Been weighing this up for months… really struggling in my head with it as my total test levels are always about mid range.
Had issues with tiredness/fatigue, gyno, libido and felt emotionless for the last few years. Nothing seems to make me happy- not excited by anything.
I’ve had 4 blood panels in the last 6 months and my shbg has been ranging from very high normal to 1.5x the upper marker.
Free test has always been stuck on 0.3 (ref 0.2-0.62). Ive tried boron and its made no difference.
GP didn’t want to know but a private clinic here in the UK has looked at symptoms and the high SHBG along with the low end free test and agreed to prescribe and monitor etc.
So I’ve been weighing it up and decided I’m gonna try it for 3 months and see if I can improve the quality of my life.
Dose is going to be 125mg per week starting (I think I’m gonna do this with 2 shots per week).
It’s prescribed Test- E it’s a shame Test- C isn’t available over here as being high SHBG makes me think eod injections (sub cut) would be better.
Few questions?
How long before I’m likely to feel an improvement?
shooting twice a week if I rotate both glutes, quads and delts should I be ok with intra muscular long term?
blood panels are £100 private over here- how often do you guys get bloods?
I’m shitting myself about the lifelong commitment of this- what’s the longest I can be on it and bail and use hcg chlomid and tamoxifen and restore my normal function?
Am I stupid starting this with a normal “total test” figure?
Check your thyroid levels. At least TSH and FT4 and FT3. Some check rFT3 but I don’t think it’s necessary unless you’ve been put on medication and the other numbers are stable. There is a link between SHBG and thyroid function.
I do delts twice a week; if I was blasting I’d add a VG site, but otherwise I don’t stray too far
I’d get the first test done around that 12 week mark
No answer to that one. Maybe you can do this for two years and then recover perfectly fine. Maybe you go six months, change your mind, try a restart and you’re significantly lower for life. No way to know.
Nope. My numbers were low but not clinical when I started. Doctor is pretty good about treating symptoms and not numbers. I’ve never looked back.
Three months is not enough time, you should be prepared to give TRT at least a year, but I’m afraid some individuals are still fine tuning their protocols at 3 months. It will take 6-12 months to see significant improvements provided you have dialed in your TRT protocol quickly in that time frame.
The enanthate and cypionate are like brothers, they are alike. The cypionate has a 2 days half-life lead over enanthate which isn’t much.
Everyone is different, I’m a hyper responder to all forms of TRT, 6mg daily is enough to get positive reactions within minutes, improved erections, more energy, more sociability, improved cognition and bigger appetite within hours.
The test c/test e thing was more I’d read that test c is much kinder if you use it sub cut due to the oil being less viscious. Do any of you guys use test e sub cut?
I just don’t want to end up like a pin cushion and I ride bikes a lot so pinning quads and glutes might get bothersome. I’ll just have to see how I get on.
Does 125mg split across 2 jabs a week seem like a good starting point?
Out of interest how old are most of you guys? What’s the longest anyone on here has been on a protocol?
I am 33 and just started. I’ve only done 2 injections, one in each quad. So far I just get a very mild ache after the injection, I feel like it wouldn’t affect your bike riding. However, you can always inject in the delts, it’s just a little trickier if doing it by yourself, you’ll need to get used to doing an injection with one hand.
Make sure to use a higher gauge needle, it will help a lot with any discomfort. I’ve also heard injecting deeper reduces pain, although I don’t know if there is truth to that.
I’m a cyclist (well a crap one - triathlete) too but inject in my stomach. It won’t effect your cycling in anyway. Apart from the extra red blood cells
It takes up to a week for the lump to go away for me. I don’t always get it. It depends on where I pin and if i massage it in a bit. And it bothers me. It itches,
Ok so I’m 5 days in. Done 2 jabs- I’m definitely feeling some nipple sensitivity. I’m just on test at the minute. Would you guys give it a bit to let everything settle with just test or I’ve also got a script for arimidex- 1/4 tab twice per week.
I wanted to steer clear of inhibitors if I can help it…
Looking for advice, I’m a bit uneasy about the long term implications of using them?
Your muscles get used to being injected. First ten shots often left me in pain for days. After that almost nothing. I shoot twice a week and never feel anything beyond the original shot.
Although I think I hit something a few weeks ago and gave myself a mild dead leg for like eight hours.
You don’t have gyno after 5 days. That shit takes a while to develop. You don’t need to take an AI. Your body is going to be going through all kinds of changes. You may feel less than ideal for a couple months and then it gets better. Anytime you change shit you restart the clock.
Yeh I know I’ve not got gyno- but I DO have nipples behaving fucking weird. Going hard all the time and sensitive. That’s why I was aking- you guys have been through this and if that’s a sign Gyno will develop over the next month or two then I’d try an AI.
If it’s ok for this and you guys say yeh that’s just settling shit and don’t worry then great.
@roadie
Don’t use an AI. If you have signs of gyno 6 months from now you can look into tamoxifen. Taking an AI now when just starting TRT and using a very small 125mg dose you’ll risk crashing your E2 and will pray for the days when your worst problem was your nipples felt sensitive.
Read others experiences on this site. Lots of people report feelings in their nipples and they eventually go away. Your body is getting used to a new flood of hormones and it takes time to get to where things normalize.
