Hey guys, I want to stop TRT. will make another post with detailed explanation and lab work as to what I went through and the reason behind deciding to stop. My issues were not related to low T. I just want to know if I can get away without doing PCT since I was on TRT for only 3 months. How long do you think it’ll take before I bounce back to my pre-TRT levels. My last injection was 4 days back with 65mg of Test E.
Yep. You essentially ran a cycle, shut down, and need PCT
I’ve had guys tell me they ran one two month cycle eight years ago and never recovered, however based on my experience, you should be fine. This comes from someone who ran perpetual AAS cycles as a competitive weightlifter for over a decade. I trained with many who did the same. These would typically consist of six to twelve weeks on and six to twelve weeks off determined on the competition schedule, on longer for major competitions and shorter or not at all for the lessor, local, ones. PCT was not even a thing then.
We did not check levels, but the only “symptoms” seen were decreased bodyweight, size, strength, poor recovery with more aches and pains from training. You’d feel it for a few weeks and then start to come around about the time you would go back on for the next competition.
You should feel back to your normal in four to six weeks.
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TRT is lifelong, not a cycle. So if someone is on actual TRT, there is no PCT.
Why would you receive TRT if you did not have low T? You might never recover. The only way to know if you have recovered is to wait and use nothing.
I was trying to fix an injury which resulted in chronic pain and used TRT as a last resort as the next option was surgery( eventually injury got much better due to custom orthotics and I doubt TRT helped, I could be wrong). My total t taken at two different interval were 377 ( scale of 260 to 1000), sample collected at 7am - no FREE T tested
and 191 ( scale of 170 to 750, different technology), sample collected at 10am with FREE T of 17 ( scaled of 1 to 28) . MY SHBG 2nd time was 15.6 ( scale of 10 to 57).
As you can see My free T is actually in the upper range. Although I did read many article that FREE T is the real number you need to chase and not total T, I did not see much posts here where guys actual talk in FREE T numbers. To add to this confusion, FREE T measurement is so different in different labs with the same unit, I decided I’ll chase the total T ( stupid mistake).
so what happened, I used 65 mg TEST E every 3 days and in 6 weeks started having mild anxiety and couple of insomnia episodes. I continued thinking it’ll get better but it only got worse and I was so hungry within 3 hours of finishing a meal. So ran a full blood work after 3 months of TRT, 2 days after my last injection and below were the result.
Total T - 600
FREE T - 75 pg/ml ( scale of 1 to 28)
LIver function test - numbers not good, I never had my LFT numbers so out of range
hemoglobin - 19.9 ( scale of 13 to 17)
hematocrit - 57 ( scale of 40 to 50)
RBC - 6.5 ( scale of 4.5 to 5.5)
SHBG - further went down to 13.5 ( scale of 17 to 77)
I was already in the higher range for RBC/hematocrit and hemoglobin before TRT but not this much.
I did read somewhere that RBC/hematocrit will only be high if there is high T ( others include if suffering from sleep apnea and some other disease like cancer) but most likely it’s due to high T.
I did a sleep study and came back negative for sleep apnea ( AHI index of 6 which is normal).
so bottom line, I didn’t needed TRT. I know I look stupid but I had to try after reading so many benefits of TRT and looking at my total T number. I was desperate to heal my injury. My learning, never chase total T, only go with FREE T number. that is more accurate. Having never experienced anxiety issues until now, I truly feel sorry for people who regularly go through that, it’s not cool. Also, don’t be discouraged on TRT reading my post. I made a stupid mistake. . thanks everyone for your valuable feedback and advise. Today is 5th day from my last injection and I already feel much much better. Testicles have lowered down, I guess they’ve started working again.I have left out few details to avoid confusion. I’ll make another detailed post if time permits. Good luck gents.
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I would double check the units on your free T. 75 pg/ml converts to 7.5 ng/dl, which is typically a very low free T level.
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this is exactly the mistake I made initially. There are so many confusing numbers for FREE T, it’s difficult to have an absolute reference. Always go with the lab reference range. I am based in India and use a reputed Lab. My Liver function test during my mid to late 20s where I was a drinking daily about 6 to 8 units of alcohol had never been so out of range. It was not perfect but nothing to be alarmed of and it returned normal when I quit alcohol about 2 years back.
If I understand correctly, Liver metabolizes FREE T and not total T. I did phlebotomy before I started TRT to be on a safer side as my RBC/hemaglobin were already in the high normal range.
hemaglobin before starting was around 14 and it jumped to 19.9 within 3 month. another interesting fact to note, I immediately went to blood bank to donate blood and guess what, they refused my blood and asked to consult a doctor immediately. I returned to my old Endo who calmed me down and said nothing to worry and asked me stop taking TRT and it’ll return to normal in 6 weeks.
FREE T tested using ELISA tech and Method:- SOLID PHASE ENZYME IMMUNOASSAY
screenshot below from lab report.
FREE TESTOSTERONE E.L.I.S.A 75.8 pg/ml
Reference Range :-
Male
< 12 Yrs : < 4.60
12-18 Yrs : 0.18 - 23.08
19-55 Yrs : 1.00 - 28.28
55 Yrs : 0.70 - 21.45
liver function test results
TEST NAME TECHNOLOGY VALUE UNITS NORMAL RANGE
BILIRUBIN -DIRECT PHOTOMETRY 0.44 mg/dl < 0.3
BILIRUBIN - TOTAL PHOTOMETRY 3.57 mg/dl 0.3-1.2
BILIRUBIN (INDIRECT) CALCULATED 3.13 mg/dl 0-0.9
ASPARTATE AMINOTRANSFERASE (SGOT ) PHOTOMETRY 22 U/l < 35
ALANINE TRANSAMINASE (SGPT) PHOTOMETRY 26.3 U/l < 45
ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE PHOTOMETRY 47.2 U/L 45 - 129
GAMMA GLUTAMYL TRANSFERASE (GGT) PHOTOMETRY 20 U/l < 55
PROTEIN - TOTAL PHOTOMETRY 7.06 gm/dl 5.7-8.2
ALBUMIN - SERUM PHOTOMETRY 4.6 gm/dl 3.2-4.8
SERUM GLOBULIN PHOTOMETRY 2.46 gm/dL 2.5-3.4
SERUM ALB/GLOBULIN RATIO CALCULATED 1.87 Ratio 0.9 - 2
Along with total T, always go with FREE T and SHBG as well. I am not sure if I am just an exception with such low SHBG numbers and normal free t with low total T but if anyone else out there with similar numbers, tread cautiously.
FWIW, I quit two years or TRT with pellets, cold turkey, no problems whatsoever… although it was probably a slow taper due to the slowly dissolving pellets… I stayed off for 18 months before switching to injections, and on my initial test before starting back up, my levels had returned to where they were pre TRT. I also have two friends that quit injections they had been on for over 6 months cold turkey and they had no issues either… That’s just my experience…
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