jUST STARTING HRT

**NAVYDIVER1** · 01-11-2010, 03:37 PM

Hello Everyone,
My doctor is starting me on hrt and I had a few questions. I want to take advantage of the muscle building qualities of the steroids and I am unsure of what to take. My doctor said he would either give me Androgel or Test C, it was up to me. I have no problem with needles so the injections would not bother me. I just want the most for my time and money I guess.

I am 41 years old, 190 lbs and around 12%bf. I work out 5 days a week but don't see much results due to my low test level I would imagine. My diet is good, high protine low fat, 5 times a day.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

**wifor** · 01-11-2010, 04:23 PM

I have been on HRT for almost 1.5 years, starting with Androgel . Don't waste your time with it. Go with the Test C. You'll be happy you did.

**rebelstate** · 01-11-2010, 04:41 PM

go with test cyp, dont waste your time with that other crap...just shoot it...once a week or 10-days at most and you'll be fine,no mess!

**gigabitbucket** · 01-11-2010, 06:26 PM

some people respond to the gel, in my case, I was on it for a long time with no improvement, took time to talk my doc into shots.
My vote would be for Test C, now comes the fun of finding out how much? how often? I am in the same boat.

Took my 3rd shot of Test C , today 200mgs every 2 weeks to start.

labs after 3 months. Hope this gives you something to think about.

**NAVYDIVER1** · 01-11-2010, 08:40 PM

Thanks for the help guys. I pretty much decided on the shots, They just make more sense to me. Luckily my doctor is cool with whatever I want. What kind of muscle growth might I expect being that I allready have low T levels to begin with. Will it just bring me to normal or will I notice muscle gains?
Thanks

**zaggahamma** · 01-11-2010, 10:12 PM

Originally Posted by NAVYDIVER1

Thanks for the help guys. I pretty much decided on the shots, They just make more sense to me. Luckily my doctor is cool with whatever I want. What kind of muscle growth might I expect being that I already have low T levels to begin with. Will it just bring me to normal or will I notice muscle gains?
Thanks

u never stated where youre levels were....you said they were too low to make any gains...if that is true then u will be able to make gains when you raise your t levels...will depend on your diet and workouts....i lost 30 pounds of fat and added 30lbs on my bench 100lbs on deads(lost the weight the first 4-6 months and the strength tapered off round 6-8 months) ....if u were under 400 total test and you take 150mg every week i would expect similar minus the 30 pounds since youre only 12% now...maybe you'll get single digits if thats wut you want but yes you will notice muscle gains

**vawnman** · 01-14-2010, 10:08 PM

What is Test C?

**Vettester** · 01-14-2010, 10:51 PM

Testosterone Cypionate . It's oil based and used for injections. Just had my weekly shot of it about an hour ago

**ZonaDave** · 01-15-2010, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by NAVYDIVER1

Thanks for the help guys. I pretty much decided on the shots, They just make more sense to me. Luckily my doctor is cool with whatever I want. What kind of muscle growth might I expect being that I allready have low T levels to begin with. Will it just bring me to normal or will I notice muscle gains?
Thanks

i'm 42 and started TRT over a year ago. i started out on Testim but i wasn't on it long enought to know how effective it is because a new doc switched me to T Cyp shots.

i always had lots of strength but when i started losing it along with muscle mass i just thought it was due to normal aging. within two weeks after starting shots i noticed a significant difference in the gym and that was on 100mg/week. it doesn't take much to make you feel strong again.

T dosage is a small part of the equation. us older guys often have T:E conversion issues. as we age our bodies produce less T and more E so TRT is a conflict. that's why most need an AI like Arimidex to keep E2 at bay. that doesn't mean you can do large doses of T and just take more adex to keep E2 down because as you block E2, DHT goes up. if your T is at a level that your body is not happy with then it's going to convert it to another hormone in an effort to keep it from posioning your body.

i started out on one shot each week but now i do two shots a week with 5/8" insulin needles. for me, the delts are the best injection location. i do two shots (monday morning and thursday evening) to keep the highs and lows to a minimum which helps keep T from converting to E2. i take adex as needed depending on my symptoms. i normally take .25mg once or twice a week to keep E2 under control. you have to adjust this because like T, everone responds differently. some guys have to take adex EOD while others can take it once a week and then there are guys who don't need it at all.

if you get your TT in the upper 3rd range you should be at a good point. so basically on a range of 250-1100 your TT should be around 800-900. the problem with doing weekly shots is that you need a large dose to get it up that high on blood test day. this creates the problem with T:E conversion. doing two shots a week allows you to use a smaller dosage while maintaining higher T levels.

**vawnman** · 01-16-2010, 12:51 PM

not wanting to do shots, what other product could I take with the oral gel to increase size? thanks

**talstar** · 01-16-2010, 01:07 PM

Gel is not oral. I have heard of pellets that are implanted in you. IMO go with the shots and keep getting blood work till you get levels right for you.

**Brian McClay** · 01-20-2010, 03:15 PM

shots are not bad, they will give you more consistent results than gels or creams, they sound a lot worse than they actually are. If you read through the forums you will see many guys go from gels to shots but almost never the other way.If you are going to take the plunge then you will sooner or later be on the shots.