I'm thinking of stopping my TRT to lose some weight for awhile

[C27H40O3]

I am just about at a year on my TRT protocol. Older guy, out of shape. no working out. bad back.

Test Cypionate 100mg IM every 3.5 days

hCG 250 iu twice a week

Proviron 50 mg every day or so.


My last labs in november showed my test over 1800 ng/dl

The issue is that I gained 15-20 lbs since starting the treatment. I feel bloated and I often have shortness of breath, especially when i hit the shower. Carrying bloating and extra weight around is tiring me out. My blood pressure hovers around 148/99.

I think I will give the testosterone a break for awhile, and keep the other stuff to see if I notice a great difference. My Testosterone level before I started last year was around 227. Will the hCG or Proviron help keep it up a bit if I stop the test C?

[ghettoboyd]

id say it not the test causing it because you are not doing anything to help yourself out with diet and exercise so im not sure why you thing cutting of your test will help...test may cause some bloating but if your diet was fairly clean you wouldn't have that issue...id say its more diet related than a hormonal issue imho...others will chime in im sure...good luck

[clarky.]

I can only reiterate what ghetto said above, you could also talk to you doctor about this and see is there is anything els causing problems.

[kelkel]

Cut your test in half and get disciplined with an exercise and nutritional program.
Run BW in 6 weeks. Be sure to test E2 Sensitive.
Elevated estrogen, which I about guarantee you have can cause shortness of breath.

[kelkel]

Sensitive and Ultra are the same test, just terminology used by different labs in most cases. The difference is between standard estradiol and the sensitive assays, as you know.

[C27H40O3]

I dont do exercise mainly due to laziness, but partially due to a back issue with collapsed discs at several levels.

The proviron is a only couple of times a week because i thought it started to give me a headache. You are right, diet is shit. Too much ice cream and candy. And fried chicken wings and chuletas.

I read about how the Test causes water retention, and thats why it is used. my face and gut has the bloated look. i might try phentermine again. i was taking it years ago but it made me too nervous after awhile. unsettled. but i liked the fast weight loss. it caused too much erectile issues for me though.

So its either halve the Test dosage, or eat right. I've been eating like a kid my whole life, never married, so i never had to eat normal meals. its hard to change now.

thanks for the help.

[TestingMe]

Do you have any recent blood work? Do you donate blood?

[Juced_porkchop]

check estrogen IMO. and maybe add an AI like dex etc

[C27H40O3]

No bloodwork since November. I’ll go look back at the number now.

I found my bloodwork from my regular doctor from a January visit for a cough. No Estradiol check. Some other numbers look shitty.





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[C27H40O3]

Some levels from the first page of the bloodwork. Any comments welcome.



I haven’t seen my men’s health doctor since January, and I didn’t have these labs done before seeing him, so any advice or criticism is welcome.


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[TestingMe]

How old are you by the way? I'm not sure why you are injecting such a high dosage. It's reaching danger zones if you don't donate blood. I'd do it as soon as possible. I don't want to scare you or freak you out but you can get a stroke or heart attack if it is much higher. Of course, it would be helpful to know what your baseline numbers are too. For me if my Hematocrit get above 50 I really feel it, tired and low energy. My guess from experience is the shortness of breath likely is because of too much iron in your blood. You likely will feel better very soon after donating.

I'd get a complete Iron panel on next blood work.

Not sure why your dosage is so high on the Test if you are not a body builder. I am no expert and inject .25 ml 2 time per week.

Be careful with your levels of Hematocrit and Hemoglobin. If i were you I'd get regular blood tests, at least every 3 months.

Best of luck!

[The road]

Cut your test in half and get disciplined with an exercise and nutritional program.
Run BW in 6 weeks. Be sure to test E2 Sensitive.
Elevated estrogen, which I about guarantee you have can cause shortness of breath.

Now you tell me.
Adjusting protocols to lower estrogen as we speak.

