Starting TRT again after 6 months of being off my last disastrous TRT protocol.

Okay, this is a follow up to my thread titled "2 years of TRT / quit due to negative side effects / looking to start back". Sorry, can't post a URL until I have >25 posts under my belt. I would have posted in that thread but I feel this post will be massive and slightly off topic.

Anyway, thanks to everyone that replied to my original thread. Great great information. I've since went and got a blood test and contacted another TRT company. After their doctor reviewed my blood test results, he recommended a few different protocols. I'm going to post my blood test results here along with his suggested protocols. If you guys wouldn't mind, I'd like to get your feedback on the protocols and if I should start them, keeping in mind all the problems I had the first time I tried TRT (posted in my first thread that I cannot link :frown:). I'm going to also post their price because honestly, I wouldn't know if I were paying too much.


Stats:
35 y/o male
6'3"
194 lbs

Test Results fasted for 10 hrs at 0800 (my result in bold):

CBC With Differential/Platelet

WBC 6.4 3.4-10.8 x10E3/uL
RBC 4.56 4.14-5.80 x10E6/uL
Hemoglobin 14.9 12.6-17.7 g/dL
Hematocrit 43.8 37.5-51.0 %
MCV 96 79-97 fL
MCH 32.7 26.6-33.0 pg
MCHC 34.0 31.5-35.7 g/dL
RDW 12.3 12.3-15.4 %
Platelets 200 150-379 x10E3/uL
Neutrophils 53 %
Lymphs 37 %
Monocytes 7 %
Eos 3 %
Basos 0 %
Neutrophils (Absolute) 3.3 1.4-7.0 x10E3/uL
Lymphs (Absolute) 2.3 0.7-3.1 x10E3/uL
Monocytes(Absolute) 0.5 0.1-0.9 x10E3/uL
Eos (Absolute) 0.2 0.0-0.4 x10E3/uL
Baso (Absolute) 0.0 0.0 0.0-0.2 x10E3/uL
Immature Granulocytes 0 %
Immature Grans (Abs) 0.0 0.0-0.1 x10E3/uL

Comp. Metabolic Panel (14)

Glucose, Serum 86 65-99 mg/dL
BUN 20 6-20 mg/dL
Creatinine, Serum 1.04 0.76-1.27 mg/dL
eGFR If NonAfricn Am 93 >59 mL/min/1.73
eGFR If Africn Am 107 >59 mL/min/1.73
BUN/Creatinine Ratio 19 8-19
Sodium, Serum 144 134-144 mmol/L
Potassium, Serum 4.2 3.5-5.2 mmol/L
Chloride, Serum 103 97-108 mmol/L
Carbon Dioxide, Total 27 18-29 mmol/L
Calcium, Serum 9.4 8.7-10.2 mg/dL
Protein, Total, Serum 6.9 6.0-8.5 g/dL
Albumin, Serum 4.6 3.5-5.5 g/dL
Globulin, Total 2.3 1.5-4.5 g/dL
A/G Ratio 2.0 1.1-2.5 01
Bilirubin, Total 0.5 0.0-1.2 mg/dL
Alkaline Phosphatase, S 48 39-117 IU/L
AST (SGOT) 17 0-40 IU/L
ALT (SGPT) 15 0-44 IU/L

Lipid Panel

Cholesterol, Total 202 HIGH 100-199 mg/dL
Triglycerides 98 0-149 mg/dL
HDL Cholesterol 55 >39 mg/dL 0
VLDL Cholesterol Cal 20 5-40 mg/dL
LDL Cholesterol Calc 127 HIGH 0-99 mg/dL

Thyroid Panel With TSH

TSH 4.060 0.450-4.500 uIU/mL
Thyroxine (T4) 9.3 4.5-12.0 ug/dL
T3 Uptake 29 24-39 %
Free Thyroxine Index 2.7 1.2-4.9

Testosterone, Free+Total LC/MS

Testosterone, Total, LC/MS 345.6 LOW 348.0-1197.0 ng/dL
Free Testosterone(Direct) 8.3 LOW 8.7-25.1 pg/mL

Estradiol

Estradiol <5.1 LOW 7.6-42.6 pg/mL
Roche ECLIA methodology

IGF-1

Insulin-Like Growth Factor I 161 88-246 ng/mL



Suggested TRT Protocols:

6 Month (200mg/Week) Testosterone Program - $1150.00

20 WEEK THERAPY PHASE

(2) 10ML Testosterone Cypionate 200mg/ml Vials
Protocol: 1ML / 200mg once weekly. Intramuscular injection.

