Went to LowT appt, need some advice

[Rodax]

So, went to my appt earlier this week and got my supplies today. Here's what they have me on:

150mg Test cypionate once a week
500IU HCG twice a week
.25mg Anastrozole once a week

I'm kind of concerned about the frequency of the anastrozole being only once a week. The last thing I want is gyno. Any tips on what I would feel if my estrogen is spiking up or too low? Like nip sensitivity, or loss of sex drive? I just did my first round of injections today and I'm also wondering when and how I should take the anastrozole. Any and all help is much appreciated!

[MRNJ1992]

Heres my suggestions, Split the T shots bi weekly. Take the hcg daily-100 ius and the Anastrozole 2 times a week. Originally I was on 200mgs of T and went as high as 2 cc a week. This was the docs doing. Wanted my T levels at 1000. Yea they were and yea I got strong, Big etc.... But was holding a ton of water. Gained 30 pounds. IMO, less is better. If you go bi weekly with the T and daily with the HCG you will probably feel good. Sex drive will be good and the "boys" will hang better. Good luck.

[lowt2014]

Why would you want to change anything without any symptoms, change the dosage when you have symptoms and lab numbers to back it up. Weekly TRT already very good and you already taking AI...

[kelkel]

Why would you want to change anything without any symptoms, change the dosage when you have symptoms and lab numbers to back it up. Weekly TRT already very good and you already taking AI...

Because there may be room for improvement.

Op, good advice by MRNJ. Splitting your dose will help mitigate E2 conversion and keep more stable blood levels of testosterone . You do not need 500IU's of HCG twice per week. 250 IU's X 2 to start is fine and can be put in the same syringe as your T injection if you like. Or, as MRNJ referenced, many like low dose daily injections of HCG. Starting out on a protocol of daily injections may not be prudent as you may need some time to adjust to an injection lifestyle.

Regarding Adex it's a guessing game and most don't start out with it until their 6 week BW. That said, if you run with the .25 per week simply split it and take half either the day of or day after each injection. If you stick to once a week same thing goes, day of or after which helps time the peaks of your test and AI to make it the most effective and efficient.

[Low Testosterone]

Take what your doctor prescribed you to take. If you want to split it up into more frequent injections is fine as long as you keep the total weekly dose the same. This also applies to your prescribed anastrozole. Or alternatively run out of meds (any med) significantly early and irritate your doctor and make it more difficult for yourself as you continue.

On your main topic - no one is going to suffer from full blown gynecomastia in a matter of weeks. A lot of guys often freak out early on if they have a little nipple sensitivity or tenderness, and I can somewhat understand, no one wants gynecomastia. But two important things, TRT is not going to give you gyno in a few weeks, cannot happen and nipple sensitivity is probably the worst gauge there is for gyno. Stay on your course, have blood tested in 6 or so weeks and then make changes.

[Rodax]

Kelkel- If you don't mind me asking, why would they prescribe more vs the lower amount you posted? Is there a concern I should have about desensitization at some point with the dosage I'm currently at?

Thank you all for your advice. I guess I won't worry too much until after my labs in 6 weeks. I'll have to think about the frequency of injections though. The HCG shot didn't bother me at all, so doing that daily is not something I see as being a problem. As far as the test injections 2x a week, I'll admit it was a little daunting to inject my quad and have to wait for the oil to slowly go in (at least slowly in my mind). So doing that 2x a week might be a bit weird for me.

Funny side story, on the web site they only show the glute IM injection. I was like uhh I don't think I'm going to be able to twist around and remain calm while trying to inject my glute. So I went with quads, the way they described in one of their pamphlets. Dunno if I could remain calm on another site right now, maybe in the future though.

[kelkel]

I didn't say a lower amount. I agreed with MRNJ to split the dose into 75mg's twice per week instead of all in one shot. About every 3.5 days. My reason was to help E2 conversion. Less injected at one time = less E2, along with more stable serum levels.
No issue with desensitizing at all. Some BB'ers runs grams per week.
I'm not really a fan of daily shots of anything quite honestly. To me it would be a pain in the ass.
Learn to inject glutes and delts. Or even SQ if on a twice per week.

