I’m mainly using testosterone for TRT purposes. I overdid it around six months ago and my T and Estradiol levels went through the roof. I did a short PCT with clomid and tamoxifen but felt so bad I couldn’t see it through to the end. I’m not back on a low dose of Sustanon (250mg every couple of weeks) but I feel like my Estradiol is high again. Bloated. Low sex drive. Can’t get an erection. Should I try anastrozole?
It could be a whole host of thiings. Without blood work, you’re aiming in the dark
Ok. I was going to get total t, free t, and Estradiol checked. Is that enough?
Get sensitive E2 yes. Along with SHBG.
I’d also get a array of thyroid tests as well.
Thanks. And if it’s high E2 will anastrozole do the trick or am I going to have to do a PCT?
It’s it’s high E2 you feel, we’ll take a look at your protocol first to see if we can lower it or adjust it to get the e2 down prior to drastic measures like an Ai
Ok. That’s good because I just priced anastrozole and it’s $125. I’m just confused about why I feel this way when I’m only taking a TRT amount. But it does feel exactly the same as when I took way too much T and my Estradiol went through the roof.
It could be that your shbg is low, which results in a higher free androgen amount in circulation. Even trt doses can do this for some.
Only blood work will tell the story to a point. Then it’s narrowing in, through trial and error, what works best.
If SHBG is low, what action do you take?
Taking testosterone will lower it a bit. So reducing dose helps.
Raising SHBG isn’t going to happen with supplements or anything really. It’s just something that needs to be considered in regards to dosing amounts and frequency.
Some with low shbg will do smaller, more frequent shots. Daily or EOD. This is known for getting the E2 down without using an ai.
Ok this is really encouraging! Thanks
You’ve given very little info to go on. No labs and dosing “every few weeks” which sounds pretty inconsistent to me.
True and inconsistency is probably what got me into this situation. I’m doing bloods tomorrow. I generally take a shot every two to three weeks.
It’s a cruise ship not a speed boat. Take a look and consider dosing interval best practice. The body’s homeostatic mechanisms are complex and take time to equilibrate. Great advice you are getting to do blood work and start low and go slow.
Objective
Testosterone has a spectrum of effects on the male organism. This review attempts to determine, from published studies, the time-course of the effects induced by testosterone replacement therapy from their first manifestation until maximum effects are attained.
Design
Literature data on testosterone replacement.
Results
Effects on sexual interest appear after 3 weeks plateauing at 6 weeks, with no further increments expected beyond. Changes in erections/ejaculations may require up to 6 months. Effects on quality of life manifest within 3–4 weeks, but maximum benefits take longer. Effects on depressive mood become detectable after 3–6 weeks with a maximum after 18–30 weeks. Effects on erythropoiesis are evident at 3 months, peaking at 9–12 months. Prostate-specific antigen and volume rise, marginally, plateauing at 12 months; further increase should be related to aging rather than therapy. Effects on lipids appear after 4 weeks, maximal after 6–12 months. Insulin sensitivity may improve within few days, but effects on glycemic control become evident only after 3–12 months. Changes in fat mass, lean body mass, and muscle strength occur within 12–16 weeks, stabilize at 6–12 months, but can marginally continue over years. Effects on inflammation occur within 3–12 weeks. Effects on bone are detectable already after 6 months while continuing at least for 3 years.
Conclusion
The time-course of the spectrum of effects of testosterone shows considerable variation, probably related to pharmacodynamics of the testosterone preparation. Genomic and non-genomic effects, androgen receptor polymorphism and intracellular steroid metabolism further contribute to such diversity.
Thanks. I’ll take a good look at this. Quick question about anastrozole: does it tank your estradiol so much you can end up with the same libido issues as high estradiol?
Person-dependent roll-of-the-dice. You will get a lot of differing perspectives on here. My body responds very favorably to 0.25 mg of anastrozole/wk over short periods (few weeks) when I was trying a combination of AAS and E2 shot up. I even tried 0.5 mg/week for a couple months with good response. Long term use of AI concerns me. Other folks will have different experience.
I would caution against advice you sometimes see on here to just let your E2 run up like the higher the better. Your body is telling you something, like lower the dose, otherwise you get into polypharmacy which can become a cluster.
If you want sustainable performance and aren’t a physique/strength competitor and just want to feel better without the swings, go back to square one and target 75-100 mg/week of testosterone ester (no AI) and be methodical with bloodwork. IF you don’t leave the breadcrumbs with bloodwork, you have no idea where you were, where you are. Check out that dude over in TRT using the xyosted right now, he’s got a good doc in terms of protocol.
Is there a reason you think that’s a good idea?
Here is you every two weeks for the last six weeks:
Here’s every three weeks:
Maybe you don’t feel great because you’re doing something that’s really, really dumb?
Maybe. Hence the questions. The clinical guidelines for things like Sustanon and Testoviron recommend the above protocol and for the most part I’ve been following clinical guidelines because my aim is TRT. It started to go wrong when I started taking one or two full vials a week because I was going to the gym more - then everything crashed when the gyms closed for the lockdown. So I’m trying to retrace my steps and figure out where I went wrong
Serious question: how do you not know the absolute most basic stuff and yet feel qualified enough to be injecting yourself with a drug that requires some level of competence to manage? Do you just not care about your health at all? Help me understand the process by which you’ve done all this and then maybe we can help you out with the more global issues you’re having. Because brother you are going to hurt yourself so much worse if you don’t take this stuff seriously.
Like I said, I’ve been trying to follow clinical guidelines for the most part - not bodybuilding protocols.