T Nation

New Guy Report: Week 3

T Replacement
#1

All, I’ve been lurking for a few months and this is my first post. I’ve been amazed at the knowledge displayed in these forums. So I’d appreciate any comments about the program described below.

I’m 47, 225 pounds, 6oot 1 inch tall… Pretty good shape, do sprint and olympic length triathlons. I decided to try HRT through one of the (expensive) anti-aging clinics. I’m in week 3 of a 20 week program. If I like it and decide to do another cycle next year, I’ll probably pursue a cheaper alternative than the anti-aging clinic.

Here’s what they have me on:

1 ml T-cyp (200mg/ml) injected IM once a week.
1000 Units (0.5 ml) HCG subQ once per week
1.5 IU (0.3 ml) Tev-Tropin HGH subQ 5 days a week.
0.5 mg Anastrozole twice weekly (starting in week 3)
various supplements

I’m just starting week 3 and feel very good. Biggest noticeable change is in libido. Also, mental status (alertness, etc.)
The only real side effect seems to be that my nipples are nearly always hard and are sensitive and hurt a bit. But I just started the anastrozole, so I’m hoping that will help.

Any comments or suggestions would be great.

Thanks

#2

Nipple hardness/sensitivity is almost certainly an E2 problem, but could also be related to prolactin. What were these values in your pre-TRT bloodwork? Definitely keep an eye on them. The adex should help get you back.

May also be better to inject the T twice a week if you are doing your own. I would definitely inject the hcg more than once a week. Probably thrice, but you could probably get by with twice. Hopefully you aren’t injecting the T and hcg on the same day?

Would be helpful if you posted your full blood workup.

#3

Thanks VT,
No, I’m not using the T and the HCG on the same day. I inject the T on Friday and the HCG on Monday. Maybe I’ll switch to HCG Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday. I’m not particularly sensitive to the subQ injections, so that’s not a big deal for me. My labs before starting the cycle show serum T of 367 ng/dL and free T of 10.8 pg/ml. Estradiol was 14.2 pg/ml and prolactin was 5.9 ng/ml. DHEA was 136.

Thanks again

#4

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
Hopefully you aren’t injecting the T and hcg on the same day?
[/quote]

Uh oh. Why would you hope this?

#5

[quote]dooright wrote:

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
Hopefully you aren’t injecting the T and hcg on the same day?
[/quote]

Uh oh. Why would you hope this?

[/quote]

It’s fine if you are injecting 2-3 times a week and doing both on the same day, but doing both on the same day for a once weekly shot is almost pointless. The need for hcg becomes more readily apparent as the effects of T are wearing off.

If you read Crisler’s TRT Protocol for Success (or whatever its called) he has his guys injecting HCG 1-3 days before the T shots to make up for the diminishing half life of the T.

But if you are injecting both on the same day, you are losing out on a lot of the benefits.

#6

What were the lab ranges for your given bloodwork? If normal ranges, your E2 was fairly low already, so you should probably try and keep it thereabouts after you begin TRT. If your body is used to E2 = 14, then a higher E2 (but still within range) could end up presenting a problem for you. Be sure to nudge your docs to check this in your follow-ups and track any upward changes…

#7

The E2 range was listed as 7 to 42, so you’re right, I was fairly low already.

Thanks again.

#8

at 200mg T-Cyp a week you are going to be completely stressing out your adrenals which could then impact your thyroid.

what were your cortisol, TSH, and ft3 reading before starting?

when are they going to retest those values?

fyi - HRT is not done in cycles. Cycles are done in cycles. The goal of HRT is restore your levels to normal and find a way to stabilize your system over the long term. If you are cycling, you are not on HRT.

#9

Thanks,
Cortisol was 15 (range listed as 2.4-19)
TSH was 1.35 (range listed as .45 to 4.5)
Other Thyroid tests showed:
Thyroxine (T4): 7 (range: 4.5-12)
T3 Uptake: 36 (range: 24-39)
Free Thyroxine Index: 2.5 (range: 1.2-4.9)

They will retest in week 6 ( 2 weeks from now).

BTW, the nipple sensitivity/hardness I posted about earlier has eased.