45 y/o with primary hypogonadism and below normal T levels . I’ve been using 100mg once weekly for 6 weeks - before TRT I had little symptoms of low T . During the last 6 weeks I have had some muscle gains and fat loss ; no mood changes ( mood seems fine ) ; a few weeks of tender nipples ; testicals shrank ; a couple instances of mild ED ( never had that ) .
Dr wants to wait several months to retest blood for E2 and other levels before rx given for AI or HCG . MY QUESTION : How long does an average person take to level out once starting TRT
Everyone is different, so there is no easy answer. Most folks here get bloodwork done every 6 weeks while trying to get “dialed in”. Right now, your E2 is spiking - hence the tender nips and ED. Your testes are shrinking due to the introduction of exogenous test, and will continue to shrink unless you add in hcg. Your E2 issues will continue to get worse until you add in an AI. Tell your doc you need to have more bloodwork done ASAP to get things headed in the right direction. You may need to source your own AI. Also, smaller, more frequent injections will help with the T>E2 conversion. You’ll also likely feel better, since you won’t be subjected to such swings in T level. Read through the stickies at the top (a couple of times, even) because there is a lot of great information there. You may want to print them out and take them to your doctor, and help “educate” him so he can in turn help you better.
Thanks for input . I need to work on getting a rx AI ( I take DIM ) . So far my Dr has been comfortable prescribing the T for home injection use ( although he wanted me to do EOW injections ) . He thinks after my body becomes accustomed to it for a few months my symptoms of higher E should go away on own . He is generous with bloodwork testing so I can get a picture of what is going on soon . ( btw my nipples are not tender now ) WHAT BLOOD TESTS SHOULD I REQUEST ?
I would go straight for liquid anastrozole. The tablets are a pain to cut up. It can be purchased as a research chemical also with no script (not sure about in South Africa though).
Anyone can become accustomed to not feeling well. I did it for years. OR, you can control your E2 and avoid all those nasty side effects. Your doctor has a lot of learning to do. Most do.
Some do well on weekly injections. Hell, I’ve known guys who do just fine on bi-weekly injections. I think catfish was the one who made this awesome chart on how TT varies according to different injections protocols. Take THAT to your doctor if catfish will send it to you. EOD seems to work the best for most guys.
Blood testing on TRT can be found in the blood testing sticky at the top of the forum.
I remember that chart, but it wasn’t me. KSMAN may have it. The blood work you need done is in the sticky at the top.
Your body WILL NOT get “used” to the elevated E2 levels, period. It will continue to get worse. It won’t work itself out. I think a good portion of us here use the research chem AI - easier to dose as mentioned. Many docs aren’t cool prescribing a “breast cancer med for women” to male patients. Just shows they don’t really know what is going on…anyway…
Multiple, small injections per week will help. While some guys are fine with it weekly or bi-weekly, most do better (and FEEL better) with more frequent pins. Isn’t this why you sought treatment to begin with? To feel better?
The reason I started TRT was because my total T LEVEL was below the charts and being that I have historically had small nuts my dr said I have primary gonadism - strangely enough , I did not have common symptoms of low T - no ED , muscular build ( although fat around mid section ) hairy body , normal energy . I decided to try the TRT injections out of curiosity that I could be even better than I was in regards to muscle and fat status . ( and after 6 weeks on this stuff I am more muscular and less fat ) my goal was to get my T level up to the high end of normal and stay there .
My dr thoughts are that if I stay within normal range , the T won’t aromatize into E and I won’t need an AI ( I heard this is possible , but can’t be predicted because each person processes T differently ) I will get bloodwork done to see E2 levels and how my body is handling the 100 mg per week T cyp . ( btw I do take 150mg DIM as a hope it may help as a AI )