Experiences and Questions: Personal Experiments with Oral Native Testosterone Base & Enclomiphene (TRT+)

[dirkdigglr]

Hi,

Since Maximus TRT+ (oral native Testosterone with enclomiphene) isn't available here, I created my own version using micronized native testosterone powder dissolved in 30g of olive oil, combined with enclomiphene. I've conducted two separate experiments:

Baseline / Context:

• Healthy male, athletic, non-obese, late 30s
• Daily exercise: ~40 min running, 30 min full-body training (rack, Olympic barbell)
• Total cholesterol: ~100 (on low-dose statin + ezetimibe), lipoproteine(a) 121 nmol/l (reference: <75 nmol/l)
• Diet notable for high consumption of broccoli and cauliflower (potentially lowering E2?)
• No thyroid issues, values normal

Baseline Hormonal Levels:

• Total T: ~500 ng/dl
• LH: 4.9 IU/L
• Estradiol (E2): 20.2 pg/ml
• SHBG: 42 nmol/l
• Free Testosterone (calculated): ~76 pg/ml (1.49% of total T)
• Albumin: 4.27 g/dl

Experiment 1 (Enclomiphene only, 6 mg every 3 days for 3 months):

• Total T: ~850 ng/dl
• LH: ~13 IU/L
• Estradiol (E2): 43.6 pg/ml
• SHBG: 80.5 nmol/l
• Free Testosterone (calculated): ~101 pg/ml (1.23% of total T)
• DHEA: 10.9 ng/ml (1.33 - 7.78 ng/ml)
• DHEA-sulfate: 430,0 µg/dl (88,9 - 427 µg/dl)
• Albumin: 4.76 g/dl

This protocol felt significantly better than my baseline.

Experiment 2 (4 weeks of micronized Native Testosterone Base):

• Morning dose: 600 mg Testo Base in 30g olive oil + 6.25 mg enclomiphene
• Afternoon dose (approx. 6 hours later): 600 mg Testo Base in 30g olive oil + 6.25 mg enclomiphene

Resulting Hormonal Levels (measured 5.5 hours after morning dose):

• Total T: ~1070 ng/dl
• LH: 11.8 IU/L (note: not suppressed, despite high T and enclomiphene)
• FSH: 9.5 IU/L
• Estradiol (E2): 14.9 pg/ml (significantly lower compared to enclomiphene-only and baseline)
• SHBG: 34.2 nmol/l
• Free Testosterone (directly measured): 42.35 pg/ml (reference: 7.00 – 22.70 pg/ml)

Initially, native Testo Base felt very stimulating and beneficial. However, currently, I experience:

• Low motivation
• Exhaustion and depressive symptoms
• Emotional numbness
• Short-term memory issues
• Sleep disturbances (particularly more wakefulness and sometimes waking up around 4 AM, possibly cortisol-related)

I've tried taurine, ashwagandha, and melatonin to help manage these sleep disturbances, with some improvement noted.

I suspect the symptoms might be related to significantly reduced Estradiol (E2) levels (currently 14.9 pg/ml, compared to 43.6 pg/ml on enclomiphene-only).

I've experimented yesterday once with ingesting 0.25-0.5 mg of micronized 17β-estradiol, though unsure about its efficacy as I dont have any scale for such tiny amounts.

Additionally, I considered potential dopamine overload or tolerance reactions due to initial positive effects followed by rapid decline in mood and motivation.

DHEA Intervention:

• I've started taking 50 mg micronized DHEA with oil over the last two days, but haven't observed improvements yet.
• Would DHEA be more effective without oil to enhance aromatization in the liver?
• How much DHEA should I optimally take?
• Does DHEA reliably increase Estradiol (E2)? What E2 levels should I aim for?

I previously felt much better emotionally and in terms of sleep quality on enclomiphene-only despite lower testosterone levels. My goal now is to dial in the Estradiol levels appropriately while maintaining the benefits of higher free testosterone.

Any input or advice is appreciated! thx!

See attached PDF for detailed blood values from Experiment 2. Note that this was only a brief, interim blood panel conducted due to emerging symptoms and the need for quick intervention.