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  1. #1
    Tjohn6231's Avatar
    Tjohn6231 is offline Associate Member
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    Does androgel do anything for building muscle mass?

    Im new to bodybuilding, and recently got a prescription of androgel . Im in my first week with it. Has anyone used this? I would like to find better stuff to use, but this is all I have right now. The doctor mentioned that I could get shots every 2 weeks.
    This is all very new to me, so any help would be appreciated. Thanks

  2. #2
    ninesecz's Avatar
    ninesecz is offline AR's Mass Monster
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    Androgel will do nothing to help build muscle. It is asorbed through your pores and you would need to rub the entire bottle on every day to get enough to help! If your Doctor will give you injections that will slowly over time help! Just so know, there is an entire section dedicated just to TRT. Also do not think that just because you now get test replace therapy you will automatically gain a bunch of muscle. Diet is the real key to a great physique AAS is just used to help break through plataeus and sticking points for most of us

  3. #3
    amcon's Avatar
    amcon is offline physical pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside... The pain of quiting will lasts forever!!
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    go for the shots... as for the andro gel if it raises your test level then yes it can help you grow muscle... with a good diet and work out plan

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    Tjohn6231's Avatar
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    Thanks for the info. The doc seems like he will give me the shots starting in 3 weeks, and Ill get them every 14 days. Is there another precription that I could ask him for? Im hoping to turn my terrible body into the way it was when I was 25.I need all the help that I can get.

  5. #5
    amcon's Avatar
    amcon is offline physical pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside... The pain of quiting will lasts forever!!
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    get the shots every week, learn to do them your self... youtube them, the shots sould be test e or c...

    and then your just taking blood tests to check your levels and then cruise


    but, as you put it, your terrible body is not from lack of test it is cause you have the wrong diet and the wrong work outs

    search diet read come back and ask questions

    we would love to help ya

  6. #6
    zaggahamma's Avatar
    zaggahamma is offline Mr. Moderation
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    if you r producing little to no test and you normalize your level you will notice a difference and gel CAN do this...as stated above, shots are the preferred method by MOST ppl on trt

  7. #7
    Tjohn6231's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by amcon View Post
    get the shots every week, learn to do them your self... youtube them, the shots sould be test e or c...

    and then your just taking blood tests to check your levels and then cruise


    but, as you put it, your terrible body is not from lack of test it is cause you have the wrong diet and the wrong work outs

    search diet read come back and ask questions

    we would love to help ya

    I have been reading a lot about diets. Right now, Im about 220 lbs, but if I were in shape, I would be about 190.
    I know that when you are on the build up stage, then you need to consume a ton of calories using the 40-40-20 deal eating 5 to 6 times per day.
    Im wanting to lose fat in the begining, so should I still consume these large quantities of calories????
    Or can you point out a different diet for me. Im not looking to go on stage or anything, but I like when women check me out,etc
    So Im hoping to build muscle, and lose this fat right away. I know that there are no quick fixes, but I want the best plan to start.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tjohn6231 View Post
    Thanks for the info. The doc seems like he will give me the shots starting in 3 weeks, and Ill get them every 14 days. Is there another precription that I could ask him for? Im hoping to turn my terrible body into the way it was when I was 25.I need all the help that I can get.
    like the gentle man above said... diet is key... and it really is

  9. #9
    zaggahamma's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tjohn6231 View Post
    I have been reading a lot about diets. Right now, Im about 220 lbs, but if I were in shape, I would be about 190.
    I know that when you are on the build up stage, then you need to consume a ton of calories using the 40-40-20 deal eating 5 to 6 times per day.
    Im wanting to lose fat in the begining, so should I still consume these large quantities of calories????
    Or can you point out a different diet for me. Im not looking to go on stage or anything, but I like when women check me out,etc
    So Im hoping to build muscle, and lose this fat right away. I know that there are no quick fixes, but I want the best plan to start.
    i went from approx 22% bf to 13/14% bf in approx 6 months on low dose test when i first started trt....gel for a month or two then shots...diet wasnt strict like a body builder more like food pyramid...lost the weight/fat while GAINING strength

  10. #10
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    Thanks jpk. Thats roughly what Im looking to do. I went out and bought a lot of goodies to kick start the diet like egg whites, vegetables, and a lot more stuff that I have been neglecting.

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    ninesecz's Avatar
    ninesecz is offline AR's Mass Monster
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    It is always better to eat 5-8 meals a day Vs. 3 your body has an easier time utilizing the nutrients in smaller amounts

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by ninesecz View Post
    It is always better to eat 5-8 meals a day Vs. 3 your body has an easier time utilizing the nutrients in smaller amounts
    I did 5 meals on monday, and 5 today. I finally think that Im actually getting this stuff. This forum has been very valuable for me, and I finally got the nerve to join. I went out and bought some scales , and measuring cups tonight too.
    Im not sure if I just start a new thread for this question, but there are different types of test for TRT. Can someone tell me the difference?

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by jpkman View Post
    i went from approx 22% bf to 13/14% bf in approx 6 months on low dose test when i first started trt....gel for a month or two then shots...diet wasnt strict like a body builder more like food pyramid...lost the weight/fat while GAINING strength

    How often did you get the shots? Ive heard some say every 2 weeks, and some say to try to get them once a week. Also what type of test was it.

  14. #14
    kdizzog is offline Associate Member
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    my buddy is on trt, he is prescribed 200mg a week of testosterone Cypionate . He would get 1cc a week.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tjohn6231 View Post
    Im new to bodybuilding, and recently got a prescription of androgel . Im in my first week with it. Has anyone used this? I would like to find better stuff to use, but this is all I have right now. The doctor mentioned that I could get shots every 2 weeks.
    This is all very new to me, so any help would be appreciated. Thanks
    It will help get your levels up around 'natural' levels at best. It can be a slight advantage but nothing compared to the injectable.

