Trial Run w/ Testosterone Replacement & Didn't Feel Any Difference

Pharma TRT
1

I’m in my mid-30’s, I’ve been training since my teenage years (just basic lifting at home) and I decided to try exogenous Testosterone for one time to see what it feels like after reading about the various benefits for years. Basically I hopped on the hype train because of all the rave journals that you can read on forums and mainly reddit about how Testosterone being a cure-all, that you feel all confident, top of the world and all that.

I had pharmaceutical Sustanon and I injected it daily for 4 weeks (62.5mg/day - 437.5mg/week), then an unrelated injury ended my trial. Here are my observations:

My starting levels were in the mid-500’s ng/dl (total T), SHBG at 30, free T at around 12 ng/dl.

I guess because of the Prop, I felt the shots doing something from day 1. It was not something pleasant. I felt tired, weak, confidence down. “Is it placebo? Am I just over excited from this trial? I shouldn’t feel like this from Test!” I thought that somehow this pharmaceutical Sustanon might be contaminated or bunk so I did a blood test on day 5. I was totally sure that this stuff is somehow bunk even though it’s from the pharmacy. Well, it turns out that my Total T sits already at 3780 ng/dl on day 5!! SHBG down from 30 to 19.8 and Free T at 81.6 ng/dl!

So the stuff works. But after only a week I’m really feeling bad. My blood pleasure turns out being high so I start on Aromasin 12.5mg every 3.5 days and it alleviated all of my bad symptoms.

My observations of those 4 weeks on this regimen:

  • Libido increased but not much. It was always high in my entire life even when I was suppressed in the past because of medication.
  • I didn’t feel any more confident, motivated, energetic or more “alpha”. Absolutely no mental effects. Neither aggression nor calmness. Nothing, nada.
  • My ability to lift weight increased dramatically. By only week 2.5 I could bench press 10kg more than ever in my life. I could train the same muscles every other day without any fatigue. My traps looked huge and I didn’t even trained them directly.
  • My balls started to shrink noticeably by week 3.
  • My prostate definitely began to enlarge, I could feel the symptoms (also week 3). Harder to piss and that specific sensation when you cum.
  • Strangely, my flaccid penis looked more puffed up. Any time of the day. From basically day 1.

Then a bike injury happened and I had stop (stopped the shots and the AI too) Strangely, 3 days after stopping is when the libido skyrocketed. I had to masturbate about 8-10 times a day, it was a pain in the ass with me being bedridden with one arm totally screwed up. Then after day 5 my nipple started to itch. I didn’t know that you shouldn’t stop the AI after the last Test shot. So I took 5mg Nolva for a week and it stopped the itchiness.

I waited 3 weeks and then did a short PCT with very low dose Enclomiphane (12.5mg) and Nolva(10mg) switching them daily. I didn’t feel the lack of my own testosterone production neither mentally. There was a short 1 week period when I didn’t have as much libido as usual but that’s it. It’s been a month after finishing my mini-PCT and I’m back to 100% like before the trial.

So is it all hype about Testosterone having a mental effect on men? Or only clinically low-T men can feel these benefits? On reddit they rave about Testosterone like it’s cocaine. I find it very funny and misleading in retrospect. The only benefit for me was the ability to lift more.

2

So far you’ve done TRT wrong, sustanon has multiple half-life esters, short, medium and long.

For this reason dosing sustanon daily is not only unecessary but problematic. Some guys don’t feel right on sustanon and never reach homeostasis on it.

Testosterone propionate isn’t for everyone, most feel amped or uneasy on it.

Some guys actually don’t feel well on frequent dosing. I would try a weekly protocol on sustanon or maybe even every 10 days.

You needed aromasin because your protocol choice was poorly executed and if your experience after stopping TRT is any indication.

Talk about unrealistic expectations, you were on it for 4 weeks and you’re expecting the full benefits way to early.

It takes up to 1 year to reach almost full benefit, minor improvements in muscle and bone continue to improves up to 3 years after starting TRT.

3

I chose frequent dosing consciously by design: to avoid SHBG dropping too low (I have genetically lowish SHBG most often in the mid 20s) and to avoid excess aromatization (I have naturally high E2 regardless of not being overweight).

I did my homework before my trial and it is advised unequivocally to pin Sustanon frequently because of the Propionate element.

This was a trial to see if the hype on mental benefits is true or not. In my case, not. But then again, I had a baseline Total T in the mid-500’s so that could be the reason.
Anyway I find it strange that during that month in a 3800 ng/dl supraphysiological state no mental benefits have manifested for me. No extra energy, drive, motivation, confidence and so on - even though the physical signs all happened after only 2 weeks (ball shrinkage, ability to lift more, etc.).

4

First what you did was a hormonal onslaught to hormonal signaling, this wasn’t normal T levels or TRT.

Too much testosterone can be just as bad as not enough.

It’s true the men that are the most deficient in T are the ones that notice the most profound effect on exogenous T.

I was at 91 ng/dL and Free T below the ranges, and to top it off I have metabolic syndrome/type 2 diabetes, so I have notice a profound effect on TRT, night and day to be exact.

5

I understand that too much can be as bad as too little. But with all the waste by pinning as a first timer it was probably about 400 mg / week at max that I consumed. It’s not an enormously high dose we’re talking about. I aimed for a balanced middle ground in dosing to see if there are mental benefits of Testosterone. That was the most interesting aspect of this trial for me all along.

And I see on reddit that American clinics prescribe Test to guys who are in the 400s because ‘what matters is not the numbers but how you feel’. That’s the mantra. Well I could definitely use a little more drive, motivation and energy just like the next guy. That’s why I tried it, but it failed to deliver those promises.

6

TRT works for people who are way below normal as TRT gets you to be normal. If you were normal before, sure it didnt do shit.
Its like taking painkillers when nothing hurts - ofc you won’t feel the difference.

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7

If you were normal before, sure it didnt do shit.

Spot on Hank :+1:

This is me all over, natty test etc. all within ‘normal’ range but i still felt ok/meh.

To feel great, like i did late teens/early 20’s I need other stuff, Mast, Caber, HCG, on top of 125-150mg test per week. Sustanon my favourite blend.

Taken years of trial and error to arrive at the sweet spot

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Everything I read on reddit shows TRT to be the opposite of a cure-all

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You’re getting closer, I think. You didn’t stay on near long enough to really reap any benefits, so there’s that. You also did a huge dose, and guys on cycle do have varying degrees of mental side effects and benefits. TRT doses tend to fare a little better with the mental stuff.

Anyway, if you wanted to try it again, and do it right, you could give it another go

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But it sure isn’t healthy on the long run to run those compounds (Mast, Caber, etc.) along with TRT. I thought that Testosterone in itself sure must give at least a little extra push even if someone is in the middle of normal range, I guess I was mistaken.

Regarding HCG: is it possible to use it along Test when someone is genetically a high aromatizer? I have E2 around 40 pg/ml naturally (non-sensitive test because there is no sensitive tests in Europe). And it went up to 90 pg/ml right after starting Sust, before introducing an AI.

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Just based on your original post you say you felt horny a few days after stopping everything. you may do better on less frequent dosing. By doing so the body settles into this Goldilocks zone of perfect hormone ratios. When you inject daily you disrupt this process. Just a thought not exact science

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Yes, might be a possibility. Thanks.