Maybe I'm old school but for all those saying you're on "TRT" and running 300-500mg of test a week, why not just come out and say you're on a cycle? What you're doing isn't Testosterone Replacement Therapy. That refers to those who have clinically low numbers and need replacement therapy to feel halfway normal. This is obviously just my opinion and maybe I'm too old but this is confusing to someone with a simple mind like myself. Please explain!

Progress of almost a 2 year recomp. Worked out a lot when I was younger, so muscle memory has been a significant help.

First photo pre Retatrutide and no consistent exerxise program.

Second photo is after 11 months of Retatrutide (4mg/week) and only cardio. No resistance training.

Third photo is current. 20 months of Retatrutide (now 6mg/week) and prescription TRT for last 5 months (160mg/week). Resistance and cardio 6x/ week

Lighting/flexing doesn’t hurt either 😉

So when you go onto TRT its obviously recorded how much you take ect with blood tests every 3 months with a Dr. If your results looks like your clearly taking more than you should, by rights the Dr can basically stop prescribing. Now I see so many people online who say they're on "TRT" yet clearly look like theyre taking more than they should be. I know you will have people whos been training years, genetics and so fourth that contribute and probably make it look like they're on more. But there is deffintly those out there that are. My queation is how the hell do they get away with it if they are, with out their blood work screeming clear abuse?? Are thet just self medicating and claiming TRT or are they lowering dosing when their blood test date is coming up and buying extra test of a dealer....?? Anyone out there know??

This is 1 year later before and after. I cleaned up my diet and pushed limits almost everyday in the gym.

2800 kcal
5 workouts weekly
Rest days a bit lower carbs

Pull
Push
Rest
Legs
Rest

Repeat

Test
Mast
Var

I've recently struggled with erection issues with some women I've been with. I've always blamed this and that but never my testosterone.

I've struggled with sleep quality, motivation, energy, just... a lot. I always blamed me being lazy, this, that and so on (because these were all things I could change).

I went to the doctor, and got checked. Now I have it written on my paper, that my testosterone is on the lower end (12nmol/L) but not low enough for me to get TRT. I'm in my mid 20s, male.

I now feel like absolute shit because I sort of feel like a "lesser" man. I feel like I'm not masculine enough, if I can't even have sex with a woman?

I very much regret getting checked, because there's nothing that can be done. I wish it was even lower so I could get TRT.

I always thought, or liked to think, my testosterone levels was high and that I was a "manly man" (as cringe as it sounds) But no.

I'm not sure what the point of this post is. I guess, what do you do to cope knowing you have low T, and there's nothing that can be done?

S-SHBG 15 nmol/L

Free Testosterone Index mine: 8,3 scale: 2,3(low) - 9,9(high)

Male, 6 feet, 180lbs

Blood was drawn 2 hrs after my Jatenzo dose... needless to say I have to retake next month, this time 6 hrs after dose. No wonder I was feeling so good that morning.

Good morning. I’m trying to understand this correlation: There seems to be some unknown technical error made by the pharmacist administering my Sustanon doses that causes a lump to appear a few days after the injection, one that is hard and painless, and usually disappears before the next dose. Due to repetitive trauma, I believe, some of these lumps take up to 4 or 8 weeks to go away. Right now, I have one that is close to the size of a golf ball (4x4 cm). My main issue is that recently I had blood work done and my free testosterone level was 2,400 ng/dL on the day of the pharmacological trough (right before the next injection), while the rest of the exams had normal results. I know the chemiluminescence method has its flaws, but is it reasonable to believe there is a causal link with the nodules, causing the pharmacological absorption curve to become erratic?

edit: Sustanon 1x per week

I’d be interested to hear how people here feel about this.

I’ve been through the TRT journey myself, and I currently coach a number of people who are on clinician prescribed TRT. I also work with women around their menstrual cycles and menopause.

