Hey fellows, I’ve been lifting (and running) since I was a teenager in the '70s, never used testosterone boosters of any kind but I’ve reached that stage where the dad-bod needs some help.
I know that your forum header said not to ask about sources, so I suppose I could go to my family physician and ask about hormone replacement or some such. Thanks for the help.
PCP’s can be a great source for supervision and getting bloods done whilst having the insurance company pay for it. When it comes to the actual TRT protocol, it’s going to be up to you to know more than they do, or it’s going to be a nightmare.
Step 1 - go to your PCP and tell them of your symptoms and that you would like a full blood panel done along with a full testosterone check. Do some reading around to find out all that you need, but the big ones are TT, FT, E2(sensitive test for males), and SHBG.
Step 2 - wait for blood results and post them up here.
Step 3 - (to be completed during step 1 and step 2) Read everything that you can get your hands on regarding TRT and steroid use. Educate yourself.
The reason for step 3 is because if, and I mean IF, your bloods reveal that you should start TRT, then your PCP is going to want to start some generic protocol that will do you more harm than good in the long run. You will need to be educated to plead your case to them. Hopefully they are open minded and will let you become part of your own therapy. Be aware though most are not. You may even have to go to a few different doctors until you find one competent in TRT, or at least one that is open minded enough to listen to your (by then hopefully) well educated concerns and considerations.
Don’t let them bully you. At the end of the day, it’s your body and it should be your decision on how it is treated. If they can’t understand that then you’re better off finding another.
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Side note to the above post…
If you’re just interested in cycling steroids, you should still heed the above directions. If you run a cycle now (which would be very stupid if you don’t know your hormone profile right now), there’s a very good chance that TRT will be following that shortly after for the rest of your life.
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Good advice. The only thing I would add is don’t be afraid to change Dr’s if the one you have wants to give you a one size fits all protocol.
Don’t forget FSH and LH when testing. You can’t make a diagnoses without them as to primary or secondary.
Thanks for the replies, guys. I’ll get the test done first before proceeding any further. If the numbers come back low, which products would you recommend for someone who just wants to hang on to his present lean mass while dieting his BF ratio down?
AAS of any kind are not a good tool for use by out of shape folks looking to recomp. Recomp first, reach your hard work potential, then if still interested continue researching proper cycles. That being said you may qualify for TRT depending on your bloodwork. If you have low test that’s going to make your recomp much harder but still doable.
Thanks, but I didn’t say I was out of shape. I’ve been lifting and running regularly for 40 years. What I want to do is the equivalent of cutting- maintaining muscle mass while reducing BF.
You said “dad bod” and need to lose fat… hmmm
Yes, I did. My BF ratio is embarrassingly high (life happens while you’re raising a family and building a career.) But at my age and with my training history- no further muscle growth is going to happen naturally. And, any attempt at dieting involves a tremendous hit to my LBM.
The first step is see where you are. Ask your PCP for these tests. This is a Comprehensive Hormone and Wellness Lab Panel for Men:
CBC, CMP-14, Lipid Panel, Testosterone Free and Total, Estradiol Sensitive, DHEA-Sulfate, TSH, PSA, LH, Sex Hormone Binding Globulin, IGF-1
With all these numbers at hand we can give you some great advice as to what to do next be it TRT or a Blast and Cruse if you have a source. I wish I could post links to blood testing services and docs but the mods here will just delete them.
Thanks. I’m in Canada, so the labs and docs would be a different system, but I’ll be making an appointment soon.
Go for it. Unfortunately due to the bf % you may convert testosterone to estrogen at a higher rate due to aromatase activity. Aromatase enzyme is found in part in fat. All this means to me is that if the doc says “SURE! HERE! TAKE 200 MGS OF CYPIONATE A WEEK!” That might not be a good starting point. For trt purposes you might start at 100 mgs a week and test after 6 weeks to see where your e2 ends up. If in a safe range you can look at increasing your dosage. Start there.