Random thoughts on TRT and this board.
1. High BF in males more often than not leads to higher E2 levels. One should do all he can to reduce BF, change diet, and start Cardio and strength training to develop more lean mass and redo BW to determine the need for trt at that point if at all possible. The addition of an AI alone may be sufficient enough to get over the hump. The addition of HCG may also help get one "over the hump" without adding extra t whether by gel or inj's. If you can't get this done and are low, then by all means you can go about the transformation of your low t body with the use of added t. The high BF will be your worst enemy though until you get it under control. If you have high BF, E2 and your doc knows nothing or wont prescribe and AI to start with start looking elsewhere immediately for a more knowledgeable physician.
2. Most of us are deficient in Vit D. Get plenty of sun, or supplement if so.
3. Frequent BW (every ten or so weeks) is essential your first 6 months on a trt protocol. Semi annual is okay after you have learned what works for your body and what doesn't. One of the really cool benefits of trt is you will get to know your body better than anytime in the past. You should pay attention to what it is saying at all times.
4. Pay attention to this board - it is your BEST resource for information. I can almost promise you whatever concern you have has been talked about here. If not, there are a ton of good guys (and gals) that will try to point you in the right direction.
5. Make friends with folks that may not necessarily hang out in the trt board much. You will need advise at some point on diet, exercise, maybe peptides, and general life questions as you go through this journey.
6. Always be respectful and try to help others on this board as much as you can - pass it down as you have your own experiences.
7. Never let anyone tell you or feel that what you are doing is wrong in any way.
8. Resist the temptation to draw the plunger back a little more or rub some extra on - first, more is not always better. You will be on a roller coaster for a while until your body levels things off. Any change in dosage will make that process harder and you will probably feel worse. Establish your baseline BW results and constantly compare how you are doing with each subsequent lab work. Second, you will run out of your script early and may be without your t until you can get a refill. And lastly, your numbers might be higher than what the doctor wants which may lead to him lowering your dose because he didn't know you were taking more than he prescribed.
9. TRT is not a perfect science. Most people go through periods of problems no matter how long they have been on. Don't give up - see #4!
10. Remember that everything you take will effect everything you take. T should raise total and free t and E2, an AI should raise free and lower E2, HCG should raise total, free and E2 and so on and so on.
11. Read #10 again!
12. Use TRT to transform not only your body back where it should be normally, but your life as well. It helped me refocus on my wife, kids, job, friends, family and my body. It has the power to do all of these things if you do it right, take care of yourself, and are patient. Do not get in a rush to be beach ready (if you are overweight) in a month. It took a while for most of us to get to the point of needing trt, or realizing that we needed to make a change. It will take a while to get back to where you should be.
13. Always take before pic's. It not only gives you something to compare your transformation to, they can serve as a motivation to NEVER go back to the way you were. If you do, for whatever reason, crank it back down and get with the program again - you will have already done it so you will know what you have to do. And take pic's again. Recent advise was given that you should never trust a mirror - how true that is. I looked in a mirror for over twenty years and told myself as I sucked in my gut that it wasn't so bad. Even with my wife asking me to lose weight, being immobile and lethargic, it didn't look so bad in the mirror or on the scale.
14. If you choose not to do #12, and think that adding t will work miracles just by injecting or rubbing it on and that's it - you will probably be very disappointed in the results. You will probably gain BF, feel the same or worse, and your treatment will most likely fail in the end.
That's it for now. There is a million other things. Feel free to post your thoughts and advise.