[charger69]

How old are you by the way? I'm not sure why you are injecting such a high dosage. It's reaching danger zones if you don't donate blood. I'd do it as soon as possible. I don't want to scare you or freak you out but you can get a stroke or heart attack if it is much higher. Of course, it would be helpful to know what your baseline numbers are too. For me if my Hematocrit get above 50 I really feel it, tired and low energy. My guess from experience is the shortness of breath likely is because of too much iron in your blood. You likely will feel better very soon after donating.

I'd get a complete Iron panel on next blood work.

Not sure why your dosage is so high on the Test if you are not a body builder. I am no expert and inject .25 ml 2 time per week.

Be careful with your levels of Hematocrit and Hemoglobin. If i were you I'd get regular blood tests, at least every 3 months.

Best of luck!

Once I get hematocrit up around 48-49%, I cannot breathe worth crap when doing cardio. 51%+- whoa
I would be so short on breathe, I would feel like I’m dying.


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[C27H40O3]

Thanks to all of you. My men’s health guy moved his office an hour and a half away from me, so I haven’t seen him since January. I don’t like a three hour round trip every month. I gotta find a guy around here but they all want to see me every week and do the injection. I want the prescription so I have flexibility.

My guy started me on 200mg Test weekly a year ago. My pre-TRT level was real low. Then after a couple of months he got it raised. At around 1200 levels I felt great, but in the past couple of months my resting BP has been as high as 160/103. I bought a pulse oximeter due to COVID going around and my blood level is around 92% oxygen and usually HeartRate is around 100-120 bpm.

I haven’t taken my shot in ten days now. I breathe easier and my BP and heartrate is lower. The main difference so far is I don’t feel crazy hungry all the time. I think the Test Cyp increased my appetite. Also, the solid morning hard on is gone. I’ll worry about that later.

How can I go about donating blood? Will they take me if pressure is high?

Thanks for the help.


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[C27H40O3]

Sorry, neglected to answer, I'm 56 years old.

[TestingMe]

Thanks to all of you. My men’s health guy moved his office an hour and a half away from me, so I haven’t seen him since January. I don’t like a three hour round trip every month. I gotta find a guy around here but they all want to see me every week and do the injection. I want the prescription so I have flexibility.

My guy started me on 200mg Test weekly a year ago. My pre-TRT level was real low. Then after a couple of months he got it raised. At around 1200 levels I felt great, but in the past couple of months my resting BP has been as high as 160/103. I bought a pulse oximeter due to COVID going around and my blood level is around 92% oxygen and usually HeartRate is around 100-120 bpm.

I haven’t taken my shot in ten days now. I breathe easier and my BP and heartrate is lower. The main difference so far is I don’t feel crazy hungry all the time. I think the Test Cyp increased my appetite. Also, the solid morning hard on is gone. I’ll worry about that later.

How can I go about donating blood? Will they take me if pressure is high?

Thanks for the help.


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I wouldn't just stop the injections but greatly reduce them..The dosages you were getting were very high to say the least.

Others can weigh in on what dose you might want to be on but #1 on the To Do list is to donate blood asap.

I am betting you will feel better immediately and it's a good thing to do now for society so it's a win-win.

Not sure what bp machine you are using but many of them are not reliable and show numbers too high. Not saying that's what's happening.

Easy enough to find a place to donate. Remember to get an Iron panel on your next blood work.

[C27H40O3]

This one. OMRON BP5450




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[C27H40O3]

After about ten days since my half weekly dose, my blood oxygen level is up also, from averaging around 92% to 97%.






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[C27H40O3]

I am not dragging ass yet. I guess it takes awhile for a Test level of 1875 to come down to tiring levels.


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[C27H40O3]

Still feeling good 2 1/2 weeks since my last shot. Just haven’t had a hard on in two weeks. Breathing easier, and less gasping for air while asleep (so I’m told). Less appetite to eat every junk food I see. My Oxygen level in the blood stays between 98% - 99%. I almost lost my ring down the drain washing my hands, so I know I have less bloating from retaining water. I am not dragging ass yet, so my Test level must still be within the normal reference range, down from around 1875 on my last bloodwork.

A year ago, right before starting my TRT, my blood testosterone level was around 250 or so. I am probably going to try a new men’s health practice that handles weight loss and HRT, so I will likely wait until my level goes down to natural again to start fresh with the new guy. I stopped the hCG and proviron also, just to establish a new baseline. Aside from no sex for the past two weeks, there are no issues so far. I thought I would feel worse by now. So far, so good.


