If your skin is reacting to the oil, inject IM instead and get it into muscle tissue, deeper the better. I seriously doubt your issues have to do with sterility as it’s almost impossible to have multiple occurrences of infection do to sterility.
All this is a reaction to the oil
After you pull out the needle press with the swab the injection site hard for at least a minute two, with your finger on the swab right on top of the injection site
I think this will solve your problem. The sterility is fine, dont go IM yet.
Norma test is good but is very expensive. Can you not get Galinika from Serbia?
Gelenika is with olive oil and it is less likely to cause such reaction
That’s exactly how I do it except I don’t wait that long after the injection is done. I’ll include that process and see how it goes. For now I won’t change a thing and I’ll suck up the itching like a man lol
I’ll definitely try injecting IM but only after 6 weeks because I don’t want to change anything for now.
I definitely press and also rub after the injection and it didn’t help. Hopefully my skin adapts as @dextermorgan mentioned. If it doesn’t work I’ll try IM after 6 weeks. Unfortunately I can’t find Galenika in Albania and I have to order it online. I’m very sceptical when it comes to buying drugs online, especially from online steroid stores.
Lastly I want to thank you guys and wish you a Merry Christmas!
@dextermorgan @systemlord @vonko1988
Once you open your vial, you could fill up all your syrings and store them in a sterile box in a dark cool place. Thats the way i do.
I use 1time insulin syrings with no dead space, works perfect. When filling them up just heat up the vial with hot water, so its more fluid.
Our situations were really similar and we chatted back and forth prior. Can you give me a breakdown of what you are doing (fully) protocol wise? Including supplements. Did you notice any improvement while using ashwagandha?
I’ve always done IM injections, but I do one a week. I personally know no guy who uses sq (for testosterone), so all I know about it what I read here and on the internet.
I do know some women who use .5in, 27g needles for IM testosterone and it works fine for the dose they take. If I was going to inject daily or whatever up to maybe .25cc, I think I would do the same.
HCG is going to make you ever getting dialed in much harder. You’d be amazed how much not losing 1/8 of your testicle size becomes less of a priority when you feel like crap.
Is that really all that is lost? If so, you just made my choice much easier.
Depends on the person. Some end up with peanuts, some barely lose any. Obviously some of it depends on how long they’re on.
Regardless… if you feel like crap on HCG and aren’t trying to make babies then it’s tough to justify using it.
@kandeman2
Everyone is different but there’s way more people that report not enough of a loss in size to be noticeable than those that have a noticeable effect. Plus it’s completely reversable if your nuts do shrink more than you’re comfortable with. You can always use HCG if you need to you are just more likely to not feel as good.
I use the Now brand 5,000iu Vit D3, Carlson’s The Very Finest Fish Oil or Nordic Naturals liquid. I use Amazon brand Vit C 1000mg (I take 2), Solgar methylcobalamin 1000mcg sublingual B12, bulk supplements powder magnesium glycinate (400-600mg), SR vitamin K2 mk-7 and Natrol melatonin fast dissolve. The ashwagandha that I noticed a major difference with is Nootropics depot (600mg/day) but I usually take it for a month and then when I run out I don’t reorder for a month. I use Kion essential amino acids as well.
185-200mg/week daily IM
2000mg/day of Vit C has been a major game changer for adrenal issues or at least what seems like adrenal issues.
How bad was your libido/ED Issues prior to treatment? Did you ever try HCG?
You mentioned in a prior post about iron supplements, would you recommend those?
@anon8512651 I had very low libido and my dick didn’t get fully hard. That said I didn’t realize it didn’t get fully hard until TRT. Sex would seem like a chore. I’d rather watch TV than have to pound some girl. I guess I just went so long like that it became normal. Never tried HCG.
Iron is great if you need it. I don’t take it all the time. I was iron deficient anemic which is one of the reasons I got on TRT. My HCT & Hemoglobin were both below range. My skin complexion was pale white for years before TRT. Now with testosterone and occasional iron supplementation I look like I have a tan in December. I definitely wouldn’t take iron without first getting a full iron panel.
