9 years on Gel - Switch to Injection - Effect on HCT?

[andro1percent]

Hi, I've been on 1% Gel 1.25grams 4 pumps total for 9 years. Peaks are 2 hours after applying the gel. Generally in the upper 600's to low 700's total. Free is always in the upper portion of the range (13 to 15). HCT currently 43. SHBG and E1/E2 are both good as well.

My interest in switching to injection stems from the annoyance factor of applying the Gel every morning. Obviously after 9 years I've proven I can do it. And it's worked relatively well for me. But due to a few different factors I like the idea of not having to apply it anymore. My concern is the effect on HCT that it could have. However, in doing some research. It sounds like I may not experience much of a spike since I've been on Testosterone for so long. If I inject 2.5 times per week SUBQ it should further reduce the chance of a large HCT spike. I won't know until I try. But does anyone have experience doing this?

 

[Systemlord]

With your HCT at 43% I don’t think you’re going to have a problems with HCT even on IM injections. Your SHBG will go down though.

You could always go oral testosterone route, Jatenzo or Kyzatrex.

 

[Cataceous]

It depends on your dose. The thing about injections is that it's way too easy to overdose, and most men do. For example, the common starting dose of 100 mg of testosterone cypionate per week is way more than typical healthy natural production, which is equivalent to more like 50-70 mg.

Regarding the switch to cypionate in general, on the minus side, you may lose some daily variation in testosterone levels—assuming you're getting some with the gel. It's possible there are some benefits in these variations. On the plus side, your DHT may be more in balance with other hormones, as topical testosterone tends to send it quite high.

The good thing is that you have a well-established baseline; presumably you'll be able to tell if things start going downhill. Bear in mind that if you do take in more testosterone than currently then you could have a honeymoon period in which you feel pretty amazing. But such periods typically don't last and you could still end up worse off. If you go this route I recommend a low-and-slow approach. Start at 50-60 mg TC/week and only increase a little at a time if needed.

 

[Seagal]

The gel seems to work well for you. Did you also test the trough T level?
You can always go back to gel if the injections turn out to be inferior.
If the gel is androgel 1%, you could switch to androgel 1.6%, so that you need only 2-3 pumps of gel instead of 4 pumps and benefit from quicker application of the gel.
Or you can combine sc injections with gel.

If you want to minimize injections, I can recommend testosterone undecanoate. One injection per week.

 

[Mastodont]

Hi, I've been on 1% Gel 1.25grams 4 pumps total for 9 years. Peaks are 2 hours after applying the gel. Generally in the upper 600's to low 700's total. Free is always in the upper portion of the range (13 to 15). HCT currently 43. SHBG and E1/E2 are both good as well.

My interest in switching to injection stems from the annoyance factor of applying the Gel every morning. Obviously after 9 years I've proven I can do it. And it's worked relatively well for me. But due to a few different factors I like the idea of not having to apply it anymore. My concern is the effect on HCT that it could have. However, in doing some research. It sounds like I may not experience much of a spike since I've been on Testosterone for so long. If I inject 2.5 times per week SUBQ it should further reduce the chance of a large HCT spike. I won't know until I try. But does anyone have experience doing this?

Have you ever measured through levels in the morning, assuming you only apply in the morning?