(40) 1MG Anastrazole Brand Name Tablets
Protocol: One tab twice weekly. Oral.

(1) 30ml B12 Vial
Protocol: 1ML once weekly. Subcutaneous injection.

(2) HCG 5000 Unit Vials
Protocol: 500 units once weekly. Subcutaneous injection.

4 WEEK CLEANSE PHASE (start 2 weeks after last injection)

(1) HCG 11000 Unit Vial
Protocol: 1000 units daily. Subcutaneous injection.

(30) 50mg Clomiphene Citrate Capsules
Protocol: Two capsules daily. Oral.


6 Month (300mg/Week) Testosterone Program - $1325.00

20 WEEK THERAPY PHASE

(3) 10ML Testosterone Cypionate 200mg/ml Vials
Protocol: 1.5ML / 300mg once weekly. Intramuscular injection.

(40) 1MG Anastrazole Brand Name Tablets
Protocol: One tab twice weekly. Oral.

(1) 30ml B12 Vial
Protocol: 1ML once weekly. Subcutaneous injection.

(2) HCG 5000 Unit Vials
Protocol: 500 units once weekly. Subcutaneous injection.

4 WEEK CLEANSE PHASE (start 2 weeks after last injection)

(1) HCG 11000 Unit Vial
Protocol: 1000 units daily. Subcutaneous injection.

(30) 50mg Clomiphene Citrate Capsules
Protocol: Two capsules daily. Oral.



They also gave me some HGH protocols and even said that they work great with the TRT. I don't know anything about HGH therapy other than it's quite expensive. My IGF-1 looks normal so I'm not going to consider HGH therapy at this time. However, as far as the TRT protocols go, what do you guys think? I feel that the anastrozole might be a little much, so I'll probably take .5 mg twice a week and go check my test & estrogen 6 weeks from when I start. Thoughts?

Sorry I do not have a lot nice to say...... first very expensive, remember a guy can get a 10ml bottle of Tes from goodRx for 40 bucks, just need to get your GP to write you the Rx.
The HcG can be farmed out overseas 5,000 I.U for about 25 bucks each.
The Anastrozole cost me about 30 cents per mg thru my insurance, this too can be farmed out overseas.
The B12, my opinion, useless or at best negligible, just another item to "Sell you".
What do you do after 6 months, quit and go back to your old ways????

Lastly, 300 mgs per week is ridiculous for TRT, that is a cycle. 200 per week 9 times out of 10 is not needed to keep someone within clinical range.

No need to be sorry! I appreciate the feedback.

I can't find a GP that will prescribe me test, much less the rest. I asked the price of the anastrozole and it came out to $5 a pill, so yeah a bit expensive compared to your experience. This company doesn't use insurance unfortunately. And is all that overseas stuff safe? I know it isn't legal here in the States to have any of that without a prescription.

And after 6 months, you start again according to them.

The first time I tried TRT it was with 200 mg test...kept my total ~ 900 - 1000 and my free ~30 to begin with but towards the end it was like ~10. Had a lot of problems with that protocol unrelated to the test cyp.

What would be the health concerns of indefinitely following a 300/mg trt program as outlined in my first post?

That company is basically selling you a low grade cycle and not trt in my opinion. 300/wk is way too much for trt and 200 is on the high end. Both protocols would make controlling sides difficult. I know you said you tried 200/wk in the past....splitting that dose into twice weekly of around 80mg would likely yield better results while staying under 200mg/wk total and might not even need an AI. Have you had any further discussions about your thyroid results? Your tsh is on the high end of normal and many current thyroid experts prefer tsh no higher than 2. Low thyroid can inhibit testosterone levels. Your T levels are low but only just barely. I'd recommend getting your thyroid sorted out first to see if your T will come back up on its own. Getting into the protocols you described will only throw your hormones more out of whack and won't address the possible thyroid problem. You may in fact need trt in the end even with thyroid under control, but it's best to start with that before jumping into trt. I'm hypothyroid and followed this same path. My T levels were under 200 though without thyroid treatment and never did come back high enough to avoid trt. You stand a better chance with where your T is at now. That's my advice, let us know how it works out whatever you decide.

To be to be honest I'd start as low as 150 milligrams split two times per week and get your blood work tested at that level of course you will experience side effects at the dosage your doctor has put you on and as far as an AI is concerned split one milligram over 2 times per week is all you will need maximum good luck