I think a lot of time there are very positive effects from small increases, because many are on too small a dose. I believe, based on my limited experience, that many TRT issues can be solved by increasing the dose.
I agree with you that many of the negatives are created by unrealistic expectations. I totally get it. Most that start TRT are in a really bad place and put all their hope into it. As I have learned, T will not solve all your problems, but it will help your mind and body get into a place where you have a chance to solve your problems.
I’m sure there are some legitimate negatives that come along with a dose that passes what your “optimal” level is, but I don’t think many make it there on TRT doses.
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Perfectly said
Bingo, it’s the surrounding factors that are problematic so long as labs are good. This is a message to all who are looking for symptom relief. Choose your protocol stick with it, and live your life.
Exactly… unresolved anxiety will only complicate/negate the benefits of TRT, and obsessing over anything is not healthy. I’m almost positive a lot of ED issues is performance anxiety related to worrying about getting an erection and obessing over erectile function.
Example: Man has low T and thus starts TRT. He starts paying attention to his nipple sensitivity more and constantly obsesses over what the exogenous T is doing in his system. He has a lot of anxiety surrounding TRT… Begins to think his E2 is high and reads that High E2 leads to softer erections… now when he gets an erection he is focusing on it and expecting a softer erection… all of a sudden he thinks he has a softer erection and boom its a reality. An endless cycle of suffering created by his mind. The mind is all too powerful.
Long story short
- Pick appropriate protocol and stick with it
- Dial labs in
- Manage external factors (diet, stress, sleep)
- Be reasonable with expectations of TRT
- Hit the gym and live your life
P.s. If you look at my TRT thread you will see I was panicking and in an anxiety like state. Since then I have realized that many of my issues stemmed from my constant over thinking and over analyzing, I was spending majority of my day reading threads. Now I am managing my anxiety, I have upped my dosage to 150mg split 75mg twice weekly and I feel 10x better. Libido is through the roof, and I am much sharper.
Most are afraid of a dosage increase, for some it is needed. From what I see here… a lot of people could be under dosing.
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That is incredible. Did he have an IV port to inject into? I’m joking, I think. What years are you talking about? There may have been some guys taking a gram a week back in my day, but I just didn’t know there were. Steriod use was still new back then. As for the legality of it, it was not illegal in sport, they didn’t start drug testing until the mid 80s, and we had an easy time finding doctors who would prescribe it for you. Even when they started testing, it was pretty much expected you would simply stop a few weeks prior to the competition and pass the test. Not like that now.
Hmmm, could reading threads increase side effects?
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Lol beware for every 10 threads you read your nutz will shrink 1/10th of their original size.
There was a study on men who were given viagra, some were given a placebo pill that had nothing in it and these men experienced a return of erections, it was all in their head. This generation has no patience, they want what they want and they want it right now.
We live in an age of instant gratification, you want porn, you got it, ask siri a question and the info is given to you immediately without any effort and if you’ve been spoiled your entire life and used to getting your way and now need TRT, you want to feel good now, not in 6-12 months when you have figured out your protocol.
The younger generation is having all the problems, not the men who were born before the age of instant gratification, we had to earn everything that we have and that built character, we know things don’t come easy, hard work pays off.
Also realise our environment is more toxic, when my endocrine system was maturing there was less pollution, cleaner air quality and less edc’s, now the environment is flooded with air so unhealthy it kills people, there is so much plastics (edc’s) in the world it’s been found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
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Couldn’t agree more with what you have written. Very well said @systemlord. You seem to have a lot of influence on this forum and as such you should preach to the younger men who are impatient and explain to them that TRT is not a magic cure, but only a piece of the puzzle. Results take time, and worrying has never solved anything.
I find that Viagra study very interesting… Performance anxiety (stressing about getting an erection) is likely a vicious cycle for many experiencing issues down there.I know surely it has affected me in the past, and only when I am calm and not worrying about it, it happens as nature intended it to.
It would be interesting to see a study in which the testosterone doses were varied and unknown to the subjects. Maybe include placebo injections.
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This would be gold.
When I first joined Kaiser, I previously had an injection of 200mg enanthate, 14 days later another 150mg, I was so jittery and felt like someone poured a pound of caffeine in my coffee. My body was like WTF, just give me my 7mg daily injection already.
The 200mg enanthate would see a TT at 1200 ng/dL, so another 150mg 14 days later when the 200mg would still have me at 600 ng/dL, so I was probably closer to 2000 ng/dL and my FT damn high because a 697 ng/dL would put my FT at 29 well above normal. So at least a FT at 50 pg/mL (6.8-21.5)
2000 - 2010. Give or take. Strongman tends to be a little different. My understanding was that the Pro’s were cruising at a gram, and cycling other stuff depending on what was going on. They never came off the gram a week, that was just a baseline. No testing, so I wasn’t worried about within the sport. I still think that’s the fairest and most level playing field, you can run or not but nobody is pretending or “Cheating”. And everyone joked about how dirty cycling is (was), those guys were doing the crazy stuff. Not too many men can be 385 lbs and natural, just saying.
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Damn, so 400mg on Mondays and 400mg on Thursdays would have killed you?
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