Search results

Assuming secondary hypogonadism, then with few exceptions enclomiphene will not restore or maintain fertility with any form of TRT that keeps serum testosterone at mid to high levels continuously. These forms of TRT include injections of testosterone esters, topical testosterone products and...

It is considered standard practice to measure testosterone at trough when on TRT. However, measuring at the midway point can give a better sense of your average level throughout the injection cycle. The danger here is that your doctor may see that it's pretty high and want to make some changes...

Even with secondary hypogonadism you could give small enough doses of testosterone cypionate such that LH would not go to zero. However, the contrast is that with secondary the brain is calling its low testosterone level "normal", so any exogenous testosterone immediately works to suppress the...

Any rigorous evidence for this? Until then I'll go by the studies measuring areas-under-the-curve, which do not find a difference between SC and IM. I don't discount that differing absorption rates can affect other parameters, but I remain skeptical of the disappearing-testosterone hypothesis.

I would reject the claim that gels are more physiological than injections. In some cases the diurnal rhythm in serum testosterone is more natural looking. But I think this is outweighed by DHT levels that are often not physiological. Even when DHT is in range it may be relatively large compared...

In fact these more complicated techniques are better suited for treating secondary hypogonadism. With short-acting testosterone the troughs in serum testosterone are low enough and long enough that even the overly-sensitive HPTA experiences less suppression. Meanwhile, the peaks to mid- or...

No, it can be much simpler than that. I believe it's sufficient to provide a fixed background level of testosterone. Then the HPTA can handle the rest with its natural variations. As a simple example, suppose a guy would normally have morning testosterone of 600 ng/dL, but develops testicular...

There were a couple guys on the old PeakTestosterone forum successfully using this approach. With primary hypogonadism the HPTA feedback mechanisms are largely intact; the brain is calling for a healthy amount of testosterone, but the testicles cannot respond adequately. Therefore it is possible...

A conservative approach that should promote your goals: use a short-acting form of testosterone; switch to topical finasteride and/or dutasteride; use ibutamoren if IGF-1 is below average. Short-acting forms of testosterone include nasal gels, buccal troches and micronized testosterone...

One good thing about primary hypogonadism is that testosterone (augmentation) therapy is relatively low risk if you adopt a low-and-slow approach and titrate to achieve normal LH and FSH. In this case you can achieve supplementation without replacement; your HPTA feedback loop keeps operating...

Grok to the rescue: Direct Answer Research suggests a high-fiber diet likely improves health, with strong evidence for benefits like better digestion, heart health, and blood sugar control. The evidence leans toward reduced risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers, though...

Assuming you're in the United States: Many of these peptides are not FDA approved and cannot legally be sold for human use. With respect to the ones that are approved, they generally require a prescription and must be made at approved facilities. All of this regulation is bypassed when the...

This is not too unusual. There's at least one study finding absorption via scrotal skin to be over 50%. Consider that healthy young men typically produce 6-7 mg of testosterone daily. You're potentially getting into the realm of four times that with your two doses. It's different at other...

Not above average, above range. This means more than two standard deviations above average. In general there are all kinds of negative associations when hormones are out of range, not least of which is reduced longevity. Although long-term research is lacking, specific to testosterone there are...

It's the opposite. The majority should not be dosed excessively just because the more-is-better minority is louder and more demanding. No, it isn't. It makes no sense to start TRT at a dose that is effectively above the physiological production range. Even the recommended starting dose for...

Throwing out a couple possibilities: Your SHBG dropped between the measurements, such that an increase in free testosterone was concealed. Or you actually have primary hypogonadism, i.e. testicular insufficiency. Have you tested LH?

I agree that Peptide Sciences is considered the most trustworthy, though ironically I have had a couple of QC issues with them. I also use Nootropic Source because they have a good price on GHK-Cu in quantity. However, I have not done any independent testing to quantify things.

It's likely much more testosterone than you could ever have produced naturally, heightening your risk of side effects. But I'm primarily emphasizing a low-and-slow approach. If you had started low and slowly titrated up to this while seeing improvements then I would not characterize it as an...

We're largely on our own with this. There's this frequent argument that we should take breaks, but it seems to be based more on speculation and caution than anything concrete. Assuming copper intake is reasonable, my hope is that as with testosterone, the short half-life and pulsatile delivery...

The main argument is that you should establish a baseline at physiological levels, so that if you as an informed adult want to experiment with higher levels then at least you'll know if you're making things better or worse. All too often people feel bad starting with high levels and then assume...

Don't ignore the key qualification in my posts: starting out Even so, I can point to Xyosted. Only three doses, 50, 75 and 100 mg TE per week, which are obviously covering the vast majority of men. For reader clarity: note the difference between pure testosterone and testosterone cypionate...

Let's see the documentation. What is the incidence of this purported condition? One in tens of thousands? I'm betting it has essentially no bearing on the average guy starting TRT. So what. Are you aware that the normal production range is about 3-9 mg per day? Yet you're defending starting out...

That's 12 mg a day of testosterone, more than almost every man makes naturally. Of course it's too much. I don't see how anybody can defend starting out with a dose this high or higher. This should only happen if you tell your doctor that anabolism is your number one priority and you knowingly...

While it's unequivocal that exogenous testosterone can affect a large number of other hormones/precursors by disrupting various feedback loops, the argument would be that it's statistical in nature, with substantial variation between individuals. It's more clear-cut with hormones such as LH and...

Another simple option, a piece of stiff wire bent to hold the vial and hang it from something. A wood chip, syringe cap, etc. holds the plunger out:

In fact I recall at least two or three examples posted over the years, though I'd be hard pressed to find them. I believe @Gman86 was one of them. The idea is that a guy on TRT maintains that dosing while adding some other androgenic steroid. The outcome is typically a double whammy for SHBG...

Yes, and the AI misinterpreted them, as shown in detail above. That's not what's being said. In the specific case of free testosterone and SHBG the same rules do apply, because selecting the dose rate under TRT is analogous to the body's direct regulation of free testosterone by altering its...

It also applies to TRT. Grok 3 again: Conclusion Given that testosterone metabolism follows first-order kinetics with respect to free testosterone, and at steady state the dose rate equals the elimination rate, the free testosterone level is indeed directly proportional to the dose rate. The...

Battle of the AIs. This is Grok 3: I agree with your assessment that in normal physiology, it’s a misconception to think that the level of Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin (SHBG) directly affects the amount of free testosterone. Here’s why: Understanding SHBG and Testosterone SHBG is a protein...

If these are glass ampules that you break open then you need to transfer the contents to a normal stoppered vial to preserve sterility. I would also verify that a preservative is included in the formulation and ideally use a filter needle to remove possible glass fragments.

I and many of the guys here have been known to use such vials for many months. While there's no guarantee something bad won't happen, the odds of that are clearly small. From the standpoint of microbial contamination, you can be less concerned if you're injecting subcutaneously because a shallow...