I went to daily injections and stayed in that protocol for 6 months. I found that I actually felt better with the E3.5D delivery. My body seems to respond better to the peak and trough of the twice week protocol. My lab values varied very little as far as SHBG, E2, HCT on either protocol. It just wasn’t worth sticking daily for me either. I had hoped it would lower my HCT and I could phlebotomy less…HCT was unchanged for me.
Sometimes I think theres something to this.
As long as you’re getting that FT high enough…
Agree. Testing free T levels at trough is key to ensure adequate levels.
Yeah, I came to realize that I actually enjoyed the little peak and trough of bi-weekly. I actually felt best the day before the next injection. I would “feel” a nice surge the day after injection, but by the time the next injection rolled around I was feeling best overall…as though my “trough” was the best part. So there really was no part of the week I didn’t enjoy. And I’m not 100% positive that the day before or day of injection is actually a trough when you think about overlapping half-lives etc.
I’m not sure abut all that, but I do like bi-weekly.
Also like you, the primary thing I was hoping for with daily was being able to reduce hematocrit. So if it didn’t help you with that then it’s kinda pointless for me.
Agree. My E2, SHBG, HCT did not reduce at all with daily dosages. I really expected to see at least a marginal decrease in E2 and HCT. Just didn’t happen. Plus the steady state with no peak and trough just kinda flatlined my emotions, libido, and “get up and go”. Wasn’t bad, just not as effective for me as twice a week. So many argue certain elements related TRT and I believe that their points work for them…it just doesn’t work for all. A lot that struggle on TRT are not willing to take the time and really do systemic trial and error to truly find where they feel best. It takes a lot of patience and $ to find your sweet spot. After 4 years of trying I am finally very close!
I’ve found that sub-q (for me at least) is what causes the flatline. I didn’t even know if it was working or if I was doing it right until I got bloods and had 2000 total T. That was daily sub-q. On daily IM I get the euphoria (for lack of a better word) after each shot every day. Daily shots won’t necessarily cause E2 to lower it just makes it less of an issue because your levels are all staying about the same. Again daily shots are not for everyone and are probably not for most but there is a big difference in how I feel between daily sub-q and daily IM.
I tried sub q once…burned like hell and created a large sore lump…that was it for me. I use 27g 1/2” needles shallow IM with either daily protocol or E3.5D.
Wow that’s pretty interesting, not to mention mysterious. You’d think with a T level of 2000 that would be the end of the story. But the fact that reaching 2000 SQ vs IM gives you a different feeling is pretty interesting…maybe more T hits the bloodstream more suddenly via IM.
With SQ I think it has more to do with location. I do love handles. I can’t feel the needle go in and I feel nothing as I inject. Once done, I can’t even tell where the exact entry was.
But one day I thought I’d try the belly. And oh shit did that sting. It had a lump and it burned for 24 hours.