Blankinator HRT Progress Report

[Blankinator]

Hello everyone.

I'm in week 9 of HRT. I have my baseline, three week, and 7 week BW and have attached that.

I'm 44 and, aside from some seasonal allergies, have no health issues other than low T (Primary was diagnosis). I'm 6'1 and currently at 204 with 19.4% BF. Workout consistently with a cross-fit style approach. I can't say I eat clean, but I know right from wrong, pay attention and it's worked for me in the past. As an example, two summers ago (2011) I was at about 182 and 11% BF with a similar diet/exercise program. Last Spring (2012) things changed. Weight started coming up - fat around the midsection. Nothing I did diet wise seemed to matter. Frustrating summer, fall, and winter. Finally decided to get my T checked in April and it was low - 258. At that time I was at 194 lbs and just over 20% BF.

Started HRT on 4/23/13. Protocol was Test Cyp weekly and nothing else at first. Here is what I've done so far.

Pin/ Amt
1st 200
2nd 100
3rd 100
4th 100
5th 120
6th 120
7th 120 + AI .5 48 hours post pin
8th 120 + AI .25 24 hours post pin and 48 hours post pin
9th 140 + AI .25 48 hours post pin

Right before 4th pin, BW showed Test at 305 with Free Test at 6.65 and E2 at 29.9 (standard method)

Right before 8th pin, BW showed Test at 367 with Free Test at 9.33 and E2 at 17.2 (standard method)

Right away - within 1st week, my weight went up 8 lbs. By the second week, I was up 10 lbs and have pretty much stayed that way. Ankle swelling was troublesome the first 7 weeks. Finally got my doc to give me Adex in the 7th week. His approach is to let the body "adjust" and he thinks that when we get the test dosage right the E2 will settle where it should be.

I do have generally more energy. Did not have issues with wood or libido before but do notice drive increases. Feel stronger at gym and seem to recover quicker. Even had a nagging shoulder before and that's a complete non issue now. Slept way better the first few weeks than I have in a while. Now the sleep quality is back to what it was prior.

My biggest issue is with carrying the 10 lbs of water. I'm not a fan at all. Since I'm getting BW 7 days after my pin, I'm seeing my trough level of Test and E2. Although the E2 seems in range, I would imagine it's high when my Test peaks 2 to 3 days after my pin. I definitely don't want to crash my E2 with the AI. For now, (in between BW results) I'm paying attention to morning wood to guide my AI intake. No morning wood? .25 AI. When I do that, I almost always have wood the next few mornings. Maybe .25 EOD is where I should be.

Obviously, I'm not where I want to be yet. I'm exercising as much patience as possible with my doc and the adjustment to get things dialed in.

Next BW is my 90 day labs scheduled for late July.