g. Definetly saves you time.

[BigGreen]

Originally posted by dizzle
about the oil withdrawing slow. Are you injected air into the bottle first? Also, I like to use an 18 gauge needle to draw, then switch up to a 25g. Definetly saves you time.

I withdraw and shoot (well, all in the singular form at present, but plan to keep it up) with a 23g - the "all purpose size". With regards to shooting air in first, I mixed test and eq in the same syringe, the test was first, and went in easy as a result of the air going in first. The eq, on the other hand, was a bitch, to say the least. Next time, I may toy with the idea of using a "spare" syringe (i have PLENTY) to shoot some air in first to get the same effect...should there be sufficient room on a 10ml vial for two needles and syringes to cohabitate.

[BigGreen]

I hesitated to mention this in my update last night, as I wrote it off as hypochondric overreaction resulting from my perusing of the dbol side effect threads. As these "sides" (i still hesitate to label them as sides), however, have persisted for the last 48 hours, I'm starting to believe that they are legitimate effects of some kind...most likely attributed to the dbol(?). Namely, three things have occurred that are a bit troubling at present:
1. Intense Headaches
2. Severe "Drowsiness"
3. Incredible Appetite Supression (this is a surprising one).

Anyway, the headaches were to be expected, and I may have dismissed them as placebo, but I've undertaken two comparably mild workouts in the two days I've been on and the headaches became much, much more intense during this time period. I'm happy to report that they appear to have been gradually abating, but they are there nonetheless. A bit earlier than expected perhaps, but it does appear to "jive" with the experiences of others. (click here for a past discussion of the subject)

Also, in the above referenced hyperlink, IronHorse mentions a friend battling drowsiness while on dbol. During the past two days (and prior to reading this particular thread...so I can't readily dismiss it as placebo induced, as I wasn't aware of this particular side) drowsy has been an understatement. I'm not tired to the point I can't function, but as IronHorse states, I feel like I could fall asleep at any time during the day. This morning for example, after going to bed at a little past midnight last night, I woke up at 10:00am and went back to bed at 11:30am...not waking up again until 3:00. At 6:00 i took yet another hour nap before the gym!

Lastly, and this is one I'm not finding in past posts and discussions, my appetite has dropped off precipitously. While there's no real quantative number to put on one's desire to eat that I'm aware of, I'd guesstimate that my appetite has decreased by almost one half! The past two days have left me with a minimal desire for solid food, and if it weren't for MRPs and protein powder, I'd be having an extremely difficult time getting my planned calories. This is the perplexing one and the one i would like some feedback on. Has ANYONE experienced ANYTHING similar?

Well, I had planned on weighing myself every 7th day, but as the sides seem to be real, I'm going to (pseudo)verify this by hoping on the scale tomorrow at the gym to see if bodyweight has risen in step with what I perceive to be sides indicating the stuff has at least begun to act.

[BIG TEXAN]

Man....hypochondriac huh. Well the headaches seem normal and will pass. The drowsiness, I've never heard aboutthis one before. The appetite suppresion, I know when I'm on and start gettin bloated it makes me uncomfortable and somehow kills the hunger and I end up forcing myself to eat. Not sure if that's the case with you since it's only been a matter of days.

[platinum]

Hi BigGreen,
I'm on dbol right now myself, day four. My headaches usually go away around today of day five. I have experienced the loss of appetite you write of. I have to force food down. It's bad enough for me that once I'm done using the little dbol I have left, I don't think I'll use it again.
I'm also very drowsy, but I did just switch my cardio workout to early mornings this week, so that may be the culprit there.


Platinum

[BigGreen]

Well, I now have four full days of cycling under my belt. The headaches have gotten MUCH better, only occurring during workouts, and as much as I can deal with that fact, if in fact the other "sides" (lack of appetite and drowsiness) can eventually be traced back to the dbol , this may be the first and last time I incorporate it. I have literally never been so drowsy throughout the entire day like this at any point in my life, and I once battled a six month case of mono! Additionally, in these four days I have already added about six pounds, believe it or not, but I'd wager that not a single ounce of it is muscle (yet) as I absolutely smoothed over like you wouldn't believe one could do in a matter of only four days without some sort of allergic reaction being the culprit. On the plus side, however, if I seem so "prone" to these apparent sides, I may likely (and hopefully) be one of those fortunate few who respond especially well to AAS. It's waaaay to early to tell, though the notion does help me come to terms with the drowsiness and appetite loss.

