New Members – How to Get the Best Quality Responses in this Forum

[Vettester]

WELCOME to the HRT Forum. As you’ve gathered, this is a GREAT forum for obtaining education and in-depth information regarding HRT and many of the components that are associated with it, including the discussions of blood work, diet and exercise, supplements, and much more. If you haven’t noticed, the pool of talent at this place is incredible, and there is a great amount of diversity and expertise that the knowledgeable and experienced members bring to this forum.

You probably have joined here, or elected to participate in this forum, because you are seeking to get a lot of quality responses and discussions pertaining to your thread(s). Obviously, there is a good chance that you are at a crucial juncture in your life with making some critical decisions involving your health, and the future thereof. It can be quite a scarey endeavor. Don't worry, we have been through it just the same, and we are hoping to pass our experiences on to you; all of which will help your early journey with HRT to be a successful one right out of the gate!!

First and foremost, WE are here to help and participate with you! We are not your medical team, but we do offer the opportunity for intelligent discussions and correspondences to help members properly assess their situation, and to make the best possible choices that they can . Remember, there’s a very good chance that many of us have faced the same concerns and/or obstacles that you are currently facing ... So don't feel you're the unlucky one.

We encourage you to utilize our knowledge and experiences. There are some simple things that you can do to maximize the input and response level of your thread …

- Step one, start by reading the “Stickies” in the HRT Forum before creating your thread. You will be miles ahead by knowing things like what lab panels need to be considered when starting up, the basics of testosterone , how to find a good physician, what effects and when you can expect them from HRT, and much, much more! If you will INVEST just a little time reading and reviewing them, I can assure you that you will be primed with a wealth of knowledge that will enable you to approach your own personal program with articulation and confidence, and none of this will seem like a foreign language class.

- Open your thread with a brief introduction of yourself, followed by some historical information leading up to where you are currently at with your program. This introduction should include your stats (age, height, weight, BF%-if possible) and any pertinent details involving your health that may contribute to the insight of why you are considering HRT to be an option. Try to keep this informative, but concise. Your audience will sometimes start zoning out if you start out with an autobiography of your life, and even worse, a run-on paragraph that has a full page with no breaks. Keep us glued into your message!

- Equally, I would highly recommend that you don’t start a thread that is limited with information and words, e.g. “I just recently got put on TRT. My doctor has me at 200mg, is that good enough?” Or, “I’ve been feeling ALL the symptoms lately, how do I talk my doctor into prescribing TRT?” Again, we encourage participation, but limited, subjective posts will tend to give you less return on the informative responses that you are desiring. Keep it objective and plentiful enough that we don’t have to ask 100 questions to finally get the ball rolling.

- List your current HRT protocol and how long you have been administering it (if you have one). Example might be: Test Cyp 100mg/wk, HCG -250iu x 2/wk, Anastrozole .05mg/wk … And/or anything else that is relevant to your protocol. If you are having an issue with this protocol and/or the doctor's mindset regarding your protocol, please make note of it on your closing paragraph(s).

- Most importantly (for new members), post your lab results with reference ranges. By reading the “stickies”, you already know what BW labs we are interested in reviewing. If your doctor and/or medical team does not agree with running some of the more critical labs (E2, free-bio T, LH/FSH, various thyroid tests, etc.) then point that out in your thread and we can try to work around that. If you are considering going on TRT, then it is a MUST that you get your baseline labs before starting.

Time and time again, we get members posting their TRT results, but they have no baseline labs to compare to, or a minimal amount. We have no comparisons to work with, which makes it hard to talk about the member’s condition (primary or secondary) and their potential plan of attack.

Do it right the first time with your labs and you will be getting dialed in sooner than later, and additionally you will be making some good impressions with the experienced members on this board.

- Conclude your post with any questions, comments, or concerns you have. It could be the relation you have with your doctor and a request for some ideas from us on how to resolve it, and/or it could be some questions regarding your labs, protocol, and what you would like us as a TEAM to focus on to help you succeed. It might just be simple and something you want to share more than get advise ... That's fine too, after all, it's your thread! Some of the responses might come with critiques, so please don’t take it as a negative strike, as that is not our intention or desire. Our goal is to help you discover all of these wonderful variables associated with HRT; all of which undoubtedly will help you achieve a greater well being. If you are on a course for destruction, you will no doubt get those opinions too.

- Also, for best results keep the startup of new threads to a minimum when seeking help on this forum. If you have two or three threads going at the same time, which are basically "dittos" of the other threads that you have posted in, then we end up in many cases getting a lot of confusion and redundancy. Relevant information stored in one thread is easily accessible and more streamlined to help you get more timely and "Quality Responses".

