Testosterone Replacement Therapy

I would think going carnivore, high fat would be preferable to performing hormone manipulation. People easily gain 20% to 2x free testosterone when switching. It seems like a drastic step to take before doing everything else you could, and should.

We aren't meant to eat famine foods 24/7, while working desk jobs under fluorescent lighting surrounded by harpies. Get good sleep and take steps to align your body and life with the natural blueprints in our DNA.

If you do all these, and still feel that life is a tiresome grind, then maybe go for it. I don't want to risk shutting my testes off permanently in such a turbulent era with sensitive supply chains.
 
ginsu said:
What would be the safest aproach to aromatase inhibitors ?. Which brands are good ?. what would be minimal dosages and frequencies to start if your e2 is above the range. I have heard a lot of bad opinions about aromatase inhibitors especially long term use inducing bone weakening effects. even so i am willing to give it a shot if and when i do go back on. The last time i quit because of e2 and a clinic that was just a money grab.
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I take 1 mg arimidex after my testosterone cypionate shot.

That will keep my estradiol around 35 PG/DL ... Which is the sweat spot for me.

Again I'm assuming 1 x 200 mg shot of test cypionate a week.

If you're using something like sustanon because you're able to get it in Europe or Test Prop because you like to be a human pin cushion..
It'll be a different amount.

But in general 1 mg arimidex the following day after an injection is the standard use to prevent conversion of test to Estrogen.

You'll have to make sure you're measurements are correct. (PG/ML vs ND/ML)

A decent amount of Estrogen is good for your HDL. So you don't want to crush it done to like 10 or anything... But keeping it under 60 is the upper end of threshold.

Here's a video
.

 
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Never EVER take aromatase inhibitors under any circumstance. Change the dose, change injection frequency, change type/method of administration or discontinue testosterone. Those things are literal poison.
 
san26 said:
Never EVER take aromatase inhibitors under any circumstance. Change the dose, change injection frequency, change type/method of administration or discontinue testosterone. Those things are literal poison.
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Thats not an accurate statement dude. I am sorry but I am having a hard time taking you seriously after some of the things you've posted in this thread.

If you have T issues, take testosterone. If you are titrating the dose appropriately, you MAYBE dont need it. But with out a baseline its hard to say.

You should be taking an AI if you're getting estrogen conversion issues. There is negative consequences of having really high estrogen too.

Dr. Rand, whom I've linked to explains the reasoning why AND has other videos going over the heart health considerations.

I've also been over this with my doctor, whom Dr. Rand studied under (Dr. Lipshultz)

To say you should not take something at all when its medically beneficial is nonsense.

Estrogen does have some heart protective measures. so Taking a bunch of AI's and crushing your Estrogen down to single digits IS ABSOLUTELY BAD for your health and will result in LDL/HDL issues. That said, prostate cancer genes are a result of excess estrogen so you don't want your estrogen to get up into the 70s. ect,....


 
san26 said:
Never EVER take aromatase inhibitors under any circumstance. Change the dose, change injection frequency, change type/method of administration or discontinue testosterone. Those things are literal poison.
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Yes thats what i thought also so i started on every other day injections 120mg per week. Then daily injections 100mg. Then daily injections 90mg just started feeling worse and worse over time. Estrogen was still above the range and blocking thyroid hormones what is one supposed to do if they already went daily subq with 90mg ?. Does not seem to be another option than trying AI. Thyroid, Insuline resistance, diet, fat %, gut issues it will also play a role in aromatization so you need to work on those aswell which i did and saw a slight increase in SHBG but its still on the lower side. Some people just do have low shbg and the problems that come with it when injecting testosterone. You can go on the highest frequency and lowest dose and still need to try AI.
 