I just moments ago completed my second shot, and there was a slight dissapointment, however misplaced, in the fact that I only have 28 left . On the very plus side, withrawing was vastly easier this go around, as I injected about 150% of the volume I wished to withdraw worth of air into the vial, and the stuff just flowed as a result. If there's one thing I'm really hoping for with shot number two, it's that the soreness isn't present to the same degree that came with my first shot. I was very conscious of being VERY steady on this one, so I'm hoping that I won't go through that experience again, as I'm just today able to walk without a bit of a limp after the tuesday shot.

Lastly, since I've had a few people ask...before pics are forthcoming. My digital camera (a function of one of the old little tape camcorders) refuses to communicate with my new computer, since the cam was made back in 1999 or something (the brochure has a big disclaimer on how it will be ready for the Y2K bug if you can believe that). I ordered a new FujiPix camera and will snap photos as soon as it arrives. However, I fear they won't be all they could have been as, like I mentioned, the dbol has smoothed me over in a BIG way, and, judging by the mirror, I'd actually, if being completely honest, have to concede that I actually look noticeably less muscular and smaller than I did upon beginning the cycle. Of course, that's an illusion, one which I firmly expect to reverse itself in the coming weeks. I'm out...happy reading.

[956Vette]

Best of luck to you BigGreen! Sounds like your next few months will be amazing!

[BigGreen]

I am VERY happy to report that my hunger is back and in full effect. For a while, I was worried that I might have to wait for the much-talked-about eq hunger to kick in before I'd get the ol' appetite back, but it came back in a big way over the last 36 hours or so. How much, you ask? Well, this morning I knocked back a dozen eggs (only four yolks though), chased that withtwo whole-wheat waffles a glass of grapefruit juice and a banana. After getting out of the shower I was still so damn hungry that I mixed up 40 grams of whey with a nice big glass of 1% chocolate milk. I haven't figured out the calories for the meal yet, but they've gotta be up there....gahd it felt good to eat that way again.

The drowsiness is still here, but abating somewhat, and it appears that most anecdotal accounts of dbol headaches (and, apparently, the drowsiness and lack of hunger that others have concurred on) running their course after about 5-10 days seems to be the case...now it's time to reap the positive benefits of the the dbol!

[BIG TEXAN]

Best of luck BG!!!! Glad you got that hunger back....just wait for the eq to kick. You'll never quit eating than!

[BigGreen]

Start Weight: 241
Current Weight: 250

Now, before anyone gets excited, there are two VERY significant disclaimers that are (a substantial) part and parcel of this gain:
1. About four or five weeks ago, I weighed 250 but wanted to pare off some bodyfat prior to beginning the cyle. Thus, I suspect that simply eating "anabolic " again would have quickly propelled me back up to this weight. 250 seems to be a very "natural" weight for me...whether I let myself go to shit (as I did after my battle with mono) or bust my ass in the gym, 250 seems to be where my body "likes" to be, regardless of the composition (though the real trick is to see 250 at under 10%...then we'll see if the theory holds). As such, the true test of this cycle will be not only how far it takes me over 250, but of what quality this leap is, as my body, as much as it likes to be 250, fiercely resists going over that point, and the two times I've climbed over it more than a pound or two has usually resulted in a significant decrease in definition and even well bing.
2. As many of my previous posts discuss, the negative sides of dbol appear to have smacked me right in the face...and hard! Along those lines, the bloat factor, not to be left out, also reared its head. The first three days of dbol saw an absolute flood of water into the subcutaneous regions of my skin, and for that reason, my frank analysis of my "gains" thus far would lead me to conclude that they are nearly all water at this point. Only one week in, though, I'm not overly concerned, as I expect big things in the coming weeks.