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[C27H40O3]

Sixteen days or so since my last Test cyp IM injection. No proviron , no hCG .

My blood pressure is lower than its been in a year. 135/80. The machine says high, but I'm happy for now. At least the bottom number isnt three digits anymore.

I have lost ten pounds so far. I seem to have a lot less appetite lately.

Still no wood, day or night. I am starting to feel a bit sluggish throughout the day. Less energetic.

breathing issues seem to be gone. Sleep apnea less also, almost no snoring, says my lady. She doesnt keep punching me throughout the night to shut me up anymore.

I guess my levels were up too high for a long time. Thanks to who pointed that out to me.

I am going to try to call the newly recommended men's health guy this week to see if they are seeing folks during this shutdown season.

[lovbyts]

My .02
No its not one or the other. Even if you decide to no fix your diet you still need to do your HRT but you need to learn to do it correctly. Like mentioned before, you are running a light cycle, you are Not doing HRT/TRT. A cycle is only supposed to last 90 days but you are doing how long? Doesnt matter. Where did you learn how to do you TRT? Again, doesnt matter but it's wrong.

Most likely you should be doing MAX 100 mg a week, not every 3.5 days and most likely a little less like around 80mg a week.

Now fix the diet. You dont have to do it all at once but eat more healthy food so you will eat less unhealthy and it will become a habit. Get out and start walking or doing something.

Bottom line dont stop the TRT or you are going to have other issues and become more lethargic as well as more brain fog and it will be 2x harder to get back on track.

I dont do exercise mainly due to laziness, but partially due to a back issue with collapsed discs at several levels.

The proviron is a only couple of times a week because i thought it started to give me a headache. You are right, diet is shit. Too much ice cream and candy. And fried chicken wings and chuletas.

I read about how the Test causes water retention, and thats why it is used. my face and gut has the bloated look. i might try phentermine again. i was taking it years ago but it made me too nervous after awhile. unsettled. but i liked the fast weight loss. it caused too much erectile issues for me though.

So its either halve the Test dosage, or eat right. I've been eating like a kid my whole life, never married, so i never had to eat normal meals. its hard to change now.

thanks for the help.

[lovbyts]

I hadnt even read this when I wrote my reply. Sounds like I was spot on.

Your blood pressure is down and snoring less due to the weight loss and you could have done the same thing with cutting your TRT down in 1/2 or less IMO. Again, I dont think it's a good idea to just stop and at least with me morning noon and night wood is important, especially when my wife is concerned.

Sixteen days or so since my last Test cyp IM injection. No proviron , no hCG .

My blood pressure is lower than its been in a year. 135/80. The machine says high, but I'm happy for now. At least the bottom number isnt three digits anymore.

I have lost ten pounds so far. I seem to have a lot less appetite lately.

Still no wood, day or night. I am starting to feel a bit sluggish throughout the day. Less energetic.

breathing issues seem to be gone. Sleep apnea less also, almost no snoring, says my lady. She doesnt keep punching me throughout the night to shut me up anymore.

I guess my levels were up too high for a long time. Thanks to who pointed that out to me.

I am going to try to call the newly recommended men's health guy this week to see if they are seeing folks during this shutdown season.

[C27H40O3]

My .02
No its not one or the other. Even if you decide to no fix your diet you still need to do your HRT but you need to learn to do it correctly. Like mentioned before, you are running a light cycle, you are Not doing HRT/TRT. A cycle is only supposed to last 90 days but you are doing how long? Doesnt matter. Where did you learn how to do you TRT? Again, doesnt matter but it's wrong.

Most likely you should be doing MAX 1000 mg a week, not every 3.5 days and most likely a little less like around 80mg a week.

Now fix the diet. You dont have to do it all at once but eat more healthy food so you will eat less unhealthy and it will become a habit. Get out and start walking or doing something.

Bottom line dont stop the TRT or you are going to have other issues and become more lethargic as well as more brain fog and it will be 2x harder to get back on track.

