Thank You.
There’s so much contradictory information on the subject. I wasn’t aware of this.
You have to be very careful what you read on the internet, you must verify it and if you can’t then it shouldn’t be believed. When I first started researching TRT I kept reading how most do well injecting test every 2 weeks, these websites I was reading was written by people who don’t even know what they’re talking about. It wasn’t until I found these forums that I started unlearning what I had learned, join a couple of forums and it will straighten you out and your endo widen his eyes at you when you speak to him in his terms even though you didn’t go to medical school. I wish I could afford Dr. Crisler, he’s really cutting edge when it comes to TRT protocols!
Hello again!
I’m still on course with TRT doing 200mg Testosterone Cypionate once weekly with .5mg arimidex twice weekly. (Take arimidex after injecting and again 3-4 days later).
I’ve been injecting the testosterone I.M into my rear on Friday evenings, and tomorrow will be my 3rd injection (week 3 coming up).
I just added hCG to my regimen after noticing shockingly quick testicular atrophy & shrinkage at only week 1.5, I injected my first 250 IU of hCG yesterday subcutaneously into the very small amount of belly fat I have.
Now I know the hCG boosts testosterone levels 24-48 hrs after sub-q injection, and the added testosterone can cause excess aromatization and excess estradiol/estrogen, but estrogenic symptoms aren’t my problem.
Since starting TRT three weeks ago my libido definitely increased and morning/night wood came back with a-vengeance, about 5-6 hours after injecting the hCG I noticed random spontaneous erections, and since going to sleep last night to waking up this morning I think 90% of that time was spent with a hard-on… I was almost worried about priapism it got to be so constant/frequent. Now it’s going away a little bit, but even when I’m not hard at this point, there’s still some extra blood flow / seems like 10% erect at all times vs. how it used to look/feel when not hard before… should I be worried? Ive aways been more of a “shower” but it’s definitely noticeably more inflated with blood 24/7 when it’s not erect…
Should I possibly lower my dose of depo-T tomorrow just to be safe? or should I lower my dose of hCG instead? or both? I’m going to request bloodwork asap to see where my levels are, but I’m worried at this point about the possibility of damage due to priapism if levels get too high, and I have to inject Depo-T again tomorrow? I injected the 250 IU of hCG 5 days after my testosterone injection when my testosterone levels should have been at their lowest, I’m worried because I am supposed to inject the hCG every other day, and if this is how crazy it is on days when my testosterone levels should be at their lowest, it would be ridiculous to inject hCG say 2 days after my depo-T?
I’m using pregnyl brand hCG, I mixed 4ml of bacteriostatic water into the 10,000 IU vial so it’s 2500 IU every ml, I then filled a 30 unit insulin syringe (100u) to the 10 mark with hCG, I believe my math is correct for 250 IU injection? 4ml seems a bit low to me though, doesn’t this make it easier to over/under dose with the hCG so concentrated? wouldn’t it be safer and more accurate dosing to use all 10 ml of bacteriostatic water and just inject more fluid subcutaneously during each injection? or would it be too much fluid to safely inject into the stomach subcutaneously at one time? I’m not even sure if my 30 unit slin pins would be big enough to hold the 250 IU dose if I used all 10ml though…
Thanks!
Gary M.
Im interested to see where your SHBG goes with such large injections of test. Mine is high, but not that high, and I currently do 2 injections per week. I don’t know if I could handle one a week, but to get my SHBG down it might be worth it.
I’ll quote you when I reply with labs.
I’ve been thinking that it might be a good idea for me to split things up into two 100mg injections of test weekly, the single 200mg injection has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride so far. First week/injection I felt great, second week I felt great for 3-4 days then started to crash a bit, this week I added the hCG on day 5 after depo-T shot and I think things might be too high because of the erection/priapism issue…
I will note one thing: my walnuts are swinging from the tree again after the hCG, so it’s doing it’s job already (and quick!).
Be prepare for your TRT honeymoon to come to an end, this is your pituitary gland sensing T in your blood, once this happens your pituitary shuts down and you must wait for the medicine to start working. This will happen gradually over the next few months, so don’t worry. It will all come back, that’s a pretty fast response to HCG.
Thanks for the reply.
By TRT honeymoon do you mean the more frequent erections/libido boost or the mood boost?
I had a feeling that at some point soon (a few weeks in) my natural production would shut down, does that mean that the 200mg that feels way too much right now will probably feel like a good dose a week or two from now, and I shouldn’t lower it, or the hcg dose?
Thanks,
GM
PS. What do you think about hCG dosing in my case? 250UI e.o.d or just 250IU 2 days and 1 day before depo-T injection (to simulate the natural LH cycle)? I am worried about the reaction I’m having to hCG a bit. Also I just wanted to say Thanks again systemlord & ksman. I wouldn’t have had the courage to keep pursuing this pretty much on my own without your help, it really means a lot.
