New to TRT - Questions about Muscle Gain

Hi Everyone.

New here. Had issues sleeping, excessive sweating, can’t build muscle and a lack of motivation to play with my 4 year old.
Doctors wanted to put me on anti-depressants but i’m not freaking depressed. No issues with the wiener (thank god). Wife made me a Dr apt at the men’s clinic and Dr said It might be that I lack FREE-T because it’s bound up in the Sex Hormone Binding Glob (?)

Medical history:
I was diagnosed with severe ADHD when I was 6 years old and have been on some form of Amphetamine/dextroamphetamine for most of my life.

On 3/22/2019 I started taking 200mg a week of Test - C, split up into two doses. .5 Tues / .5 Fri.
GP/Doctor put me on Trazadone to aid sleep which has helped a lot.

After 1 month on TRT I no longer showed signs of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity. (Strange eh?)
I’m sleeping better and feeling better. But about that muscle…

Questions:
I’ve been lifting for about 2 years with no major results. Why I can’t gain muscle? Should I look into HGH with my TRT?
Is 200 MG of test -C a week enough?

Stats: 39yo male, 160LBS - 5’9

LAB RESULTS

ALBUMIN (g/dL) 4.8 - 3.5-5.5 Range
AST (SGOT) (IU/L) 22 - 0-40 Range
ALT (SGPT) (IU/L) 23 - 0-44 Range
Prostate Specific Ag, Serum (ng/mL) 0.4 - 0.0-4.0 Range
Testosterone, Serum (ng/dL) 610 - 264-916 Range
LH (mIU/mL) 6.2 - 1.7-8.6 Range
Sex Horm Binding Glob, Serum (nmol/L) 56.4 - 16.5-55.9 Range
Comments: Above high normal
Estradiol (pg/mL) 27.3 - 7.6-42.6 Range
WBC (x10E3/uL) 10.0 - 3.4-10.8 Range
RBC (x10E6/uL) 5.16 - 4.14-5.80 Range
Hemoglobin (g/dL) 15.6 13.0-17.7 Range
Hematocrit (%) 46.1 37.5-51.0 Range
MCV (fL) 89 79-97 Range
MCH (pg) 30.2 26.6-33.0 Range
MCHC (g/dL) 33.8 31.5-35.7 Range
RDW (%) 13.3 12.3-15.4 Range
Platelets (x10E3/uL) 296 150-379 Range
Neutrophils (%) 76 Not Estab. Range
Lymphs (%)16 Not Estab. Range
Monocytes (%) 8 Not Estab. Range
Eos (%) 0 Not Estab. Range
Basos (%) 0 Not Estab. Range
Neutrophils (Absolute) (x10E3/uL) 7.6 1.4-7.0 Range
Comments: Above high normal

Thanks in advance everyone. I"m glad that i’m starting to feel like myself again. Just curious, If I keep hitting the gym will I gain muscle off of it?

You’ve only been on TRT for 1 month and your levels are not even stable yet which takes 6 weeks for the half lives to build up in your system, you don’t start putting on muscles in only 1 month, progress can be slow and it will take 6-12 months to see big changes in muscle development.

I notice every time I am changing my dosages, the next 6 weeks my results in the gym stall until such time my levels are stable again.

Lab testing will tell us if 200mg weekly is enough, but for most it is too much for a weekly dosage and may be why you are having trouble sleeping. You need to test the free portion of testosterone, total testosterone is bound to SHBG and not bioavailable.

I was also diagnosed with ADHD as a child and TRT annihilated my ADHD symptoms, I became a multitasker.

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Of course you will. Have patience . It takes 3-4 months to reach some consistency and then a year to see full benefit.

Patience is needed badly on your end.

That’s if you chose a doctor who is giving you a proper dose of T and not keeping your levels low because he or she is afraid of lab ranges that are dropping every other year.