At a thousand a week, in my case, I would likely feel like my head would explode. It seems to all go to my face as it is.
I started seeing my men’s health doctor about a year ago.
At first, I complained that by day 5 or 6 that I would feel like I was dragging. I mentioned that I heard of every 3.5 day injections of half the dose. my doc said it was a good idea. So I started doing 100mg every 3.5 days.
He also wanted me to take 1mg anastrozole every week. That stuff crashed my E2, and I felt like shit, so I stopped taking it after 2 weeks.
I complained that my balls disappeared, and my lady remarked about it. He ordered the hCG , which really worked to solve my issue. My balls came back to normal in a few weeks.
I has issues busting off. I could pound my lady all day, but had problems closing the deal. I read proviron helps in the sex department, so I thought it might give me more sensitivity. So I added that to my routine.
I had no issue for awhile, but i had to bug him to order bloodwork. He would only be concerned with looking at the hemocrit. Even when it was outside of the upper reference range, he said it wasn’t a concern.



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[kelkel]

At a thousand a week, in my case, I would likely feel like my head would explode. It seems to all go to my face as it is.

Just a typo. No doubt he meant 100 per week, not 1000. Lovbyts has been in the game for decades.

[lovbyts]

LOL, yeah Kelkel thanks, it was the end of a long 12hr shift and most defiantly a typo. I started thinking about it when I got home also, did I say 100 or 1000??? lol

Just a typo. No doubt he meant 100 per week, not 1000. Lovbyts has been in the game for decades.

[C27H40O3]

Last night I really started to feel like I was slowing down for the first time since my last injection stopped. I felt like I was dragging ass, and I fell asleep at 9pm instead of the usual 3am after YouTube binging.
I am down ten pounds, and my fat face is thinner, but no sex in a couple of weeks, down from once or twice a day although so far my lady is glad for the break, and I am feeling a bit deflated (energy-wise).

If I add back in the hCG , would that help me get rid of the ED issue? No pressure from the old lady, but I know it’s coming.

I signed up for some bloodwork online, so I will schedule an appointment online to make it get in there for a draw. I ordered these tests:



I want to see where I am at now after almost 3 weeks without an injection. Thanks for all the advice and direction so far. I value the consensus of opinion here more than I do my TRT doctor. He seems to be all over the place sometimes.


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[lovbyts]

At this point I would say you might as well just talk to yourself in a mirror because what good does it do keep asking for advise and not listing to a single thing anyone has said?

EVERYONE has told you to NOT stop injections. Everyone told you that you were going to loose energy and everyone is telling you it's going to get a lot worse. You are old enough to know and hopefully understand the term you can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink. You are the horse in this senario and obviously you arent thirsty.

If your goal is to not be able to get it up for the next 6 months to a year, feel like crap and most likely get depressed and just give up then you are well on your way, congratulations.

If that is not what you want then dont ask any more questions until you have re read all the previous post and come back and tell us what you think you should do and what you are going to do.

Yeah it's called tough love but it seems to be what you need at this point, even if that will help. Some people just like to fail it seems. Good luck

[C27H40O3]

At this point I would say you might as well just talk to yourself in a mirror because what good does it do keep asking for advise and not listing to a single thing anyone has said?

EVERYONE has told you to NOT stop injections. Everyone told you that you were going to loose energy and everyone is telling you it's going to get a lot worse. You are old enough to know and hopefully understand the term you can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink. You are the horse in this senario and obviously you arent thirsty.

If your goal is to not be able to get it up for the next 6 months to a year, feel like crap and most likely get depressed and just give up then you are well on your way, congratulations.

If that is not what you want then dont ask any more questions until you have re read all the previous post and come back and tell us what you think you should do and what you are going to do.

Yeah it's called tough love but it seems to be what you need at this point, even if that will help. Some people just like to fail it seems. Good luck

Thanks for your reply. I am listening to all advice. I then will decide which way to go. I thank all for their input. I am waiting for my appointment to get a bloodwork done when i wake up later this morning. Thats why I am waiting to restart anything up again. My TRT doc doesnt order regular bloodwork so i have to go order my own. I wanted to get my level down a bit from 1875, so i wanted to start fresh again, with a blood draw to get a baseline.