Hey guys a little off topic question for you all.
- What workout program do you use?
During the past year I used this one I got off T-nation that was supposed to be good for the hormonal system. I do 4 days a week split like this:
Monday: Workout A
Tuesday: Workout B
Thursday: Workout A
Friday: Workout B
Hopefully now that I started TRT I won’t need to save my Testosterone and could add some volume back if needed. My weight is up and I’m around 18-20% body fat which I haven’t been in years. I have been working out for 7 years in total with moderate results because of my low T. I’m used to working each muscle group twice a week. After the first two years I’ve plateaued and only gained fat when I try to bulk and loose muscle when I try to cut.
I would like to make the most of TRT.
Basically new year = new program
What is considered a good level for your FT to be at ??
Two days a week training, pulls, squats, overhead press, sets of five up to limit weights.
Two days a week exercising, dumbbells, sets of ten, no or little rest between sets.
I did a similar routine a while back based on Layne Norton principles but I only worked lower body once a week since I’ve always had a strong lower body compared to my upper body.
I could switch rep ranges for the power day and lower body to 3x5 or 5x5 and and the next two days I could 8-12 reps with minimal rest.
What do you think about the exercise choice? It is a two week template.
It’s fine. I’m assuming that is your New Year’s program, not the one you’ve plateaued on. If so, run it for a few months and see how you like it.
UPDATE:
Today marks 8 weeks since starting TRT. Protocol for now is 47.5 mg MWF for a total of 142.5 mg per week. I ran some labs today and most of the results are in expect Free T, SHBG, and DHT. The labs are at trough right before the injection.
I don’t feel dialled in yet and I’m still not convinced on whether I should start HCG or not. I do feel improvements over before TRT though so I am sure I’ll get to feeling good very soon.
Notes:
- Libido is good some days and okish some others (Never had problems with libido or ED prior to TRT)
- Mood is slightly better and some days I could say it’s very good.
- Concentration is better but not where it used to be a couple of years ago.
- I did gain some water weight. Around 1.5-2 kg but I’ve lost it all in the past two weeks.
- Better motivation to go to the gym and I feel a bit stronger as well. I’m not pushing it yet as I’m worried about tendons and ligaments.
- I haven’t really noticed any body composition change.
- Less brain fog on some days.
- I thought I’d aromatise less E2 since before TRT my E2 was 15 but its up to 48.7 with total test of 776. No symptoms whatsoever though so it’s fine in my book.
- Lipids are a bit worse but definitely not bad at all. My LDL increased and HDL decrease but they are still within the norm and ratios are perfect.
- CBC is good. HCT only increased a tiny bit and its up to 44.6 which is fine.
- DHEA-S decreased a bit but I’m not sure if I should supplement.
- PSA is up a tiny bit but did not abstain from any exercise or sex the night before.
- No thyroid labs this time.
Anyways here are the labs (I’ll upload the rest as soon as they are out):
It’s normal to see an increase in PSA initially which is why doctors don’t bother testing it so soon after initiating TRT, but at the 6-12 months. This 3x weekly protocol may not be the best choice for you, you may need more frequent dosing to alleviate the remaining symptoms.
If you start HCG now, you’ll pay for it with more symptoms by spiking estrogen even higher. I don’t think you’ll do good at all on HCG. Your SHBG was 28 pre-TRT, it is more than likely lower which shifted the balance of Total T-> more Free T (Free T->E2).
If you were to maintain these Total T levels and get E2 at or under 35, you will start to feel better and more frequent dosing is how you accomplished it. You will however need to lower your dosage if you choose to take this path once you have given things a chance to settle and your issues are still unresolved.
I’ll bet your Free T is somewhere in the ballpark of 22-26 pg/mL with SHBG more than likely closer to 20 (possibly >20).
I’m actually thinking on switching to daily injections once I get my free test and SHBG results.
I’m thinking about 20mg a day which should put me to 140mg a week and hopefully less aromatization and more free T.
Thankfully I’m not suffering and high E2 sides at all and I believe it could only get better on daily injections using the same weekly dose.