Finally, before signing off, I just wanted to add a little commentary to the newbies and juice virgins reading. While all aspects of the cycle and the time immediately surrounding it can be mentally difficult (post-cycle depression, the decision to use, so on and so forth) an aspect that doesn't get much attention, but is proving very difficult, is the immediate beginnings of the cycle. While it's true you've jumped over many of the hurdles by the end of the first week: you've managed to secure illegal goods, jab yourself and break the law, you are still very much in some sort of weird "ANABOLIC LIMBO" so to speak. You're a "user", for sure, and mentally you feel that "power", but physically, as I've mentioned in previous posts, there's simply no way the changes can remotely compare with the mental and psychological rush you experience...all of which creates a somewhat troubling environment. You wonder if your stuff is fake, if you're one of those unlucky few who just don't respond to AAS, or if you're doing something wrong. The rational side knows that AAS are not a magic pill, and that they are NOT supposed to "work" this fast, yet (again) that fails to coincide with your mental state. I don't know if that is making sense....maybe it doesn't until you've been there, or maybe I'm the only one. Anyone??

[BigGreen]

With regards to the "anabolic purgatory" or "limbo" I mentioned in my last update, another powerful aspect of this is that I am almost afraid to test my strength in the gym, as, if it isn't heading decidedly and noticeably upwards, I will also be struck (only one week in) by the fact that the cycle is already a "failure", though I know that not to be the case. I think it can be reduced to the fact that you invest so much of yourself into a cycle, in between making that decision to become an unlawful citizen and the anxiety of finding a reliable source that this time period where you have definitively taken that step but can't yet be sure if it is going to pan out as planned (or even close) serves to remind you (and I'm going to get slightly philosophical here) that you simply are not in control of as much as you might believe, and are in fact a very fallible human, capable of making erroneous decisions based on gross indiscretion. This may hold particularly true for those in my age group/demographic, who have essentially had a large majority of their lives readily mapped out (elementary school, high school, then college) and have not yet had to face the uncertainties of "the real world". Whoooh, I'm rambling.

[rexboy]

Ah, limbo. The state of nothing, yet everything. I am on the verge of starting my cycle and have many thoughts on hand. The exercise physiologist in me says that these chemicals are basically proven to work and break the plateau to a new existence, yet, the puzzle of the pecular institution of AS usage remains. Though I am hurting no one but myself, am I making a mistake, and is it truly breaking the law? But by doing this "wrong" I am achieving something that I can only describe as right. I refuse to let genetics stand in the way of progression any longer - though I know I have the genes to be great with the use of AS. Family members have reached heights of super human strength with intelligent training, solid basics and die hard determination with the tunnel vision of a 1 sided goal. This goal being to strive for every ounce of strength and muscle they could attain, never stopping. Still, the warnings hang heavy with the horror stories and the outside chance of no end product. If this goal is indeed ever changing, then what did I start all those years ago? What am I starting now? The end is only visable when the road stops. The want to be the best is uncontrollable.
I can no longer wait and will take the plunge this upcomming monday, and will put to rest the fear and some of the wonder.... only to make a new question arise... 'How far can I go now?'

How far can we go....

Hang in there mate.

[David B.]

Where are the pictures?

--dnb

[David B.]

Originally posted by BigGreen
With regards to the "anabolic purgatory" or "limbo" I mentioned in my last update, another powerful aspect of this is that I am almost afraid to test my strength in the gym, as, if it isn't heading decidedly and noticeably upwards, I will also be struck (only one week in) by the fact that the cycle is already a "failure", though I know that not to be the case.

Go for it. As long as you're on d-bol, you should be hitting new PBs on every lift every week. It'll make you feel like superman.

--dnb

[TheyoungJason]

well biggreen 9 lbs in one week is still very impressive. keep up the great work! also how is strength?

----post pics!

-the young Jason

[daem]

whats up brother, just wanted to check in on the thread and see whats going on thus far.

glad to see the dbol is doing its thing so far

secondly, i decided that i am going to incorporate fina into my cycle for strength reasons. sat around playing chemist today converting and i got 57ml out of a 6g kit...exactly what i need for 8 weeks at a concentration of around 100mg/ml if my math skills are still intact. can't wait to hit that first shot in week 10

let me know if you are going to run fina as well.

cheers.

