My TRT Provider Comparison?

I want to go ahead and throw this out there to see what you guys think about how my male HRT practice does as far as pricing goes. This is all I have ever come to know in my 3 years since being on TRT with this company so I dont have a reference really other then black market prices and compared to that its FAR better. But still. Consider facts below:

$200 to become a patient first. 1 time lifetime fee.
$35 a month to be placed on a monitored plan. this allows me to get all Rx meds faxed to my local pharmacy and paid by my insurance. this included 4 quarterly blood labs done through labcorp to test all blood values. each phone consult i have with their primary TRT specialist is $75 which i do shortly after all blood work comes back.

I pay the follow each month right now through this plan for my meds…

1x 5ml (200mg/ml) Test Cyp $10
12 x 1 mg adex $11
30 x 60mcg armour thyroid $8
11,000 iu HCG $70 (this i have to order from Defy pharmacy as my local does not

If I went with no monitoring program and purchased my meds right through them and their pharmacy rates would be:

Test cyp 10ml vial (200mg/ml) $129
Armour Thyroid 60mg x30 caps $17.70
HCG 11,000iu $70
adex 1mg x12 caps $36

How does this compare to where or what you guys/gals pay?

Lucky ass bastard. I wish I had such a program like that.

I can’t even convince my doc to prescribe me T injections and adex.

Also, how did you convince your doc that you need Armour thyroid?

11,000 iu HCG per month? 10,000iu should last 80 days at 250iu SC EOD

This seems very wrong.

What is your protocol?
Need labs reviewed?

[quote]KSman wrote:
11,000 iu HCG per month? 10,000iu should last 80 days at 250iu SC EOD

This seems very wrong.

What is your protocol?
Need labs reviewed?
[/quote]

900iu every sat night/24 hours before t injection is what i do. i purchase the HCG in vials/amounts of 11,000iu but do not go through all 11,000 every month of course.

[quote]HouKN98 wrote:
Lucky ass bastard. I wish I had such a program like that.

I can’t even convince my doc to prescribe me T injections and adex.

Also, how did you convince your doc that you need Armour thyroid?[/quote]

This is my not my GP or primary physician mind you. I went to him years ago and got freaking topical androgel shit. I was not going that route! Looked up these guys and liked what I saw. Defy Medical is the clinic out of Tampa, FL. Dr. Justin Saya is the lead specialist who does TRT based on your full lab workups and symptoms.

Please see the advice for new guys sticky and protocol for injections.

250iu hCG SC EOD is all that is required to create a youthful activation of LH receptors. 900iu is close to that on a per week basis. I think that you would be better off injecting EOD to get a more constant effect.

T cyp/eth should be injected at least twice a week. If twice a week and using anastrozole, take at time of injection.

La Crosse Grad,

Those seem like great prices.

My clinic in MD is $100 per month, which only includes test cypionate and AI. They have a Labcorp on-site, and will submit labs to insurance. However, they won’t send Rx to pharmacies, and won’t help with insurance in that regard. I’m stuck with their rates and the compounding pharmacy they use. HCG would probably cost another $50-100 more with their program. I’ve been very satisfied with their service, and only have been with them for a few months, but it always seems like I’m paying a huge markup for the amount of Test/AI I’m using.

I looked at the defymedical website, and it seems like they have a pretty good program.

Did their $200 initial fee include the first visit/consultation, and setting you up on the program?

[quote]KSman wrote:
Please see the advice for new guys sticky and protocol for injections.

250iu hCG SC EOD is all that is required to create a youthful activation of LH receptors. 900iu is close to that on a per week basis. I think that you would be better off injecting EOD to get a more constant effect.

T cyp/eth should be injected at least twice a week. If twice a week and using anastrozole, take at time of injection. [/quote]

Until my MD/specialist says otherwise I am going to do just as told. To deliberately disobey the set instructions from the very medical professional writing my Rx would not be a smart move I’d think. Nothing against you or anyone here but to follow what was said on some web forum over an MD who specializes in this area just does not seem to jive.

[quote]Friedman wrote:
La Crosse Grad,

Those seem like great prices.

