Persistent water retention

[GeauxBears]

I've been on TRT since March or so. Protocol is stable shooting 20mg T + 150iu HCG ED, 0.125mg anastrozole EOD. For the past couple of months I have been struggling with water retention, about 8 lbs or so extra than normal. It is manifesting mostly in my neck and face although my pants feel a bit tighter also.

Cycling 3x/week, desk job so I drink plenty of water.

We initially tried low-dose HCTZ 25mg ED which worked very well, and I lost that 8 lbs within a week or so. After 30 days, we stopped treatment and the bloating came back.

Researching here and thinking possible elevated E2, I ran labs thru Discountedlabs:

T: 804
FT: 19.4
Sens-E2: 23.9

That's about the best set of labs I've ever had.

Any thoughts? I don't remember struggling with this prior to TRT, but that could be a coincidence. Other than this I am doing fantastic. No other signs of E2 issues.

I plan to discuss with Dr. Saya next appointment, but wanted to see if anyone has struggled with the same?

 

[chrismez]

Maybe ditch the HCG for awhile and see if that reduces it. I suffer from facial bloat as well. There was a recent thread regarding water retention and hcg. I was taking 500 iu every 3.5 days. It's been about a week for me with no hcg and im definitely more lean and face doesn't seem quite as bloated...

 

[Vince]

https://www.excelmale.com/forum/showthread.php?1166-TEST-CYP-vs-TEST-E-BLOATING
https://www.excelmale.com/forum/showthread.php?5722-Water-Retention-from-HCG

 

[GeauxBears]

Interesting on the HCG point. The thing is, prior to TRT, I was on HCG mono at significantly higher dosages 3000iu per week (that had its own issues as well) without bloating. But I was never at the level of T I'm at now on HCG mono.

I'll keep reading, would appreciate any other perspectives out there.

 

[FeelingLost]

@GeauxBears hello I don't know if you are still reading this site but I was wondering if you ever found what was causing your water retension and did you lost your water weight? I am fighting ~8# after starting my trt program. I Calorie count every bread crumb and have not changed my diet even though the T has made me very hungry all the time.

 

[GeauxBears]

@GeauxBears hello I don't know if you are still reading this site but I was wondering if you ever found what was causing your water retension and did you lost your water weight? I am fighting ~8# after starting my trt program. I Calorie count every bread crumb and have not changed my diet even though the T has made me very hungry all the time.

Hey man, yes I was able to get past this with the doctor's help. I was on a bit too much T and needed to go up to 0.22 EOD from 0.125 EOD on AI. The numbers above wouldn't really justify that story, but over the course of a few lab draws following this post they crept up necessitating a need to continue to adjust. I must not have been completely stable on my protocol at the time. Low dose HCTZ helped in the meantime.

How long have you been on TRT?

What is your current protocol and latest law draws?

 

[FeelingLost]

Hey man, yes I was able to get past this with the doctor's help. I was on a bit too much T and needed to go up to 0.22 EOD from 0.125 EOD on AI. The numbers above wouldn't really justify that story, but over the course of a few lab draws following this post they crept up necessitating a need to continue to adjust. I must not have been completely stable on my protocol at the time. Low dose HCTZ helped in the meantime.

How long have you been on TRT?

What is your current protocol and latest law draws?

6 weeks 50mg in a 5g gel applied in the morning on clean dry shoulders. Nothing else in my T protocol at the moment.
I did stop taking Creatine to see if that was an issue with this water retension. I have had issues with it in the past but nothing like this.

 

[Vince Carter]

Water retention thru Creatine use is in the muscle which is what you want, the point of using Creatine, it's unlikely to be the root cause of generalized bloat.