[BIG TEXAN]

BG....update time brother, it's been a couple of days now. Don't be getting lazy on us.

[BigGreen]

Originally posted by David B.
Where are the pictures?

--dnb

I have ordered a new digital camera (it was from amazon) and it has yet to arrive...I believe because I also ordered books with it that have held up shipping. The old one, as I mentioned above, actually has a Y2K compliance statement in the manual (as it was bought in 1999) and doesn't communicate with my new computer for whatever reason, so I have to wait for the new one or find a friend with a comp it does communicate with. The day the new one comes I will be posting "before" pics, and I expect it to arrive any day now. Believe me, it's killing me that it isn't here yet. As referenced above, the dbol has really smoothed me over to a degree I didn't expect, and, as such, I'll reiterate the fact that this water weight actually makes me LOOK smaller than I was when I started the cycle a week and some change ago, as a good deal of whatver definition I had (and it wasn't a whole lot to begin with) went decidedly south. So, with each passing day, I feel a little more uneasy about posting pics, as I looked better at the beginning of the cycle. My plan right now is to post "before" pics, "after bulking" pics and "after cycle" pics (as the latter third of my cycle will be used to aggressively strip off some fat).

[BigGreen]

Originally posted by BIG TEXAN
BG....update time brother, it's been a couple of days now. Don't be getting lazy on us.

Way to stay on me, sometimes we all need a swift kick in the ass. To update and touch on what I perceive as significant developments, I should probably let you all know that I started liquidex today. I'd wanted to hold off as long as possible, but the bloat, while not horrible, is a great deal more than I had expected so quickly and while I don't necessarily see a noticeable change in my face, it just "feels" watery and puffy, especially under the eyes and on the cheekbones. Insofar as the liquidex is concerned (liquiarim, specifically), my taking it today will represent the first, and undoubtedly last, time i take it solo. I think the flavor I got was the new and improved "praying for death delight" flavor. Remember the scene in "Dumb&Dumber" where the cop drinks the bottled piss? I basically made that face but the overall reaction was a bit more violent.

With regards to my workouts, I've yet to really out and out test the strength, but I'm certain it's heading up. I'm making significant progress with my GVT portions, somethign that had previously been a rough spot for me. Futhermore, many exercises find me using weights that I was previously handling for 8-10 reps well into the 13-15 range. In exercises where I'm not experiencing the nice rise in rep range, there is a noticeable improvement in my ability to "feel" the muscle working.

Lastly, while the bloat, headaches, drowsiness, etc (to inform you all, yes, they have now all subsided except for the bloat...appetite is back and that persistent drowsiness is gone) gave me little reason to doubt my dbol wasn't real, the fact was confirmed for certain when I got an intensely bothersome (not quite to the point of painful) lower back pump while doing GVT lying hamstring curls. To get a lower back pump while using 60% 1RM on lying ham curls has to be indicative of the stuff working its magic!

[BigGreen]

Originally posted by daem

secondly, i decided that i am going to incorporate fina into my cycle for strength reasons. sat around playing chemist today converting and i got 57ml out of a 6g kit...exactly what i need for 8 weeks at a concentration of around 100mg/ml if my math skills are still intact. can't wait to hit that first shot in week 10

let me know if you are going to run fina as well.

cheers.

As an overanxious newbie cycle planner, I considered virtually everything under the sun save for HGH and 'slin. The accessibility, price and potency of fina all make it EXTREMELY difficult to say no to, though my initial cycle plans have me doing just that. However, I gave it serious consideration throughout my planning, to the point I finally excluded it only a few hours before ordering everything else. Additionally, enough respected guys maintain that it's really not for a first time user to the degree that I elected to listen.

All of that being said, however, the fact that (as you can see from above posts) "anabolic purgatory" is a disconcerting place to be, I'm including an aggressive cutter in the latter third of the cycle, and I actually look forward to injections and actually like poking myself (negating worries about the ED factor of fina) all have me giving it serious consideration once again. It's certainly something I'll be battling with over the coming weeks.

