Gaining muscle on HRT?

[Brazensol]

Yes. Diet is key here. Based off of my 4.6 TSH READING and multiple high readings after years of blood work I cut out the remaining inflammatory foods from my diet and my past bloodwork showed scores of 2.4 and 1.8. I also tested negative for TPO antibodies and any swelling I had related to my thyroid had dissipated. All this after the endo bet his practice I had hashimotos disease. It was all about the diet for me.

Were you previously testing positive for antibodies?

[Viking13]

Were you previously testing positive for antibodies?

I was on the borderline to test positive. I believe anything past 50 is considered positive and I was high 40s. After I changed the diet I was down to less than 5.

[Viking13]

Viking that is fantastic! If you haven't, you should post a thread about your experiences with this! Be a great read for the many individuals that come here with thyroid issues!

Thanks kel and gdevine! I have posted in others threads relaying my experiences with my dietary habits, but will try and sit down and write a more comprehensive post in regards to what I cut out and why.

I didn't even get into what it did for my lipid panel. Went from 300 cholesterol to 150 and triglycerides from 400 to 80. No drugs. Just diet. I'm still amazed at the effect food has on our bodies!!

[steroid.com 1]

^^^^Get to work!

[Brazensol]

Thanks kel and gdevine! I have posted in others threads relaying my experiences with my dietary habits, but will try and sit down and write a more comprehensive post in regards to what I cut out and why.

I didn't even get into what it did for my lipid panel. Went from 300 cholesterol to 150 and triglycerides from 400 to 80. No drugs. Just diet. I'm still amazed at the effect food has on our bodies!!

Please do share what you did!

[TMan96]

I've gained 25 solid pounds on TRT. I was 145lbs now I am 170lbs. I have bodyfat of 10%.
Thanks to 200mgs of Cypionate a week!

What is your protocol if you don't mind me asking.

[JackG79]

Viking that is fantastic! If you haven't, you should post a thread about your experiences with this! Be a great read for the many individuals that come here with thyroid issues!

I second this Viking.... I am new here, and I have learned A LOT from this thread. Unfortunatly, my docs only gave me a simple blood work up... Free & Total Test, Blood Sugar, Cholesterol, Vitamin D... Nothing to do with Thyroid, or any of the other hormones or issues related to this thread. I had never even HEARD of the stuff in here before. This thread has been an eye opener.... He saw that I hadFree and Total levels below the 300-1200 range... I don't remember the exact numbers, but I believe one was 145, and the other 218. He seems to simply have the mindset of "Testosterone is low, so add in testosterone" never addressing WHY it is low... or even setting me up for another blood screening. I am 33 yrs old. 6'2 and approx 270lbs. I have been overweight most of my life, and have always had trouble losing weight. He put me on Testim 1 5mg tube/day = 50mg testosterone. I feel like shit... i felt like I was starting to get more positive and have a little more energy, but this only seemed to last a day or two, now I feel the same as before.. maybe even more sluggish. I think my doc needs to subscribe to this thread because I would trust just about anyone in this thread's opinion over his. Unfortunatly I live in a VERY urban environment (farming towns). And there is no one around here that specializes in HRT. I think most endo's around here just deal with diabetes. So aggravated because I was so positive that I had finally found what has been wrong with me for so long, and that this was going to finally fix me... Anyways... I would love to read your personal thyroid experience Viking. It is amazing the information that I am finding around here. Unfortunatly, with every thread I read, the less and less faith I have in my doctor and that Testim 50. Sorry for bitching and complaining. I'm just totally fed up with my situation.

[Bill_boy2005]

Need do do more research on the HCG. Doc would be okay with me doing this consistenly. But I/he didn't think it had to be done all the time, just as needed. One of the issues I had with this in cost. I am having this compounded and it runs me about $65 a month. My script is .25 ml twice a week. Is there a way to go so this is not compounded? How would doc. write the script?

See if your insurance would cover non compounded drugs. If so Novarel 10,000 iu might be an option. My insurance covers the Novarel but not the compounded. Even though its $100 cheaper than the Novarel.

[Brazensol]

I second this Viking.... I am new here, and I have learned A LOT from this thread. Unfortunatly, my docs only gave me a simple blood work up... Free & Total Test, Blood Sugar, Cholesterol, Vitamin D... Nothing to do with Thyroid, or any of the other hormones or issues related to this thread. I had never even HEARD of the stuff in here before. This thread has been an eye opener.... He saw that I hadFree and Total levels below the 300-1200 range... I don't remember the exact numbers, but I believe one was 145, and the other 218. He seems to simply have the mindset of "Testosterone is low, so add in testosterone" never addressing WHY it is low... or even setting me up for another blood screening. I am 33 yrs old. 6'2 and approx 270lbs. I have been overweight most of my life, and have always had trouble losing weight. He put me on Testim 1 5mg tube/day = 50mg testosterone. I feel like shit... i felt like I was starting to get more positive and have a little more energy, but this only seemed to last a day or two, now I feel the same as before.. maybe even more sluggish. I think my doc needs to subscribe to this thread because I would trust just about anyone in this thread's opinion over his. Unfortunatly I live in a VERY urban environment (farming towns). And there is no one around here that specializes in HRT. I think most endo's around here just deal with diabetes. So aggravated because I was so positive that I had finally found what has been wrong with me for so long, and that this was going to finally fix me... Anyways... I would love to read your personal thyroid experience Viking. It is amazing the information that I am finding around here. Unfortunatly, with every thread I read, the less and less faith I have in my doctor and that Testim 50. Sorry for bitching and complaining. I'm just totally fed up with my situation.