  16. #16
    alpmaster is offline Member
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    We can only answer so many questions for you at a time, and trust me you'll always have more and need to ask more.

    YOU need to go research a lot about bodybuilding, read read read read. You need knowledge and will, without both you cannot accomplish what you want.

  17. #17
    zaggahamma's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tjohn6231 View Post
    How often did you get the shots? Ive heard some say every 2 weeks, and some say to try to get them once a week. Also what type of test was it.
    i started once a week....then tried twice a week...i've tried every 10 days...really not much difference to me....and i've always used test cypionate

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by alpmaster View Post
    We can only answer so many questions for you at a time, and trust me you'll always have more and need to ask more.

    YOU need to go research a lot about bodybuilding, read read read read. You need knowledge and will, without both you cannot accomplish what you want.
    Got it. Im reading. I know that I sound like the dumb new guy (and I probably am), but this is all great stuff.

  19. #19
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    Still working on my diet. Its going well. Im eating 5-6 meals a day. The egg whites are hard for me to eat. Ive started mixing them into my protein drinks twice a day instead of cooking them.

    Thanks again for all of the replies. Ill try to give an update when I see the doc again.

  20. #20
    mindscapeband is offline New Member
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    Personal experience with Androgel

    About 6 months ago after years of doctor visits and feeling sick in general and weak, finally a doctor noticed that my T levels we in the 105-140 range after two separate tests, calling me that of a 70 year old man. I am a 37yr male with a general light aerobic and work out routine. Other problems were major hair loss, more stomach fat generalized and low sex drive.

    During the progress of my tests over the months my doc eventually increased me from 1.25 g to 10g, the max dose. Here is what has changed under the same diet, same lifestyle, I was 230lbs, now am 205lbs with muscle showing through again. I feel like I am alive again and have a life and have drive. My hair is no longer having gray areas and actually looks 10x thicker, my barber is curious why the balding spot went away in the back and thought I was using rogaine. Contrary to some other posts I do not rub a whole bottle on me and have seen a rise in T to levels of 480-550 consistently now. The danger however is cholest is up big time compared to perfect readings before.

    Now from a shear strength stance, I used to shrug 225 x7 consistently, mind you I rub this into my shoulders and my arms. Now I can easily pull 405 x5 without stress. I have never been a powerlifter by any means, by bench max was about 155, which is now 225, without any further workout changes.

    Androgel does work for me in ways I guess that were never intended. I think there are a lot of myths out there, scientific fact shows that it works, thus why it is so damn expensive and hard to get a normal doc to prescribe.

    There is a place in Australia, they sell the kind you rub on your nuts, fair warning that it does cause some initial chest pain, nausea and I notice an extreme fever feeling for the first few times. I have gone this route as the doc recommended to go outside the US due to high script prices. The place is hormonesolutions dot com dot au. It's about $100 a tube for 2 months for me. I was paying $210 in monthly co-pays for Androgel. My doc actually wrote me a script to purchase out of the country due to medical neccisity which I thought was weird. Apparently their must be a provision if some other countries carry similar FDA standards. I thought the whole recommendation was weird.

    Sorry if I am repeating anyone's other posts on the Andromen as I am sure it's here somewhere, I don't know if anyone else makes this. Ultimately I hope that my story makes sense to some looking to fill that void, low T is now a massive TV advertising campaign, I think it's a real problem that affects our quality of life and surely helps muscle mass too. Good luck all.

  21. #21
    Vettester is offline Banned
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    I too have used AndroGel . Started in Jan of this year. In June, I had my Lipo Panel tests done and it was the worse numbers I have ever seen. I have slowly weened to zero on AndroGel at this point, and I am awaiting my Dr.'s response on putting me on a injection; Test C, etc. My stats are good again (lipo), but my testosterone count is: 195 (age 42). I also saw some good initial results on this stuff, but in my case it seemed to plateau after 3 months or so. I thinks there's probably a lot more bang for the buck going with an injection, along with adding something in the lines of HGH. In my case, I will probably seek another Dr. that specializes in HRT if the response is to stay on AndroGel.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by vetteman08 View Post
    I too have used AndroGel. Started in Jan of this year. In June, I had my Lipo Panel tests done and it was the worse numbers I have ever seen. I have slowly weened to zero on AndroGel at this point, and I am awaiting my Dr.'s response on putting me on a injection; Test C, etc. My stats are good again (lipo), but my testosterone count is: 195 (age 42). I also saw some good initial results on this stuff, but in my case it seemed to plateau after 3 months or so. I thinks there's probably a lot more bang for the buck going with an injection, along with adding something in the lines of HGH. In my case, I will probably seek another Dr. that specializes in HRT if the response is to stay on AndroGel.
    the lipid results are interesting....i havent read many if any at all with negative lipid profiles stemming from androgel use

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tjohn6231 View Post
    Still working on my diet. Its going well. Im eating 5-6 meals a day. The egg whites are hard for me to eat. Ive started mixing them into my protein drinks twice a day instead of cooking them.

    Thanks again for all of the replies. Ill try to give an update when I see the doc again.
    Buy the egg whites in the carton that' 99%, taste just like normal eggs, also you can mix one or two normal eggs in and it wont hurt.

    Keep eating the 5-6 or 6-8 meals a day, trust everyone and me, it works and after about 90 days the weight will start dropping off.

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