Stopped TRT , on restart protocol , feeling good so far

[AntCon]

Hey all,

So as the title says I stopped TRT and now am on a restart protocol. I was on TRT since June of this year but came to the conclusion that it’s not for me, atleast not right now. I stopped because although I was feeling better than pre TRT , I just don’t think I was benefiting enough from it..

I was on hcg , but still had noticeable testicular atrophy and I noticed my sperm was little to none (I have a kid on the way and plan to have more). I started to grow unwanted body hair, losing more hair on my head , and started getting bad cystic back acne. Plus some of my health isssues prior to TRT would still creep in throughout the days.. Overall I feel I wasn’t benefiting enough.

I called Defy and unfortunately Dr. Saya wasn’t available but I got his RN Damaris who was awesome and we got me me on a restart protocol that day. As of right now , strangely , I’m feeling just as good while I was on TRT, if not better. Also my testes are feeling much fuller.

Today marks 2 weeks since my last testosterone injection and Day 11 of my Restart protocol.

My protocol is
- 350iu HCG daily for 14 days (I’m on day 11)
- 15th day stop HCG , start Clomid 25mg For 30 days along with Anastrozole .25mg 2x a week


I have a couple questions and hoping anyone with or without experience can chime in please..

If it’s been two weeks without injecting Testosterone and I’m feeling pretty good, how good of a sign is that? Or is it the HCG that’s making me feel good?

Is this a good sign that HCG monotherapy might be something to look into?

I’ll also be getting labs done pre clomid and after. Which I’ll post here

 

[Vince]

It's definitely a good sign that you feel good. Since you only been testosterone since June it shouldn't take long for your body go back to its natural levels.

 

[AntCon]

It's definitely a good sign that you feel good. Since you only been testosterone since June it shouldn't take long for your body go back to its natural levels.

Thanks for the reply Vince... Do you think since I already feel this good clomid would even be necessary ?

 

[Vince]

I think I would, clomid is a way to go for a restart.

 

[Vince Carter]

Glaring problem is 25mg/D of Clomid is going to skyrocket your Estrogen and it's really an irresponsible dose to be prescribed that much per day. 12.5 or 12.5 EOD would be more advisable.
You're overly optimistic not to piss on your parade here but you never gave TRT a chance, for whatever reason, and day 11 of a restart is awfully generous, youre not giving your body a chance to reach homeostasis on anything that youre doing here, already picking apart your restart protocol. Which is questionable for the reasons I already stated.

 

[BigBamBoo]

Huh...when I spoke with one of the Dr’s at Defy about maybe stopping TRT, his “restart” protocol was just HCG for a few weeks.

I was going to stop because I was having high E issues and the AI at .125mg was trying to kill me...ok...not literally killing me, but I responded VERY badly to it.

But I wanted to give it one more chance and switched to M-W-F of just T and now, after 6 weeks....this is the best I have felt since starting TRT.

Anyways...as other have posted...11 days is not really a good indication of anything yet. Give is 4-6 weeks and report back.

Good luck to you. I was where you were at thinking and feeling like TRT was not for me.

 

[AntCon]

Glaring problem is 25mg/D of Clomid is going to skyrocket your Estrogen and it's really an irresponsible dose to be prescribed that much per day. 12.5 or 12.5 EOD would be more advisable.
You're overly optimistic not to piss on your parade here but you never gave TRT a chance, for whatever reason, and day 11 of a restart is awfully generous, youre not giving your body a chance to reach homeostasis on anything that youre doing here, already picking apart your restart protocol. Which is questionable for the reasons I already stated.

Hey thanks for the reply Vince Carter,

I do agree that 25mg of clomid a day seems really high.. Gonna hopefully talk to the doc about this by Monday. That’s part of why I was questioning if I should take it since I’m already feeling pretty decent.. Its been 2 weeks since my last injection of T , not sure how long it lasts in your system, but I would think if anything I’d be feeling pretty shitty since I haven’t gave my body any testosterone for 2 weeks. We all know our bodies , and I just could tell that even at a short time being on TRT , it’s not for me at least right now. All I could hope is that I continue to feel good off of it..

