+ 1 First cycle question.......TRT related
Hey all.....Ive been contemplating running a cycle. It would be my first. I have a few questions and was hoping you would share your knowledge and experience with me.
My background.....I am 43 yo, 5'11", 205 lbs. Prob somewhere in the low 20%s for BF. I have been strength training for 1.5 years. I ran the Starting Strength program for about 9 months when I first started. I am now lifting an intermediate strength based program 4 days a week. It is a lower/upper split based on the squat, deadlift, oh press, and bench; with some accessory work thrown in as well.
I have been on TRT over a year. My weekly dose has been slowly elevated. I am currently taking 230mg of test per week. Additionally, I take .5mg of anastrozole and 1000 units of HCG as a soluble troche. My dose was increased a few weeks ago from 210mg to 230mg. My nipples are getting a little tender, so I am assuming they might increase the anastrozole from .5 to 1mg.
I am contemplating running a 500mg per week cycle. I would just self inject 270mg of test 3-4 days after my TRT shot. My questions are....
(1) what can I expect from the extra test physically and emotionally?
(2) what are the risks from doing a 12 week cycle of increased test?
(3) how much of my gains will be permanent?
(4) are there any compelling reason for or against running a cycle since I am on TRT?
Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge and experience. I did try searching, but from some reason the search function isn't working,
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I’m getting seen at a TRT clinic. I do not self inject. I show weekly, and they pin me.
Molinin302Just saying these guys have you covered, no need for anything extra until youre sorted. Aside from that, is this a clinic? Endocrinologist? Urologist? I've never heard of TRT that high, personally id cut in about half and save the extra for blasts.
1). Welcome.
2). Yes increase your an Anastrozole to 1 mg. I would take 1mg with each shot. 200mg of test is the very upper range of TRT and I am prescribed 1mg of an Anastrozle x2 a week.
3). You should split your shots to x2 a week. That will help keep your blood levels more stable and probably will help some with keeping your estrogen level.
4). Running a cycle on TRT is called a blast and cruise, because you never stop taking testosterone. So I suggest you take two shots a week (250mg x2 a week =500mg). You don’t need to make it more complicated by taking TRT dose and then 270mg. I also suggest you stick with one ester of testosterone (common test for TRT is test-c or test E).
what can I expect from the extra test physically and emotionally:
A). for me I have a little less patience. I do not get angry or turn into the hulk, rather my fuse is cut a little shorter. Emotionally.. who knows- only you will know. I personally feel amazing and my sex drive is off the charts.
what are the risks from doing a 12 week cycle of increased test:
A). Well if you don’t donate blood, your red blood cell count will increase. So make sure to donate before and after. Also keep your heart rate in check. I would also say (for me) I get anxiety if I go to high, so make sure you know how to chill out if you suffer from it.
how much of my gains will be permanent:
A). A lot more than if you were not on TRT. TRT is great because you go back to your original levels and you do not have as much of a dip once your cycle is done.
are there any compelling reason for or against running a cycle since I am on TRT:
A). Nope. It’s your choice. Your a grown up and you gotta live with your choices. But honestly, I never have regretted any of my blasts, so I bet you will not either. Just do your research and listen to your body.
Also, if you run a cycle stop the HCG. It will blow up your estrogen. You can always restart it during your cruise.
Good luck bro.. we all were right where you are now and asked ourselves the same question. And all my answers are my opinion only.. listen to these guys .. heaven knows They know a lot more than me.
Keep us updated
Take a look at this website on how to calculate true half life https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2861557/
The half life is the point at which the drug in plasma is reduced by 50%.
The half life of Depo-Testosterone is 8 days.
Now “simple” logic would lead one to believe that at twice the 1⁄2 life (16 days) there would be ZERO
(0%) of the injected testosterone in your plasma but that is NOT THE CASE as half life science is not
that simple......as that mathematical formula above indicates.
The half life formula for Depo-Testosterone in plasma states that at 8 days you would have 50% of the
initial dose remaining, at 16 days you would have 25% of the initial dose, at 24 days it would be 12.5%,
at 32 days 6.25% and so on.
The 14 day protocol 200mg treatment (standard C4MH dose): at 8 days =100mg’s remaining, 16 days =
50 mg’s, 24 days = 25 mg’s. At 14 days you would still have 62.5mg’s of active Depo –Testosterone
in plasma.
The 7 day protocol 100mg treatment (standard dose): at 7 day = 57 mg’s remaining of active Depo-
Testosterone in plasma.
So at 200mg/14 days (C4MH protocol) you have an active 100mg’s in plasma at 8 days and
at the 100mg / 7day protocol you have an active 57mg’s at 7 days.
So everyone saying you inject twice a week to keep plasma levels stable are only causing them to spike
Isnt the idea of pinning more often to limit the amount that is aromatised into estrogen. Hence less conversion?
If pinning less more often yes, the problem is most aas is in enanthate form so if you pin more often you are causing a slow buildup as it is meant to have a longer life. Aromatization will happen within 48-72 hours of pinning over 100mg. Thats why most AI's you are supposed to start on a full strength for 7-10 days and then get bloodwork done again to see where you are at. Granting that you took the time to get bloodwork BEFORE you started.
Now if they had a method to let you pin 7-10mg a day and slow release until the end of the day, there would be no aromatization as the body produces that naturally and problem solved, Except noone will want to do that every single day for the next 20-30-50 years.
Heres a better way to look at it using alcohol.
If you drink 1 shot every 2 hours it takes a while for you to get drunk as the alcohol has to build up in your system as long as you arent an alcoholic. Now if you drank 10 shots in one hour the alcohol will hit you faster and harder, So if you inject 300mg of test thats 300mg of test, your body produces 7-10mg a day. its going to aromatize the second it starts to breakdown in your muscle and get released. so thats why a lot of people get estrogen spikes too.
I get it, I bust my TRT dose of 140mg/week into EOD (40mg 3.5 times a week). This works for me, once every 7 days was a bit of a hormone rollercoaster, ie too much at once I guess.
And pretty soon you will run out of places to pin and risk absesses, No thank you.
Very interesting. I asked my urologist about this and they also suggest the 2x a week shots. I can see what your saying and +for the great advice..
Like I said, there are guys on here that know a lot more than I do.
My endo stopped my twice a week, my levels were all over the place. I'm more stable now on a 11 day protocol
Adding drugs on top of drugs that are not yet stable. Your body is responding to this adjustment in new ways. Why add more drugs when there is no stable state at the moment.
My advice let things become stable, then take another look.
Gains and keeping them, down to your diet and will to push yourself.
True^^ you might want to wait until your body is stable from your TRT. + 1 for great advice.
Personally wouldn’t say it’s a good idea starting a higher cycle while you’re adjusting, specially since you’re seeing side effects from the dose you’re on now.
My current cycle is 300mg with 0.5mg arimidex EOD and I am seeing a lot of good gains. You would be able to make some good progress what you’re on now as well to be honest buddy.
Get use to what you’re on, see what your levels are with bloods and get your current side effects in check before you start increasing buddy or you may get some more harsher side effects.
Not a good idea if they are still adjusting your trt and ai doses plus you should be able to make solid gains with the right diet on that dose