Steroid Question: Will I go back to "normal" after a cycle ?

[SH1967]

A cycle is a much larger dose for a set duration of time with the goal being to come off and restart your HPTA resuming your bodies endogenous testosterone production. TRT is a much lower, healthier dose meant to restore youthful levels of testosterone for life, with minimal to no deleterious effects.

Do the HPTA levels come back to pre TRT levels if someone needs to come off TRT ? I know it is meant for life. However if there is a financial, insurance coverage, medical or another unforseen reason I would like to know. I would like to only enhance but be able to return to pre TRT levels if stopping for whatever reason.

No doubt they are on TRT by this time. It's simply a fact of aging. Everyone will be on it, or should be, sometime in their life as natural testosterone levels lessen over time. Then throw in so many others things that can excerbate the suppression of endogenous test. Just makes sense to get good blood work baselines. Re the stars mentioned Stallone is well known for his GH use and Canseco is a proponent of AAS.

What is the cost for the blood work needed ?

Does insurance typically cover this ? ( I notice the testosterone gels and testosterone injections as a covered Rx on my insurance. Not sure if this is for TRT or something else)

What is the cost for the TRT injections/gels/HGH or whatever else may be needed ?

How do I find a Dr. that will prescribe this ? I understand many will say it is not needed if levels are medium to low. Some Dr.'s will not prescribe because it is not part of their practice.

Thanks!

[kelkel]

Do the HPTA levels come back to pre TRT levels if someone needs to come off TRT ? I know it is meant for life. However if there is a financial, insurance coverage, medical or another unforseen reason I would like to know. I would like to only enhance but be able to return to pre TRT levels if stopping for whatever reason.



What is the cost for the blood work needed ?

Does insurance typically cover this ? ( I notice the testosterone gels and testosterone injections as a covered Rx on my insurance. Not sure if this is for TRT or something else)

What is the cost for the TRT injections/gels/HGH or whatever else may be needed ?

How do I find a Dr. that will prescribe this ? I understand many will say it is not needed if levels are medium to low. Some Dr.'s will not prescribe because it is not part of their practice.

Thanks!

No one can definitively answer that. Simply know that the longer your HPTA is shut down the less likely you have full recovery. Even one steroid cycle can negatively impact your endogenous levels. It's the nature of the beast. When it comes to cost, a bottle of test at Costco can cost around $40 if memory serves me correctly. At 100 mgs per week that's 20 weeks worth. Quite cheap.

If TRT is a legitimate need then insurance would cover it. To what extent depends on your policy. Yes, if your policy says gels and injections then it's for TRT. There are private labs available in the states where you can choose your own blood work and get it done very inexpensively at any Labcorp or elsewhere. Been a while since I've looked but a guess would be maybe 2-300 bucks for what you'd need to get by.

Most doc's will prescribe some type of TRT. Issue is finding one that will treat you by how you feel and not as a number on a chart. Best advice I can give you is to get full BW like I mentioned a few posts up and have insurance cover it. Do it as a physical and simply ask your doc to use the list you provide. Then and only then can you fully assess whether you need TRT or if something else is suppressing your natural levels.

[SH1967]

If TRT is a legitimate need then insurance would cover it. To what extent depends on your policy. Yes, if your policy says gels and injections then it's for TRT. There are private labs available in the states where you can choose your own blood work and get it done very inexpensively at any Labcorp or elsewhere. Been a while since I've looked but a guess would be maybe 2-300 bucks for what you'd need to get by.

What is the "blood work" test called that I should ask for ?

Is there anything to add to the blood work that is needed that is sometimes left out ?

Most doc's will prescribe some type of TRT. Issue is finding one that will treat you by how you feel and not as a number on a chart. Best advice I can give you is to get full BW like I mentioned a few posts up and have insurance cover it. Do it as a physical and simply ask your doc to use the list you provide. Then and only then can you fully assess whether you need TRT or if something else is suppressing your natural levels.

Is "full blood work" what I should ask for, or is there a name for the type of test needed. I am mainly concerned about testosterone levels and TRT.

What do you mean use the "list" I provide ? What is the list ?

I was thinking I would go to a urologist for this type of test, as I have went to him before for suspected BPH and that seems like the right type of Dr., does this sound correct ?

Thanks!