Anti-aging clinics are great…if you don’t really care about having a quality physician. AACs are typically a front for getting “legal” steroids. They do the minimum testing to get you a diagnosis because any further testing could prevent them from prescribing the goods to you. AACs are fine if you know what you are doing since they tend to throw anything you want your way, but they do suggest crazy shit that has no place in TRT.
“one place said they only do 3 month on 1 month off cycles.”
They do this because most of their clientele don’t have hypogonadism, so cycling off to prevent permanent shut down of natural T production is necessary. Permanent shut down is also prolonged or prevented by taking hCG in the way outlined in the Protocol sticky. If you actually have hypogonadism it doesn’t matter two shits if you shut down permanently since your natural production sucks as it is. Why feel good for three months and then feel shitty for a month, over and over again if you’re going to be on this stuff for life?
“They say that if you do long term therapy without stopping your receptors will no longer function as well and my cholesterol would get too high??”
Synthetic testosterone can raise cholesterol levels, so you need to keep tabs on that. Cycling off for 4 one-month periods a year won’t change that. The comment about receptors is total bullshit. If you dose your testosterone and hCG correctly you won’t burn out your system - that is why the protocol is designed the way it is, to keep you functioning for the rest of your life. Besides, guys with hypogonadism have shitty T production as it is so why do you need to make sure that your naturally crappy testosterone production stays “active”?
“They made me nervous saying that with my low levels I would need to start high 300mg a week then lower as time goes on.”
That should make you nervous! Read the Protocol sticky and see if it says you need to start at 300mg/wk before tapering down to 100mg/wk. It doesn’t because this is both unnecessary and stupid. It doesn’t matter how low your levels are to begin with, the starting dose is the same, and you go up from there until you find the balance between how you feel and your bloodwork.
At 300mg/wk you are raising your testosterone levels to at or above 2000ng/dL. This is DOUBLE the top end of the normal range (250-1100). These clinics are designed to get guys prescriptions for doing a low-grade cycle. That is why they give you a three month supply at an elevated dose and post-cycle therapy medications. That’s fine if that’s what you want to do, but if you want a protocol that will treat your hypogonadism for life you shouldn’t take their advice. Funny thing about these clinics that are supposedly doing TRT, you can get Deca and HGH added to your “TRT” protocol, and all you have to do is ask. Often you can also get a cycle of thyroid medication as well - medications that are designed to be used for life for people with thyroid problems.
Not to beat a dead horse, but you should start one thread that is your entire case-work and ask these questions in there. It makes it easier to follow and we can pull up a “history”. Starting a new thread every time you have a new question makes it really tough to follow and clutters the Forum.