Please feel free to comment … Any additions from the Knowledgeable and Senior Members are always welcomed!

Helpful comments and suggestions from other members

Ecdysone:
(1) Rambles too much without asking a question or making a point one can comment on and ...
(2) BW is poorly organized or missing so that after you respond, the OP posts stuff that should have been there at the beginning.

Gdevine:
(1) New Members should read the posts of others before starting their own thread. New Members can find guys with similar issues and they can see how these threads progress and they can learn a lot from that. Also, don't be affraid to use the search button as well. Most of the questions New Members have are probably already discussed at length here.

(2) Do not inject your situation or questions into another members thread. If the thread is a "sticky", you will be off topic and you stand reducing the value of the sticky. If the thread is someone else's that would be "hijacking" and that is not good protocol.

(3) If you are a New Member and are here trying to find "sources" for gear or someone to prescribe large doses of anabolic steroids than go someplace else, we cannot help you in this forum. Also, do not post sources of drugs or Underground Sources. Do not request that others post sources as well. What you do in Private Message's is your business.

[steroid.com 1]

OUTSTANDING!!!!

This needs to become "sticky" right away!!!

Thanks Vette

[ecdysone]

^^^^^

Second that motion!

However, would it be possible to consolidate some of the stickies so we don't have so many?

Although Vette expressed it so nicely, I would just say that the two things that deflect me away from responding to a new thread are: (1) rambles too much without asking a question or making a point one can comment on and (2) BW is poorly organized or missing so that after you respond, the OP posts stuff that should have been there at the beginning. My 2 cents.

[kelkel]

Agree with above guys. Should be stickied immediately! Very, very nicely done. Took a lot of time and thought Vette.

Thanks!

[bass]

brilliant! but do you really think new members will read it before they start posting? they should. i think it should be a pop up if they never posted in this section!

[HRTstudent]

omg so many stickies lol.... I remember thinking that when I came here. I ended up just reading some books and got pretty much a solid foundation! then I picked and chose which stickes to read and which to skim. maybe we can work on consolidating the stickies into tiers like... before you start, now that you've started, and fine-tuning???

[kelkel]

Agree with Ecd and HRT on the consolidation aspect. It wouldn't be as overwhelming to someone new that way. Great idea guys.

[bullshark99]

Im dissapointed V, I wasnt the first to read and comment, Very well said!!!! Obv. you put some time into that post which reinforces your commitment to this site and helping others, THANK YOU!!!! I'm guilty as many others when I first came around but as time passes the people that want to be here and contribute start to rise to the top. I have benefited a great deal and am trying to continue to learn so I too can give back. I for one know I am much better off with the guidence of some of the great members, much appreciated!

[Vettester]

Guys, thanks for your kind words and continued encouragement! With the increase of new members, it will obviously be beneficial for all of us if the new member threads can have some sort of outline approach with their introductions. In a lot of cases, I see several new members get minimal replies, and in most cases there were too many voids or structure issues with their threads where quite possibly it just didn't captivate a lot of the seasoned members.

The dilemma is that most people new to the HRT scene just don't initially know enough about what types of questions to ask, and what steps to initially take to get their program started off successfully. Our team obviously has the "knowledge", so it's just a case of getting new members a little better prepared so that they will get the most out of this place to make their program successful.

I hear ya on the consolidation requests ... I am proposing to Admin that we possibly create a sub folder in the sticky area and maybe label it, "Principals and Basics of Testosterone & TRT" (something like it), which could file the part I, II, & III threads from Mastiff, and maybe the "Basic Guide" thread from Kale since they have similar themes. However, the educational material in all of those threads is as good as it gets anywhere on this entire site, so that folder (IMO) should be one of the first stops anyone ever makes before going too far. Both those guys put a ton of work into this place, I wish they would come out of retirement!

[Vettester]

Although Vette expressed it so nicely, I would just say that the two things that deflect me away from responding to a new thread are:
(1) rambles too much without asking a question or making a point one can comment on and ...
(2) BW is poorly organized or missing so that after you respond, the OP posts stuff that should have been there at the beginning. My 2 cents.

Great points, ecd!

For all new members reading, ecdysone is definitely one of the guys that you want posting in your thread. You now have some insight on a few of the things that will be key with his (and others) decisions to reply to your threads. Since you're going to be on TRT for life, take advantage of this and get the most out of it!! The rest of your life is counting on the decisions you make today! ...

[fit2bOld]

Great post Vetteman thanks for putting in the effort.

[Viking13]

GREAT work Vette!!! I read this forum app everyday from my iPhone like a crack fiend trying to get a fix!

