I started TRT about three months ago. I am 27 years old, 5’9. I have gone from 149lbs to 170lbs since starting. I literally was not putting on muscle before-hand. I made no lb gains and no strength gains on similar workout programs (stalled completely in 2015). Working out 4 or 5 days a week depending on current program, eating a lot but not counting calories. I estimate 3k-3.5k a day varying.
My levels were not super low, 300 total, cant remember free. Symptoms made me go on TRT. The doctor I have was recommended by a few people. I read extensively about TRT before beginning.
Here is the schedule my doctor has me on:
1ml/200mg Test once a week. I inject in glute.
1mg Anastrozole 2x a week.
500 units HCG 2x a week.
Always on e block and hcg, cycling on T for 5 weeks, one off.
I am feeling pretty good. I am putting on a lot of muscle, have more energy, and my ED is better (was the dominant issue). I am getting some shoulder and back acne at the moment.
Although I feel great, I dont understand why he wants me to cycle. He says it is to keep my body naturally producing T but I have never heard of cycling for TRT. I also want to try 2x a week T injections as I have read it is better. I work four days a week and the end of my injection week are my days off so its harder to compare how I feel at the end of the week vs during. I am a police officer and there is no comparing being on and off duty.
My questions:
Should I cycle? I havent heard of cycling on TRT and I have enough left over in each bottle to not have to.
Should I go EOD injections of HCG? Me and my wife are going to start trying for our first baby soon and I cannot find studies on HCG comparing injection times. I imagine (on no factual basis, honestly) that 285 EOD would keep my production more steady. If anyone has experience or links please share.
If my results are fine so far on 1 injection a week, should I go to 2? I am most likely going to try 2 a week for a few weeks to compare.
Thanks in advance; I have found a lot of information here but havent quite found the answer for these specifically.
Your doc is an idiot. You don’t cycle TRT. He has you on more test and AI than you need to mimic ideal natural conditions. Most men start with 100mg/week and adjust after labs taken 4-6 weeks later.
No you shouldn’t cycle.
You should pull labs to see where you are at currently and probably need to reduce your T dose.
You should inject twice per week.
I only inject HCG twice a week but I know the forum consensus says EOD is better. Your call.
Inject T twice a week and take anastrozole at that time. You need steady T levels for T competitive anastrozole to work properly. Just do it.
250iu hCG subq EOD will preserver testes and fertility. Could switch to 25mg clomid EOD in prep for pregnancy. 500iu a week is inadequate. hCG half life dictates what is needed.
Evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. Thyroid hormone fT3 is what gets the job done and it regulates mitochondrial activity, the source of ATP which is the universal currency of cellular energy. This is part of the body’s temperature control loop. This can get messed up if you are iodine deficient. In many countries, you need to be using iodized salt. Other countries add iodine to dairy or bread.
KSman is simply a regular member on this site. Nothing more other than highly active.
I can be a bit abrupt in my replies and recommendations. I have a lot of ground to cover as this forum has become much more active in the last two years. I can’t follow threads that go deep over time. You need to respond to all of my points and requests as soon as possible before you fall off of my radar. The worse problems are guys who ignore issues re thyroid, body temperatures, history of iodized salt. Please do not piss people off saying that lab results are normal, we need lab number and ranges.
The value that you get out of this process and forum depends on your effort and performance. The bulk of your learning is reading/studying the suggested stickies.
KSman, is dosing the anastrozole at the time of injection most optimal? Doc has me dosing 24 hours after the T injection. On an empty stomach. Sorry to hijack, just curious.
I’ve never heard of anyone cycling on, off testosterone whose levels are already sub-optimal, if your levels were fine and it was for muscle gain I would understand. Why you doctor would want to preserve sub-optimal test levels is beyond me. I don’t understand how some doctors make it out of medical school, time for new doctor as this one is not equipped to help you!
Had typo in original post, fixed. Doc has me on 1000iu hcg a week, split between 2 injections. Today started EOD, injected 285 to keep current dosage, just split. Would this be enough for normal fertility? Still cant find any studies.