ExcelMale
Menu
Home
What's new
Latest activity
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Videos
Lab Tests
Doctor Finder
Buy Books
About Us
Men’s Health Coaching
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
Install the app
Install
More options
Contact us
Close Menu
Forums
Testosterone Replacement, Low T, HCG, & Beyond
Testosterone Side Effect Management
HELP - Heat Rashes, ED, and Cracking Joints - A journey Riddle with Side Effects
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="madman" data-source="post: 198788" data-attributes="member: 13851"><p><strong>To preface this, I am a post-drug patient with lasting sexual side effects (yes, PFS, PSSD, and PAS exist and I will not argue this).</strong></p><p></p><p>post #6</p><p>[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.excelmale.com/forum/threads/finasteride-hrt.22881/[/URL]</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Seeing that others in the post-drug community have seen success with elevating testosterone levels (and e2) much higher, I tried this approach. I started on <u>200mg/wk -- 30mg/day IM</u> -- and had pretty great results, sexually, for the first 5-6 weeks. I had the returning of morning wood, my erection quality improved dramatically, I had libido again, and even the return of some long-lost emotions. <u>However, after about week 5-6, I lost all benefits and seemed to become even worse (became extremely difficult to get an erection even with manual stimulation)</u>.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Labs showed TT over 1500, <u>free T just over range</u>, and E2 in reference range (LabCorp for male's 18-40).</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>210 mg/week let alone 30 mg T daily is a whopping dose of T which would surely have your TT/FT sky high and in many cases depending on the individual very high estradiol!</p><p></p><p>As you can clearly see that on such dose not only is your TT >1500 ng/dL absurdly high but more importantly your FT level is high and even then I would put money on it that it was not tested using an accurate assay and may very well be much higher than you think.</p><p></p><p>Also, keep in mind that if these are trough levels then the peak level will be much higher.</p><p></p><p>Although TT is important to know FT is what truly matters as it is the active unbound fraction of testosterone responsible for the positive effects.</p><p></p><p>The only way to know where your FT truly sits on such protocol (dose T/injection frequency) is to have it tested using the most accurate assays such as the gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis or Ultrafiltration (next best).</p><p></p><p>Critical to know where your FT level truly sits let alone SHBG as it will have a significant impact on what FT level is achieved on such protocol (dose T/injection frequency) let alone can dictate what injection frequency may suit you best.</p><p></p><p>Hope you understand that when starting trt let alone tweaking a protocol (dose T/injection frequency) the <u>first 4-6 weeks mean nothing when looking at the bigger picture</u>.</p><p></p><p>*This should be hammered into every patient's head before starting trt or tweaking a protocol (dose T/injection frequency).</p><p></p><p>Keep in mind many fail to realize that when starting trt or tweaking a protocol (dose T/injection frequency) that <strong><em>hormones will be in flux during the weeks leading up until blood levels stabilize (4-6 weeks when using TC/TE)</em></strong> and it is common for many during this transition to experience what we call the <u><em><strong>honeymoon period where there may be a strong increase in libido/erections and overall euphoric feeling due to increasing T levels/dopamine</strong></em></u><strong><em>.</em></strong></p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, this is temporary and short-lived for most as the body will eventually adjust.</p><p></p><p>It is also very common for many men to experience ups/downs in energy/mood/libido/erections/recovery <strong><em>during the transition as the body is trying to adjust which can be very misleading.</em></strong></p><p><strong><em></em></strong></p><p><strong><em>Even then do understand that once blood levels have stabilized (4-6 weeks) it will take another 2-3 months for the body to fully adapt to those new levels and this is the critical time period when one should gauge how they truly feel overall regarding relief/improvement of low-t symptoms.</em></strong></p><p></p><p>When looking at the big picture the first 4-6 weeks is very misleading for most!</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>On <u>lower doses of testosterone (I tried 160mg/wk, 140mg/wk, and 120mg/wk -- which i'm currently running</u>), I experienced a reduction of negative adrenaline/norepinephrine-related side effects; however, I completely lost all sexual benefits and feel asexual again. In addition, I STILL have the rashes on 120mg/wk, which I consider something of a replacement dose (<u>don't have bloods to confirm yet but will probably get them soon</u>). Additionally, I've developed some low E2 symptoms I didn't have prior to starting TRT (namely, joint cracking/popping and joint pain).</strong></p><p></p><p>Unless you had given each protocol you have tried (160--->140--->120 mg/week) a fighting chance.....4-6 weeks for blood levels to stabilize (adjustment period) and 2-3 months to adapt then you can truly claim failure on such!</p><p></p><p>Need to wait until blood levels have stabilized on your current protocol (120 mg/week) to see where your TT/FT/e2 let alone other blood markers sit.</p><p></p><p>Again testing using accurate assays TT/e2 (LC/MS-MS) and FT (Equilibrium Dialysis or Ultrafiltration) is critical to know where your trough levels truly sit on such protocol (dose T/injection frequency).</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong><u>This has been a very poor experience overall</u>. I can't reap the benefits of high TRT because of the rashes, and on low doses, I am practically asexual, seem to be getting joint pain/cracking, and still have rashes (albeit less severe).</strong></p><p></p><p>Again unless you had given each protocol a fighting chance then how you truly felt overall on such protocol (dose T/injection frequency) means nothing when looking at the bigger picture.</p><p></p><p>Need to get out of that mindset that very high T levels are needed to truly reap the beneficial effects of testosterone.