HRT for 23 Year Old

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

I am a 23 year old college student and athlete, and I have been on HRT for about 8 years. I recieve the treatment as complications due to childhood cancer and the ensuing chemotherapy and radiation left my body with a small capacity to produce testosterone. No matter, it didnt prevent me from growing to 6’6" and 205 lbs lean with therapy.

Since there is a serious shortage of other guys in my position (early 20’s getting LEGAL test) I havent been able to compare dosages and results with anyone.

I have been on Androgel Pump for the last two years at a dosage of 10g/day at 1% androgel. While I have had good energy and been able to gain strength, I still feel as though I should be at a higher energy level. Unlike most of you guys, I have never felt what “normal” feels like as I have grown up on the HRT. Recently (today) I switched to injectables as I have read that they are much more potent with fewer side effects, plus as an extremely active guy its hard for me to be consistent on application. my dosage now is 300mg/week.

I really dont know what to expect here, I hope for better sleep, strength and size gains and to finally shake this lethargic feeling which follows me around. Sex drive has never been a problem however, thank god.

Any info you guys have on results you have gotten with injectables vs. androgel is very welcome. Like I said, I am pretty unique in my age here, so i could really use the advice on what to expect. Let me know if you have any questions.

2

What are your free and total test levels and what type of test ester are you using?

3

I am using cypionate, levels around 620/80ish with the androgel (not a guess, they just fluctuated around these numbers

4

I think you’ll feel a big boost with 300/wk. Split it into two shots of 150 each to keep your levels more even.

620 is not a bad number for a feeling of well being.

500mg/wk of cyp is a beginner cycle for test used for performance enhancement.

I feel like I’m top of the world energy wise when on 500mg. I’m 44 however.

5

[quote]hedo wrote:
I think you’ll feel a big boost with 300/wk. Split it into two shots of 150 each to keep your levels more even.

620 is not a bad number for a feeling of well being.

500mg/wk of cyp is a beginner cycle for test used for performance enhancement.

I feel like I’m top of the world energy wise when on 500mg. I’m 44 however.[/quote]

If you absorbed 10% of the T in the gel, then you would get 10mg of T per day. And that is the [g]estimate of the typical natural production in normal guys.

100mg of test cyp (almost exactly the same as eth) per week, then 70% of that will convert to T for 70mg per week, or 10mg per day. 100mg per week is the typical starting dose for TRT, then BW provides guidance for dose adjustment.

300mg/wk will triple your effective dose. And as transdermal absorption is low for some, as your numbers suggest, you may be close to increasing your dose by a factor of 4!

Transdermals do produce more E and DHT than injections for the same doses. But in your case [dose], injections will increase E and DHT, not decrease.

DHT fuels sex drive, male body hair, acne and scalp hair loss [for those who have the genetic tendency for that]. Also will make prostate problems, if any, worse.

Increased E can create gyno. That seems to be something that some are vulnerable to and others not. E can mess up how you feel and think. Some men get depressed and brain fogged from E. E can also kill libido and morning wood.

Whenever T is increased, there can be a transient spike in energy and sex drive. But that can go away as E levels increase in response. Then the increased E leads to higher SHBG release from the liver. The SHBG then soaks up more T to reduce the free T levels. So it is hard to make proper judgements of the merit of increased doses when you get that huge initial ‘reward’. But you have to wait 2 or 3 months to know what the final outcome will be.

As E levels increase, the E starts to compete for T receptors and it blocks the action of T. So E competes with T, increases SHBG that reduced FT.

With increased amounts of T, the cells will start to express fewer T receptors, so there is also that diminishing return effect.

You need to have some aromatase inhibitor on hand. When E is messing you up, at least when for a few months, taking AI can can create some fast improvements in terms of libido and sexual performance. But there are other changes to the reduced E that will take 2-3 months to happen. You do not need E levels that exceed “normal range” to have E problems.

Your dosing should be driven by symptoms, not exclusively by BW. You do not want to reduce E too much as that can also mess you up. Arimidex has the advantage of being effective and self limiting. Femara is very ‘harsh’ and can easily take some too far in E reduction. Femara is good for short term attack on gyno, but might be the wrong way to go for continuous E control.

Any fertility issues? HCG?

6

I’ll echo everything that ksman said.

The amount of T you were getting before was perfect. You want a similar amount in shots. 100mg per week, split every other day.

Testosterone is not your problem. Something else is out of wack.

What is your estradoil level?

How about your thyroid functioning. T3? T4? TSH? All these are important numbers.

Given your age and height, Im assuming your GH levels are solid. Dont worry about test. Find out what your estradoil, t3, t4, TSH hormone levels are. They all have just an important effect on energy levels.

Im assuming you don’t have functioning testicals anymore. So hCG is probably not an option. No worry. Concentrate on whats right and how to improve whats wrong.