So I was doing my usual relatively intense HIT workout and stopped in the middle to have some fun with the girlfriend, and shortly after starting the ‘fun’ I got this instant migraine from hell out of nowhere, it’s in the temporal lobes 75% and 25% in the frontal lobe.
I just took my BP twice (about 20 minutes after the ‘fun’ ended) and it was 109/70 with a resting heart rate of 90 then 85 the second time, this is a bit odd for me as my usual resting heart is around 60 (I’m relatively fit/in good shape), and I didn’t feel ‘hyped up’ when taking my BP…
Is this normal? Should I be concerned? The girlfriend even felt my heart beat against her back and mentioned it being “kind of fast” randomly…
This is my first time doing anything sexual since starting treatment. I have only had like 10 migraines in my entire life and never from/during sex.
It sounds like a sex headache, was it after sex that it happened? Your mind and body are being rewired, months from now these headaches will pass.
I am supposed to take my next 200mg Testosterone Cypionate I.M injection right now (in 20 minutes) with the .5mg arimidex and I am actually kind of scared due to the constant ‘spontaneous erections’. It’s been absolutely absurd for the last 48+ hours since I injected the 250IU hCG on Wednesday, I inject the Depo-T on Fridays, and I had planned to inject the hCG two days before on Wednesday and one day before on Thursday when Testosterone levels are at their lowest, but I was too afraid to inject the hCG yesterday(Thursday) because it was still happening just as frequent/strong as ever from the first hCG shot on Wednesday.
It’s literally like every 5 minutes I’ll have a rock-hard erection that lasts anywhere from 2 minutes to 10 minutes, and in-between the non-stop wood it stays at like 15-25% wood, and it’s not like I’m seeing anything that turns me on or having any sexual thoughts, it’s completely disconnected from my brain/thought processes. At this point it almost feels like there might be a slight ache from so many erections in such a short period of time.
This in combination with the migraine event and extremely elevated heart rate during sex last seems to point at some kind of blood pressure issue possibly or some kind of blood-thinning issue or something to do with the vasoconstriction/vasodilation response in the body? and worries me a bit…
Should I change my dosage of Depo-T or arimidex or hCG, or my timing of anything? maybe wait a few more days before doing my Depo-T injection?
Thank You so much,
Gary M.
New update:
On top of the constant spontaneous erections (with complete lack of mental libido boost/no added mental desire or interest in sex) and horrendous 48+ hour migraine caused by sex, I am now in the middle of my normal p90x classic legs & back+ab ripper workout and my calorie burn halfway through the workout is literally twice what it usually is at this point (30 minutes in) its at 510 calories and it’s usually only around 200-300 calories 30 minutes into legs & back. My polar m600 smart watch is noticing something different in my body in the way it calculates caloric expenditure? and it had to of been the added 250IU hCG I did on wednesday that caused all of this? anyone have any ideas?
I’ve read that testosterone treatment can thicken the blood? but I don’t think it was the 200mg depo-T that caused these negative symptoms, as I’m already on week 4 of treatment and none of them started until i added the hCG, and they appeared literally 6 hours after sub-q injection of the hCG/pregnyl? I am relatively certain that I’m not working any harder than usual, though I feel stronger than I normally would, I’m not increasing my rep counts or intensity to accommodate the added strength effect (at least not tonight/during this workout).
Thanks,
Gary M
PS. I’ve also read everywhere online that 200mg once weekly is an aweful high dose of depo-T to start with? my doctor started me out at 200mg and started me with the arimidex, wouldn’t it have been better to start out lower at 100mg without the arimidex then test levels and raise dosage if necessary? I hear arimidex is incredibly toxic /bad for you long term?
PPS. I wear my workout/smartwatc 24/7 and where-as before I would almost NEVER enter the “green heart rate zone 120+ above” when resting/hanging out/talking, I just watched it enter green heart rate zone standing completely still talking to my girlfriend at a normal volume level… it almost seems like my blood pressure is on a hair trigger? resting blood pressure and heart rate isn’t dramatically increased, but it’s like it may be changing/going higher alot easier than it used to?
PPPS. It’s a bit anecdotal and I have no idea what it might mean, but my temperature is 97.4 *F 30 minutes after my workout, where-as it’s usually 98.6 or slightly elevated shortly after a workout? odd.
