Started TRT Yesterday. Xyosted, 100mg 1x/Week

Hey guys- 34 years old here, been training on and off since high school but very consistent the last 4 years with training and nutrition. Dont drink at all, smoke a little pot here and there. Been experiencing low T symptoms for years but chalked it up to working alot, stress, 2 kids etc, but what really made me question what was going on was watching some other guys my age join my gym and do less than optimal workouts and talk about their partying and shitty eating habits but watching them make more progress in a year than I have in 4. So I got levels tested at the GP and came in with total T at 219 (264-969) and free T at 7 (8.6-25.1). Went to a urologist who specializes in TRT and he did a more comprehensive hormone panel and confirmed my low levels as well as that my thyroid and everything else seemed good and wasn’t an underlying issue.

He seems very knowledgeable and open to trying different things, but wanted to start me on Xyosted, which is an auto injector, with 100mg Test E once per week. Last night was my first injection. He is open to HCG and AI use if required. I have 4 weeks of the xyosted and then go back to him the day before what would be my 5th injection so he can do bloodwork during the trough.

Has anyone used this stuff before? Does this sound like a shit protocol? I’m looking forward to feeling better but also just am generally nervous about committing to TRT for some reason. I’m also not sure yet about being cool with my balls shriveled up lol, but HCG makes me nervous too because it seems so hit or miss for guys on whether is helps or makes things worse. He is also 100% open to going to Test C in regular injection form, which I may ask for when I go back so I can do 2x per week vs 1x. Anyone have any input or want to help put my mind at ease lol

Just do test right now. One variable at a time makes it easier to get close to optimal. Don’t do the AI unless you need it (symptoms, not blood work). At 100 mg/wk your chances of needing an AI are close to 0.

I’ve never heard of it, but if it is Test E, I have used that. It sounds to me like a company found a way to make a lot more money off of a cheap drug that can’t be patented by making a novel administration device (which is patentable). If this stuff costs you a lot of money, just ask to switch to Test E in a vial. Maybe insurance covers it all, if so, it doesn’t matter.

This is normal. It is a life long decision. To me it sounds like you need it. I think the reward will be better than the commitment of pinning, blood work, and appointments.

This is less common than what people think. Mine are maybe 15% smaller. This will be individualistic, but I think most get a small amount of atrophy. Most women I don’t think would be able to tell. If anything it makes your dick look bigger, so take that as a win.

2X a week is what I would do compared to 1X. Many are fine with 1X. An advantage with just doing regular injections is you aren’t stuck with 100 mg doses. You may find you feel a lot better at 150 mg/wk than 100 mg/wk for example.

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100% nailed it.

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Thanks for the reply and helping relieve some of my nervousness. Right now insurance covers these 100% so thats not an issue, but like you said, I may want to get away from the auto injection because its a 1x use, so my only option is dosing the 100mg once a week. Its definitely an option to go to just regular test E/C and drawing up injections which is the way I may go after I use my first 4 weeks of the auto inject. My insurance only covers 400mg test/month, so that’s my 100mg a week. I’m not sure if the doc would go higher than 100mg a week, we didn’t discuss a higher dosage yet, but I’m assuming if he did up it, I may just have to cover the difference beyond what insurance covers? And if it was regular Test E/C that you draw up, I’m guessing it would be fairly cheap anyway?

Should be. If not, GoodRx can usually get you a bottle for under $30 without insurance. It is about $6 bucks a month for a membership to GoodRx.

IMO, 100 mg/wk will get you benefits, but the way I see it, a bit higher has some added benefits. 200 mg/wk usually makes a lot more impact on the physique for most people. Not everyone is good with that dose (get E2 symptoms, high HCT, high blood pressure, water retention, etc.), but some are just fine at that dose. I think if everything checks out, that is what I would do (and do). That is personal opinion though. I don’t care about the ranges, I care about getting a good benefit out of the treatment, without any discernable difference in risk.

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Yeah I mean as long as I’m healthy and not having any sides, I don’t particularly care about numbers, just about feeling good.

My doc is in NYC and was recommended as well as being an active poster himself on some TRT boards. That’s why I chose him, bc everyone seems to say he’s very open to getting you to feel good and not just making your numbers “good enough.”

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You are a lucky dude. He’s put you on expensive training wheels with the autoinjector and started you at reasonable dosage and kept it simple (but your insurance is covering and you can do at home). In a couple months transition over to cheap bottle of test ester and some 27/28 g insulin pins if you want to be a good steward of health care costs. Resist the temptation to use more once the training wheels come off (big bottle of testosterone) unless you really need it and your Hct/BP/blah blah can handle it.

Are you primary or secondary? At some point I will post my results of attempting to use daily administration of testosterone troche to supplement with exogenous testosterone while maintaining my HPG axis (curious if there’s any long term benefit to not shutting off LH/FSH). This approach mimics natural rythym of the HPG.

I started in similar hormonal place to you and after trying hCG monotherapy, AI monotherapy, TRT in various flavors, I think you got a winner there in your provider.

Congratulations!

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Thanks man, that was very confidence inspiring! I am secondary.

And I definitely think he liked the auto injectors to start as almost a break in period.

Funny side story, he was going to give me a lesson on the auto injector at the office but was having trouble finding his sample. I told him, don’t worry about it my wife is a paramedic so she is great with needles and all that. Well, let my wife do the first administration and she ended up having to poke me 3x since she wasn’t pressing the injector in hard enough, the needle would poke me but not dispense the T. I proceeded to make fun of her… “oh look at me, I’m a paramedic :rofl:”

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Haha, that’s a good one! I haven’t used the device and it always take a few tries even for the “pros” to get the hang of any new gadget. If you are very androgen sensitive like me and you see your Hct get too high, you can always titrate down to 75 mg/wk (either with Xyosted or bottle + pin). I wish you much success.

Thanks again man, hoping to get dialed in and feel great over the next few months. I’ll try to keep some updates going here and I’m sure I’ll continue to have some questions for you TRT veterans.

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Stay the course for about 6-8 weeks. You will have ups and downs till your body gets used to the
new testosterone levels.

I personally would not change anything until then. If dr doing labs at 4 weeks, try to push to 5 weeks. Then go over results and see how you feel at about 6 weeks.

Awesome advice thank you.

Can you do IM injections with the pen? It seems difficult to do anything other than subQ? Not sure though.

No IM it’s subq

Is it dr Rotman

It is you have any experience with him?

Yeah man he’s my Dr.
. You can email me its in my bio.

Heard of it, haven’t used it.

Test E pen made for subq only. No preservative (alcohol) since it’s sealed cartridges instead of vials. Yeah, probably a money maker but also represents the only test I know of specifically made/authorized for Subcut.

In a way it’d be nicer than dealing with all the empty vials and syringes, but I don’t think it’s all that big a deal either way IMHO.

If they didn’t charge $400 per pen it would be a more appealing option. Just seems like a way for them to make a cheap drug cost more

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Yeah just heard from my insurance they won’t be covering it. First month was free as a promo from the company but looks like I’ll be going to regular injects after the first 4 weeks and most likely test C instead of E.

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