At a crossroad. Need advice.

[kevt100]

Hey Everyone. Been on TRT for aprox 5 years and need guidance on a recommended strategy to improve my wellbeing. Have changed up protocols many times and currently on twice a week .25 Sunday night/ Thursday morning. 100mg total. My last bloodwork was solid all the way across accept Free T and Cortisol. Free T was at 8 and Corisol at 18.9. Total testosterone was at 599. My SHGB was at 47. Estrogen was at 34. I know that free T is low and that has been my Achilles heal most of my trt journey. What do you recommend I Adjust my protocol too to increase free without causing my other markers to tank like hemocrit. I still feel tired especially late afternoons and my libido is not great along with some brain fog. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[FunkOdyssey]

Hey Everyone. Been on TRT for aprox 5 years and need guidance on a recommended strategy to improve my wellbeing. Have changed up protocols many times and currently on twice a week .25 Sunday night/ Thursday morning. 100mg total. My last bloodwork was solid all the way across accept Free T and Cortisol. Free T was at 8 and Corisol at 18.9. Total testosterone was at 599. My SHGB was at 47. Estrogen was at 34. I know that free T is low and that has been my Achilles heal most of my trt journey. What do you recommend I Adjust my protocol too to increase free without causing my other markers to tank like hemocrit. I still feel tired especially late afternoons and my libido is not great along with some brain fog. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Free T is too low -- I would raise dose. What other protocols have you tried, and how did the results (both labs and symptoms) compare to the current 50 mg twice weekly?

 

[kevt100]

Most recently before my current protocol I was on .30 (3) times per week or 180 mg per week. Total was 796 and free 15 but I experienced some late night anxiety with a high hemocrit. I’ve been on dosages as low as 60 mg total per week to 180mg per week. I recently read that given the half life of cypionate there’s no reason to dose more frequently than twice per week. Not sure how true that is but did have doctor change protocol as I usually feel better on less frequent injections. The lower dose fixed the hemocrit and anxiety but definitely feel the fatigue and brain fog. With an SHGB in the higher ranges doesn’t that mean I should pin less frequently? Everything has been sub q.
Really appreciate your input.

 

[Vince]

Most recently before my current protocol I was on .30 (3) times per week or 180 mg per week. Total was 796 and free 15 but I experienced some late night anxiety with a high hemocrit. I’ve been on dosages as low as 60 mg total per week to 180mg per week. I recently read that given the half life of cypionate there’s no reason to dose more frequently than twice per week. Not sure how true that is but did have doctor change protocol as I usually feel better on less frequent injections. The lower dose fixed the hemocrit and anxiety but definitely feel the fatigue and brain fog. With an SHGB in the higher ranges doesn’t that mean I should pin less frequently? Everything has been sub q.
Really appreciate your input.

The couple things you could try. HCG I inject 500 IU twice a week. Have your magnesium level checked or just start supplementing with magnesium. It does increase your free T. I'll add a couple of threads for you.

 

[Vince]

1 Mineral for Everything: Magnesium

Magnesium is a common element that has many functions in the human body, from energy production to providing bone density. It is also necessary for cardiovascular health. In fact, this simple mineral has been shown in a German study to dramatically reduce both cardiovascular disease mortality...

www.excelmale.com

Nettle Root Binds to SHBG

An interesting read on the androgenic benefits of nettle root. I subscribe to a juice forum and part of post cycle therapy (PCT) is the use of nettle root for 3 months post cycle. However, I was never able to suss-out why it was beneficial. Apparently nettle doesn't lower SHBG, but rather it...

www.excelmale.com

 

[FunkOdyssey]

I would definitely experiment with shallow IM if you never have. While many people don't notice a difference, some people do feel significantly better on IM than SUBQ. I was also thinking that your numbers look low based on your current dosage.

I don't think the SHBG value dictates what injection frequency will work well for anyone. You've already found that you feel better injecting less frequently so I would stick with lower frequency.

There is alot of room to adjust the dose upward between 100 mg where you are now and 180 mg where you had anxiety and high hematocrit.

 

[kevt100]

Thanks fellas. My Magnesium was just checked and was low at 1.9. Any recommendations on types/brands that you actually used. I may go up to .30 twice per week first and see how that goes before I change to shallow IM. I will also check into HCG.

 

[FunkOdyssey]

Thanks fellas. My Magnesium was just checked and was low at 1.9. Any recommendations on types/brands that you actually used. I may go up to .30 twice per week first and see how that goes before I change to shallow IM. I will also check into HCG.