</p><p></p><p>Too many get caught up in that more is better mentality only to end up struggling and chasing their tale on that never-ending merry-go-round.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>I tried posting on what is probably considered <u>the competitor TRT forum</u> (won't post name here), and they didn't offer any solutions :/.</strong></p><p></p><p>There are no competitors as Excels in its own LANE!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="madman, post: 198788, member: 13851"] [B]To preface this, I am a post-drug patient with lasting sexual side effects (yes, PFS, PSSD, and PAS exist and I will not argue this).[/B] post #6 [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.excelmale.com/forum/threads/finasteride-hrt.22881/[/URL] [B]Seeing that others in the post-drug community have seen success with elevating testosterone levels (and e2) much higher, I tried this approach. I started on [U]200mg/wk -- 30mg/day IM[/U] -- and had pretty great results, sexually, for the first 5-6 weeks. I had the returning of morning wood, my erection quality improved dramatically, I had libido again, and even the return of some long-lost emotions. [U]However, after about week 5-6, I lost all benefits and seemed to become even worse (became extremely difficult to get an erection even with manual stimulation)[/U]. Labs showed TT over 1500, [U]free T just over range[/U], and E2 in reference range (LabCorp for male's 18-40).[/B] 210 mg/week let alone 30 mg T daily is a whopping dose of T which would surely have your TT/FT sky high and in many cases depending on the individual very high estradiol! As you can clearly see that on such dose not only is your TT >1500 ng/dL absurdly high but more importantly your FT level is high and even then I would put money on it that it was not tested using an accurate assay and may very well be much higher than you think. Also, keep in mind that if these are trough levels then the peak level will be much higher. Although TT is important to know FT is what truly matters as it is the active unbound fraction of testosterone responsible for the positive effects. The only way to know where your FT truly sits on such protocol (dose T/injection frequency) is to have it tested using the most accurate assays such as the gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis or Ultrafiltration (next best). Critical to know where your FT level truly sits let alone SHBG as it will have a significant impact on what FT level is achieved on such protocol (dose T/injection frequency) let alone can dictate what injection frequency may suit you best. Hope you understand that when starting trt let alone tweaking a protocol (dose T/injection frequency) the [U]first 4-6 weeks mean nothing when looking at the bigger picture[/U]. *This should be hammered into every patient's head before starting trt or tweaking a protocol (dose T/injection frequency). Keep in mind many fail to realize that when starting trt or tweaking a protocol (dose T/injection frequency) that [B][I]hormones will be in flux during the weeks leading up until blood levels stabilize (4-6 weeks when using TC/TE)[/I][/B] and it is common for many during this transition to experience what we call the [U][I][B]honeymoon period where there may be a strong increase in libido/erections and overall euphoric feeling due to increasing T levels/dopamine[/B][/I][/U][B][I].[/I][/B] Unfortunately, this is temporary and short-lived for most as the body will eventually adjust. It is also very common for many men to experience ups/downs in energy/mood/libido/erections/recovery [B][I]during the transition as the body is trying to adjust which can be very misleading. Even then do understand that once blood levels have stabilized (4-6 weeks) it will take another 2-3 months for the body to fully adapt to those new levels and this is the critical time period when one should gauge how they truly feel overall regarding relief/improvement of low-t symptoms.[/I][/B] When looking at the big picture the first 4-6 weeks is very misleading for most! [B]On [U]lower doses of testosterone (I tried 160mg/wk, 140mg/wk, and 120mg/wk -- which i'm currently running[/U]), I experienced a reduction of negative adrenaline/norepinephrine-related side effects; however, I completely lost all sexual benefits and feel asexual again. In addition, I STILL have the rashes on 120mg/wk, which I consider something of a replacement dose ([U]don't have bloods to confirm yet but will probably get them soon[/U]). Additionally, I've developed some low E2 symptoms I didn't have prior to starting TRT (namely, joint cracking/popping and joint pain).[/B] Unless you had given each protocol you have tried (160--->140--->120 mg/week) a fighting chance.....4-6 weeks for blood levels to stabilize (adjustment period) and 2-3 months to adapt then you can truly claim failure on such! Need to wait until blood levels have stabilized on your current protocol (120 mg/week) to see where your TT/FT/e2 let alone other blood markers sit. Again testing using accurate assays TT/e2 (LC/MS-MS) and FT (Equilibrium Dialysis or Ultrafiltration) is critical to know where your trough levels truly sit on such protocol (dose T/injection frequency). [B][U]This has been a very poor experience overall[/U]. I can't reap the benefits of high TRT because of the rashes, and on low doses, I am practically asexual, seem to be getting joint pain/cracking, and still have rashes (albeit less severe).[/B] Again unless you had given each protocol a fighting chance then how you truly felt overall on such protocol (dose T/injection frequency) means nothing when looking at the bigger picture. Need to get out of that mindset that very high T levels are needed to truly reap the beneficial effects of testosterone. Too many get caught up in that more is better mentality only to end up struggling and chasing their tale on that never-ending merry-go-round. [B]I tried posting on what is probably considered [U]the competitor TRT forum[/U] (won't post name here), and they didn't offer any solutions :/.[/B] There are no competitors as Excels in its own LANE! [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Share this page
Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
WhatsApp
Email
Share
Link
Sponsors
Forums
Testosterone Replacement, Low T, HCG, & Beyond
Testosterone Side Effect Management
HELP - Heat Rashes, ED, and Cracking Joints - A journey Riddle with Side Effects
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top