May 2020 Results - First time go with TRT - Thoughts?

[TMan709]

Hi everyone. New to these forums so go easy

35 year old male, 6'0 220 lbs, lifted for 11 years now and have not been able to break plateaus for about 5 years.

Been feeling progressively like sh*t, so I decided to get my labs done. My family doc said they were 'fine'.


Hemoglobin - 140 (range 135-175 g/L)

Free T4 (Final) - 14.3 (range 9.0-23.0 pmol/L)

Free T3 (Final) - 5.1 (range 3.5 - 6.5 pmol/L)

PSA Total (Final) - 1.44 (range 0.00-2.50 ug/L)

Estradiol (Final) - <30 (range <2000 pmol/L)

DHEAS (Final) - 10.6 (range <14.0 umol/L)

Testosterone Free (Final) - 178.3 (range 175.0 - 700.0 pmol/L)


I felt my T was on the low end. Another test a few months ago was 174.0. My doctor said that the low T numbers weren't responsible for my fatigue, brain fog, sleep issues, etc, etc.

So I went to a clinic that specialized in TRT and immediately they put me on 0.6ml of Test E 200mg per week as well as a half of 1mg tablet per week of Anastrozole.

From research, it says it can be a few weeks before the effects of Test E are felt, however maybe it's the placebo effect, I dunno, but after the first shot, I feel quite alive again.

I have to do follow-up labs in 8 weeks of this regimen to see where I'm at. Then I'll have a good understanding of my levels. I want to get bigger and stronger, so I'm hoping I'm on the right path and am open to suggestions, opinions, thoughts.

[Youthful55guy]

Been feeling progressively like sh*t, so I decided to get my labs done. My family doc said they were 'fine'.

Testosterone Free (Final) - 178.3 (range 175.0 - 700.0 pmol/L)

I felt my T was on the low end. Another test a few months ago was 174.0. My doctor said that the low T numbers weren't responsible for my fatigue, brain fog, sleep issues, etc, etc.

So I went to a clinic that specialized in TRT and immediately they put me on 0.6ml of Test E 200mg per week as well as a half of 1mg tablet per week of Anastrozole.

From research, it says it can be a few weeks before the effects of Test E are felt, however maybe it's the placebo effect, I dunno, but after the first shot, I feel quite alive again.

I have to do follow-up labs in 8 weeks of this regimen to see where I'm at. Then I'll have a good understanding of my levels. I want to get bigger and stronger, so I'm hoping I'm on the right path and am open to suggestions, opinions, thoughts.

A couple of comments:

Your Free T is very low, which indicates either you have low Total T or you have high SHBG. It cannot be determined by the labs you have. Not that it matters, the treatment is the same, but it is good to know if you are fighting high SHBG, so you may wish to have both Total T and SHBG included in your next set of labs in ADDITION to Free T. You should only be making dose adjustments based on Free T, but the other numbers are good information to have.

Your original doc was wrong when he said that the low Free T numbers could not be responsible for your symptoms. How much lower does your free T need to go before he is concerned? I felt like $#!# when I started out at the bottom of the Free T range too. I had mid-range Total T levels but very high SHBG levels, which caused bottom of the range Free T (7.1 pg/mL on a normal scale of 6.6 - 18.1).

With Free T as low as yours was, I doubt that it is placebo effect. I too felt it very quickly. Actually, a little faster for me because the compounded T that they used way back then (8+ years) in my old TRT clinic had a small amount of T-prop blended in and that kicks in a lot faster. I felt like a new man overnight. However for straight T-cyp or T-eth, I would imagine it might take a day or 2 longer.

Regarding your protocol, I would split that into at least 2 injections per week (60 mg each). Three per week or every 3 days (my recommendation) would be better. You will have a smoother ride and have fewer side effects without the big spikes in T that come with one big injection. I recommend 0.25 ml of the 200 mg/mL T-eth every 3 days. You should be able to inject that with an insulin syringe. I use a 28G 1/2 inch insulin syringe to inject similar volumes.

I'd also ditch the AI. If you use frequent dosing of reasonable amounts of T, there is no need for an AI. Particularly 1mg. That's a lot and will probably crash your E2 and make you feel worse than before. Guys need E2 too. Without it, no libido and a bad case of ED.

With regard to 'getting big", that's not going to happen with 120mg/week. It's a very reasonable starting dose for TRT, but nowhere near bodybuilding doses. Not that I condone the use of TRT for anabolic use. I simply think you should separate the goals of TRT from the goals of bodybuilding. With TRT, you can expect reasonable gains in muscle comparable to any normal guy in their mid-30's. Typically, that's a few pounds of muscle much gain a year (2-10 pounds???) if you workout regularly and wisely.

Finally, I would read the sticky at the top of the forum page on "Best practices in TRT".

[TMan709]

Thanks for the response. I feel good splitting the injections. At first, I accidentally did the 0.6 for the first then a few days later, did 0.3 and felt phenomenal but now that I'm doing 0.3 twice a week, I feel 'okay'. I feel there's much more potential to have the energy and drive I'm seeking. Less than a month for follow-up bloodwork. My workouts have been much better - I'm able to at least complete them without tripling up on PWO.