The big thing with supplementing magnesium is that larger doses loosen stools. This is a desirable side effect for some people, for others, not so much. A few good options ranked from least to most prone to this side effect:

magnesium glycinate
magnesium citrate
magnesium oxide

 

[Systemlord]

I recently read that given the half life of cypionate there’s no reason to dose more frequently than twice per week.

I didn't even start responding to TRT until injecting every other day, twice weekly I felt nothing at all.

Some guys feel better when the hormone profile is flatter with less fluctuations when on injections.

 

[Vince]

Thanks fellas. My Magnesium was just checked and was low at 1.9. Any recommendations on types/brands that you actually used. I may go up to .30 twice per week first and see how that goes before I change to shallow IM. I will also check into HCG.

I use source naturals magnesium malate. I take three tablets twice a day. Keeps my levels at a good range.

 

[Systemlord]

Any recommendations on types/brands that you actually used.

Magnesium citrate.

 

[Blackhawk]

My last bloodwork was solid all the way across accept Free T and Cortisol. Free T was at 8 and Corisol at 18.9. Total testosterone was at 599. My SHGB was at 47.

Start with confirming the low free T number. Get a better Free T test. I had high SHBG and co-morbidities that contributed to skewed FreeT with the standard free T direct assay. Try Ultrafiltration eqilibrium dialysis, or if you have SHBG and albumin run it through the Tru-T calculator (duckduckgo it)

 

[kevt100]

Start with confirming the low free T number. Get a better Free T test. I had high SHBG and co-morbidities that contributed to skewed FreeT with the standard free T direct assay. Try Ultrafiltration eqilibrium dialysis, or if you have SHBG and albumin run it through the Tru-T calculator (duckduckgo it)

I will do that Blackhawk. Albumin was 4.3 and I will use it to calculate.

 

[Willyt]

Most recently before my current protocol I was on .30 (3) times per week or 180 mg per week. Total was 796 and free 15 but I experienced some late night anxiety with a high hemocrit. I’ve been on dosages as low as 60 mg total per week to 180mg per week. I recently read that given the half life of cypionate there’s no reason to dose more frequently than twice per week. Not sure how true that is but did have doctor change protocol as I usually feel better on less frequent injections. The lower dose fixed the hemocrit and anxiety but definitely feel the fatigue and brain fog. With an SHGB in the higher ranges doesn’t that mean I should pin less frequently? Everything has been sub q.
Really appreciate your input.

Have you tried the much heralded 10mg daily Cyp protocol? Might help to reduce that afternoon lethargy.

 

[kevt100]

Have you tried the much heralded 10mg daily Cyp protocol? Might help to reduce that afternoon lethargy.

I may go that route as it’s probably the only protocol I haven’t tested. Let me ask what size needles/syringes do you use for such a frequent injection?

 

[FunkOdyssey]

I may go that route as it’s probably the only protocol I haven’t tested. Let me ask what size needles/syringes do you use for such a frequent injection?

My preferences:

Shallow IM: 30G, 1/2" length, 3/10 cc capacity
SubQ: 31G, 5/16" length, 3/10 cc

If you are impatient and don't mind a little pain, you can fill the syringe faster with larger gauge needles like 27 - 29g. I'd rather poke smaller holes in myself.

 

[Willyt]

I may go that route as it’s probably the only protocol I haven’t tested. Let me ask what size needles/syringes do you use for such a frequent injection?

To add to @FunkOdyssey post, this is my go-to brand for 5/16

Daily SUBQers: 5 stars for BD Ultra-Fine Insulin Syringe - 31G 3/10cc 5/16"

Like many on here, I started with harpoon needles from my general physician and then graduated (mercifully) to 29 gauge x 1/2 fixed insulin needles for shallow IM thanks to the advice of this forum. A year ago I moved on to low dose daily SUBQ and began using 31 gauge x 5/16. For insulin...

www.excelmale.com

 

[kevt100]

I didn't even start responding to TRT until injecting every other day, twice weekly I felt nothing at all.

Some guys feel better when the hormone profile is flatter with less fluctuations when on injections.

I appreciate the response. Curious what your every other day protocol is that’s been successful?

 

[Systemlord]

Curious what your every other day protocol is that’s been successful?

In the short term, yes, but the ED protocol was even better but again short term. My body goes into chaos when hormone levels are very flat with minimal fluctuations in hormones.

Some of these side effects are life threatening, ie. super low blood pressure while sleeping with swelling in the abdomen and wicked sounds coming from the abdomen. My skin is overstimulated and burns intensity, turns red and dries out very quickly.

I need very short half-life formulations of TRT to take it work which took me years to figure this out. Jatenzo (2x daily) gives me that optimal protocol. Now my Total T and Free T levels are twice as high as they were when on the every other day and daily protocols and none of those symptoms are present.