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Thanks so much. I know i will take time, i’m not in any rush. I was just curious if Test alone would help me make gains since i’ve been struggling so much with my progress. Dr said he wants to get my Test up to 1100 nl / dl. That seems pretty high but if that’s the best option, i’m in for the long haul. :smile:

Thanks Systemlord. Cheers!

Thanks enackers. Yeah, Dr wants to get my T up to 1100 nl/dl and i’m reading that is a pretty high number. I go in for my labs Friday to see how it looks after 2 months.

Strange I didn’t see my Free T numbers on the lab results but perhaps that’s not important (?)

Thanks again guys. Cheers and have a great evening!

Free t is the basis of Trt . Your docs a dumb ass if he thinks 1100 is high. Total t means nothing. You need to educate yourself on this topic ASAP.

Continue using a doc who thinks 1100 is a range for all men is going to end up bad. If is like saying any car can run on diesel. It is jsut stupid and nonsensical.

No trt doc would ever make that comment and not test free t.

You dose until symptoms dissipate. That could be 15 or 35 free t.

Go by john crisslers book in trt or jay Campbell’s book trt bible.

Or go to YouTube and start watching videos.

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Your Free T is a little low.
But you have not reached steady state on your T injections yet. Your TT/FT will continue to climb for 40 days on T cyp.

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1100 cold be high, or not. With your SHBG it probably will not be too high. It will depend on how you feel and where your other numbers go.

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Thanks enackers. I agree with you, it was an odd statement esp since I never saw my free T numbers. Thanks for the info on john crisslers and jay Campbell’s books.

Cheers

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Wow. Thanks for this info hrdlvn. very much appreciated.

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Do you know why TRT helps alleviate adhd symptoms?

Testosterone is part of the process for making catecholamines in the brain, and estrogen is implicated in the production of serotonin. ADD/ADHD is a catecholamine issue, so low T exacerbates it.

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Diagnosed ADHD patient checking in. Since being on TRT my Adderall dose has been cut in half and it’s still just as effective. The difference between me with low T and me with normal T is night and day in that department. Until now I had never read an explanation for why, so thank you for this little tidbit.

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Yes. Yes it will. Ive set PRs in every lift I track since starting TRT18 months ago (several times over and over). I have noticeably shed 15-20lbs of fat and would guesstimate I have put on at least 10 pounds of muscle. I do not take a ton but am a good responder to T-cyp. I did 6 weeks at 210mg but aside from that I average around 140mg-180mg a week. Currently at 140mg a week (70mg E3.5D).

This being said everyone is different but its just to say that it can increase LBM by itself with lifting and nutrition in place. I’ve lifted power lifting style for the last 10 years and hardly saw any growth until I started TRT.

WOW, that’s awesome for you NH_Watts! I’m just hoping that all my hard work and dedication will finally payoff and start showing some results, even if it’s because I’ve started TRT. :slight_smile: :slight_smile:
One good thing is that my appetite has shot through the roof. I’m still watching my macros very closely and i’m staying on my 6 day a week workout (Push/pull/legs twice a week)

Lastly, Oddly enough I’ve noticed my grip strength has gone up quit a bit after my first month. I could only ever deadlift 345lbs (156kg) max and that was using lifting straps. 1.5 months in and i’m lifting 410lbs (185kg) without any straps. Strange feeling.

Cheers everyone!

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So in 6 weeks your deadlift has gone up 65lbs and you’re asking if you will make gains? You’re seeing them pal.

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Did you have issues with fatigue or brain fog before TRT? I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD for a few years now. Adderall worked ok at first, but feeling like I’be been running on empty.

I had really bad brain fog starting around age 15 I didn’t start getting Fatigued until my mid 30’s. Since i’ve started TRT I have literally no brain fog anymore. Oddly enough, I haven’t taken my adderall since my second shot I think.

I’m still having issues with fatigue, body temperature control and sweating. It’s been a problem long before TRT… I have an appointment to get blood work done to check my thyroid next Friday. I suspect something is amiss with that bad boy.

When did your brain fog disappear? How long have you been on TRT for?

Brain fog is usually the first symptom to resolve after starting TRT.