My goal was to lose some weight without going on a strict diet plan. I lost the ten pounds without changing diet, i still eat whenever i get hungry. I also wanted to see if i can get to where i dont have shortness of breath anymore and sky high blood pressure. So far, i have had success in those areas by stopping. I do plan to get outside more now that these last three weeks of rainy weather are gone. The collapsed lumbar discs i suffer from give me issues when i try to do too much in the yard. i seem to feel more back pain since i stopped my TRT injections.

I have a certain investment in gear and supplies at this point, so i surely plan to get it going again shortly. I am looking to changing my mens health doctor. my guy is kind of hands off, i usually have to do my own research, and tell him what I think i would like to try. Then he just concurs with whatever i decide i want to do. I value the input of the brothers on this board. I have learned alot in the past year. I learned what questions to ask my doctor, and now I have more faith in what he says, if it is backed up with a general consensus from the members here.

I understand some might lose patience with questions that seem obvious to the longtime experts here. I have different aspects of my treatment that I am looking at and evaluating. I'd rather ask several questions that might be similar or basic, in order to gain clarity, rather than to jump into something half way because i missed something. I tend to be more deliberative by nature, and I find the crowdsourcing here to be useful to further my understanding of the information i get in replies.

[C27H40O3]

After going for my bloodwork yesterday, and finally getting weary from the lack of erections for three weeks, I started my TRT up again. I think one of my issues was I always stayed with 0.5 ml every 3.5 days, even after switching from 200 mg/ml pharma Test Cyp, to that sourced elsewhere. The UGL stuff was 240 mg/ml, and I never adjusted my dosage down accordingly. I am going to try going to
100 mg/week now, as suggested by some of the brothers here. I will still split into two doses per week, since I hate the peaks and valleys of weekly injections.

The girl had a rough time getting my blood. the first stick hurt like hell and made my fingertips feel like they were hit with electricity, and heat, even though the needle went into the normal place right at the crease in skin at the top of the forearm. it was strange. she probably hit some nerves of something. she finally moved to the other arm and complained that my blood was too thick and it wasnt coming out easily. I hope she got what was necessary.

I have to reconstitute some hCG . After the disappointing preg test sticks I got from two different brands of hCG, i will chuck out the bacteriostatic sodium chloride water that came with one, and order some straight bacteriostatic water without sodium chloride. I finished that last bag of pecans and caramel candy that I had laying around so i wont be tempted everyday. I intend to eat more proteins and skip the bread, rice, cake, bagels, pizza that i like to eat all the time. i stocked up on meats, seafood, cheeses, and eggs.
I am trying to switch up my diet, getting away from junkfood, as suggested.

Thanks again to all who have participated in this thread so far.

[BG]

Good idea. You were just killing yourself. Those test levels were as if you were on cycle but not training and being fat and lazy. Those are your issues.

[C27H40O3]

I just got the results of the bloodwork from last week that I ordered online. It was three weeks after completely stopping everything. No Test Cyp, proviron , hCG . I was starting to feel less energetic, more dragging ass, and oddly enough even a bit off balance. And as I posted before, no erections for three weeks.

That night I started my Test Cypionate up again, but at half the dose that i was taking before. I am using up my pharma brand Perrigo, rather than the 240 mg/ml UGL stuff I was using. I am waiting to order some hCG from a reliable source, to get that started again. The hCG I had was not testing positive on my cheap pregnancy test sticks.

I am still down ten pounds from where I was when I first stopped my injections three weeks ago. I am happy about that. I have adjusted my diet to be more protein, bacon, eggs, burgers, cheese, pork, and salads. I cut out the chocolate candy, cheese danishes, and cookies. I hope i have the willpower to stick to it.

Here is a shot of the bloodwork taken last week, right before I started up again. My test number had really crashed.

[lovbyts]

I just got the results of the bloodwork from last week that I ordered online. It was three weeks after completely stopping everything. No Test Cyp, proviron , hCG . I was starting to feel less energetic, more dragging ass, and oddly enough even a bit off balance. And as I posted before, no erections for three weeks.

