Starting TRT Healthy

[The Crunge]

Hello,

I am 42 years old; I am 199# at 15% body fat. I workout regularly and don't need to lose many pounds of fat; I want to make some mass gains. I read all over on TRT forums that everyone is getting amazing health results often accompanied by a 10# mass gain in a month! I can't even imagine.

My doctor and I are starting a x2/week 200mg Test cyp IM injection w/ a 2x/ week HCG and 1x/ week Anastrozole. As so far, I feel confident with my doctor, but I havent' even done my first shot haha. Our goal is 1000-1200 ng/dl.

I'm hoping someone could help me with nutrition for a clean weight gain? Perhaps a book recommendation? Thank you sirs!


- Crunge

[The Deadlifting Dog]

Do you have Low T?

[The Crunge]

Hi, Thank you for your response. I had a ton of symptoms: tired, night sweats, foggy head, etc. To my pleasant surprise, my T wasn't terribly low by normal standards (450 ng/dl).

My doc wants to bring my T up to see if my symptoms abate, and I can't complain.

[Paragon73]

I say go for it! I was in the same situation as you a couple of years ago before I started TRT. I feel great now and I'm happy with my decision. BTW, 450 might not be low but it's far from optimal, which you already know. Just be aware it's a lifetime commitment and a LOT of injections. You might consider starting out with SubQ injections right away to take advantage of all the early blood tests.

[bullshark99]

Personally I would slow it down a bit. 450, not so bad, 200 mgs plus HcG per week is a somewhat hefty dose. What if you don't feel any better? Are you prepared for 40 plus yrs of injections because you want to gain 10 lbs of mass quickly.
Unless I'm misunderstanding a cycle with proper PCT may be what you are really looking for. For starters to answer your question directly, go to the nutrition forum, a wealth of info, as you know this is where it all starts!

[kelkel]

Books:

Testosterone A Man's Guide, by Nelson Vergel
Testosterone for Life, by Abraham Morgantaler

450 serum T is on the lower end and odds are your free T was crappy. Free T is what's important, not total T. Free T is what works for us. It's nice to hear your doc is willing to prescribe HCG as well as anastrozole. Caveat is he's starting you at the high end of the dosage scale (assuming you mean 100mgs twice per week, right?) which can be tough to handle initially when it comes to sides. It's always better to start low and titrate up based on blood work. Your goal should be to get into a range you're physically comfortable with and to hopefully avoid using an AI at all. Odds are you won't be able to do this starting at that dosage.

Testosterone doesn't just impact T levels. It effects many things with a critical one being your RBC's. It can cause them to increase and thus thicken. Hence your blood getting thicker. Many need to give blood regularly to maintain healthy levels while on TRT. Another reason to start lower. I'd seriously suggest you start around 100 mgs per week, pull bloods in about 6 weeks and adjust from there.

Both of the above books are great reads on TRT by some of the best in the business.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

[The Crunge]

Gentlemen, thank you all for this information. i appreciate the critical thought & real-world advice. I'm going to challenge my provider regarding the starting dosage; I don't want to feel like crap! I spent the last 3 years trying to fix that, haha. For me, this is intimidating, and I appreciate everyone's advice greatly.

[The Crunge]

Thank you! I was second guessing myself when that 450 number came back; I began thinking, maybe nothing is wrong, and I am being a whiner, hahah. But as Kelkel mentions, it's all about the free T; I hope I'm clever enough to get this all down, haha. - Best

[kelkel]

Forgot one book:

Testosterone Replacement Therapy, A Recipe for Success. By Dr. Crisler.

It'll be out in a couple weeks.

Now is the time to start maintaining a file of your own blood work as well. You'll be glad you did later.

[The Crunge]

Forgot one book:

Testosterone Replacement Therapy, A Recipe for Success. By Dr. Crisler.

It'll be out in a couple weeks.

Now is the time to start maintaining a file of your own blood work as well. You'll be glad you did later.

Right on, thank you, I'll see if i can pre-order on Amazon and I've just created a server folder for blood work, haha.

[bullshark99]

Crunge,

IDK if the "critical thought" was directed to my response, if so I may have come across the wrong way. I went on TRT at age 42 with total T of 417, very similar to you. Now 5 yrs later, although I'm not complaining how I feel, I was misinformed from the get go and will be pinning the rest of my life cause some sales guy at a clinic wanted to make a fast buck.
I'm not questioning your symptoms or thinking of you as a whinner but if I could go back in time 5 yrs I probably would forgo TRT, now I have no choice. Realistically a restart would be futile. If you are looking for a solid nutrition plan and to gain some mass just make sure you are at peace with TRT for life, that's all.
Best of luck

[kelkel]

Crunge,

IDK if the "critical thought" was directed to my response, if so I may have come across the wrong way. I went on TRT at age 42 with total T of 417, very similar to you. Now 5 yrs later, although I'm not complaining how I feel, I was misinformed from the get go and will be pinning the rest of my life cause some sales guy at a clinic wanted to make a fast buck.
I'm not questioning your symptoms or thinking of you as a whinner but if I could go back in time 5 yrs I probably would forgo TRT, now I have no choice. Realistically a restart would be futile. If you are looking for a solid nutrition plan and to gain some mass just make sure you are at peace with TRT for life, that's all.
Best of luck

Well said. And I'll add, make sure it's what's really needed at this time and that something else isn't inhibiting your natural test production. Many things can interfere with your endogenous test. It would stink to go on TRT years before you actually needed to.

[bullshark99]

Thank you for that follow up Kel, that was exactly what I was attempting to relay. I'm not the most articulate at times.....

[kelkel]

Thank you for that follow up Kel, that was exactly what I was attempting to relay. I'm not the most articulate at times.....

Ha, no worries. Got your six.

[johnny the blade]

Like Crunge referred to, all the people who report incredible gains like 10lbs of muscle a month from trt; I assume these are people who were really unhealthy and lived an unhealthy lifestyle (poor diet, no exercise etc..) who adopted a healthy lifestyle along with trt which lead to such incredible gains and this isn't the norm. Someone like Crunge or myself who already train and diet then introduce trt will probably see minimal gains. Don't get me wrong, ive definitely seen and felt improvement since trt, but not "incredible" gains like some report and many in the industry advertise. Thoughts?

[Beethoven]

My .02 following on what bullshark had to say. First off I would look at my free test and see what is going on before I start pinning. That total number is not too bad and you may have other alternatives . Secondly no one I've heard of on trt doses gains 10 lbs of muscle in a month. Simply not realistic. Trt is not gear and is for life. You should have all the information in front of you before embarking down this road. You should make sure this is your only hope .