Just Started TRT, Up and Down

Hey Guys. So I just started TRT a few weeks ago and I’m having mixed results so far. Lab work originally came out to 304, a low normal, and the lowest I have been tested at was 145.

I was put on 200mg cypionate 1x/week and I noticed some swings, so I came here and read up on splitting the dose to twice per week.

Last night was the end of the week so instead of injecting 1ml @200mg I did .5ml for the 100mg. Well, I felt it literally 2 hours later. At first I felt pretty good. Then I had a raging erection all night, it literally woke me up a few times. Now today I just feel exhausted. This seems to be the same sort of pattern I had with injecting 200mg. I feel great for a bit, then crash.

I’m seeing my doctor today to check in, I’m assuming he will want to do some labs to see what is going on. What should I make sure to have checked? My suspicion is that this is just too high of a dose, especially right off the bat, but who knows.

I’ll take whatever you got. I’m too exhausted to keep typing right now. Thanks in advance.

Read TRT: Protocol for Injections

U need to start at 100 a week total divided in 2 doses.
You need labs asap.
See lab sticky. Of course you get uncomfortable ups and downs when you inject that much at once.

Well shit. Suspicion confirmed. Just when I thought I finally had a doctor I could trust… never again will I be that naive.

Since your going to Dr anyway get labs even if you don’t go back to him.

Total t
Free t
Shbg
Estradiol sensitive
Prolactin
LH/Fsh if you never got
CBC
CMP
TSH
Free t3
Free t4
Reverse t3 if you can get
Lipid panel

You shouldn’t be getting any feeling from the cyp that quickly. No offense, but is probably all in your head.

Split your dose, be patient, be consistent. Even if you have your protocol dialed it will take time for your body to adjust.

Really. When he injected 200 at once per week his estradiol could have went high causing him to feel miserable. Does not take long.

Dude, I never have raging boners that wake me up at night. Couldn’t fake that if I wanted to. Even after… taking care of myself… the damn thing came back. Now today I feel soul crushingly awful. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

Thanks man. Yea, I have a chiropractor that will literally sign a lab sheet that I fill out whenever I want to get lab work done. I won’t be tied up by a doctor. I printed out the sticky as well to read while I’m waiting for my appt. :slight_smile:

Really. The physiological changes take time… certainly not hours.

If you’re only getting to 304 on 200mg once weekly, you must have really low SHBG which means this protocol is working against you. When I was on 200mg my levels were 1200+ and I’m a low SHBG guy which means you must be even lower, super low SHBG guys need smaller micro doses EOD or even ED.

Large doses will drive what little SHBG you have into the ground, excess androgens will lower already low SHBG even lower, SHBG is needed to activate testosterone at receptor sites. Little SHBG, little activation.

Low thyroid function will lower SHBG, pray you’re hyperthyroid otherwise TRT will be a challenge with lower SHBG.

Damn, sorry if I wasn’t clear. That was my number before starting. Don’t have after numbers yet.

So I just had my appointment and the doctor agreed with my assessment. I was thinking that I would have to cut the dose in half and do it twice weekly as one of you here has suggested and he agreed. No lab work for now but he wants to see me in 2 or 3 weeks and then maybe run some labs. So I will be on 50mg twice a week

Guys. I just realized I have 2 different sized needles. It’s a long story but basically I ended up getting needles from two different pharmacies. My doctor ordered 22-gauge and one pharmacist gave me one inch needles and the other gave me one and a half inch needles. I just noticed this today. I’m a small guy with a very small butt so I would assume one inch is okay for me. What do you think?

I think 22 gauge syringes are insane, I use 27 gauge insulin syringes and inject in shoulders.

Doctors are the biggest problem in TRT and most need to find a new doctor and that is not easy. Many doctors will not do TRT and most that do TRT do it horribly wrong. You need to study up in self-defense. You simply cannot be passive and need to take some responsibility for these aspects of your health.

There can be strong effects when starting TRT that are not related to how many times per week you inject. However your 200mg per week will create high E2 levels from T–>E2 aromatization. Injected 200 once per week create very high T levels and thus more T–>E2. As your T then drops and E2 increases you feel benefits slipping away.

Need:
location - affects diagnostic and treatment options.
age
weight
height
waist size
some medical details and medications
is fertility important to you now

TRT increases/restores some metabolic demands that can make one feel worse if adrenals or thyroid function are weak. Below, see where you can eval thyroid function via oral body temperatures. This can be more useful than thyroid lab results and then perhaps thyroid labs are not needed if body temps are good.

Many?most here are injecting subq in belly or over upper legs with #29 1/2" 0.5ml insulin syringes. That provides smoother T release which then works better with anastrozole to mange E2 near E2=22pg/ml - optimal for most.


Please read the stickies found here: About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman

  • advice for new guys - need more info about you
  • things that damage your hormones
  • protocol for injections
  • finding a TRT doc

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.

location - US, Rhode Island
age - 31
weight - 180
height - 5’8"
waist size - 38.5"
some medical details and medications - No medications. Daily supps include 1g epa/dha, 1/8 multivitamin, D 2000IU, resveratrol 200mg redisorb
is fertility important to you now - No.

Can’t take my temperature at the moment.

I shall take the time to read those stickies. It’s hard because low T is low energy, low focus, brain fog. Makes it tough to learn new complex concepts, but by the sound of it, learn I must.

EDIT: I did look at the thyroid sticky but I am unsure of timing/frequency for body temp measurements. Typically I seem to fall around 98.0 degrees Fahrenheit on most days that I have checked.

Updated the post with my temp @KSman

You should be 97.7F when you wake up and hit 98.6F mid-afternoon - avoiding eating, drinking, talking, walking etc for a while. Need both times reported please.

@KSman Thanks, I appreciate it. So yesterday seemed to fall in the normal range then. Today I took my temp 3 times.

7am - 97.7
2:30pm - 98.2
6pm - 98.7