[BIG TEXAN]

It all sounds good bro. Once you're off the dbol it won't take long for that bloat to subside. As you may think you look smaller in all reality you most likely look bigger to every joe blow that's out there. I too am getting anxiuos to start my fina, besides the joy of sticking a 23 gauge 1" needle in myself everyday, the incredible stength gains that one recieves from (what I like to now call the nectar of the gods) fina. Everything seems to be in check with you and it sounds good and on track. Keep it up brother, and I hope to be joining you in the 250 range before it's all said and done.

[Bulldog5.0]

You wonder if your stuff is fake, if you're one of those unlucky few who just don't respond to AAS, or if you're doing something wrong. The rational side knows that AAS are not a magic pill, and that they are NOT supposed to "work" this fast, yet (again) that fails to coincide with your mental state

Tell me about it. I'm on such a roller coaster regarding the effectiveness of my cycle. I'm on prop and EQ and I didn't feel anything on 100mg prop EOD after two weeks, so I upped it to 75mg ED. I thought that helped a lot for a while, but I haven't gained a pound in a week and a half. I'm starting to think I'm one of the poor saps who doesn't get the typical results from AAS and it really sucks. Here's what really gets me though- If I'm correct in assuming that I don't respond well to juice, then that means I had more natural progress left in me than I thought. The 9 pounds I've gained could have been put on simply from renewed motivation and intensity. Kinda frustrating, though I haven't given up yet.
Also, in a previous post you mentioned that your somewhat intense side effects may be a sign that you will respond well. If that were true then I would assume the opposite is true as well. I have experienced no sides of any kind except what I deem psychosematic reactions (for a day or two I thought I was more aggressive and horny, but it went away). I'm sure my stuff is real as it's QV and passed all the "tests".

[BigGreen]

Something occurred yesterday which I thought might be of significant interest to those on dbol (at least I'm presently attributing it to the dbol). As it was an unusually busy day in some unusual ways, I was caught off guard in a BIG way and ended up skimping on my water intake considerably as a result. Now, granted I was not happy about it having happened, but, given that I couldn't change the fact that it did, the inquisitive bastard in me saw it as an excellent opportunity to chronicle the results of these parameters. Truthfully, I wasn't expecting much in the way of stuff to notice....oh, how wrong i was. By late afternoon the headaches were back in full effect. Additionally, while lying in bed trying to sleep, I had a rush of many of the telltale signs of high blood pressure: I could hear and feel my heart beating much more so than usual, could feel my pulse throughout my body, and woke up with, while not a full on bloody nose, a nose full of blood-caked snot (sorry for the disgusting description, but it fits). On top of that, I woke up on and off all night, and when I did manage to sleep, I'd awake to a puddle of nightsweats. Tonight will be revealing as to whether or not this is a new trend I should expect to be ongoing (as I've heard that sleeplessness and night sweats are not uncommon sides to AAS) or simply a result of my water intake dropping significantly, as I believe it to be. Regardless, there's no denying that my lack of water opened the gates for the blood pressure "inconveniences"...so, to all those reading and thinking about dbol, be sure to be diligent in your water intake!

[BigGreen]

I just woke up and felt obligated to post this information. I don't know if it's the dbol finally building up to high concentrated levels or the test kicking in, but for the last three nights my dreams have been incredibly intense and aggressive. Not necessarily nightmares, though a few were, these dreams usually involve me in a role embodying "fight or flight" in a BIG way. More than a few have had me in the hunt for some really hardened criminal, whom I often have to fight when I find them....and these people are brutally nasty. Additionally, quite a few involve me in a group of people being stalked/hunted and I am the only one who wants to turn and fight instead of running around like fools as we get picked off one by one. These are very uncharacteristic for me. Lastly, the number of my dreams involving sex has skyrocketed these last three nights, with the odd thing being most now include girls I see in my day to day operations, as opposed to celebrities and girls I haven't seen since high school. Anyone else see a marked change in their dreams while "on"? I'm going to post some references from other threads, as I think it's worth bringing up.