But basically yes, labs at 6 weeks should be your guide along with how you feel. Post them when you get them.

[Chauffeur]

I think he may have been referring to the hCG dose and not the test dose.

OP, most doctors have a "startup" protocol if you want to call it that. Since there is no way for them to predict how you'll respond to these medications, they have to start somewhere and it may not always be a tailor made protocol just for you.

Good doctors pick a protocol based on their previous experience, plus the published research from top TRT doctors. There are many experienced TRT providers who prescribe 500iu of hCG 2x/wk, mainly in the interest of keeping their patients fertile.

That being said, there many guys on this site and others who do just fine on 250iu 2x/wk. Most guys try to keep the dose as low as possible while still reaping the benefits, but that doesn't mean that everybody needs the exact same amount of hCG...or any other medication.

TRT sometimes involves a certain amount of protocol tweaking to get dialed in to the protocol that works best for you and mitigates unwanted side effects. Sometimes it involves no tweaking at all. It's just impossible to predict.

Personally, I require a higher amount of hCG than many of the guys here. 250iu 2x/wk just doesn't do it for me.

The only way to know how these meds are really affecting you is through bloodwork, which is usually done 6-8 weeks after starting treatment.

500iu of hCG 2x/wk isn't a dangerous dose or anything, it's just that many guys don't need that much.

[kelkel]

I think he may have been referring to the hCG dose and not the test dose.

OP, most doctors have a "startup" protocol if you want to call it that. Since there is no way for them to predict how you'll respond to these medications, they have to start somewhere and it may not always be a tailor made protocol just for you.

Good doctors pick a protocol based on their previous experience, plus the published research from top TRT doctors. There are many experienced TRT providers who prescribe 500iu of hCG 2x/wk, mainly in the interest of keeping their patients fertile.

That being said, there many guys on this site and others who do just fine on 250iu 2x/wk. Most guys try to keep the dose as low as possible while still reaping the benefits, but that doesn't mean that everybody needs the exact same amount of hCG...or any other medication.

TRT sometimes involves a certain amount of protocol tweaking to get dialed in to the protocol that works best for you and mitigates unwanted side effects. Sometimes it involves no tweaking at all. It's just impossible to predict.

Personally, I require a higher amount of hCG than many of the guys here. 250iu 2x/wk just doesn't do it for me.

The only way to know how these meds are really affecting you is through bloodwork, which is usually done 6-8 weeks after starting treatment.

500iu of hCG 2x/wk isn't a dangerous dose or anything, it's just that many guys don't need that much.

Very well said.

[Rodax]

Thanks Chauffeur, yeah I was referring to the HCG dose.

Kelkel- I'll guess I'll try to figure out glute and delt shots as well.

[michael30]

Take what your doctor prescribed you to take. If you want to split it up into more frequent injections is fine as long as you keep the total weekly dose the same. This also applies to your prescribed anastrozole. Or alternatively run out of meds (any med) significantly early and irritate your doctor and make it more difficult for yourself as you continue.

On your main topic - no one is going to suffer from full blown gynecomastia in a matter of weeks. A lot of guys often freak out early on if they have a little nipple sensitivity or tenderness, and I can somewhat understand, no one wants gynecomastia. But two important things, TRT is not going to give you gyno in a few weeks, cannot happen and nipple sensitivity is probably the worst gauge there is for gyno. Stay on your course, have blood tested in 6 or so weeks and then make changes.

I strongly agree with this post. Dont use nipple sensitivity as your only tool to judge gyno. Also dont change your protocol without speaking to your doctor about it. Especially if its a new doctor.
NOTE* op i also am on trt i currently run a mon-thurs Protocol of sub Q injections for my test C. I like it so much i doubt ill ever go back to i.m. also something i found that personally works well for me. Is instead of injecting .4ml in on spot. I do .2ml in one calf or quad sub q and .2ml in the other calf or quad. I never have pain, lumps, or discomfort when i keep the shots smaller. So might want to try sub Q its a breeze. Good luck.