 

[BigBamBoo]

Do you know if you are primary or secondary?

It seems...just from the limited reading I have done when I was thinking of stopping...that secondary men have an easier time stopping TRT.

Again....just what I have seen online...so it must be true, right?

 

[AntCon]

Huh...when I spoke with one of the Dr’s at Defy about maybe stopping TRT, his “restart” protocol was just HCG for a few weeks.

I will look into this, thanks for the info.

I’m glad you were able to get dialed in and stuck with it... I just feel happy that I gave it a try. I’d be mad at myself if I didn’t.. Now I can try and get to a more healthier and better feeling natural me , hopefully lol..
But I must admit I like the way I’ve been feeling lately.. Hopefully it sticks , if not, I’ll go from there.

Best

 

[AntCon]

Do you know if you are primary or secondary?

It seems...just from the limited reading I have done when I was thinking of stopping...that secondary men have an easier time stopping TRT.

Again....just what I have seen online...so it must be true, right?

My testes work fine , so I think that makes me secondary ?

 

[JimBob]

Glaring problem is 25mg/D of Clomid is going to skyrocket your Estrogen and it's really an irresponsible dose to be prescribed that much per day. 12.5 or 12.5 EOD would be more advisable.
You're overly optimistic not to piss on your parade here but you never gave TRT a chance, for whatever reason, and day 11 of a restart is awfully generous, youre not giving your body a chance to reach homeostasis on anything that youre doing here, already picking apart your restart protocol. Which is questionable for the reasons I already stated.

If that really is an "irresponsible dose", that speaks badly of Defy, doesn't it? So many people speak of being in good hands with Defy, then invariably, something crazy like this comes up. Not knocking the clinic, but this isn't the first time I've seen a nutty protocol posted here from them. Doesn't exactly instill confidence if they're the experts, does it?

 

[fifty]

Crisler put me on 25mg a day in the past. It’s not going to skyrocket your estrogen on .5mg of arimidex per week.

 

[AntCon]

Crisler put me on 25mg a day in the past. It’s not going to skyrocket your estrogen on .5mg of arimidex per week.

How were you feeling on the clomid , did it end up restarting your natural production?

 

[fifty]

I felt better. It got me from low 300 total t to mid 600s for years to come. I only took the clomid for a couple months... 1 or 2.

 

[Dr Justin Saya MD]

If that really is an "irresponsible dose", that speaks badly of Defy, doesn't it? So many people speak of being in good hands with Defy, then invariably, something crazy like this comes up. Not knocking the clinic, but this isn't the first time I've seen a nutty protocol posted here from them. Doesn't exactly instill confidence if they're the experts, does it?

It’s not an irresponsible dose for a RESTART...Which is a shorter course of treatment and a different animal than Clomid monotherapy as we are kickstarting a completely suppressed HPTA. Vince Carter is a pal, but for some reason periodically makes similar antagonist comments.

Antcon - This may in fact be an indicator that hCG monotherapy could be viable for you. Will be interesting to see if you have labs drawn before you finish the hCG. However, it’s still early as others have indicated.

 

[AntCon]

It’s not an irresponsible dose for a RESTART...Which is a shorter course of treatment and a different animal than Clomid monotherapy as we are kickstarting a completely suppressed HPTA. Vince Carter is a pal, but for some reason periodically makes similar antagonist comments.

Antcon - This may in fact be an indicator that hCG monotherapy could be viable for you. Will be interesting to see if you have labs drawn before you finish the hCG. However, it’s still early as others have indicated.

Thanks a bunch for chiming in Dr. Saya, I really appreciate it. Definitely calms any concern I had.

Good to know that there is even a chance. I’ll actually be getting labs today (last day of hcg) before my hcg injection.

Thanks again