You had the typical crash after starting on to low a dose of gel. Same thing happened to me. My numbers were about the same as yours and the gel cut it in half! Felt even worse than when I started. Get that thyroid checked too. Low t and hypothyroid often occur together. In fact hypothyroid can lead to low t. I had trouble losing weight before I started hrt but now it is coming off just like it used to! I've been a slacker lately and haven't exercised in jsut over 2 weeks and I still lost 2.5 pounds.

[steroid.com 1]

I second this Viking.... I am new here, and I have learned A LOT from this thread. Unfortunatly, my docs only gave me a simple blood work up... Free & Total Test, Blood Sugar, Cholesterol, Vitamin D... Nothing to do with Thyroid, or any of the other hormones or issues related to this thread. I had never even HEARD of the stuff in here before. This thread has been an eye opener.... He saw that I hadFree and Total levels below the 300-1200 range... I don't remember the exact numbers, but I believe one was 145, and the other 218. He seems to simply have the mindset of "Testosterone is low, so add in testosterone" never addressing WHY it is low... or even setting me up for another blood screening. I am 33 yrs old. 6'2 and approx 270lbs. I have been overweight most of my life, and have always had trouble losing weight. He put me on Testim 1 5mg tube/day = 50mg testosterone. I feel like shit... i felt like I was starting to get more positive and have a little more energy, but this only seemed to last a day or two, now I feel the same as before.. maybe even more sluggish. I think my doc needs to subscribe to this thread because I would trust just about anyone in this thread's opinion over his. Unfortunatly I live in a VERY urban environment (farming towns). And there is no one around here that specializes in HRT. I think most endo's around here just deal with diabetes. So aggravated because I was so positive that I had finally found what has been wrong with me for so long, and that this was going to finally fix me... Anyways... I would love to read your personal thyroid experience Viking. It is amazing the information that I am finding around here. Unfortunatly, with every thread I read, the less and less faith I have in my doctor and that Testim 50. Sorry for bitching and complaining. I'm just totally fed up with my situation.

Jack - This is not your thread and I would encourage you to start your own so we can help you in a more meaningful manner.

That said, and I will make this quick; most vets on here know more about male hormonal diagnosis and treatment then most Doctors and that's a fact. We see guys like you day in and day out and it's very unfortunate that these Docs are simply not trained in this area...you need to do this on your own and than manage your healthcare.

A guy your age with androgen levels so low needs to have further testing done to confirm there is not a tumor on your Pituitary Gland, that your Thyroid is functioning properly, that your adrenal system is normal...on and on.

Confront your Physician with what you learned and challenge him and don't be frustrated; you're here learning and we are here for you so relax my friend, we'll help you.

Start a new thread and post everything about yourself including medical history and current physical condition...even blood work with ranges if you have it.

Study, not read, the stickies at the top of the forum. Print them out and study them like a text book, if you don't know something Google is your friend and so are we so ask here as well.

Finally, if you tell your Doc that you don't feel he is trained properly to help you get better, and if he's opened minded, I can provide you with a number of top TRT Physicians who would consult with your Doc for a modest fee and that would put you on the right path.

Now, start your new thread...

gd

[JackG79]

Jack - This is not your thread and I would encourage you to start your own so we can help you in a more meaningful manner.

That said, and I will make this quick; most vets on here know more about male hormonal diagnosis and treatment then most Doctors and that's a fact. We see guys like you day in and day out and it's very unfortunate that these Docs are simply not trained in this area...you need to do this on your own and than manage your healthcare.

A guy your age with androgen levels so low needs to have further testing done to confirm there is not a tumor on your Pituitary Gland, that your Thyroid is functioning properly, that your adrenal system is normal...on and on.

Confront your Physician with what you learned and challenge him and don't be frustrated; you're here learning and we are here for you so relax my friend, we'll help you.

Start a new thread and post everything about yourself including medical history and current physical condition...even blood work with ranges if you have it.

Study, not read, the stickies at the top of the forum. Print them out and study them like a text book, if you don't know something Google is your friend and so are we so ask here as well.

Finally, if you tell your Doc that you don't feel he is trained properly to help you get better, and if he's opened minded, I can provide you with a number of top TRT Physicians who would consult with your Doc for a modest fee and that would put you on the right path.

Now, start your new thread...

gd

GD, you are correct, this is not my thread, I will start my own asap. I apologize to the TS, I def. did not mean to Hijack your thread. I didn't realize how long winded my post was until I came back on here today. I guess I just got off into a frustrated tangent and didn't realize how long I was typing for. Take care guys.

[TMan96]

UPDATE:

I am thinking about going back to get my bloodwork done early.... I have been on Armour now for about 6 weeks and now I have lost about 6 pounds. Remember I am really trying to gain some musle mass.

As a reminder here is my current protocol:
Cypionate 200mg a week (I have been splitting into 2 shots a week)
Anastrozole 1mg (We have played around with this to get my E2 levels correct and I am now talking .25 a tablet twice a week)
HCG (250iu 2 times a week)
Armour Thyroid 60mg daily(just started on this no blood work yet)

QUESTION Any recommendations on what additional bloodwork I should get this time?

Other than normal CBC and Lipid, these are the readings I had last time.
Blood Test Reading Range
TSH 5.44 uIU/Ml .45-4.5
T4 6.4 ug/dl 4.5-12
T3 uptake 39% 24-39
Free Thyroxine Index 2.5 1.2 – 4.9
Testosterone , Serum 1296 ng/dl 348-1197
Prolactin 11.6 ng/ml 4.0 – 15.2
Estradiol 19.5 pg/Ml 7.6-42.6
Triiodothyronine T3 100 ng/dl 71-180
Progesterone .6 ng/ml .2 – 1.4

[Brazensol]

PSA, SHBG, and liver function are always good. Also vit. D and cholesterol if it's been awhile.

[Brazensol]

Is your weight loss fat? I know mine had been!