6 month protocol update with Defy

[nbenjamin113]

Good evening guys. I need some opinions on how to go about dosing during my next follow up with the nurse practitioner. I tested on Monday morning right before my injection. I feel much better but I’m a little disappointed as you will all see me explain later. My protocol is 162mg test c, 660 IU hcg, and .6 adex divided in three doses Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I feel much better, my strength is up, my libido is up, energy, except one thing....I recently realized the reason I keep finishing my testosterone two weeks early is because I’m using this 1 cc tuberculin slip too syringe with .25g 1 inch needle. I draw and inject with the same needle. About a month ago I dropped the syringe on the floor, so I pulled the plunger back and put on a new 25 g. To my surprise, instead of the test measuring at 27 units, it measured at 35 with the oil starting at the baseline. Essentially I’ve been injecting 210 mg of test c per week. I thought it was the compounding pharmacy underdosing, but that is clearly not the case. It actually does prove that they add an extra ml. Now the reason I say I’m disappointed is because with that hefty of a dose I’d expect higher numbers. I got my results today and wanted to know how I should go about managing my protocol.

Total T: 800
Free T: 33.2
DHEA: 428
TSH: 2.04
PSA: .3
Estradiol sensitive: 42
SHGB: 20.9
Hematocrit: 47.8
Total cholesterol: 176
Triglycerides: 57
HDL: 38
LDL: 127
All of the other bloods are in range. My liver enzymes are back in range which I’m happy about. However the best I ever felt was when I tested with a total t of 1150 and e2 of 25 which was 48 hours post injection when I was with another clinic that got shut down. I’d like to get to those numbers at my trough. Any opinions? When my e2 is lower I have so much more energy and wood that I can not control. I just want to be optimized and feel the best. Have any of you ever experienced needing that much of a weekly dose to be on the higher end?

 

[Vince Carter]

Have any of you ever experienced needing that much of a weekly dose to be on the higher end?

Your SHBG is lowish so that's how it goes, you (probably) really need to get off M/W/F and get to EOD (maybe), and worry about your Free T and E, and much less the Total.
Go back to your labs @ 1150/25 and see what your Free T was then and target your dosing to that number.

 

[pistolero]

Your dose injected is the travel of the plunger. If it reads more when you pull it down that's what's in the dead space. Think of it this way. Whatever extra shows when you pull it back is what is filling the needle. When you inject, the plunger only travels the "mils" shown. Your body doesn't just suck the rest out.

 

[Gene Devine]

This is exactly why I use a 1/2" 27g needle injected shallow IM (glutes); there is very very little waste if any at all and painless to boot.

 

[nbenjamin113]

**UPDATE**
I did an experiment to see if my syringe is really overdrawing test and I had my consultation with the Jill from Defy regarding my labs and change in protocol.

First, I tested to see whether I really was injecting 35 units (210 mg/week) three times a week instead of 27 units (162 mg/week). I drew until I got to 27 units, I pulled back on the plunger until the oil was even at the 0 unit line and the oil measured at 35 units. I did what I normally would do, pull back and fill up with more air, flip syringe upside down to get an airbubble behind the test (makes sure no testosterone is wasted in syringe or needle tip when injecting) and backloaded a insulin syringe. The insulin syringe measured 27 units exactly. That is a huge sigh of relief knowing I have been injecting the correct amount this whole time and have pretty decent numbers, I was pretty disappointed thinking I was on 210 mgs a week rather the prescribed 162.

Second, my appointment with Jill went great. She is extremely knowledgable and is open to making adjustments to your protocol based on your feedback. She recommended I switch my testosterone injections to EOD at 25 units each time which equals 175 mgs of testosterone a week due to my SHGB. She wants me to take anastrozole .20mg EOD as well, and add in an occasional dose if I am feeling signs of high e2. She wants to see my e2 cut in half near the 20-25 range. HCG we will continue with the MWF schedule but we are increasing the dose from 660 IU/week to 900 IU/week. My next set of bloods is due in November. Overall I am extremely happy with Defy Medical. Everyone there is on the same page and extremely knowledgable. I just want to thank all of you on this forum who recommended going through Defy. It's great having a clinic with the best doctors in the industry who actually care about your well being while also being very cost effective. I have great health insurance with my company now and can go to the gp/endo route and not pay a dime but I know finding anyone in the medical field with Defy's knowledge is almost impossible. And my insurance covers the labs so Defy is even more cost effective. PS the pharmacy I use is Empower.

 

[Maximus220rr]

I can u use this size needle to inject into shoulders??

 

[Vince]

I can u use this size needle to inject into shoulders??

Yes you can use the same what size syringe needle to inject in the shoulders.

 

[madman]

**UPDATE**
I did an experiment to see if my syringe is really overdrawing test and I had my consultation with the Jill from Defy regarding my labs and change in protocol.

First, I tested to see whether I really was injecting 35 units (210 mg/week) three times a week instead of 27 units (162 mg/week). I drew until I got to 27 units, I pulled back on the plunger until the oil was even at the 0 unit line and the oil measured at 35 units. I did what I normally would do, pull back and fill up with more air, flip syringe upside down to get an airbubble behind the test (makes sure no testosterone is wasted in syringe or needle tip when injecting) and backloaded a insulin syringe. The insulin syringe measured 27 units exactly. That is a huge sigh of relief knowing I have been injecting the correct amount this whole time and have pretty decent numbers, I was pretty disappointed thinking I was on 210 mgs a week rather the prescribed 162.

Second, my appointment with Jill went great. She is extremely knowledgable and is open to making adjustments to your protocol based on your feedback. She recommended I switch my testosterone injections to EOD at 25 units each time which equals 175 mgs of testosterone a week due to my SHGB. She wants me to take anastrozole .20mg EOD as well, and add in an occasional dose if I am feeling signs of high e2. She wants to see my e2 cut in half near the 20-25 range. HCG we will continue with the MWF schedule but we are increasing the dose from 660 IU/week to 900 IU/week. My next set of bloods is due in November. Overall I am extremely happy with Defy Medical. Everyone there is on the same page and extremely knowledgable. I just want to thank all of you on this forum who recommended going through Defy. It's great having a clinic with the best doctors in the industry who actually care about your well being while also being very cost effective. I have great health insurance with my company now and can go to the gp/endo route and not pay a dime but I know finding anyone in the medical field with Defy's knowledge is almost impossible. And my insurance covers the labs so Defy is even more cost effective. PS the pharmacy I use is Empower.

So you pulled very good total/free t numbers on labs at trough using 162mg/week.....you have lower shbg and now you are switching to EOD protocol but upping your test dose to 175mg/week.....why?

You will only push your free t/e2 up higher and if anything you should be decreasing your testosterone dose slightly especially going to more frequent injections and having low shbg.

You stated that the best you ever felt was when you pulled a 1125 total t 48hrs post injection and now you want to hit those numbers for a trough.....just because you felt that way with a total 1125 near your peak does not mean that you will feel like that with those levels at trough and even at that you should be much more concerned with your free t/free e2 seeing as you are lower shbg guy.