My clinic in MD is $100 per month, which only includes test cypionate and AI. They have a Labcorp on-site, and will submit labs to insurance. However, they won’t send Rx to pharmacies, and won’t help with insurance in that regard. I’m stuck with their rates and the compounding pharmacy they use. HCG would probably cost another $50-100 more with their program. I’ve been very satisfied with their service, and only have been with them for a few months, but it always seems like I’m paying a huge markup for the amount of Test/AI I’m using.

I looked at the defymedical website, and it seems like they have a pretty good program.

Did their $200 initial fee include the first visit/consultation, and setting you up on the program?
[/quote]

yes it did include that. if you have recent labs done that would save you some time to. dr. saya could review that, have his phone consult with you (after all paperwork submitted) and discuss treatment options with you at that time. he is really good at explain what they can do for you and why they would do it that way. in the end he leaves the treatment option to you with his suggestions alongside.

if you call them mention my name as they will move you to first order enrollment.

[quote]La Crosse Grad wrote:

[quote]KSman wrote:
Please see the advice for new guys sticky and protocol for injections.

250iu hCG SC EOD is all that is required to create a youthful activation of LH receptors. 900iu is close to that on a per week basis. I think that you would be better off injecting EOD to get a more constant effect.

T cyp/eth should be injected at least twice a week. If twice a week and using anastrozole, take at time of injection. [/quote]

Until my MD/specialist says otherwise I am going to do just as told. To deliberately disobey the set instructions from the very medical professional writing my Rx would not be a smart move I’d think. Nothing against you or anyone here but to follow what was said on some web forum over an MD who specializes in this area just does not seem to jive.

[/quote]

Fair enough, but it’s good information and I bet if you went to your guy and asked him about the protocol that KSMan has advised, he’d be game for it. At the very least, he’d be intrigued.

You know, this raises a good point. We should go to a doctor for advice, not for control. Listen to what they say, and if it makes sense, try it. However, it’s important to realize that they are not a god. They’re just a guy that has training on the matter at hand. None of them (even the really good ones) know exactlty how any individuals body works. They work in generalities and simplified models. It’s the only way to approach a system as complex as the human body. Have your inner skeptic fully engaged. It may save your life some day.

I go to dr saya as well and in my experience he is very open to suggestions. After my initial labs came back after starting on 50 mgs test 3x/week with 0.5 adex and 300 iu hug 3x/week, he agreed completely with my suggestions for a new protocol. He knows his stuff but isn’t an egotist like so many others.

Tell ya what then. Next time I have my phone consult with him (Nov 1) I will run by my use of HCG with him and see what he thinks about going 300iu 3x a week vs 900iu 1x a week. Cant hurt to ask now can it? The T and Adex dosing seems spot on with what many others on TRT are using. Good there.

La Crosse Grad,
When I talked to Dr. Saya he said that some guys do not respond well to smaller, more frequent doses, which is why he prescribed me initially 500 iu 2x/week. I split in into 300 eod to make injection schedule easier, but I have noticed testicular atrophy since starting trt (ive been on since april 30, 2014). I might actually go back to larger 2x a week doses here soon.

Here’s my provider info.

Initial consult 399 which included physical, bloodwork, 1 hour session, and a prescription to take anywhere I wanted. I got a $100 discount if you get your own labs.
He gave me prescriptions for test cyp ($40 at cvs with goodrx coupon), armidex (which I don’t need to use), and HCG (I don’t take it).

I had enough refills to last me 8 months. He probably wanted to see me sooner but since I knew how to read my own bloodwork I was able to self-medicate and dial in my prescription. To get another prescription I need to go visit him in the office again for 299 which includes bloodwork and a 1 hour session. Once I’m dialed in he says I’ll probably need to only visit him 1x a year which costs $299.

I have it pretty good. My doc is flexible and my insurance is the shit:

210mg Test Cyp/week, I use only 105mg/week = $6.51/month (I stock pile the rest)
Armidex 10 x 1mg tabs, I use only 0.10mg/week = $1.00/month (AI over-responder)
HCG 10,000 IU, $40 w/insurance, 250IU EOD = $16/month
Co-Pay for my quarterly visit $20 = $6.66/month

$30.17 per month. For everything.

I feel for you guys who have trouble finding a flexible doctor. I truly do.

I noticed that you are taking Armour Thyroid. Did you have hypothyroid before you started trt? Were you taking thyroid meds before trt? if you were hypothyroid before trt, did you have any problems after starting trt? thanks!