Search results

It's funny how we tend to assume everything that goes wrong when we're on TRT is caused by our protocol. I did the same thing a few months ago when I was in the preliminary stage of coming down with covid and feeling awful.

Why did you stop using the estradiol valerate? Were there no subjective benefits associated with the higher E2? I think even if there weren't, you'd probably be safer from a health standpoint running your E2 between 30-50 than 10-20.

I almost said something in my previous post about Cortex normalizing ridiculous doses of prop. So I'll say it here: the doses of prop he suggests are insane. The deep troughs on prop let you "get away with" crazy high levels during the day, without the degree of side effects that would...

Varies widely, but I would say the possible ranges are something like this: Total T: 75 - 200 ng/dL Free T: 2 - 4 ng/dL E2: 10 - 25 pg/mL

I imagine there is some point where they stop replacing it but I haven't reached that point yet. Maybe two years from now when this third ring dies, they'll tell me I need to buy something new. Yes, topical testosterone drives E2 up, like most other forms of testosterone. Only oral...

Trying 3 mg daily. Yes, you run it with testosterone.

It depends how long ago you purchased it. Older batches contained real DHT, although only ~10% rather than the advertised 20%. Current batches contain testosterone, which will produce a significant amount of DHT after application. You may not be able to tell the difference if you are not an...

Injectable DHT is the new thing: 5AR Society

They replace the ring for free when the battery dies. I bought my original Gen 3 ring in 2021 and had it replaced twice now for free, once in 2023 and again just recently. Absolutely essential. I'm skeptical of scrotal cream for the purpose of counteracting high estrogen. Yes, you get...

I'll take you down the same path of exploration that I took. Beware, you may become either better informed or cleverly misinformed. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this information as I have not had time to dig into all of the references. What is the contribution of serum DHT to AR...

There's some tension between a study like that, which shows some relationship between movement of serum DHT/ E2 and symptoms, and what we understand about the physiology of sex hormones in the CNS. In men, only testosterone crosses the BBB in any significant quantity, and at high physiologic...

Good. Now you'll want to keep things consistent and unchanged for long enough to learn something useful about the longer-term effects of this protocol. You answered your own question. Oura ring. I think that is more true for some side effects (hematocrit) than others (hair loss)...

I'm a glutton for punishment so I will be trying again with a lower dose. DHT enanthate first though.

If I understand correctly, the precursor hormones to testosterone that are produced in the testicles are not supposed to "leak out" under normal circumstances. They are instead consumed in the process of manufacturing testosterone. It is only with relatively massive doses of hCG that you can...

All I got out of hCG was a bunch of E2. The preg/prog/17-OHP and presumably allopregnanolone that I was expecting to rise all remained bottomed out. DHT/E2 ratio almost halved. ChatGPT led me to believe this low dose daily hCG was going to be an efficient way to raise most of the...

For better or worse, most people are able to adapt to the stimulating effects and sleep normally.

I haven't given up on it permanently, just for the next few weeks. Although, I should also receive some DHT enanthate this week, so I will probably be more tempted to try that before another hCG experiment.

How do you figure? I would say the combination of ~100 mg TRT weekly with ~1000 iu hCG weekly is one of the most broadly successful protocols out there. Yes, you're preaching to the choir my friend. I'm doing that currently, as 15 mg/day is significantly less than I've used any time recently...

Your comment touches on a very interesting phenomenon with hCG that has puzzled me: hCG monotherapy is capable of producing high physiologic levels of testosterone. It is not uncommon for men to produce 600, 800, 1000 ng/dL or higher testosterone with hCG monotherapy. However, when hCG is...

Another thought: natural, pulsatile LH can produce supraphysiologic aromatase activity / E2 production too, when LH is increased to supraphysiologic levels. We see this often with enclomiphene therapy, where the T/E2 ratio drops significantly compared to baseline, as E2 climbs faster than T.

I do not see this as an issue with exogenous testosterone, and the fact that it is not I think falsifies the constant production -> impaired clearance hypothesis. In most cases, if you reach the same level of testosterone using injectable TRT for example as you had naturally, you would not have...

Not a problem - if supplies run low, we simply establish a new slave class of women who are kept pregnant at all times to harvest hCG from. According to The Handmaid's Tale, this should work for many years before they rebel and assassinate us.

It's xyosted with an X. He doesn't use xyosted, he just likes it because it is offered in doses that put men in a physiologic range. When the primary measure of success is reaching a normal level of testosterone, xyosted allows most men to declare victory at 75 mg. Have they left any benefits...

A total T 5.2x the level of controls was associated with vascular dysfunction in that study. The human equivalent dose of the 10 mg/kg used in the mice would be 0.81 mg/kg, or 73 mg test prop daily in a 90 kg individual such as myself. Just want to note these things for context...

I don't think clinical trials for Xyosted can be used to argue that 75 mg is optimal for most men, because dosages were adjusted based on targeting a 350–650 ng/dL trough, so the only men who increased to 100 mg landed below 350 ng/dL. They were more interested in achieving physiologic levels...

Not monotherapy, it will be suppressive. At least a base of hCG should be used with it, if not full TRT + hCG + DHT.

https://www.newsweek.com/hulk-hogan-dead-71-wrestler-died-after-cardiac-arrest-call-updates-2103588

No problem. I forgot to comment on the hbA1c and insulin which were actually pretty good. I would not be thinking about metformin with those numbers. Getting leaner is probably all you need to worry about right now.

Yes, you want to ignore the free T levels you are seeing on the labwork and calculate it yourself using your total T, SHBG, and optionally albumin if you have it: Free & Bioavailable Testosterone calculator No, the iron at 104 is not high, its the ferritin that's high. TSAT is calculated from...

My friend who was using Alphagels topical DHT, back when it still contained actual DHT, found that the optimal dose was much lower than most people were experimenting with: 0.25 ml, either daily or every other day. On top his regular TRT, this small amount had major benefits for his sexual...

Calculated free T is 15.1 ng/dL now, which is decent but not where I would want to be. E2 is way down, which is great. Did you switch to IM before these labs? Had you stopped DHEA before these labs? E2 dropped more than the TRT dose adjustment alone would explain. Ferritin is higher than...