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ginsu said:
Yes thats what i thought also so i started on every other day injections 120mg per week. Then daily injections 100mg. Then daily injections 90mg just started feeling worse and worse over time. Estrogen was still above the range and blocking thyroid hormones what is one supposed to do if they already went daily subq with 90mg ?. Does not seem to be another option than trying AI. Thyroid, Insuline resistance, diet, fat %, gut issues it will also play a role in aromatization so you need to work on those aswell which i did and saw a slight increase in SHBG but its still on the lower side. Some people just do have low shbg and the problems that come with it when injecting testosterone. You can go on the highest frequency and lowest dose and still need to try AI.
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120/week is not a whole lot. In general....that shouldn't be cussing you aromatization issues, but everyone is different.

I've done sub q 3x a week and I find the most optimal thing for me is 100mg of test 2x a week (200 mg total) intra muscular and I take .5mg anastrizole the following morning after the shot.

Maybe taking 60 mg 2x a week or 120mg 1x a week with a 1 mg AI would help sort that out.

Obviously something to run by your doctor.



I would avoid letrazole. Something like anastrizole.

The issue with them is the global effect of crushing your HDL from these drugs due to reduction of estrogen.

If you keep your HDL in a good balance, which you can do with red rice yeast and a good dose of a quality fish oil, this can be mitigated.

The issue with the AIs is dudes who crush their estrogen down to single digits often have periods of HDL in the low 20s or even single digits for extended periods of time.
 
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Additional info from the Anabolic Doc....who's generslly very anti AI

The issue here again, is the synergy of crushing your HDL.

It's something you can contract through diet and supplements, but it does have an impact. And that's why people are concerned with using them.


 
Has anyone found their Ferritin low while on T? I was on at one time (have since stopped) but I noticed after a month or so of feeling great I’d get very tired. Turned out that the T stimulated a lot of red blood production which lowered my iron stores in addition to donating blood which took out iron as well. Moral of the story if you feel great then start becoming very fatigued get your levels checked, take iron and eat an iron rich diet.

 
DeusLuxMeaEst said:
Has anyone found their Ferritin low while on T? I was on at one time (have since stopped) but I noticed after a month or so of feeling great I’d get very tired. Turned out that the T stimulated a lot of red blood production which lowered my iron stores in addition to donating blood which took out iron as well. Moral of the story if you feel great then start becoming very fatigued get your levels checked, take iron and eat an iron rich diet.

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I stopped giving blood unless my hematocrit gets above 55.

500 to 1000mg of IP6 on an empty stomach every morning with NAC + water + coffee seems to keep my hematocrit under 50 for the last year.

I gave blood for a while once my hematocrit got in the upper 50s... But I stopped after doing it several times. I felt horrible (gave blood 4 times over 3 months)
 
I started TRT on December 11, 2023. I'm a hair over 6'2" and weigh 263 lbs. I am 52 years old. Before I started TRT my numbers were as follows:

  • Testosterone - 417. They were at 343 before I took T supplements for three months.
  • Free Direct Testosterone - 12.5
  • Glucose - 124 Prediabetic
  • Hemoglobin A1C -6.3 Prediabetic
  • DHEA Sulfate- 188.0
  • IGF-1- 167
  • Luteinizing Hormone (LH) - 7.7
  • Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) - 7.5
  • Pregnenolone - <10
The prescribed regimen is as follows:
  • Monday .75mg of testosterone cypionate. Intramuscular injection.
  • Tuesday one capsule (.5mg) of Anastrozole to control estrogen.
  • Saturday and Sunday .25mg Gonadorelan injected subcutaneous to keep my testes from shrinking.
I do not have extra energy and have not been going to the gym. In fact I feel the opposite sometimes. I feel like I have been more emotional and cry more thinking about my daughter who passed away and how much I miss my other children and how unfair the whole family court process was.

I have been thinking more about how I want to start dating again but I don't know if that is a result of the TRT or the fact that I never see my younger daughter and my older daughter is now attending school out of state. I have very limited female interactions.

I am going to give this six months to see how things work out.
 