That night I started my Test Cypionate up again, but at half the dose that i was taking before. I am using up my pharma brand Perrigo, rather than the 240 mg/ml UGL stuff I was using. I am waiting to order some hCG from a reliable source, to get that started again. The hCG I had was not testing positive on my cheap pregnancy test sticks.

I am still down ten pounds from where I was when I first stopped my injections three weeks ago. I am happy about that. I have adjusted my diet to be more protein, bacon, eggs, burgers, cheese, pork, and salads. I cut out the chocolate candy, cheese danishes, and cookies. I hope i have the willpower to stick to it.

Here is a shot of the bloodwork taken last week, right before I started up again. My test number had really crashed.

I'm at a loss for words

[C27H40O3]

I'm at a loss for words

How so?


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[lovbyts]

How so?


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Because it's like talking to a brick wall and Im sure everyone else feels the same and thats why they also have not replied.

You want to know what to do? Go back and start reading from the beginning. Try actually taking the advice given instead of keeping doing the exact opposite of what you are told. If you dont get it or you THINK you are doing what you are told consider visiting a good doctor for Dementia because you arent listening.

[C27H40O3]

Because it's like talking to a brick wall and Im sure everyone else feels the same and thats why they also have not replied.

You want to know what to do? Go back and start reading from the beginning. Try actually taking the advice given instead of keeping doing the exact opposite of what you are told. If you dont get it or you THINK you are doing what you are told consider visiting a good doctor for Dementia because you arent listening.

See, I had a feeling you weren’t really at a loss for words.


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[charger69]

See, I had a feeling you weren’t really at a loss for words.


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Cmon man. Lovbyts spent his time to respond- everyone else gave up and you address him with sarcasm???


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[GearHeaded]

200mg test per week..(can split dosage 100mg 2x per week)

fasted cardio in the morning (or a least a brisk 20-30 minute morning walk upon waking before breakfast )

300 grams protein per day (mainly from lean chicken breast, lean ground turkey or lean beef)... NOT burgers, cheese, and pork .

200 grams carbs per day , taken in mainly around your workouts pre and especially post . if you don't workout until say 5pm, then spend most your day eating only protein, fats, and veggies and then take in the carbs pre and post workout meals. carbs sources should be "clean" like rice and potato.

40 grams of fat per day . simply adding a half an avocado or some olive oil to a salad.

fill in the rest with a diversity vegetables.


do your morning cardio every single day . then train with weights 4-5 days per week.. I'd recommend a push, pull, legs or some sort of upper lower split with mainly all compound movements . your going to get more fat loss and calorie burn out of that type of split and doing compound moves then you would a typical bro split and isolating single body parts.

^ stick with that for 12 weeks . its that simple

[The Deadlifting Dog]

Gearheaded gave you a solid plan.

I would just like to stress one thing....
If you are not going to workout and diet then there is no reason to be on 200mg/week.

You have high blood pressure, shortness of breathe, and bad lipids.
200mg of test is putting you well into supraphysiological levels of test.

I am prescribed 80mg/week.

Most regular doctors start at 80-100mg/week.
Most TRT money centers start higher and prescribe AIs and peptides and other shit.
Many are in it for the money.

The only reason I can see to have you be on 200mg per week is so you can gain some muscle while losing fat.
If you don't exercise you won't gain muscle.
If you don't diet you won't lose fat.

[GearHeaded]

Gearheaded gave you a solid plan.

I would just like to stress one thing....
If you are not going to workout and diet then there is no reason to be on 200mg/week.

You have high blood pressure, shortness of breathe, and bad lipids.
200mg of test is putting you well into supraphysiological levels of test.

I am prescribed 80mg/week.

Most regular doctors start at 80-100mg/week.
Most TRT money centers start higher and prescribe AIs and peptides and other shit.
Many are in it for the money.

The only reason I can see to have you be on 200mg per week is so you can gain some muscle while losing fat.
If you don't exercise you won't gain muscle.
If you don't diet you won't lose fat.

agree completely

if your not going to be training consistently and doing cardio every day and eating and dieting properly .. then 200g of test is not necessary at all