At the end of our appointment I did mention the 25mg/day anavar I was prescribed, and he said if I already have it he reccomends taking it, as it could work while on it and not shut me down at that dose. He just thought it wouldn’t be a long term solution health or cost wise.
I would skip the stingle nettle and go to boron. Finding quality nettle has been impossible and I verified by labs that boron worked to lower shbg.
Why does he think 25 mg/day won’t shut you down, exactly?
He seemed to think it would suppress my total T slightly, but with Var’s binding affinity to SHBG, my free T would end up being higher.
Boron has seemed to work for me in short term…first week I started taking it I was waking up with morning wood again and motivation picked up. Think it tapered off over time.
Not sure if I mentioned this, but I did try the anavar for 6 days a couple weeks after I got it. Day 6 I felt like a new man in the gym and bedroom- talking going at it all night. I chickened out and stopped taking it, but may give it one more go while I wait on my doc consult next week for TRT.
Alright guys, it’s been 3 weeks since I upped my Boron dose to 18-21mg/day, along with continued vitamin D. Have increased calories (plus carbs), dialed back my training, focused on more sleep, less alcohol consumption, etc.
I felt a spark during week 1, probably from calorie increase, and possibly the boron. Woke up with morning wood probably 2-3 mornings, more energy, a little less brain fog. However after a week or so I’ve gone back to normal the past couple weeks. No morning wood, brain fog continues to get worse, and although I’m still crushing #s in the weight room, I’m continuing to lose mass. I spoke with my Dr. and got his plan for TRT
1cc/week Test cyp
Anastrozol .5mg twice/week
- hcg
I know I’ve posted about hair loss and long term commitment being my biggest fear with all this, but my symptoms are starting to outweigh the fear. I’m still functioning fairly well sexually, but erections have been weaker for sure, and thinking about sex way less than I should at 28. Much less than I used to. Biggest symptom is general fatigue and brain fog…maybe even some depression and anxiety. With free T levels at 10.4, do you guys see these symptoms probably showing? Thought maybe it was in my head, but man, it’s getting bad. Anyone here with these symptoms that had dramatic improvement on TRT?
Thank you guys again for all the help.
well, when my free T its below 23 i fell terrible. no way you can have a normal life around 10
Makes sense. The highest Free T I showed in all labs was 13.9…and I won’t lie, my energy and focus is something I’ve struggled with for a couple years now. As a result I’ve ended up with a very high daily caffeine intake, which I’m sure made things worse.
My brother has been the same way and started TRT 20 weeks ago, said the biggest difference has been focus at work. (He’s also gained about 10lbs of muscle, feels great, and has had zero sides including hair loss).
I guess part of my hesitation is thinking it’s in my head and I don’t need this, maybe that’s not the case.
Alright guys, order has been placed and should be here by the end of the week. I don’t want to wait 2 years and wonder how much more i could’ve excelled had I just tried this to begin with.
I’ll keep you guys posted on exact dosing/protocol once it comes in and my doc talks me through it. And will post progress of my journey for anyone interested. Thank you all again for the advice through this.
Alright guys, while waiting for my TRT to come in, I decided to start the var at 12.5mg/day. Low T symptoms were getting intense, to the point where I had no motivation for anything, and generally felt almost like i was sick. I have to say, 6 days in I believe the var has already done some work on eating up SHBG, and being that I probably still haven’t been shut down yet, I feel great. The last couple days have woken up more easily, workouts have been incredible, and sex is on the mind much more than usual. Once issue though- I’m having some puffiness and tenderness around my nipples. I know var is often just d bol repackaged as var- but I don’t see any way that could happen, being this is straight from a pharmacy. I know var does not aromozatize at all…Might be way off on this, but my theory is the significantly lower SHBG could be allowing more estrogen to flow freely as well (since SHBG does bind to E also). And since my T probably hasn’t shut off yet, maybe the additional free T I have is converting to E? Or, could my nipples just be swelling in response to an additional surge of androgens in my body, almost like hitting puberty again? I did experience that as a teenager, and had puffy nipples through most of high school, despite having pretty low bodyfat and being in great shape.
In any case, I have my T, hcg, and anastrazole now, and will for sure be hopping off the var before I start that. Would you guys wait a week or so to let this nipple tenderness clear up, or start T now since I have anastrozole also?
I’d just start on T and quit worrying about E for now. Very very few people need an AI at TRT dosages. Once their bodies adjust the extra water weight, puffiness, etc fades.
That was my thinking- my E has been low on all labs, so don’t want to jump the gun and crash it because of some tenderness and puffiness. But also don’t want to wait too late. Thanks man.
E2 isn’t the devil some make it out to be. Aside from gyno, pretty much everything else about it gives positives, not negatives.
Know how interested many of you are in hormone panels here, so wanted to share. My dad finally had bloodwork done that tests all markers (only done total test in the past, which has always been high for his age- 60 now). Turns out his SHBG is 64…not as high as my 95, but feel like there has to be a genetic link with his panel being so similar… (high T, low free, high DHT, high SHBG).
Know how mysterious SHBG can be sometimes, so found all of this very interesting. @systemlord @traveling-man
Gave a little comfort with my decision to start TRT as well, knowing this is something I probably can’t overcome naturally (as many of you mentioned)
Your dad needs TRT as well, DHEA is also very low, IGF-1 in great for a man his age. Your father will need at least a Total T of 1200 ng/dL to overcome the high SHBG and feel optimal.
For sure, starting this week as well- so at least we’re in it together ha.
His symptoms have been similar to mine as well…mental fog and bad focus issues rather than anything crazy physically. He’s still a pretty strong old dude. Genetics are a funny thing…
Your father is as close to yourself as you’ll ever get from a genetic standpoint, you can compare results and symptoms with him more than you can compare with some other member on T-Nation.
What a unique situation.
I thought so too. Excited to be able to compare.
Brother has been on TRT as well for about 6 months now- life changing results and zero sides so far. BUT his issues were different (he just wasn’t producing test period)