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Caractacus Potts said:
I started TRT on December 11, 2023. The prescribed regimen is as follows:
  • Monday .75mg of testosterone cypionate. Intramuscular injection.
  • Tuesday one capsule (.5mg) of Anastrozole to control estrogen.
  • Saturday and Sunday .25mg Gonadorelan injected subcutaneous to keep my testes from shrinking.
I do not have extra energy and have not been going to the gym. In fact I feel the opposite sometimes. I feel like I have been more emotional and cry more thinking about my daughter who passed away and how much I miss my other children and how unfair the whole family court process was.

I have been thinking more about how I want to start dating again but I don't know if that is a result of the TRT or the fact that I never see my younger daughter and my older daughter is now attending school out of state. I have very limited female interactions.

I am going to give this six months to see how things work out.
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How many IUs of HCG is that... looks like 500 IUs. Typically 1500 ius 1x a week (or 3x 500 ius) is the sweet spot. Hcg will can an effect your estrogen also. If for purely cosmetic and not for fertility, why not take the whole dose together same day as the testosterone?

At 500ius 2x a week, it's not as optimal for fertility of that's a concern.

And id want to see your blood work before and 3 months after TRT use to assess...


Id also start getting into the gym, that will absolutely help with the emotional elements as your hormonal equilibrium resets.
 
I've been eating a ton of eggs and red meat and absolutely notice the difference, especially when I wake up in the morning. I'm 33 and get boners like I'm 18 again. I talk to women more, have more energy and it feels like I'm fired up all day. I have trouble concentrating when I'm around good looking women I know, but otherwise feel amazing mentally.

Those eggs are magic. What you eat, and mainly avoid eating/drinking, has a huge impact on your testosterone
 
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Douglas Quaid said:
I've been eating a ton of eggs and red meat and absolutely notice the difference, especially when I wake up in the morning. I'm 33 and get boners like I'm 18 again. I talk to women more, have more energy and it feels like I'm fired up all day. I have trouble concentrating when I'm around good looking women I know, but otherwise feel amazing mentally.

Those eggs are magic. What you eat, and mainly avoid eating/drinking, has a huge impact on your testosterone
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Testosterone is synthesized from cholesterol.

If you can get farm fresh eggs even better.
 
Get2choppaaa said:
Thats not an accurate statement dude. I am sorry but I am having a hard time taking you seriously after some of the things you've posted in this thread.

If you have T issues, take testosterone. If you are titrating the dose appropriately, you MAYBE dont need it. But with out a baseline its hard to say.

You should be taking an AI if you're getting estrogen conversion issues. There is negative consequences of having really high estrogen too.

Dr. Rand, whom I've linked to explains the reasoning why AND has other videos going over the heart health considerations.

I've also been over this with my doctor, whom Dr. Rand studied under (Dr. Lipshultz)

To say you should not take something at all when its medically beneficial is nonsense.

Estrogen does have some heart protective measures. so Taking a bunch of AI's and crushing your Estrogen down to single digits IS ABSOLUTELY BAD for your health and will result in LDL/HDL issues. That said, prostate cancer genes are a result of excess estrogen so you don't want your estrogen to get up into the 70s. ect,....


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I repeat you will never get away with running Aromatase Inhibitors long term without serious consequences. They are extremely harmful to the brain, vascular networks, different neurodegenerative networks, synaptic, dendritic pathways in the brain, and bone mineral density. Absolutely terrible for one's long term health, and it doesn't matter if you use this drug and your estrogen and testosterone is in range on a piece of paper. You are fundamentally suppressing natural biological processes, and don't understand how testosterone and estrogen work together . You will be damaging your health long term, taking these drugs, irrespective of what your lab results say.
 
san26 said:
I repeat you will never get away with running Aromatase Inhibitors long term without serious consequences. They are extremely harmful to the brain, vascular networks, different neurodegenerative networks, synaptic, dendritic pathways in the brain, and bone mineral density. Absolutely terrible for one's long term health, and it doesn't matter if you use this drug and your estrogen and testosterone is in range on a piece of paper. You are fundamentally suppressing natural biological processes, and don't understand how testosterone and estrogen work together . You will be damaging your health long term, taking these drugs, irrespective of what your lab results say.
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Did you watch these videos and understand the Why behind the negative health markers?