After everything I’ve read here I think I’m going to change my HRT Protocol to the following:
Sunday: 50mg Testosterone Cypionate (.25ml), .5 mg Arimidex
Monday: 250IU hCG
Tuesday:
Wednesday: 250IU hCG
Thursday: 50mg Testosterone Cypionate (.25ml), .5 mg Arimidex
Friday:
Saturday: 250IU hCG
I know the recommendation is to do hCG e.o.d but due to the fact that it kind of complicates things with twice weekly t-cyp injections, and my terrible experience from 250IU hCG the first/last time, I think I might just be sensitive to hCG. It’s close to e.o.d (minus one dose) and easier to remember… I may change over to a lower dose e.o.d in the future.
Thank you for posting your lab results with LabCorp. I found them interesting because the reference ranges are different than the lab I use. I can’t add anything unfortunately, as I suffer from the same HIGH SHBG, with other hormones out of wack as well.
I hope if you test your estrogen and re-test your SHBG, you will post your results. I’m interesting in following your success.
"You are correct that I am both grasping at straws and want to avoid TRT. I just feel like TRT is treating the symptoms while giving up on finding the root cause of the issue and fixing it. " ← I find myself in the same boat.
I’m still doing as much research as I can on SHBG…
I’ve found some relationships between low DHEA levels and DHEA deficiencies causing elevated SHBG (if you have normal DHEA supplementing will NOT lower SHBG).
Also interesting to note that two steroids proviron and stanzolol can decrease SHBG levels, it might be worth looking further into the pharmokinetics of this but I haven’t had the time to do so yet…
I’ve also seen some relationships with DHT and SHBG that look interesting, as I haven’t had my DHT levels directly tested yet, and there are natural approaches to increase DHT if it does relate somehow.
I’m going to try and keep my thoughts, protocol changes and further labwork all in one thread for educational purposes.
Best of luck,
GM.
Hi, Yes, SHBG presents the million dollar question – and many doctors don’t see the relevance telling me that “don’t worry, yes, it’s high, but you have high T, so it’s ok” – but as we know, it doesn’t really work that way.
I experimented with BORON and STINGING NETTLE ROOT supplements, and I did notice SHBG had declined some. The Endo suggested that I stay on the BORON as one of my supplements to lower SHBG, because it was worth it, if there was even a slight chance it was helping. I had SHBG relatively flat at 80, but it jumped to 104 on this last test (6 month time-span).
I found two references online regarding exposure to MOLD and increased SHBG. When I return to the USA in January, I plan to test my office for mold just so I can eliminate another question.
Elevated SHBG has been linked to GI and liver inflammation, infections, insulin dysfunction, environmental toxins (xenoestrogen or pesticides), specific medications (antibiotics, thyroid and many others) and possible low carb diets, (and) hidden black mold (exposure) …
I am trying to eliminate as much as possible with testing and questioning doctors - but so far no steps in the right direction.
By the way, if you have time to do some reading, go to
http://anabolicapex.com/2017/01/17/free-testosterone-uncaged/
Do a “find in the page” search for SHBG, which will make reading easier. It is a LONG article, perhaps with lots of information you already know. But I found it interesting since my specific problem is sky high SHBG.
I was also surprised to find this statement online:
“A study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts found that eating red meat can decrease the body’s production of SHBG, which regulates testosterone levels in both women and men.”
I could really use some help with this one ASAP, I think I’m the first to experience this particular symptom.
It doesn’t matter if I’m trying to have some fun with my girlfriend, or solo, but literally like 45 seconds after I get ‘started’ the worst migraine from hell rushes on FAST and it doesnt go away fully when I ‘finish’… it’s happening every single time. This is a symptom I literally just cant put up with… what if this never goes away?
So I think I’m changing my protocol again based on what I’ve since learned, I’m doubting the weird sex induced migraines are hCG induced and starting to think maybe I have high E2, my doctor only prescribed 1mg of adex for 200mg Depo-T that’s like half what I should have been taking and even though my E2 has never been tested, I suspect i have naturally high E2 due to my SHBG being 2.5 times higher than normal… I was going to do 100mg Depo-T but since doing my first 50mg I.M shot 3 days ago it just feels like way too low of a dose, and I plan on cycling off and doing PCT after 14 weeks and retesting basal levels and trying clomid monotherapy for a bit… so heres my new protocol:
Monday: 100mg Testosterone Cypionate
Tuesday: .5mg Anastrozole
Wednesday: 250iu hCG, .5mg Anastrozole
Thursday: 100mg Testosterone Cypionate
Friday: .5mg Anastrozole
Saturday:
Sunday: 250iu hCG, .5mg Anastrozole
I will be interested to hear the results from this test.
I also have the crazy high SHBG but almost no blood estrogen detected. Saliva detected high Estrogen and I’m waiting for a urine test to arrive to put the issue to rest of whether blood/plasma Estradiol levels can be different than saliva/urine pass through levels.
I’m not real smart about this stuff, and do not know if some of this might be oral, but does that mean you are taking 6 injections per week?