Hi everyone,
As suggested by the very knowledgeable austinite, I am posting a comparison of my pre-cycle and mid-cycle bloodwork as well as the great results I have achieved thus far. I am so grateful to every member here and the time and advice they are willing to provide. I don’t think it’s absurd to credit my progress and lack of negative side effects (for the most part) to all of the advice and information I have gathered since becoming a member on this site. The only disconcerting side effect that I have noticed is water retention. I knew some water retention was bound to happen; but since a week and a half ago, my legs have started to retain fluid pretty badly. I don’t eat out and watch my sodium intake and I drink around a gallon of water per day, so I’m not sure what else to do. To give people a sense of what I’m talking about here; after coming home from work, my socks leave some rather deep sock lines. I can also push on the top of my calf bone, and an indent will form. I try to elevate my legs on the trashcan under my desk as often as I can, but it doesn’t seem to help much. I have taken an Epsom salt bath, but that didn’t really do much. When I wake up, my legs are perfectly fine though. If there are any other tips that anyone can think of to help this fluid retention, I’d appreciate it.
Besides that side effect, I have not noticed any other others. My temper is fine, I have no acne, no hair loss, no stretch marks, no joint pain, very minor testicular atrophy (if any at all), no unwanted hair growth, and normal semen volume. Meanwhile I have gained around 20 pounds, my arms have grown by about one inch, I have increased my strength tremendously, and my bodyfat percentage seems to not have gone up much. While I know once my cycle ends, my weight and size will drop as well; but I am very confident I will be at a size I was not able to achieve naturally. For someone who has always had a very difficult time gaining weight, I couldn’t help but be skeptical about the weight and size growth I’d experience. I know I read how AAS has affected everyone, but one can’t truly understand until he/she has experienced it for himself/herself. A few weeks ago, I also got my bodyfat percentage tested at my gym. While I know the methodology is far from the most accurate out there, it was nice to have some approximation. The 3-point skinfold test showed 9.4% while the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) test showed me at 12.4%. I know both methods aren’t as accurate as the BOD POD test I had done before my cycle (was 11.2%), but it was still nice to see some measurement. I began my AAS cycle on 8/23/14, and my mid-cycle bloodwork was taken on 10/16/14 or around 8.5 weeks into my cycle.
Anyway, I have attached both my pre-cycle and mid-cycle bloodwork as well as a brief summary below. I wanted to thank everyone again (especially austinite) for all of the advice I have been fortunate enough to receive. Thank you all SOOOO MUCH!
Hematocrit: 50.4% to 49.6% (net decrease of 0.8%)
Estradiol (E2): 16 pg/mL to 28 pg/mL (net increase of 12 pg/mL)
Total Testosterone: 680 ng/dL to >1500 ng/dL (net increase of >820 ng/dL)
Free and weakly bound testosterone: 71.4 ng/dL to >558.0 ng/dL (net increase of >486.6 ng/dL)
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