That happens because people take them when they don't need them and their estrogen gets crushed to single digits. It's the cookie cutter approach.

I agree that these things can happen when you are suppressing one hormone to the point where it's unnaturally low... But the mechanism of negative action is the estrogen reduction down to single digits.
 
Caractacus Potts said:
I started TRT on December 11, 2023. I'm a hair over 6'2" and weigh 263 lbs. I am 52 years old. Before I started TRT my numbers were as follows:

  • Testosterone - 417. They were at 343 before I took T supplements for three months.
  • Free Direct Testosterone - 12.5
  • Glucose - 124 Prediabetic
  • Hemoglobin A1C -6.3 Prediabetic
  • DHEA Sulfate- 188.0
  • IGF-1- 167
  • Luteinizing Hormone (LH) - 7.7
  • Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) - 7.5
  • Pregnenolone - <10
The prescribed regimen is as follows:
  • Monday .75mg of testosterone cypionate. Intramuscular injection.
  • Tuesday one capsule (.5mg) of Anastrozole to control estrogen.
  • Saturday and Sunday .25mg Gonadorelan injected subcutaneous to keep my testes from shrinking.
I do not have extra energy and have not been going to the gym. In fact I feel the opposite sometimes. I feel like I have been more emotional and cry more thinking about my daughter who passed away and how much I miss my other children and how unfair the whole family court process was.

I have been thinking more about how I want to start dating again but I don't know if that is a result of the TRT or the fact that I never see my younger daughter and my older daughter is now attending school out of state. I have very limited female interactions.

I am going to give this six months to see how things work out.
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have you tested tsh, t4, t3 also ?. if your thyroid is not optimal and you get that into good range you can gain as much benefits as trt does for a much smaller commitment and less costs. Also going on trt can make your TSH go up which would mean less energy, brain fog, slower metabolism etc. As people get older thyroid function can slow down, mostly in women but also in men. TRT can improve thyroid function in some but in others it will make it worse. Higher estrogen has something to do with that.

@Get2choppaaa for aromatase inhibitors as i understand it the risks dont come from the compound itself but by surpressing estrogen too much over a long period of time ?. So in theory there would be no long term side effects if you only use it to bring yourself back down to a healthy level ?. I am really considering to go back on trt and that would likeley mean an AI for the rest of my life to keep myself in the middle of the range (as it is without trt) with estrogen instead of over the upper limit.
 
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ginsu said:
have you tested tsh, t4, t3 also ?. if your thyroid is not optimal and you get that into good range you can gain as much benefits as trt does for a much smaller commitment and less costs. Also going on trt can make your TSH go up which would mean less energy, brain fog, slower metabolism etc. As people get older thyroid function can slow down, mostly in women but also in men. TRT can improve thyroid function in some but in others it will make it worse. Higher estrogen has something to do with that.

@Get2choppaaa for aromatase inhibitors as i understand it the risks dont come from the compound itself but by surpressing estrogen too much over a long period of time ?. So in theory there would be no long term side effects if you only use it to bring yourself back down to a healthy level ?. I am really considering to go back on trt and that would likeley mean an AI for the rest of my life to keep myself in the middle of the range (as it is without trt) with estrogen instead of over the upper limit.
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That's what all my research has come to. Ideally you shouldn't take one at all, but depending on other hormonal issues like body fat and thyroid, you may aromatize abnormally high.

You should be able to take a very low dose of an AI, like .25mg roughly 8 to 10 hours after your shot.

Again, I'm not a doctor and don't have your blood work so I can't speak with certainty on your exact dose/amounts ECT.

Youll need to monitor and get regular blood work. I suspect if you bring this up with your doctor and note your concern on AIs vs SERMS they can assist.

You could also consider HCG monotherapy. But your doctor may not be as well versed in this.
 
Follow up,

2nd test came back at 250 ng/dl. Looks like I legitimately have hypogonadism and my insurance will cover testosterone injections.

I'm going to go forward with it. Will report back
Stats for the curious. 34, 6ft tall, 215 lbs.
 
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