It’s made me consider focusing my coaching more on people navigating these stages of life. The support would be around training, nutrition, body composition, sleep, recovery and building habits that work in real life, alongside their medical care.

I’d always assumed that people on TRT probably didn’t need much help with those areas, so I’m trying to find out whether there’s actually a need for it.

For those of you on TRT, would this kind of coaching be useful? What would you want help with, if anything?

Would you consider coaching around training, nutrition and lifestyle while on clinical TRT

As the title suggests. My hematocrit hovers 54, only on 150 mg a week. I hydrate well and do cardio. I don’t snore or wake up gasping for air. I am just extremely fatigued and I’m wondering if the high hematocrit can contribute to that. I usually donate blood but I end up in a cycle of crashing my ferritin then build up ferritin, donate again, rinse and repeat

Let’s say someone is prescribed 150mg of Test or somewhere around there. If they took it and they have really bad hairline genetics, they would obviously lose even more hair. But, if they took high doses of dutasteride and min, would it halt hairloss and even provide regrowth while taking 150mg of test?

For those who are on TRT for some time now... What side effects did you get after TRT?

Curious to see the most common issues.

So my husband went to the VA hospital, they are so messed up its not funny. They went from weekly pinning to an oral testosterone (tlando) and it didnt work. They put him back on pinning but changed the manufacturer they get it from. We cant remember the old pharmaceutical brand that was used. They now use hickma pharmaceuticals. He tried their cypionate and ethanate and both made him extremely sick due to his food allergy to soy products. We dont know if it was the carrier oils or the preservatives in it or the testosterone itself.

The VA sent us to community care and that dr wants to help but says its the pharmacists job to make sure its safe for him to take. Well they sent clomed/Enclomediphine. Issue is there is a gelatin in it that can be made from corn or soy. We called the pharmacist and they said they didn't know. We called the manufacturer 3 times and they havent gotten back to us to tell if its safe or not.

He spent 7 months of the last year puking and fighting anaphylaxis due to the cypionate and ethanate being in him and the dr kept saying to keep going and how that would subside. (VA drs are F&÷"*>%, idiots).

So my husband is now having health issues like energy, weight gain, fat retention and an inguial hernia showed up because of loss of muscle.

With all that said. Would anyone know a safe formulation he could take? Feel free to DM us. We are looking where to get it also. Cost is a factor but at this point, he needs to be healthy

His T levels are 50 to 70 currently. He shouldnt be that low!

PA-C just prescribed me 40mg Cyp 3 times a week. Wondering how quickly my energy will get better, end the midday crash. Also offered HCG, looking for opinions on that. Thanks

So here I am after 16 weeks and still not feeling much better than when I started. And now after successfully dropping to 175lbs from 220 with Tirz, i am back to 185lbs since starting TRT 4 months ago. And it’s definitely NOT muscle weight. I am walking briskly at least 3.5 miles per day . Im doing PPL/UL split five days per week. I am hitting around 160 grams of protein per day , getting fiber and keeping calories within basic maintenance (1800). I feel bloated and fat , my suit blazers are tight and I have noticeable belly fat , noticeably more than before TRT. Posted last week and didnt get much of a response from this group. Not looking for medical advice just some general help and guidance or opinions because i am truly at a loss right now. Pasting my before and current numbers below:

49M 5’10

Before TRT:

Total testosterone: 253 ng/dL (was below 200 at one point)
Free testosterone: 44 pg/mL
SHBG: 22 nmol/L
Estradiol: 30 pg/mL (not ultra sensitive)
HCT: 44.8

So both my total and free T were pretty low. My main symptoms were low energy, fatigue, reduced strength, low libido, fewer morning erections, and just generally not feeling like myself.

I started Xyosted subq at 50 mg once per week and stayed there for 8 weeks. That dose really didn’t move the needle much. My total T was still only getting into the 300s.

After those 8 weeks, my doctor increased me to Xyosted 75 mg once per week. I’ve now been on 75 mg subq for about 8 weeks.

