Hi guys, have been on TRT for close to 7 months now. Still dialing in. 6 weeks ago i changed my protocol from 140mg EOD to 175mg EOD. Since then i’m not feeling much better, i’ve noticed an increase in weight including muscle mass. but also some water retention. My main issue at the moment seems to be fatigue and brainfog, also worth mentioning my libidio has been quite low.
I plan on continuing this protocol for another 8 weeks. My E2 seems quite high but my doctor insists that it is fine. Should i change anything here? I was thinking about addding a low dose proviron for increased libido which might also lower my E2.
Your ferritin, magnesium, and zinc are all low. Yeah yeah, I know, the doc says normal. Take some iron, low dose, preferrably chelated. Magnesium won’t hurt, don’t take it at the same time as the iron, at least a few hours apart, a lot of guys like to take it as glycinate before bed. There was no calcium number. When was the last time it got tested? Zinc won’t hurt either, but again, not when you take either of the other two. In spite of the Iron level - which is generally useless to measure - you are probably mildly anemic because you are making so many red blood cells.
Are you saying 175mg EOD is TRT? TRT is 100mg a week and that will send most people to the top of the natural testosterone ranges and some well above. If it is not just libido on that amount then maybe you’re aromatizing into things like estrogen, progesterone, dhn and whatever else might cause erectile issues. If it’s just libido then it sounds like they’re other factors at play psychologically and such.
175mg weekly total split into EOD injections my apologies. There might be a psychological issue with my libido, I do suffer from some relationship anxiety issues. But I doubt it considering my morning erections are quite hit and miss at the moment.
Just picked up some Magnesium and Iron, I’ve already got zinc so i will begin supplementing that too. I have noticed in the past on TRT when i supplement zinc i overall feel a lot better and my libidio is marginally higher. Also my ejaculations are better and my balls feel fuller.
I’ve read that zinc lowers E2 so that might be why i feel better whilst using it. thanks for the advice
Overall, your protocol seems sound. It’s difficult to understand the labs without the normal ranges, but you appear at the upper end of what your doc considers beneficial for both Total T and Free T. The dose seems a bit high, but the numbers don’t seem excessively out of range, so I’d stick with it.
Regarding layering in Proviron (Mesterolone). I’m not understanding why you would want to do this. It does have a strong androgenic effect, but given that your Total T and Free t are fairly high on this protocol, I doubt you are low on DHT, probably high. Layering in a strong androgen probably won’t do much for more for libido. One of the primary functions of Proviron is to block SHBG, but your SHBG is normal and your Free T is on the high side. This will only magnify the effect and push you to the high side for Free T.
Then again, a trial might be worth a try if you follow it up with labs to understand the effect. I’d be particularly concerned with it pushing up your hemoglobin production (androgens do that) and altering your lipids. I’d also consider monitoring your DHT levels.
Okay, very happy to hear you’re not saying 700mg a week is trt. Have you thought about doing a PCT to try and get your natural levels up? Depending on what caused you to need to be on TRT I am not sure if it’ll work or not but for myself I do have confidence it will especially how well I react to low dosages of HCG. I am 29 and have been on TRT for over a year now. I think it was my prescription opiate usage and addiction to alcohol that did me in but I plan to do a PCT in the future.
100mg a week will send virtually no one to the top of any ranges. 185 mg a week doesn’t get me to the top of the range, and an awful lot of guys are on 200mg a week without hitting a crazy number.
Is that really the case from what you have seen? My doctor said a lot of his patients read as high testosterone when they get blood work back. I need to get more blood work while just on TRT personally to see what my levels are. Maybe in Canada it is a bit different and TRT is just meant to bring you to normal levels rather than optimal levels. Not many people here get prescribed 200mg a week but I have been prescribed that by one doctor.
My own experience is sex was a chore, I only did it maybe once a month and I could live without it. I couldn’t get excited about a lot of things but then 100mg a week and I was having sex multiple times a week and I had a chance of actually reaching orgasm. Didn’t have trouble staying hard enough but just couldn’t orgasm. I do feel better at 200mg a week but that being said I feel awesome at 500-1000mg a week as well lol. I feel 100mg a week is very liveable. I worry about fertility and any chance of brining back normal production of testosterone using 200mg a week for years. The bottle does say up to 400mg a week.
Medical care is not meant to optimize, it is meant to preserve and aid. Most docotrs in general are going to be conservative with dosage, they don’t like to push the envelope. My TRT is not doctor managed, as I am typically in Central America where it’s over the counter and so is the blood work. My endo is aware, as is my GP (PCP), and I can have a prescription if I need it. I’m sitting in Burlington right now, but heading to the US on Sunday (Which I am a little apprehensive about, everything looks kinda nuts down there). The actual treatment is not particularly different in Canada, but finding a provider can be. The guidelines are what they are, and the fact that the population base is 10% of the US and very spread out if you aren’t in Southern Ontario means that there is less need and fewer providers. But, the doctors are good and there are a lot to choose from for general things. I prefer the old guys, and avoid the Indian guys. That’s not being racist, it’s about who I find easier to deal with. The younger guys don’t want a conversation, they want me to obey them which is ludicrous.
Each province here in Canada seems to be quite different when it comes to trt. A lot of people have a very hard time finding a doctor that will prescribe it even if people need it. I wonder if my levels are still low at 100mg/week and if they would be reluctant to prescribe it higher. I wish we had more private bloodwork here because I am worried about getting labeled on our system as an AAS user. Becareful in the states man!
About the provirion thing. I think I remember some older guys mentioning they use it on their self prescribed TRT for libido. See if your doctor will prescribe you an AI to lower that estrogen. Becareful with them though because having little to no estrogen will feel awful. Also don’t get aromatase inhibitors mixed up with selective estrogen reuptake modulators.
Scrotal cream can increase DHT as well for some people. Masteron is an option but I don’t think it’s prescribed so you’d have to get it elsewhere (and it’s very similar to proviron from what I understand)
I’ve recieved my masteron today. I’m hoping this will make me feel better by lowering my e2 which i think is the reason why i’m feeling so trash. Feeling tired all day even after sleeping 9 hours, also brainfog is pretty bad and i’ve been quite irritable with some unusual depressive thoughts. Sound like e2 symptoms right?
Anyway, i was planning to add 100mg of masteron weekly split into 28.5mg doses injected subq with my testosterone. Can anyone comment their thoughts on this?
thanks
