over 40 first cycle questions. test vs HGH

Long story short:
44, 198, 5'11", average joe, probably around 17-20% BFI. Ive been an athlete most of my life and have suffered some pretty serious injuries in the last 5 years and suffer from olditis. acl, pcl, and some spine injuries have kind of put me on the couch....time to get off. I am looking at some sort of TRT or perhaps HGH. I am sure many folks have been in my position and am looking for some feedback and general direction. I have been inuring intermittent erectile issues as well.

Thanks, Jim

My advise is to get off the couch. Start training. Around your injuries if need be. Clean your diet up. Go to the doctor and have blood work done to see where your levels are. Aas are not manic pills. Start living a healthy lifestyle then readdress.

solid advice. "on the couch" was just what popped in my head. I live off grid so I'm not playin world of warcraft 38 hours at a time. Sorry I didnt elaborate my particular lifestyle. I work daily which most people call "crossfit". I dont need a doctor to know I'm going through "manapause". My diet is good, we eat all home cooked decent meals. I kill or grow most of it.
My main concern is my knees. tricompartmental arthritis and several surgeries. I dont want to go under the knife again and have been researching TRT, HGH and other steroids trying to create something that gives me some life back in them. I was an operator for 17 years and jumping from airplanes, heavy walking, and door kicking has taken its toll. Half the dudes I've worked with where on some sort of performance enhancing something or other but I was never into it. Now very different. Blood work coming in a few months, waiting on VA.

Yes, you do need a doctor to know if you're going through andropause. Blood work can reveal multiple things than can cause low T that are able to be corrected. TRT is a great thing when needed but entering into it with a clear conscience is also prudent. Make sure all issues are ruled out first before you take the leap.

In the HRT Forum take a look at the blood work suggested in the Finding A Doc sticky thread at the top of that forum. It would be a great step one. If it then comes back that TRT is warranted we are all here to help you.

Welcome to the forum and thank you for your service!

ps: If insurance is an issue there are private labs to obtain blood work through as long as your state allows it, and most do.

www.discountedlabs.com

www.privatemdlabs.com

If that's the case and it's out of pocket we can pare the list down to only what's absolutely necessary.

I am 34 years old, I have had 3 knee surgeries, all types of injections etc. Last Surgery was inoperable, he removed all of what was left of my meniscus, I have had reconstructive surgery on the ACL, PCL, MCL. He shaved the bone and severe arthritis.

First off stop making excuses for yourself.......

Crossfit is quite possibly the worst thing you can do for that knee, talk about over training and tons of squats, just bad news.

I say get a coach and optimize your meal plan and workout plan. I limit the amount of squats and lunges for my knee. Work on the muscles that SURROUND your knee, that will help to stabilize it and make it stronger, more extensions and curls.

At the end of the day, CONSISTENCY is quite possibly the most underrated circumstance for overall body health. Consistent use and building of the specific muscles you focus on make your daily life functions a lot easier and healthier. Let that be the knee, back, core etc. Lots of zones work together, if you have a weak core it puts more pressure on other muscles. Just get at it, work on a consistent program and see how you feel in a month......make changes from there....

Thank you for your service.

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Originally Posted by jimmyray

solid advice. "on the couch" was just what popped in my head. I live off grid so I'm not playin world of warcraft 38 hours at a time. Sorry I didnt elaborate my particular lifestyle. I work daily which most people call "crossfit". I dont need a doctor to know I'm going through "manapause". My diet is good, we eat all home cooked decent meals. I kill or grow most of it.
My main concern is my knees. tricompartmental arthritis and several surgeries. I dont want to go under the knife again and have been researching TRT, HGH and other steroids trying to create something that gives me some life back in them. I was an operator for 17 years and jumping from airplanes, heavy walking, and door kicking has taken its toll. Half the dudes I've worked with where on some sort of performance enhancing something or other but I was never into it. Now very different. Blood work coming in a few months, waiting on VA.

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Ok. That’s a little better explanation. Blood work is a must. I don’t have personal experience with the VA but know guys who do. So I suggest privatemdlabs.com. You can have your work back in a couple weeks for a few hundred dollars. Kel and the others can see your results and help. Then you know for sure what’s going on.

Hey thanks alot fellas. For the record not crossfit, cutting wood, chopping wood, moving the fu^&ng wood....those type things. Theres allot to be done here. Anyways, I'll get hot on the blood work. looks like privatemdlabs doesn't do it in my state but I can hop next door in three hours. theres a facility there.

