First Cycle - ED issues, achy joints - Too much A-dex?

[rolypoly]

As the title says, first cycle ever. 40 years old. Cycle is...

Test E 500mg/week
HCG 500iu/week
A-dex .5mg EOD

Everything is going well, I'm slowwwwly getting bigger stronger. Some things like back are SOARING in strength. I have almost no sides, no acne, no face bloat, no rage, no tits, no extra hair. I took the a-dex from day 1 on purpose after lurking on the forums for a year and planning this all out.

But now 4 weeks in, my joints are very achy after a workout. My left ankle and right hip have been so bad that for 4 days after my last leg workout I'm walking with a limp. My volume and poundages are up over pre-cycle, but nothing that should cause joint pain.

I have crazy, ridiculous night and morning wood, but when I finally pulled an actual woman back from the bar this weekend, I could BARELY get it up, and couldn't finish.

I'm wondering if I'm running too much a-dex and estradiol is too low? I've gooled around and the joints and ED makes sense for that, but I'm not sure where the crazy night wood fits in.

My libido has been normal to higher than normal, but fluctuating day to day. I whack it about once a day, to keep from ending up in the paper for going on a rampage. I have noticed, some days I'm whacking with a rager, and other days, he's flying at about 1/2 staff. Seems like I got the girl over on a half-staff day.

I can't get mid-cycle blood work done, work schedule does not permit a doctor visit unless I'm dying. So I have to base this off symptoms.

I'm planning on cutting the A-dex dose from .5mg EOD to .25mg EOD. What do you more experienced guys think?

[songdog]

That's wat most start off at .25.

[magic32]

It's not the Adex. Drop the HCG.

In my humble opinion it should only be used when you know you're prone to problems, and thus NEVER in a first cycle, before such knowledge is attained. Too many compounds create confounding data, which is what you now have. This is why 'Test-only' is recommended for novice cycles. Fortunately, in your case we know it's not the Adex (doesn't cause it) or the Test (though it could temporarily and on the off chance). Thus, the wild card is HCG which can have varying hormonal and physiological effects like those you describe. Drop it until PCT, and even then ONLY PRN (if needed).

Lastly, and this is MOST IMPORTANT, stop bringing bar women home!!!

[Mr.BB]

It's not the Adex. Drop the HCG.

In my humble opinion it should only be used when you know you're prone to problems, and thus NEVER in a first cycle, before such knowledge is attained. Too many compounds create confounding data, which is what you now have. This is why 'Test-only' is recommended for novice cycles. Fortunately, in your case we know it's not the Adex (doesn't cause it) or the Test (though it could temporarily and on the off chance). Thus, the wild card is HCG which can have varying hormonal and physiological effects like those you describe. Drop it until PCT, and even then ONLY PRN (if needed).

Not very logic to drop the HCG. HCG maintains the testicular stimulation by mimicking LH, which on cycle is almost zero. It is an old scholl aproach using HCG for PCT and that have been proved not as effective.

Also magic32 is wrong when he says anastrazole doesnt cause it. Anastrazole if lowers too much E2 it will give you ED and also joint problems. It may be that you are extra sensitive to anastrazole and/or extra sensitive to E2 disregulation.

It is a shame you cannot do blood work, as it is invaluable in this diagnostic.

[NACH3]

Not very logic to drop the HCG. HCG maintains the testicular stimulation by mimicking LH, which on cycle is almost zero. It is an old scholl aproach using HCG for PCT and that have been proved not as effective.

Also magic32 is wrong when he says anastrazole doesnt cause it. Anastrazole if lowers too much E2 it will give you ED and also joint problems. It may be that you are extra sensitive to anastrazole and/or extra sensitive to E2 disregulation.

It is a shame you cannot do blood work, as it is invaluable in this diagnostic.

Anytime my E2 was on the lower side - it's definitely given me joint pains, problems finishing(climax)... And I agree that HCG should be used on cycle as it's clearly in Austinites protocol, but it mimicks LH production, and keeps your boys functioning/from atrophy, makes It easier to recover as well!

[rolypoly]

It was definitely the a-dex. I skipped one dose and felt way less achy. Skipped one more does and the day after legs I was totally FINE. I added 20 pounds and got 4 more reps on the last set of the last exercise, and was still fine. No hip pain, no right ankle pain, just normal light muscle soreness.

I'm going to skip a full week of the a-dex and then.... I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I might stay off unless high E sides show up. Or I might add it back in at .25mg EOD.

I mean with or without bloodwork, you're really just doing a best guess on how much of an AI you need. My research on a bunch of forums pointed to .5mg EOD as an average. But opinions range from 1mg ED to "don't take any unless you have sides." I was going with what I saw as the most COMMON recommendation.

It's not really unexpected to have to make adjustments. Fear of growing tits > fear of achy joints and temporary weiner problems. With that in mind, I'd do it all the same again, until I had some feedback to work with.

It looks like on this forum the most common recommendation is .25mg EOD. So maybe this forum's members collectively are smarter than the average bear.

It seems to me like the need for an AI, which one, and how much is one variable that has a lot of uniqueness from person to person. Like pretty much anyone will respond well to 500mg/week of Test E. But the AI variable is all over the place.

Lastly, and this is MOST IMPORTANT, stop bringing bar women home!!!

Lol, NEVER! ahhhhh man she wasn't even hot! Very average girl, but she was LOOKING, and I was in a dryspell and needed a slump-buster. She was also 25 to my 40, which is strangely satisfying. :-D

[rolypoly]

Just wanted to follow up in case anyone was following this thread with similar concerns. I laid off the a-dex for a full week, and by the end of the week, I was up 6 pounds! ...No I didn't have an epic week and put on 6 pounds of muscle. Likely water-weight bloat.

I also had a FIELD of small acne erupt over my right shoulder/traps area, and down my chest. I got one big red like cystic pimple under my eye and another on my chest. Nothing severe but I had virtually no acne or bloat prior.

After the week off I went back on a-dex at .25mg EOD. Literally within 1 day of the first dose all the acne backed off and is now slowly disappearing. I've read a couple post on different forums saying it takes 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or more for a-dex to do it's thing??? I did not find that to be true at all. Sides within a matter of days, and sides reversing within 24 hours. Your results may vary, just sharing my experience. ;-)

[NACH3]

Glad everything worked out... Just be sure to pull bloods to be sure your g2g or need to make some adjustments GL