Colorful Dreams by Daem
Nightmares

[David B.]

Originally posted by BigGreen
I don't know if it's the dbol finally building up to high concentrated levels or the test kicking in, but for the last three nights my dreams have been incredibly intense and aggressive.

Oh yeah, absolutely. I was getting a lot of that in the first weeks of this cycle, until about week five when I hit the intense night sweats phase, which lasted about a week and led me straight into the present phase where I have a lot of difficulty sleeping at all.

Let us know how this progresses for you. I hope you're spared from my sleeplessness...

--dnb

[BigGreen]

I brought in groceries this afternoon (it was a lot of groceries...182 bucks worth, to be exact...and no eq hunger yet) and actually had to sprawl out on the couch afterwards because the lower back pumps were killing me!! Of course, I took 20mg about two hours before heading to the grocery store, so that may have had something to do with it.

[majorpecs]

Yo BigGreen...journal is rocking. Please keep your updates coming....and where are the damn pics?

[BigGreen]

Originally posted by majorpecs
and where are the damn pics?

I know, I know....I feel HORRIBLE. Supposedly my camera shipped Friday, and I'm tracking it, but it shows it as not existing yet? This is odd as amazon is normally VERY good and reliable. As soon as it comes, i'll strip down to shorts and start snapping pics immediately.

[BigGreen]

With regards to the feeling of drowsiness: I've wondered at times if it's a minor version of the "test flu"....I guess it's a possibility, but have settled on (for the time being) it being more a factor of the fact that with increased anabolic activity (and i'm assuming there currently is some) come increased sleep demands, and I have kept me sleep patterns more or less the same. Approaching it as an energy defecit problem of sorts, i'm approaching it in two ways, 1. really kicking up my carbs in an attempt to boost energy levels, and 2. adding a 45 min catnap to my day whenever possible. I'll let you all know how it goes as this drowsiness has prolonged itself long enough to, for lack of a better term, really become a pain in my ass.

[BigGreen]

...but

Just had to let you guys know that the strength gains are undoubtedly coming on strong now. I threw 10 plates on each side of the leg press tonight (20 total for the math majors) for my workout and tossed it up for eight solid knees to armpits reps!!! Of course, it was Holistic leg day, so I followed that up (no rest of course) with squats (275 for 10) and then leg extensions (100 pounds for 40) and kept on repeating that cycle with no rest until the final circuit found me barely getting two reps with the 20 plates, just squeezing out 8 reps with 225 on squat and knocking the leg extensions down to 80 pounds in order to get the requisite 40 reps. I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER RIGHT NOW WITH WHERE THIS CYCLE IS GOING!!!!!!!!

[BIG TEXAN]

Sounds like it's all going well. BG, I'm not sure about the carbs but I will tell you that the cat nap will do you wonders. I find that either right before or right after my workouts are the best time for them. Good luck and keep at it bro!

[BigGreen]

Start Weight: 241
End of Week One: 250
Current Weight: 253

I'm certainly not complaining about the weight gain so far (even though it's likely almost entirely water), but I do think I should bring up the fact that, given the "intangibles" of the cycle, I would have thought the pattern would have been reversed. In other words, rather than gaining nine pounds the first week and three the second, the fact that I didn't feel the dbol pumps or start to notice strength gains and "aas dreams" until the second week would have led me to guess, if someone had just laid out the two week long experiences side-by-side, that the larger weight gain would've come in that second week. I guess that can be attributed to two things: 1. as mentioned above I dieted down a bit prior to the cycle, and that eight pounds or so i lost probably woulda came back even with fake gear as I started eating for growth again, and 2. if you recall from my first couple of posts, the goal of my diet in beginning the cycle was too quickly and drastically overfeed in hope of activating my body's own anabolic hormones to "naturally" kickstart the cycle.

