TRT doubts 8 weeks in

[M!ck]

Hi guys,

I am 8 weeks into trt, enanthat 40mg e3.5d subQ.

Started low, as I was having a history 6 years ago with trt and elevated hematocrit.

My results came in and I was shocked. HCT already came back at 52.2 and total T at 11.8ng/ml which was surprisingly high as well for that low dose. Bloods were taken around 68 hours after last injection.

The reason that I have started trt at all was tanked energy, brainfog, loss of libido.
When I went to the gym I felt tanked after. No stress in my life, diet clean. Bf around 16% with 81kg. I hoped for more energy, but yet after 8 weeks it’s not that much better honestly. A little bit maybe.

My total T in the last 5 years had been around 3.8 and shbg low around 23. So there was still some production ongoing.

Not sure if it was a goood call for me to start honestly and if I’m doing More harm than good.

Love to hear your ideas to my situation. I am hesitate to stop and recover my own production at the moment.
Thanks.

 

[Cataceous]

In spite of popular belief, 80 mg of testosterone enanthate per week is not a low dose. It's providing more testosterone than most men would ever make naturally. Your lab results are not surprising. It sounds like your pre-TRT Vermeulen calculated free testosterone was around 9 ng/mL. This is considered borderline, low enough to cause problems for some men. In view of your symptoms it wasn't unreasonable to trial TRT. I would have preferred to see it done initially with a less disruptive fast-acting form, such as testosterone nasal gel or buccal troches. But given where you are, it would be sensible to lower your dose and give it some more time. Going to 60 mg TE per week is reasonable with your numbers, but it would be better with three injections per week, or every-other-day if you could manage that.

If you still don't see improvements in another eight weeks then you may need to rethink this. I assume you've had lab testing to rule out other potential reasons for your symptoms—thyroid issues, etc.? Because TRT suppresses and disrupts other hormones, men often get better results by adding hCG to the protocol. However, I haven't seen many guys referencing improvements in energy and cognition with this.

Unfortunately TRT is not a panacea, and it is possible that your original testosterone level was not low for you as an individual. You will find opinions contrary to mine, with encouragement to try even higher doses. If you are tempted then at least try the lower-dose route first. You should experience levels that are likely closer to what was healthy and natural for you before you increase your risk with higher doses—higher HCT at a minimum.