I have to take TRT for medical reasons. I take the fairly standard medical dose of 0.5cc 100mg T enthate once a week, plus a tiny .25mg Arimidex chaser. My levels stay pretty steady over the week. Current total T levels are around 570-600 and Free T around 23-30. All other blood levels and general health are good.
All my research indicates these are very acceptable and good levels for my age (48). I lift and enjoy fairly good results for a middle aged guy with kids.
So here is the question - Since I have to take T, was wondering if I could toy with boosting them a bit more, still in medical range, but say in the 700 or 800’s. Maybe like .7cc. Would I see any noticeable increased body appearance or strength or stamina results from going up a bit more …or would I have to go really high to get any noticeable improvements.
Or is this a case of “its working for you, don’t mess with it”
I did this . It did work a bit more for increasing my fat loss and muscle gains . But you really should split the dose into 2x. Weekly . It will give less spike to body and a more natural effect with lower chance of conversion to Estrodiol . Also you will need a bit more anastrozole - again split into 2x week .
And since each person is different - you never know until you try
[quote]RoyBatty wrote:
I have to take TRT for medical reasons. I take the fairly standard medical dose of 0.5cc 100mg T enthate once a week…
[/quote]
Are you sure about the dosage? I’ve only see TE in 200mg/mL. Taking .5cc once a week would give you a fairly standard medical dose of 100mg per week. 50 mg per week is on the low side, but seems to be working for you.
My understanding is that there is a steady correlation between blood plasma levels of T and muscle size/strength. Have a look at this study - which I paste here only as a data point:
http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/281/6/E1172
“This study demonstrates that an increase in circulating testosterone concentrations results in dose-dependent increases in fat-free mass, muscle size, strength, and power. The relationships between circulating testosterone concentrations and changes in fat-free mass and muscle size conform to a single log-linear dose-response curve.”
Personally, I don’t want my levels to be that of a typical 46yr old…I want my levels to be that of someone in their 20s. The average 46yr old is experiencing symptoms of ED, Depression, Sleeplessness to some degree, and as I was well past that point in several areas, I needed to get to a level where those symptoms were no longer present. For me that is 800, and typically run 125 2x per week, which is only slightly up from my previous maintenance dosage of 200mg per week, with 1mg Arimidex split .50, .25, .25 through the week. Either way, i would have to agree with the other posters in several areas:
*1 shot per week will give you more highs and lows, compared to 2x per week
*400mg per week (if i remember reading correctly) is where you would very quickly see size/strengths gains.
also, again from reading various sources, i’m pretty sure the AI would be taken the day before your shot for maximum benefit.
if any of this is incorrect or mis-leading, someone please correct.
400mg/wk is approaching a beginner level “cycle” - you would definitely see results, along with the potential for increased sides. That being said, there are lots of guys that blast and cruise at various levels.
[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
[quote]RoyBatty wrote:
I have to take TRT for medical reasons. I take the fairly standard medical dose of 0.5cc 100mg T enthate once a week…
[/quote]
Are you sure about the dosage? I’ve only see TE in 200mg/mL. Taking .5cc once a week would give you a fairly standard medical dose of 100mg per week. 50 mg per week is on the low side, but seems to be working for you.
[/quote]
Yes 100mg a week i what I am taking - fairly standard medical dose and I seem ok on it. Being around 600 and good Free T level seems “ok” or minimum healthy level for a guy my age (49).
[quote]mahjohn wrote:
Personally, I don’t want my levels to be that of a typical 46yr old…I want my levels to be that of someone in their 20s. The average 46yr old is experiencing symptoms of ED, Depression, Sleeplessness to some degree, and as I was well past that point in several areas, I needed to get to a level where those symptoms were no longer present. For me that is 800, and typically run 125 2x per week, which is only slightly up from my previous maintenance dosage of 200mg per week, with 1mg Arimidex split .50, .25, .25 through the week. Either way, i would have to agree with the other posters in several areas:
*1 shot per week will give you more highs and lows, compared to 2x per week
*400mg per week (if i remember reading correctly) is where you would very quickly see size/strengths gains.
also, again from reading various sources, i’m pretty sure the AI would be taken the day before your shot for maximum benefit.
if any of this is incorrect or mis-leading, someone please correct.[/quote]
Thanks for that on AI. I thought it was supposed to be at time of injection.
Okay so lets discuss this - i know the guys here with far more experience and knowledge than me - recommend 2x a week or EOD or every three days.
I am a long long (did I say long?) time medical user and used to do every two weeks or 3 weeks (yikes). thanks to this site I changed to weekly and got on AI. However, I have had the opportunity to measure my T levels mid week and end of week on my weekly cycle - and I see no spikes or drops. I vary less than 5 to 10 percent over the week. I suspect that guys who produce their own T naturally have bigger variations than I do. It would be interesting if I had the resources to measure my T/FT/E2 daily over my week cycle but it took a lot to get my doc let me do it at mid and end week.
But heck - I have to take it, and I could try it for a while at 2x week.
[quote]catfish74 wrote:
400mg/wk is approaching a beginner level “cycle” - you would definitely see results, along with the potential for increased sides. That being said, there are lots of guys that blast and cruise at various levels.[/quote]
Wow thats a lot. I wonder what their total T would be with 400mg a week ???
I am really wondering if going from 600 Total T to 800 or even 900 would result in much different in my body or strength. It sounds like you need to go very high to really bust out of the ordinary. Not that I want to compete or anything - just go a head and get more benefits since I have to take it anyway…lemonade out of lemons kind of thing.
[quote]mahjohn wrote:
Personally, I don’t want my levels to be that of a typical 46yr old…I want my levels to be that of someone in their 20s. The average 46yr old is experiencing symptoms of ED, Depression, Sleeplessness to some degree, and as I was well past that point in several areas, I needed to get to a level where those symptoms were no longer present. For me that is 800, and typically run 125 2x per week, which is only slightly up from my previous maintenance dosage of 200mg per week, with 1mg Arimidex split .50, .25, .25 through the week. Either way, i would have to agree with the other posters in several areas:
*1 shot per week will give you more highs and lows, compared to 2x per week
*400mg per week (if i remember reading correctly) is where you would very quickly see size/strengths gains.
also, again from reading various sources, i’m pretty sure the AI would be taken the day before your shot for maximum benefit.
if any of this is incorrect or mis-leading, someone please correct.[/quote]
So 800 was the magic line for you …and it took 125mg per week. Is that 250 a week then total - two 125 mg shots?
Since I am getting close to 600 on only 100 mg per week. If I doubled that and took 100mg twice a week (200mg a week). I suspect, but don’t know - that my levels might go up very high maybe outside medical range?. Is there a linear relationship to dosage and T levels?