Other than this little paradox (and, no, i certainly didn't expect to gain at a clip of nine pounds a week) most other aspects seem to be going according to plan. I'm already starting to appreciate the post-cycle depression that many talk about it as well as the psychological "addiction" inherent with being on. This is a short update as I'm still feeling bad about the pics (though tracking has my package in my city, it was not as of 4:00 today at my door), but I did want to pose a question to readers of this thread with cycle experience. Namely, does testicular atrophy, in your experience, correlate significantly with developmental "phases" on cycle? For example, when they finally do shrink to nothing, is that a good indicator that the stuff is about to kick? Or is it possible that the shrink and then two weeks later it really kicks in? I'm just wondering if there's any way to gauge/predict where one is at in a cycle by this aspect.

[BIG TEXAN]

Usually when they shrink....you're gear is or is about to kick in.

[daem]

for me at least testicular atrophy doesn't occur immediately...i have good sized juevos when off, but when on they keep shrinking until i am almost finished with the cycle.

im going to be beginning week 7 here on thursday and i still have not experienced a huge change...smaller and continuing to diminsh, yes...pea-sized, no.

[David B.]

Originally posted by BigGreen
Namely, does testicular atrophy, in your experience, correlate significantly with developmental "phases" on cycle? For example, when they finally do shrink to nothing, is that a good indicator that the stuff is about to kick? Or is it possible that the shrink and then two weeks later it really kicks in? I'm just wondering if there's any way to gauge/predict where one is at in a cycle by this aspect.

I don't think it's possible to generalize about this, each user's body will react differently.

Heck, I didn't even react the same way on my two cycles. The first one, it seemed as though the boys were replaced by greek olives quite suddenly during week 5. This time, if any atrophy has occurred, it's been so gradual that I can't tell, and I'm in week 12.

--dave

[BigGreen]

Thanks for the quick feedback...I'm going to have some generalized HCG questions that I want to finalize over the next couple of days and I'm hoping you guys can help with. But, the real reason for this post was to let you all know that I got a call from my girlfriend and an Amazon package containing the new digital camera has arrived!! Expect pics within the next 48 hours (basically, however long it takes me to convince her to take pictures).

[BigGreen]

That's right, I had my girlfriend take them all today and yesterday. Given that timeline, it will have been about 17 days into the cycle that the pics were taken, so perhaps some will not consider them accurate "before" pics. However, as the main components of the cycle are eq and test enan, I don't think I've as of yet been hit with any real benefits that would compromise the integrity of a set of before pics. Additionally, the one fast-acting component, dbol , leveled things out, so to speak, as it initially bloated me up enough (have it under control now...it was just an initial reaction really) to make me look smaller than i was two weeks ago because of lost definition. So, in short, I'd say the pics are fair representations of what can be said to encapsulate accurate "before pics".

Other than that, a brief update on the darker side of AAS. This is not to suggest that I don't maintain discipline and avoid partying while training naturally, but with the health concerns part and parcel of AAS usage, it is even more of a concern, healthwise. As I type this, however, I am missing what is probably (and I'm not joking here) the most banging party in New England this weekend. Those of you who know me well know that, because I'm slightly older and went through an elongated route to college, I haven't participated this year in campus life as much as in years gone by, nor have I felt any loss as a result. This weekend, however, annually represents my school's biggest throwdown....think woodstock in fraternity houses (and recall that my school is the school on which 'Animal House' was based)...and I knew full well heading into this cycle that I would miss the event (which I wanted to attend because any alumni....who comprise most of my close friends...would be returning) but decided to make that sacrifice. I'll tell you though, it's tougher than I thought...in a BIG way. But, I keep thinking ahead to the completion of this cycle and just know it'll be worth it...so i tell myself when i think of guys and gals doing kegstand after kegstand while I watch 'Can't Hardly Wait' and research esters.

[BigGreen]

Anyone know anything about trouble shooting the transfer of pics from the digital camera to the computer? I can see them on my computer screen and they start to transfer, but EVERY time it says "connection lost" before they finish...whether I try to do it with one pic or twenty! It's like "it" won't let the process finish, as the transfer bar fills up like 99% of the way before it says "connection lost". Anyone?

[withoutd0ubt]

reload your program that you use to extract the pics, might have been a bad download to your comp

[aanold]

Check the website of the camera manufacturer to see if they have updated the software that came with the camera.

Are you low on diskspace?