Thanks again

At your current body fat and physical conditioning, I wouldn't recommend a Test cycle. HGH is another matter. I'm a BIG fan of HGH and have been on it consistently for going on 9 years. It promotes healing, gives me better concentration, better sleep, my skin looks more youthful, and it keeps away that pesky belly fat. The older you are, the more of the HGH effects you'll feel. Young guys already have a good amount of HGH naturally in their system. HGH is the most faked compound out there so you need to be careful. Pharma grade HGH is THE BEST but it is also pretty expensive. Also, HGH isn't a "cycle" you get on and stay on for as long as your wife keeps cutting you a check. Good luck

Thanks for the info. I was leaning towards hgh. From what I've read and the few people I've talked to in person seems perfect.

In my experience, if the VA puts you on TRT, it may be woefully low dosed and it may take time to get you at the necessary dosages. Hopefully they're not as slow where you are as they are here. Either way, keep on them. One thing you might want to look into is stem cell therapy (for your knees). A good friend of mine is doing it through the VA. Again, it's a slower process than regular healthcare but it's free. His outside cost would have been 4-5K per knee.

One of my best friend's brother was in an "elite" unit and injured pretty badly in an IED explosion back in the early to mid 2000's (long before stem cell therapy was approved in the US). He spent most of his time in Germany recovering and doing stem cell treatments. He recovered to nearly 100% functionality and was able to return to his unit and served another decade or so.

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Originally Posted by RoxRunner

One of my best friend's brother was in an "elite" unit and injured pretty badly in an IED explosion back in the early to mid 2000's (long before stem cell therapy was approved in the US). He spent most of his time in Germany recovering and doing stem cell treatments. He recovered to nearly 100% functionality and was able to return to his unit and served another decade or so.

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Good for him! I've met some amazing dudes and seen some amazing things. We had a gent get blasted and was in Germany for several months and in the meantime we made ramps all over the compound so he could get around in his wheelchair. This MF was running on a prosthetic when he returned to the compound....truly a story of epicness that will never get told, till now of course. Thank for the VA info. I'm new to retirement so still workin out the bugs....So far the VA has been great! I'm almost 100% on the first go around. I'm good with it, I dont need to milk it but its nice having (even if its slow) free health care. I had a few different types MRI's before I rolled out and its just not good on my left knee. I just dont want to get cut again. I can walk fine right now and I'm scared to risk that. We are off grid way the fk in the mountains and if I go down my wife is fk'd. I have 6 miles of road to maintain. plowing etc.

Yeah, unfortunately it happens all too often. My comments regarding the VA were not meant to be totally negative. It's just that sometimes they're a little slow. With the recent change at the top, I hope that it gets better. I'm in CO so we're fortunate to have a very good VA system here. I don't use it since I have corporate paid health care but I know a lot of people that use them and it's been a really positive thing. As far as TRT goes, with a great Urologist, it took me several years to get on point.

I don't have any experience with HGH but many of the guys here are full of knowledge regarding it. Soak it up. And at your next VA appt, ask them about stem cell therapy.

Yes there are some bad MFs you worked with (including you). I know/knew quite a few from 5th, 7th and 10th. My buddy's brother is the only unit guy I've ever known.

Scotch,

A HGH only cycle sounds interesting, Where can I get more information on this and for a 57 year old is it a good option compared to a test cycle?

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Originally Posted by ScotchGuard02

At your current body fat and physical conditioning, I wouldn't recommend a Test cycle. HGH is another matter. I'm a BIG fan of HGH and have been on it consistently for going on 9 years. It promotes healing, gives me better concentration, better sleep, my skin looks more youthful, and it keeps away that pesky belly fat. The older you are, the more of the HGH effects you'll feel. Young guys already have a good amount of HGH naturally in their system. HGH is the most faked compound out there so you need to be careful. Pharma grade HGH is THE BEST but it is also pretty expensive. Also, HGH isn't a "cycle" you get on and stay on for as long as your wife keeps cutting you a check. Good luck

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Originally Posted by jimmyray

Long story short:
44, 198, 5'11", average joe, probably around 17-20% BFI. Ive been an athlete most of my life and have suffered some pretty serious injuries in the last 5 years and suffer from olditis. acl, pcl, and some spine injuries have kind of put me on the couch....time to get off. I am looking at some sort of TRT or perhaps HGH. I am sure many folks have been in my position and am looking for some feedback and general direction. I have been inuring intermittent erectile issues as well.

Thanks, Jim

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I'd start out with some blood labs and see where your natural numbers are and then go from there.

Hgh is not a replacement for test, either you need test or you don't, weather or not you are on hgh. Also, hgh is not gonna give you quick results like a cycle with. It's great stuff, but it's not something you want to take three months and get off, won't do any good

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Originally Posted by guitarzan

Hgh is not a replacement for test, either you need test or you don't, weather or not you are on hgh. Also, hgh is not gonna give you quick results like a cycle with. It's great stuff, but it's not something you want to take three months and get off, won't do any good

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Thanks.

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