Im having about 30 pound weight gain in a month from what I assume is water retention ( in ankles and stomach). I always assumed that the answer to that was taking and AI inhibitor but the more and more I browse difference resources the more I see a general aversion to them. In fact I was told when I reported to my prescriber about the weight gain that I should take AI.
Anyway I started off at 200/mg a week in 2 100mg doses. I am about 4-5 weeks in now. My diet is just ok, nothing has really changed with that and I have been working out 5 days a week. Thanks in advance.
AI = Aromatase Inhibitor
So saying AI Inhibitor sounds a bit funny.
Anywhoo… I gained about 10lbs from water weight when I started TRT at 180mg/wk, but I looked better in the mirror so I left it as is.
If you aren’t in need of an AI for high estrogen symptoms, then there is no need to taking it. If you DO have high E symptoms though, then you should take least effective dose. If the only symptom you have is weight gain, then I’d hold off until you get dialed in… 200mg/wk is quite high for “TRT” or a “cruise”.
30lbs is quite a bit though - can I ask how fluffy you are? The more fat mass you have, the more water weight you’ll put on.
What you browse is forums on which most active members dont even post pics of themselves, and are completely anonymous. Basically - dont trust them, dont trust forums. No one is against AI or anything else. Its just that internet is 90% porn and 9% bullshit. Unless you can track the person giving advice, just disregard that persons advice or opinion to be safe.
I agree that 200 is a bit much to start, now that I know more.
Ive worked out/ lifted weight in some capacity/style since I was 15 and now Im 42. So I have a pretty solid base of muscle. Though the last 5 years I can confidently say I have put on realistic 15 pounds of fat and lost some muscle mass. I was 230 ish when I started and now am bumping up close to 260 which is absolutely fuckin crazy!
I started TRT being very afraid of e2 and overdid the AI’s. E2 < 5pg regularly. Even then, I had moments of feeling really good, with moments of feeling like shit.
I got caught up in the AI = evil group for a while and spent 2 years not controlling e2 and generally feeling good, but never great. I couldn’t remember the last time I was really happy with TRT, even tho I was kicking ass at life again.
Recently (4 weeks ago) while reading my old notes and trying to decide what my NY resolution would be, I decided that I was going to try controlling e2 again, keeping it between 20-40pg while keeping my test dose unchanged. 1 week in I felt good, really good, first time in years probably. Week 3 I am fine-tuning the dose and on Monday get blood work to see where I’m at. But I’ve got some fire back in me that was missing for years with high TT/e2.
Moral of the story; take what you need to take to feel good. You only get one shot at life. Good luck
I did the exact same thing , noticed anxiety was creeping up and generally not feeling 100 % added a small amount of AI with my drs permission and this is the best I’ve felt in years
If you take too much test you can aromatize too much E2. Some do and some dont. As a long term protocol you should not use too much T to the point you need an AI. It’s quite simply a stupid practice. AIs negatively impact your lipids among other things. Just take an appropriate T dose and you won’t need yo spend extra money on more drugs.
People tend to overdo AI and crash their estrogen, that’s the issue. A lot of guys don’t need AIs on things like testosterone - on trestolone or dianabol, more likely. Always good to keep on hand, but too many guys pop Arimidex or Aromasin like skittles.
I think that has to do with the pills commonly being in doses meant for women with breast cancer. I have a feeling if the pills had 1/10th the actual amount of drug in them, we wouldn’t see all the hate.
Many guys just don’t understand how much 1 mg of adex is.
Also a fair point. The only time I ever took an AI regularly was when I did trestolone ace with testosterone; I had no achy joints, loss in libido, etc. to indicate I was overdoing it with my aromasin. Other than that, the pills just usually went expired in my cabinet until next cycle.
Define “a lot”. Certainly some do, and you don’t know until you try, and unfortunately for many that means crashing e2 at least once before you realize how you tolerate it. But, once you do the trial and error and find the dose that you feel best on, I see no issues using it long term