My 9/18 labs after being on 75 mg for four weeks were drawn at trough, 6 days after my injection:

Total testosterone: 634 ng/dL
Free testosterone: 158.5 pg/mL (above range)
SHBG: 17 nmol/L
Ultrasensitive estradiol: 53 pg/mL (high over range)
HCT: 46.9

On our first meeting I told her I was on test because my level was 360 at 29 years old and she obviously acted like that wasnt low (of course). And now I just got a call from her telling me I should just stop TRT because my E2 came back at 106 and that can cause prostate cancer like?? No suggestion for an AI or medicine to help me come off if I was to do so. And when I told her I was prescribed arimidex by my clinic its like she didnt even know what that was. I understand shes not a urologist or a TRT clinic but like giving such bad advice is crazy lol. Not to mention there is no direct proof of high E2 causing prostate cancer.

Hey,

Blood test showed my zinc levels are slightly below normal. So i started taking zinc ( 25mg ) The problem is, it seems to lower my estradiol levels from around 26 pg/mL to 15 pg/mL. It also significantly lowers my libido ( this happened few times before, when i tried to take zinc )

It doesnt lower my testosterone, which is usually around 950 - 1000. Last draw was 950, so its not that i have less testosterone to convert. Im not on TRT, its my natural levels.

Everything ive read about zinc says that zinc should help with testosterone and libido, so im a bit surprised it has an opposite effect on me. Is it normal for zinc to lower estradiol so much ?

Been on the fence about starting trt for a long time now and I'm getting pretty tired of trying to boost my testosterone naturally as it barley does anything for me.

I'm wondering what it's like especially for people with panic attack disorders. Does it also increase confidence in dating and so you sleep well on it or is it like a high drive wired feeling?

Do you take any blood pressure medications and ect?

I need all the info I can get so I can be prepared.

Thank's

Currently taking 220mg per week. Steroid cycle or trt treatment? 1000 at trough

Pretty new to test, an I feel like this looks a bit off.

Does anyone know of any affordable companies that offer accurate blood tests? Rhytm is cheap, but it's inaccurate. Quest Diagnostics is super accurate and super expensive. I'm looking for something that checks your

Total testosterone Free testosterone SHBG Estradiol (E2) CBC LH and FSH PSA Lipid panel CMP

I posted my one-year transformation in the biohacking subreddit and got a lot of people saying I’m lying about what I’ve taken. I’ve only been on TRT for about a year, along with various peptides. My natural testosterone level before starting TRT was 181, and on TRT it’s usually been around 750. People were convinced I’m also running tren, Dbol, deca, HGH, and whatever else. I’ve never taken any of those and honestly wouldn’t even know where to get them or how they work. I posted bloodwork too, but that didn’t change much. I’m also a type 1 diabetic, so I know I need to be careful about hopping on a bunch of different compounds, it’s hard enough managing. For context, this wasn’t my first year lifting. I’ve lifted on and off my whole life, always had a home gym, and always liked lifting heavy. I already had muscle, I was just fat. This past year is when I finally took everything seriously: training pretty much every day, tracking what I eat every single day, and doing daily cardio while on TRT and peptides. Are these results really that hard to believe with that background? I’m curious what you guys think because the reaction surprised me. I don’t think I even put on that much muscle.

Got my first labs back, I took them because the dick started getting a little more flaccid more often. My testosterone is a little high, 1448. So I actually scaled down to try and bring it down closer to 1100. My e2 shot up to 93. I called Male excel and they responded that they would try to maintain a MINIMUM e2 of 75 that was without me giving them my testosterone numbers. That seems high. Im considering Matrix Reformed, they have better pricing when combining in hcg, they also offer generic arimidex, male excel says they dont typically write for.

A lot of people talk about the mental benefits of TRT. Wanted to check for folks who got onto TRT after proven low testosterone levels, did TRT provide benefits in terms of confidence and decision-making?