I am now at 12 weeks on 50mg every other day (150mg/week) TRT prescribed by my doctor. Within 2-3 weeks of starting I had a lot of good things happen. Joint pain improved, sex drive improved. More energy. Sleep quality became better. Overall a good experience.
Lately I’ve noticed I’ve been less and less interested in sex. To the point now where the interest is basically 0. My interest in most things has lessened as I just feel overall depressed and not myself. Just to see if it was psychosomatic I put on an adult film to see how I react (I gave up porn but know how I usually feel when I watch it). My shaft seems to have almost no sensitivity to where I might as well be grabbing my thumb. Staying hard is not easy and even when I watch what used to be a very stimulating film my mind really doesn’t care.
There’s a few things that jump out at me and that’s estrogen and prolactin. I will be going to get labs soon. Has anyone else had these more extreme symptoms? Any input is greatly appreciated thank you.
I’m going to get labs here shortly to see what’s going on with things but I could lower the dose if it’s too much. I think the dose I’m on might be causing my adrenals to wear down.
Doubt it. You just need labs. Nobody can guess. Twelve weeks is still a relatively short time on TRT to be fully dialed in. You likely need a protocol tweak. Don’t sweat it, it won’t be permanent. Just need some adjustments.
I believe libido/arousal and strength gains/muscle are acheived at different levels of hormones.
Seems that libido does best at lower levels, whereas we all know higher levels promote better gains in the gym.
Would be interesting to see how many bodybuilders who run test only cycles into very supra levels ALSO get amazing libido. Because I see a lot DON’T reap any libido gains during cycle.
not everyone is going to go from the symptoms of low T to rock hard erections and a vigorous libido right away. You have to correct the issues that lead to low-T because TRT isn’t a panacea.
Every bodybuilder I know including 2 who earned ifbb pro cards say they are way hornier and feel better well being wise on a cruise than on cycle. However these guys love being on cycle because the gym is more important for them.
Also none of them have told me they had any severe dysfunction regardless. I can tell you that my first test only cycle I was wondering why my libido didn’t feel any different and if anything was lower.
The question is if they did have sexual dysfunction while on cycles would they even bother to tell you about it? Guys don’t like to talk about that kind of stuff.
That might be true for a while, but later down the road, that may not be true.
Thanks everyone for chiming in. I appreciate all of the feedback. Labs obviously makes sense to do at this point. I was feeling fairly well at 50mg every other day but that has subsided. I would just like to get back to how I was feeling a few weeks ago.
Yeah I’m talking about good friends of mine from years in the fitness field. Some of them will say things like they can’t run deca, AIs, etc because of getting a soft dick. But even when questioning them in detail these guys don’t report libido issues or erection issues most of the time. Probably have a higher tolerance threshold or wider range they are side effect free which could be why they made it as far as they did in bodybuilding.
Not sure what you mean. My libido did not improve at cycle dosages of test and only seemed to get worse the longer I stayed high.
Labs first, post second :). Lab work will solve 99% of problems, or at least point you in the right direction. All we can say now is “maybe this, maybe that”
I’ve been on TRT for 5 years and the last year i started lowering my dose (over 50%) and have seen my libido go up and up. While my time in the gym is less fun and the gains are slower. My last blast (240mg test + 50mg Var) for 12 weeks saw great gains in the gym but hit or miss libido, tired a lot, horrible blood panel.
These days I choose banging the ladies over the weights and feel better generally. Your post is right on
Back in 2020, February, i was doing really well on 160mg test and .25mg Anast, both split 2x weekly for like 6-7 weeks and I thought I had cracked it and found my “cruise” protocol. TT was 1100ng and e2 was 45pg. There has been a lot of blasts, compounds, experiments in between, but when I went down to 120mg and no AI all my issues just kinda went away. TT is 867ng and e2 is 32pg
I am guessing its the case of less variables to deal with. When you say issues went away you mean libido? Erections? Or over all well being?
I never done a cycle or took steroids in my entire life, but I am pondering if for some people cycles and then a normal minimal TRT protocol (such as yours) is the way to go rather than a life long TOT regimen.
Low libido was one, but mostly it was energy levels/well being. The whole time I have been on TRT I have been trying to maximize my energy and recovery, so I can sleep 8 hours, go to work (real estate) for 9 hours, workout, come home and not feel like I want to crash right away. I want to go to dinners, dates, events, etc.
On those higher doses or cycles all I wanted was sleep, couldn’t focus at work, I would skip dinner and just fall into bed after work. I didn’t think that’s how I’d feel while on test.
I don’t remember feeling that way back when I was cycling and using super high doses, but I think there’s something about trying to ride the fine line of healthy replacement. I have yet to try a super high test dose while on TRT, above 480mg I mean, and likely won’t.
You’re suggesting high dose blast with very low dose cruises instead of trying to run a higher TOT protocol year round?
Yes exactly. Getting less better feeling part time through out the year and bulking/hulking at the gym and then cruising on as minimal as possible. The trade off is to be considered in where how good a protocol for TOT year round can you make with an AI, versus a 3 month blast or something.