I continue to learn so much here. While I am dissapointed my body has betrayed me in the sense of having to go on trt, I'm ecstatic that I have a great group of knowledgeable and experienced veterans that can help me when my treatment starts. Great dudes, great forum!

[keep fightin]

^^^^^ what he said! love this forum .. Bass's idea about a pop up "users guide"before maybe even allowed to post Q and A? maybe not welcoming enough but has merit, something like that would have been useful to me even though I read all the stickies, at the least vettes' "how to" guide needs sticky status

[zaggahamma]

yes great post vette

agree that is should be a sticky

and/but too many stickies already

[Brohim]

It can be the first sticky with it reading "new Member's click here"

[HRTstudent]

It can be the first sticky with it reading "new Member's click here"

I feel like if you draw them in they are much more likely to click than if you demand it

When I first came here I would definitely have clicked "Before you start HRT... what your doctor probably doesn't know!" rather than "new members read" but I think my brain just filters those stickies out now after visiting forums for years lol.

[Vettester]

OK, Admin is going to make this a sticky! However, it's going to be a locked sticky where it will only show post #1, with no ability to post comments. Admin will leave THIS thread going in our forum, so if people need to comment they can, and if people have other ideas they can post them, which then can be added by Admin to the sticky at the top of the forum.

HERE'S WHERE I NEED YOUR HELP ... If anyone has some legitimate suggestions for new members, PLEASE POST THEM ASAP! I will add them to the OP as I did with ecdysone's comments. Our goal is to just get new members acclimated with our forum and comfortable so that they know the things we are, and are not looking for when making those first few threads. Better responses from us will lead to better choices from new members, thus win-win for all. Plus, we stand to create a better retention rate when it's said and done if members get off to a good start here.

Please let me know your thoughts. We will probably wrap it up sometime Friday ... Thanks!

[zaggahamma]

good stuff bro

[steroid.com 1]

Vette - Here were my suggestions for the sticky:

New Members should read the posts of others before starting their own thread. New Members can find guys here with very similar issues and they can see how these threads progress and they can learn a lot from that. Also, don't be affraid to use the search button as well. Most of the questions New Members have are probably already discussed at length here numerous times.

Do not inject your situation or questions into another members thread. If the thread is a "sticky", you will be off topic and you stand reducing the value of the sticky. If the thread is someone else's that would be "hijacking" and that is not good forum protocol.

If you are a New Member and are here trying to find "sources" for gear or someone to prescribe large doses of anabolic steroids than go someplace else, we cannot help you in this forum.

Also, do not post sources of drugs or Underground Sources. Do not request that others post sources as well. What you do in Private Message's is your business.

[Vettester]

GD, yes, I got them added yesterday. They're underneath ecdysone's comments at the bottom of the OP. - Thanks!!!

[steroid.com 1]

GD, yes, I got them added yesterday. They're underneath ecdysone's comments at the bottom of the OP. - Thanks!!!

Ah ha!

Thanks man!

[zaggahamma]

Vette - Here were my suggestions for the sticky:

New Members should read the posts of others before starting their own thread. New Members can find guys here with very similar issues and they can see how these threads progress and they can learn a lot from that. Also, don't be affraid to use the search button as well. Most of the questions New Members have are probably already discussed at length here numerous times.

Do not inject your situation or questions into another members thread. If the thread is a "sticky", you will be off topic and you stand reducing the value of the sticky. If the thread is someone else's that would be "hijacking" and that is not good forum protocol.

If you are a New Member and are here trying to find "sources" for gear or someone to prescribe large doses of anabolic steroids than go someplace else, we cannot help you in this forum.

Also, do not post sources of drugs or Underground Sources. Do not request that others post sources as well. What you do in Private Message's is your business.

x2^^

[kelkel]

We also need to be careful with how much we direct people to stickies IMO. There are some great ideas here but we don't want to get to the point where there's no interaction between members as it's "All in the Stickies" so don't waste our time. Read them and refer to them, by all means. One of the things that make this place great is the interaction between members, the brotherhood (and sisterhood) developed, friendships made and trust developed. Not to mention knowledge gained.

It's ok to have a similar post as it is unique to the individual that posted it and important to them. The dialogue developed in that thread may lead to information that could help another member greatly. If the thread was not started as there's already a similar one I'd be disappointed. I also believe it would be detrimental to the membership. Often people come here in dire straights both physically and emotionally and need someone to vent to and get feedback from who understands their situation. It is not always comfortable talking to your friends or family about such a personal issue. When I first came here I scoured all the stickies and learned tons but if it was not for the interaction of several of the members (you know who you are) I would not have stayed. I learn here everyday from old threads and new similar threads.

