One of the most common questions of people contemplating starting TRT is: How long will it take? I apologize if the question was answered in detail somewhere else but I thought it could be useful for people to share their experiences.
I want to know how long it took people on TRT to see improvements in mood, strength, energy, and libido from the time they started TRT.
I know there are a lot of variables, like dosage and frequency of injection, all hormone levels at the start of treatment, and the other substances may be used to supplement a TRT protocol.
Are we talking about a few weeks or a few months before we see real benefits?
It also depends on how long it take your body to achieve a balance of testosterone and estrogen, receptor sensitivity also is a big factor. I happen to respond very fast to TRT which is strange considering I have low SHBG.
My muscles were harder after only a few weeks and 4 weeks my erections came back which probably has to do with how long it took for estrogen to rise to a more stable level. Testosterone is usually felt immediately, there is a delay between estrogen levels rising to the time you feel the result of those levels, which about an average 5 day delay.
This complicates dosing for anastrozole, where your levels are now is the result of where your estrogen levels were days ago and not where they are now.
Effects on sexual interest appear after 3 weeks plateauing at 6 weeks, with no further increments expected beyond. Changes in erections/ejaculations may require up to 6 months. Effects on quality of life manifest within 3–4 weeks, but maximum benefits take longer. Effects on depressive mood become detectable after 3–6 weeks with a maximum after 18–30 weeks. Effects on erythropoiesis are evident at 3 months, peaking at 9–12 months. Prostate-specific antigen and volume rise, marginally, plateauing at 12 months; further increase should be related to aging rather than therapy.
Effects on lipids appear after 4 weeks, maximal after 6–12 months. Insulin sensitivity may improve within few days, but effects on glycemic control become evident only after 3–12 months. Changes in fat mass, lean body mass, and muscle strength occur within 12–16 weeks, stabilize at 6–12 months, but can marginally continue over years. Effects on inflammation occur within 3–12 weeks. Effects on bone are detectable already after 6 months while continuing at least for 3 years.
The time-course of the spectrum of effects of testosterone shows considerable variation, probably related to pharmacodynamics of the testosterone preparation. Genomic and non-genomic effects, androgen receptor polymorphism and intracellular steroid metabolism further contribute to such diversity.
Me personally took about a month to a month and a half to start feeling better and slowly has gotten better week to week. I’ve been on a cream for almost 3 months now. I have already put on more size muscle wise so that’s a plus. Got multiple comments last week about my arms look like they got bigger in the last little bit and asking what I’ve been doing different. I guess that 5-10 pounds I put on after starting hasn’t been all bad weight lol. Never had trouble in the bedroom except that I don’t get as hard as I would like so still hoping for improvement there as I progress.
Well I’m one week in and so far just feel a bit weird. Hoping to see some benefits in the next few weeks. I’ll update my thread at some point.
Also my ass is killing me from my first self administered shot yesterday. First shot was done by a nurse and there was no PIP at all. Must be my technique in that case then? Same location, same amount, slightly smaller needle.
I am on TRT BioTe pellets, so my situation is different.
On pellets, you feel the T boost within 48 hours. That helped with some of my problems, but not all.
The last 10 days or so have been nice - I feel better than I did in a few years. That would put me at 6 months from TRT initiation. I’m hoping this doesn’t change!
What’s your dosage and frequency? I don’t know what gauge you are using but I’d suggest getting a smaller needle.
It has to be real difficult to inject into your own ass. Can’t you do a subcutaneous shot into your thigh or abdomen? You would need a shorter needle but it would be more convenient, I think.
Plus, I think subQ has slower absorption than IM. I’m no expert but I think subQ is preferable to IM.
175mg E7D (0.7cc Sustanon). 25 gauge 1 inch needle. It didn’t hurt going in, just started aching a few hours later.
Yeah it was a bit awkward, needle was wobbling about quite a bit. Probably why it hurts now. I’ll try shoulders next time, should be easier to keep it stable.
I have very high SHBG and I read that IM is better for high SHBG as SQ doesn’t create as big a spike which is needed to get SHBG down. Not sure if that is true or not but thought I’d do IM just in case.
I don’t think your needle size is the problem. Injection volume and technique are killing you.I think you would notice a huge difference if you could get a concentration script that allows you to inject your required dose in 0.25cc to 0.5cc. I’ve heard that Sus is famous for pip due to the esters, but I don’t know (only used Cyp).
Thanks, yeah I think it must be technique because I was fine after the nurse did the first one. Just a very slight ache a couple of days later but barely noticeable. Also maybe I should have used a different site? I did the exact same area that she did
Yeah you should rotate sites each injection. I started with rotating two (both quads) but after about 4 weeks, I started noticing I was getting a little bit more sore than I should have, so I started rotating 4 (Both quads and both sides glutes). My theory is that once a week in the same site when rotating just quads (injecting E3.5D) was just not giving it quite enough time to fully heal. This 4 site protocol will give each one a full two weeks.
In your case injecting E7D, you would be giving each site 4 weeks to heal if you rotated quads and glutes.
Good question @nihilistinhell! I have the same one. I just restarted TRT 12 days ago (300mg once a wk) and I’m already wondering when I will start feel better lol.
I’m having an issue with insomnia though. From what I’ve read, its a low T and an high E2 symptom and since I’m 2 injections in to my TRT, I don’t know which one it is. Anyone else experienced this?
Insomnia isn’t even the worst of the issues I’ve suffered in the four weeks I’ve been on TRT. I’m on 300mg once every two weeks and I’ve come to realize this dose is too high and infrequent to be effective.
At no point during TRT have I felt good. It’s been various degrees and kinds of bad I won’t get into.
I think you are in a similar situation. Your dose is too high, too infrequent, and you are not on an AI to prevent the conversion of testosterone to e2.
I don’t know who manages your protocol but I’ll cut to the chase and suggest you change it to smaller doses, more frequently, e.g. 75mg EOD. Even then, the weekly dose would be high and you may need an AI.
I’m not pretending to be an expert. Virtually everything sensible I’ve encountered on this forum suggests a protocol like you or I are on are, at the least, not optimal.
Even with an AI you would still have problems with fluctuations in your testosterone over the course of a week.
I don’t know the answer to your question about insomnia but it seems me like most of the negative side effects of TRT are related to e2.
Can someone here from this T.R.T Community as i am on T.R.T myself chime in & let me know if DHEA raises Estrogen E2 Levels more so than Pregnenolone supplement capsules?? the dose i take is no more than 25MG of DHEA EOD. I felt it raised it my estrogen but it didn’t give me achy nipples or anything yet. i am doing along side Testosterone shots. @systemlord@studhammer@roscoe88@anon10035199@NH_Watts@alldayeveryday@unreal24278
Because i am not taking any HCG on T.R.T ZERO HCG. and HcG Signals body to produce DHEA properly through a pathway from the LH signal given by HcG. i believe if you take just Testosterone on it’s own it’s shuts pathway to DHEA, so it’s back filling pathways. I believe Nelson Vergel Owner of ExcelMale.com Confirmed all this too be true.
i tried HCG though, apartment from More SPERM volume, it made my testicles feel extremely FULL to the point of painful all time.