How much test can you take before own production shuts down?

[flatscat]

I have always understood that it is an all or nothing outcome when exogenous test is added - any amount that mimics anywhere close to natty production will shut down your axis - which would be 3+ mg's a day. I would love to hear/see opinions that contradict this.

We see this all the time when guys are started on a very low daily dose of gel.

I guess it also depends on the threshold number for saying one is "shut down".

[HRTstudent]

I have always understood that it is an all or nothing outcome when exogenous test is added - any amount that mimics anywhere close to natty production will shut down your axis - which would be 3+ mg's a day. I would love to hear/see opinions that contradict this.

We see this all the time when guys are started on a very low daily dose of gel.

I guess it also depends on the threshold number for saying one is "shut down".

being shut down is not all or nothing.... there are varying degrees. Any amount will impact natural production, but the degree to that depends on how much exogenous T is administered as well as physiology differences.

[JohnnyVegas]

being shut down is not all or nothing.... there are varying degrees. Any amount will impact natural production, but the degree to that depends on how much exogenous T is administered as well as physiology differences.

Since most of us (on TRT) take more exogenous test than the body would produce on its own, I think it is safe to say that we will all shut down. We counteract that with HCG to a certain extent, but that is really for testicular atrophy rather than keeping production up.

I have read that 200mg/wk will result in shut down in as little as two weeks. Not sure how it would work with 100mg/wk.

[steroid.com 1]

I have always understood that it is an all or nothing outcome when exogenous test is added - any amount that mimics anywhere close to natty production will shut down your axis - which would be 3+ mg's a day. I would love to hear/see opinions that contradict this.

We see this all the time when guys are started on a very low daily dose of gel.

I guess it also depends on the threshold number for saying one is "shut down".

Couldn't be explained any better.

hrt - Please provide something supportive of varying degrees of shut down. I have always been under the belief that any increase in serum levels over what the body is used to producing (especially in hypogonadal men) will induce HPTA shutdown to a pretty significant degree.

I do understand that some men will not shut down 100% and there are variances here but for the most part they are close to shut down if not shut down.

I think the challenge here, beyond LH/FSH assays, it's hard to determine if a man is shut down besides the neg sides that come with it like testicular atrophy and other symptoms.

[dikow]

I have always understood that it is an all or nothing outcome when exogenous test is added - any amount that mimics anywhere close to natty production will shut down your axis - which would be 3+ mg's a day. I would love to hear/see opinions that contradict this.

We see this all the time when guys are started on a very low daily dose of gel.

I guess it also depends on the threshold number for saying one is "shut down".

Perhaps this "low daily dose of gel" you mention is still higher than what the body naturally produces, hence why problems could happen.

I think the key is to administer daily a micro dose that is smaller than what your body would produce naturally. I will do this experiment with a T Cream 50mg/mL , using only 0.1ml a day (5mg of T daily).

However, 5mg is still higher than my natural production, but with the cream the absorption rate is around 10%, so only 0.5mg of T would be going to my system daily. I will start the experiment with this very low dose and up the dose every 3 months, to assess any progress in terms of T supplementation instead of the traditional replacement.

Any thoughts/comments/warnings on this approach bros? Please let me know before I start the experiment.

I hope that with T micro dosing I can get more benefits than those T Boosters!