I’ve been on TRT for about 10 years now and seen a lot of trends online that come and go, and some that persist. When I began, guys were taking one or two shots a week, as close to 200mg weekly as they could with or without an AI.
Not long after, everyone was taking testosterone, hcg, and an AI - the consensus was that all 3 were basically considered mandatory for a proper protocol.
Several years later, the “backfilling hormones” trend came along, and everyone online was stating that you needed pregnenolone and DHEA as well.
Not long after that, the anti AI movement came along. Taken to the extreme end, estrogen control was totally demonized and I don’t need to remind this specific forum on that.
Around that same time, daily injections popped up and all sorts of claims were made about it’s effectiveness over traditional TRT, “mimicking” natural production, eliminating needs for any ancillaries, etc. Some even believe that anything above 10mg active testosterone per day is no longer TRT but goes beyond.
Personally I’ve noticed that many people jump on the new trending protocols of the time and while a few voices claim great success most people tend to fall back to whatever they were doing beforehand.
One size does not fit all, so I’m not looking for a definitive “one answer to rule them all” discussion here - but what trends have you seen come and go and most importantly - what has remained a constant rule for success during the time you’ve been active on TRT?
Testosterone solo. Its the simplest, most cost effective method. Its truly all you need outside of fertility times. Now, you have to be sensible about it, meaning if you take a 200mg/wk out of the gate then you ‘could’ have E2 issues. Therein is the rub with the TRT mills starting folks too high. At 140mg/wk my levels are constantly top of range but I don’t need an AI. If my doc had me at 200mg/wk I would have levels over range and high E2. The high E2 doesnt bother me at all but some obviously get side effects meaning they think they need an AI when they really just need to lower their dose.
Edit: I am not anti-AI. Some may need it even in reasonable doses but those are outliers. I am against medication use to control the over administration of another medication.
too short on TRT to see trends, but at the end of the day what works for me is this:
200mg/week (my blood labs even on this number are medium, sort of 500/25 (i am ultra low shbg).
HCG - 0.35ml 3x week - purely for libido - it boosts my libido HUGE, too high dose i get anxious
no AI - my e2 is 60! feeling great. no s/x
SubQ in the glutes - allows for lower dosage, better control of estrogen conversion and doesn’t create bumps and bruises in the abdomen.
3 days per week is enough frequency to smooth out the peaks and valleys
Avoid AI’s if you can. My cholesterol spiked when I was on an AI and improved when I removed it from my protocol.
HCG for libido, fertility and to keep teste size. 500 IU - twice weekly is what I run
For T dosage I’ve experimented between 90-110 mg/weekly. 110 mg/weekly keeps me slightly above reference range but I feel and perform the best. I dropped to 90 mg/weekly due to high hematocrit and RBC but it didn’t have an impact so I went back up. I will likely need to eventually drop my dosage to 75 mg/weekly to see if it brings my hematocrit and RBC down. In the meantime, I donate blood quarterly while monitoring my ferritin levels and monitor my blood pressure.
For at least the last 3 years, I have been on a combo of 125 mg Test and 100 mg Mast/week. This has given me the best results in regards to libido, erection quality, and in general overall. I dont use any AI or SERM, have no E2 issues at all.
Not at the dosages we use for TRT really. In some cases the full doses used for female fertility can. Hcg tends to raise 17 oh progesterone slightly in men but not serum prog.
I’ve been on TRT for almost 13 years now. It’s been a bit of an up and down game with protocols but my doctor checks my blook-work every couple months. Right now I’m on a 75mg dose every 5-days, 500 HCG every other Test injection, and a quarter tab of AI with each Test injection. My total Test has been around 700 and Estradiol seems to hover between 15 and 20. My cholesterol has been an issue for a long time in that my ratio of LDL &HDL is not good. In the last year my Triglycerides have increased which could be due in part to some weight gain (+20lbs). But overall I feel really good and can train hard with enough energy for work and family.
When I first started they had me without an AI. My Estradiol hit 72. A couple times they cut it back to quarter tab once and it got into the 30s and actually hit 50 something once. Must be something in how my body metabolized the Test.
Strictly speaking from my own experience, Mast helps with libido and erection quality. Also I take ZERO anti-estrogen meds or SERMS, I don’t feel like I have any need for that. I feel great most of the time. I have seen an increase in body hair at 57 years old. My wife is now on HRT herself and both of us are doing great together. Sex is better than ever and when combined with a little THC gummy, its fucking phenomenal!
Would Primo have this same affect as Mast do you think? I have access to real Primo, so wondering if adding 100mg a week to my 125mg Test TRT would have a similar effect. Libido and erection quality are the areas where TRT has failed me thus far, disappointingly, so just looking for the final piece of the puzzle. Thanks