Noob question for the knowledgeable ones here
I've been a member for a couple of years just to try to soak up some knowledge. Had bloodwork done every 3 months for the past year and found out that my testosterone levels have been averaging 275-280. Went the legit route to see what I can do and have been taking andro gel with no increase whatsoever since then. Just got prescribed 3ml injections of 600mg testosterone cypionate a month and will start soon.
I want to give a quick back ground before asking, but my question is for those of you who have (what seems to be) more knowledge of TRT than a lot of urologists out there when it comes to health and fitness in the bodybuilding world. I know urologists will help me get back to "normal" levels, but I want to get back into the fitness world with full force. I've been in great shape most of my life, have numerous medals from years of fighting in martial arts, and have turned into a lazy fat peice of ass over the past 2 years.
My diet is not where it needs to be yet, so I already know it would be insane to go full force into anything even near a heavy cycle, but do you guys think this initial stage of 3mls a month is something that will be efficient to really get me started back into health and fitness? I feel like it will jump start my body back into feeling normal again, but I used to train like a monster. Trying to get back there again, but I want to do it the right way without being a dipshit and sacrificing my longterm health for immediate gains. A little guidance with a plan to not only get back to normal, but to keep going from there, would be greatly appreciated.
I'm 38 yrs old, used to be pretty ripped up and relatively vascular (nothing close to "stage ready" vascular though), around 195-200lbs just a couple of years ago, and now weigh a pretty disgusting 235lbs of loose fat man. I hold a lot of water weight like crazy with that as well. I won't lie though, my salt intake has been pretty high for a while, which will have to be an immediate change either way.
I hear a lot of people here that sound like all they're saying is "Hey, bro, I want to get huge. What do I take?" I don't have the patience for that BS. I just want to know how to do this shit the right way without longterm damage. Do I need to be on a strict diet for a long time before thinking of increasing? Should I just stay where I'm at if my blood levels continuously hit a certain level? I appreciate the feedback. Sorry for the book, by the way.
EDIT
Trying to posting a pic of my first month supply (yes, from a legit pharmacy) in the comments below, but not seeing the option on my phone.
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600mg/month is a lot for most people. More like cycling than trt. You need to stick with your TRT regime for at least 6months to see where that takes you. I have a feeling it is going to take you a while to get things dialed in right based on your starting dosage and regime. Once you get your test levels normalized to where they are supposed to be then your diet and training will probably get you most of the way towards where you want to be. Then you can assess if a cycle is warranted. TRT is a long road to get it figured out correctly.
Thanks for the advice, brother. From what I've been hearing, I'll more than likely stay where I'm at when my levels are higher and stabilized. Wasn't sure if the dosage was high or low, and it's clearly high already from what I'm reading. No need to push it if it works for me.
You seem a little bit confused about your goals. The seem to vacillate a bit. I'd do what Rusty suggested. Do TRT and see where you want go from there!
Yeah I can see that after reading the post again. I didn't proofread much before posting. I'll have to do that next time. The question was for people to see if the milligram dosage seems off, whether high or low. I don't want to waste money into this doctor and all the prescriptions if it seems like a waste of time. Going to do it for a few months either way to see how I feel, but wanted to run it by everyone to get something of a second opinion.
Even if you didn’t care one bit for what your body composition is like, the health and quality of life benefits of eating a strict, fairly clean diet in a vacuum are reason enough alone to do that even if you don’t lift, much less use AAS. The important thing there is keeping an eye on psychological wellness. Some like to poke fun at those who weigh out their foods on a scale and track everything to a T and call it an eating disorder, and I will concede that that can certainly be a form of disordered eating, albeit a very mild, benign, if not outright beneficial one. Using words like “ripped” can be a red flag for the potential for developing actual harmful eating disorders, but in fairness, you did say nothing close to stage ready. That’s a good thing. There’s a reason competitors only stay that shredded for short periods of time; it can wreak absolute havoc on the internal organs given time.
The best way to “do this” without long term damage is to not develop a body identity disorder, which will lead to the inevitable course (or curse, if you prefer) of “upping the dose” every time there’s a stall in progress. For both mental wellness and physical health reasons, I try to steer people towards sports that have weight classes, or at least trying to stay on the lighter side if not competing in anything to put less strain on the skeletal system and internal organs. Having to stay within a certain weight bracket in and of itself puts a hard cap on the amount of stuff one can even get away with using practically, since accidentally outgrowing one’s frame will almost always make the athlete in question not viably competitive in the next weight class up.
As an aside, endocrinologists may tend to be more knowledgeable about HRT than urologists.
Great advice about the mental aspect of what you're looking to accomplish. Thanks for your comment.
Search up first cycle here you will be in good hands
Will do. Thanks for the comment. Looking to get back to feeling good again before going further. I'll reevaluate my goals once I get there again.
RustyhookerId try and trt only just to get normalized. Trt and good foods, bust ass exercise is enough to get on track. Later down the road then see where you want to go.
Good advice. Thanks, brother.
RustyhookerWelcome to eroids!! There is a trt forum section here as well. Over the years ive seen many guys come on here with your goals and for them trt basically made em 25 again.
Edit....600 per month? Was that regular dr or doc in a box rejuvination clinic? Thats not a normal trt regimine.
Yes, regular urologist through my insurance company.
RustyhookerEveryones different but im on 75mg a week and number came back above 800. Others run 100mg a week. But see how it goes. Id do weekly though...split it up. Insurance and dr is the best way because bloods etc are covered.
Okay I see. Maybe he's starting it high as a trial to see where my levels go and end up adjusting it later after more bloodwork. I was just curious what everyone here thought of it because I don't know what's high or low as a beginner to it. Doctors are still human and can make mistakes. I appreciate all the feedback.
Totally agree, sounds like BS to me.
Legit doctor prescribed, brother. That's why I'm here asking questions. Does it seem like BS to you because it's too high or too low? I have a 3 month supply and go to my doctor next week so he can give me the first shot and show me how to do it on my own at home.
Seems high to me because you are close to the lower edge of normal. Also, you should have been started off on 100mg PW at the most and adjusted up/down depending on how your bloodwork comes back after about 6 weeks. It's easier to get you on target by starting low and incrementally increasing than it is to give you too much, have a high result and then try to normalise your Test by lowering the dose.
The idea of TRT is to get you somewhere in the middle of the 'normal' range and keep you there - if you want to keep increasing your levels then you are cycling.
IMO, Urologists know very little about the endocrine system - they maybe studied it one semester - you really should see an Endocrinologist.
Yeah I get what you're saying. I heard before that urologists could be all over the board when dosing you, so I wanted to check with people here who are advanced with knowledge of how testosterone works. My buddy goes to the same doctor and said his last bloodwork was sitting at 1600. Not sure if he's in a danger zone because the same doctor said he wants me at least in the 600-800 range on the next test we do. I was asking about increasing in the future because I didn't know if what I'm prescribed sounded like a waste of time.
I'll definitely look into finding an endocrinologist. Thanks again for the comment.