You Gonna Learn Today
Member
Sorry for the long winded post, but needed to provide a detailed history to provide better clarity into the situation. I started TRT a few years ago, but didn't really have it dialed in because I was apparently seeing a doctor that knew nothing about TRT. Dosage prescribed was 200mg of TCyp once every two weeks. After a year of agony, I switched to a new doctor in March of 2016 and things got much better. Shortly after that, I found this site and began changing my protocol, based on feedback from many on this forum. Those changes worked very well for me, including; changing syringe size, dosage frequency, and overall dosage. Everything had been going well, but I still felt a bit of a roller coaster ride from week to week. The dosage I had been prescribed by my new doctor was 200mg once per week of TCyp, 1,500iu of HCG once per week, and .5 mg Arimidex twice per week. At that time, I was using 21g needles to draw and 25g-1.5" needles to inject quad. With help from forum members, I switched to 100mg of TCyp E3.5D, 350iu of HCG E3.5D, and .25mg of Arimidex E3.5D with 29g-1/2" needles to inject delt. I've always used 31g 5/8" needles to inject HCG into stomach fat. I was on this new protocol for about 4-5 months. Overall, I felt much better on this new protocol and REALLY enjoyed the thinner/shorter needles, as well. Night wood was good and libido was getting much better, but I knew I still wasn't dialed in.
At that point, I decided to make another change to see if I could feel even better. I switched to ED injections of 15mg of TCyp and kept my HCG at E3.5D along with the .25mg of Arimidex. I started feeling even more stable, but honestly still had somewhat of a roller coaster a few times a week. I am somewhat of a low SHBG guy, so I can feel the difference already with daily injections (latest labs 12 nmol/L - range 10-55 nmol/L). At that point, I decided to completely get rid of the AI and only use it if I felt it was needed. Again, started feeling better and better, but still not quite there. Again, night wood was getting better and libido was getting up there, as well. But it wasn't constant. It was up and down, so still not fully dialed in. I was on this protocol for about 4-5 months, as well. I honestly think I had crashed my E2's with my previous protocol. I was always tired, libido was starting to suffer, erections were not as pronounced (we'll say), and my eyes were always dry and felt tired (even after a good night sleep).
Recently, I tried MENT (Trestolone)...bad mistake. The first 3-4 days were amazing (felt the sweet spot for 3 days in a row), but it was short lived. After that, I started getting headaches and my blood pressure started to spike up pretty high. I stopped taking it immediately.
For the past 3-4 weeks, I decided to completely stop taking my HCG and I think I'm getting more and more dialed in to where I want to be. I had a vasectomy about 12 yrs ago, so I'm obviously not worried about fertility. Also not really worried too much about the testicle atrophy. So, I didn't really think I needed the HCG. I really think this is what's been giving me the roller coaster ride I had been on. Since I changed my protocol 3-4 weeks ago and ONLY taking 15mg of TCyp ED, my night wood has been constant, libido has been the most stable to date, energy and mood is getting better and better. My hematocrit levels are also now stable and constantly at 42, so I don't need to donate blood every 8 weeks anymore.
For me, tweaking my protocol and equipment (thanks to the advice of everyone on the forum) to find what works best for me and makes me feel the best (regardless of numbers on any labs) has been the best thing I could have ever done. The way I feel, I think, has more bearing than any number on lab work. Obviously, we all still need to get labs done to make sure everything is in line and where it should be for important things like hematocrit and lipid panel results, but I'm definitely not going to rely on specific or target T or E2 levels anymore. Eventually, I think I may even try reducing my dosage even lower to see if that helps me even more. I'll try this for about 2-3 months then start reducing and logging again to see where I feel the best. A million thanks to everyone for their input on this forum. It's made a world of difference for me and others, I'm sure.
At that point, I decided to make another change to see if I could feel even better. I switched to ED injections of 15mg of TCyp and kept my HCG at E3.5D along with the .25mg of Arimidex. I started feeling even more stable, but honestly still had somewhat of a roller coaster a few times a week. I am somewhat of a low SHBG guy, so I can feel the difference already with daily injections (latest labs 12 nmol/L - range 10-55 nmol/L). At that point, I decided to completely get rid of the AI and only use it if I felt it was needed. Again, started feeling better and better, but still not quite there. Again, night wood was getting better and libido was getting up there, as well. But it wasn't constant. It was up and down, so still not fully dialed in. I was on this protocol for about 4-5 months, as well. I honestly think I had crashed my E2's with my previous protocol. I was always tired, libido was starting to suffer, erections were not as pronounced (we'll say), and my eyes were always dry and felt tired (even after a good night sleep).
Recently, I tried MENT (Trestolone)...bad mistake. The first 3-4 days were amazing (felt the sweet spot for 3 days in a row), but it was short lived. After that, I started getting headaches and my blood pressure started to spike up pretty high. I stopped taking it immediately.
For the past 3-4 weeks, I decided to completely stop taking my HCG and I think I'm getting more and more dialed in to where I want to be. I had a vasectomy about 12 yrs ago, so I'm obviously not worried about fertility. Also not really worried too much about the testicle atrophy. So, I didn't really think I needed the HCG. I really think this is what's been giving me the roller coaster ride I had been on. Since I changed my protocol 3-4 weeks ago and ONLY taking 15mg of TCyp ED, my night wood has been constant, libido has been the most stable to date, energy and mood is getting better and better. My hematocrit levels are also now stable and constantly at 42, so I don't need to donate blood every 8 weeks anymore.
For me, tweaking my protocol and equipment (thanks to the advice of everyone on the forum) to find what works best for me and makes me feel the best (regardless of numbers on any labs) has been the best thing I could have ever done. The way I feel, I think, has more bearing than any number on lab work. Obviously, we all still need to get labs done to make sure everything is in line and where it should be for important things like hematocrit and lipid panel results, but I'm definitely not going to rely on specific or target T or E2 levels anymore. Eventually, I think I may even try reducing my dosage even lower to see if that helps me even more. I'll try this for about 2-3 months then start reducing and logging again to see where I feel the best. A million thanks to everyone for their input on this forum. It's made a world of difference for me and others, I'm sure.