My .02. Sorry for the rant.

"If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the minnow would be lost"

[zaggahamma]

We also need to be careful with how much we direct people to stickies IMO. There are some great ideas here but we don't want to get to the point where there's no interaction between members as it's "All in the Stickies" so don't waste our time. Read them and refer to them, by all means. One of the things that make this place great is the interaction between members, the brotherhood (and sisterhood) developed, friendships made and trust developed. Not to mention knowledge gained.

It's ok to have a similar post as it is unique to the individual that posted it and important to them. The dialogue developed in that thread may lead to information that could help another member greatly. If the thread was not started as there's already a similar one I'd be disappointed. When I first came here I scoured all the stickies and learned tons but if it was not for the interaction for several of the members (you know who you are) I would not have stayed. I learn here everyday from old threads and new similar threads.

My .02. Sorry for the rant.

"If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the minnow would be lost"

well said

[ecdysone]

We also need to be careful with how much we direct people to stickies IMO. There are some great ideas here but we don't want to get to the point where there's no interaction between members as it's "All in the Stickies" so don't waste our time. Read them and refer to them, by all means. One of the things that make this place great is the interaction between members, the brotherhood (and sisterhood) developed, friendships made and trust developed. Not to mention knowledge gained.

It's ok to have a similar post as it is unique to the individual that posted it and important to them. The dialogue developed in that thread may lead to information that could help another member greatly. If the thread was not started as there's already a similar one I'd be disappointed. I also believe it would be detrimental to the membership. Often people come here in dire straights both physically and emotionally and need someone to vent to and get feedback from who understands their situation. It is not always comfortable talking to your friends or family about such a personal issue. When I first came here I scoured all the stickies and learned tons but if it was not for the interaction of several of the members (you know who you are) I would not have stayed. I learn here everyday from old threads and new similar threads.

You make a great point.

If (and I'm sure others are...) you are a member of other forums, the same points keep coming up over and over again.

It's a fine line to tell them "Read the Stickies" to responding as a way of showing we care and to keep things current.

BTW, the stickies are starting to also show their age, so along with consolidating them, I suppose some updates are in order.

GD has always been the man in this regard... so maybe (please!) he can offer some updating/consolidation suggestions/help.

[Vettester]

You make a great point.
BTW, the stickies are starting to also show their age, so along with consolidating them, I suppose some updates are in order.

GD has always been the man in this regard... so maybe (please!) he can offer some updating/consolidation suggestions/help.

Can you give some specifics? The plan is that we are going to put several of the stickies in one folder. Could you elaborate on the stickies that are showing their age? Are you suggesting there is new information out in the market about testosterone and therapies that is making some of them outdated? Besides Nebido, the same therapies and compounds (as I know it) are still in place, and IMO, I would think the best anyone could do, including GD, would be to just basically rewrite and reword those threads differently, but at the end of the thread it would essentially just say the same thing. Respectfully, I personally don't think that would serve good to former members like Kale and Mastiff, who contributed greatly to this forum.

Also, I started a thread here titled, "Forum Stickies & Ideas." The opportunity for contributing ideas to this matter is on the table for GD or anyone to have their say. As noted, Admin is listening and willing to help shape this forum the way WE need so that it can be functional and productive for all. Admin will be wrapping this up pretty soon, so get em in while the window is open ...

[kelkel]

Bump for more opinions please...

[jamotech]

Agreed with all above, consolidate stickies(without taking away credit from whoever posted a sticky that has become redundant over time), and somehow force people to read them before posting. Id say a lot of sections here could use a system that would prevent someone from posting before stickies are read. If they have under a certain post count, and try to post, they should redirected to a list of sticky's and they may find their answer before they post.

[ironbeck]

Nice

[zaggahamma]

Agreed with all above, consolidate stickies(without taking away credit from whoever posted a sticky that has become redundant over time), and somehow force people to read them before posting. Id say a lot of sections here could use a system that would prevent someone from posting before stickies are read. If they have under a certain post count, and try to post, they should redirected to a list of sticky's and they may find their answer before they post.

like I read the internet disclaimers and check the box that I read it...
Guess u mean quiz em

[jamotech]

like I read the internet disclaimers and check the box that I read it...
Guess u mean quiz em

Kind of, yea. Honestly theres no good way to stop the random first post questions that are probably in the first paragraph of a sticky.

[zaggahamma]

Kind of, yea. Honestly theres no good way to stop the random first post questions that are probably in the first paragraph of a sticky.

I agree..

i just keep them honest/real FROM THE GET GO...

[jamotech]

I agree..

i just keep them honest/real FROM THE GET GO...

Thats the way bro!