T Nation

My ongoing TRT log (Scoremonger)

#1

Hey everyone, I’m 40 years old 6’1” 210lbs and 4 weeks into my protocol (100mg cyp over two 50mg doses in the week). Long story but I don’t have great labs from before I started. My t was about 300 and free t was 6 on a 8-12 scale or something. We did get lh and fsh levels and they came back fine. I don’t have any pre trt e2 or shbg levels. I’m working with my pcp w insurance. I plan to get my levels checked in a couple weeks and I will request more and better labs.

So far I haven’t really experienced a ton of benefits from the trt. I’ve always struggled with little to no libido and poor erections. Often tired with brain fog. And I haven’t experienced a significant improvement. My days have been a roller coaster. Lots of blood pressure type pulsing (but bp is okay per my home monitoring). Feeling more flushed and Hotter. More energy but some insomnia. I fee like my own production has shut down this week because I’m more tired than previously and I had my injection today. I’m beginning to wonder if this trt option wasn’t ideal for me. Is this a common experience to not have much success in the first few weeks? What should I do at this point? Wait it out and stick w this protocol until bloods? Thanks a lot for your knowledge guys.

Bounding Pulse 5 Weeks In
#2

100mg is a pretty low dose, not even a replacement dose for some guys, so your numbers could be just as bad or worse than when you started.

Get you levels checked (be sure to include SHBG). Also get a full thyroid panel done (TSH, FT3, FT4 at least). Low T and low thyroid symptoms overlap a bit so you might be experiencing both. Up your dose to 120mg/week minimum. 140mg is a better starting dose.

You have the right idea dosing twice a week. I wouldn’t change that.

Are you taking anything besides testosterone? AI or HCG? If so, I would recommend dropping it while starting your protocol.

#3

Men on TRT usually to check progress test for Total T, Free T, SHBG and estrogen, but if there are thyroid problems (normal doesn’t always cut it) or other issues going on, TRT cannot work very well. In fact low thyroid hormones share the same symptoms as low-T and can often overlap.

The feeling hotter and flushed comment means your body is trying to adapt to the higher hormone levels and you will need labs no sooner than 6-8 weeks where you will see if your hormones are sufficiently elevated.

It sounds like everything is going as expected. It can be scary, but I assure you a lot of us went through the same thing. The blood pressure, pumping sensations like I was on a roller coaster.

By 6 weeks things should calm down, if not that means there is more work ahead, usually the dosage needs adjustment, increase/decrease and/or maybe even greater shot frequency, but really everyone is different.

TRT is a marathon, not a sprint, the half lives are still building up in your system, testosterone cyp (half life 7-8 days) steady state in 40 days, but may take longer for your body to actually start using these higher hormone levels.

Some guys are more and less sensitive to testosterone than others. Based on your androgen sensitivity, you may need more or less circulating testosterone in your blood to get the benefits of TRT.

There is always Discount Labs where you can order any missing tests your doctor missed or refuses to test. If your protocol is any indication, I would be surprised if your doctor wasn’t capable.

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#4

Had the same shit when I started. It went away on its own so hang in there. 100mg is very little and likely not your optimal dose but it’s the one you have so give it 2 months and see where you are. You can always go up if needed.

#5

Thanks for the article. I fee like my own t shut down this week and it feels like crap. Achey. Tired. Depressed feeling. Does that rebound at all?

#6

No. You’ll stay shut down as long as you’re taking T. 100mg is def on the low end for most people.

Do you think your doc would entertain going to 150 now or is he going to make you wait a few months first?

#7

My guess is that he would prefer we wait until getting bloodwork. I was curious if things leveled out after a week or two. I know the t stays shut down while on TRT. I just didn’t know if there’s a leveling out of how one feels.

#8

I don’t expect you’ll feel any worse than you do now if that’s what you mean. Levels from your injections may continue to increase a little more but I wouldn’t expect it to be much.

I’d about skip an injection near your next blood draw (assuming you still feel bad) to make your results as low as possible so he’ll up the dose. May not be necessary depending on the doc but there are a lot stories around here of docs saying “yep, you’re fine now” as soon as someone gets inside low end of the normal range. Hopefully you don’t run into that.

#9

I think that’s what I’m dealing with in regards to my dr. He mentioned one time that levels in the 500 range would keep me from getting clomid.

#10

Ah. I suspect you may be looking for a new doc at some point then if he doesn’t want to increase the dose enough to actually relieve your symptoms. Hopefully not. There are plenty of TRT clinics that will give you whatever you want basically but they typically don’t take insurance.

#11

Yeah. I’m torn because at the end of the day, there’s a value proposition to work through. It was much easier when it was only costing me about $500/year with insurance. Now, I have to decide if it’s worth the 1500-2000/year. Ouch.

#12

Pretty much. There’s always the grey market option that’s a good bit cheaper but obviously there’s always question of whether you’re getting exactly what you’re paying for if you go that way (not to mention the legalities).

#13

When your levels are at a range that is optimal for you, you should start feeling good at 6-8 weeks, some take a little longer to start feeling good. As of right now your levels are in flux and your body is trying to reach homeostasis.

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#14

Not much is happening yet after 4 weeks. It is COMPLETELY normal. Don’t worry about it. Give it a good 8 weeks before you assess. This stuff takes time to do its thing.

Also, don’t skip doses to skew the lab results. If you feel you have to lie to your doctor than you don’t have the right doctor. If you’re still feeling off after 8 weeks, as him to bump you up to 150mg and see if that works better. If he doesn’t want to, switch docs.

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#15

Thanks. That was my thought. I don’t want to skew bloodwork because I want an accurate reading of my situation.

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#16

Exactly… guys do this all the time… some of them really need do because their docs are useless… but many of us are paying out of pocket for these labs… wouldn’t it be nice to know what our labs actually are just to have some point of reference? If not, you just wind up with an expensive and rather useless piece of paper that you can basically just wipe your butt with.

#17

Hang in there you have one more week to go, if by 8 weeks things aren’t better, it means these a dosage reduction is in order or moderate doses aren’t for you and you’ll need smaller more frequent injections to minimize sides effects.

I wouldn’t work out if my BP was high.

#18

Very helpful. Thanks. I decided to switch to eod. I just couldn’t take the constant pulse issues. It even made my eyelids flutter. Just to note, my bp was still okay. I was just having a surging sensation with my pulse. Could also be due to water retention perhaps. Idk. Thanks for your help. I’ll reply to this thread.

#19

When you are having problems and decide to inject with greater frequently, you should reduce the dosage a little. Your issues could be a lot of things, an overabundance of hormones can cause increased water retention.

I think your body just doesn’t like these peaks the 50mg doses were producing.

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#20

I’m not sure I agree with this anymore. This presumes you’re trying to maintain you’re trough level and reduce the peak. Why?

Just split your dose up or adjust the amount, not both. If the guess is he doesnt like the fluctuations the just adjust the dosing requency. The difference in trough isn’t worth messing with it in my opinion, plus perhaps he’ll like the slight bump. The dose can always be adjusted later, but adjust 1 thing at a time, when fine tuning, otherwise you don’t know what’s causing what.