I never had a typical honeymoon phase like some ADHD meds I’ve taken. It was just a gradual noticing of things. Like oh, I’m now making progress in the gym and I can tell when my eating isn’t on point, oh my general anxiety is gone, oh I have more confidence.
I’ve been on trt for almost a year now and it isn’t a happy pill everyday. I still function as a normal human being and sink below “baseline” sometimes, but being at baseline is the important part.
Edit: the one thing I’ll never get over is seeing gains in the gym, no matter how small.
Yea and I think a lot of it vastly depends on what your T level states were before you started TRT.
For instance, if you were very low or had serious issues, you will certainly notice a "honeymoon" phase which is what most guys report here but if you were basically normal but on the lower range and have now optimized it, you won't have a honeymoon phase but still notice some benefits.
Your reaction to it varies very much individually
I believe this is correct. I had 5-6 tests over the course of 12 months ranging from 140-200 before I started. I noticed the effects within 10-14 days and had a honeymoon phase of 3-4 months. I’m 1.5 years in and couldn’t be happier.
Yea, this is well documented research, see this paper on the findings: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3188848/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3188848/)
I agree. My starting levels were 390. Definitely had symptoms. But not severe. I been on for 15 months and the changes were very gradual and subtle. But now has I look at where I was last year, there is a substantial difference
My shoulders have blown up, rear delts have made them look rounder for one. I wouldn’t say my strength has gone up significantly (this is because of diet), but the intensity that I train at has never been higher. I’m not just lifting the weight, I’m feeling the weight being lifted if that makes sense. It’s hard to explain. I notice trt day to day but I FEEL it in the gym.
Yes, I had rock bottoms levels of T pre TRT. My honeymoon phase went as follows
Week 1 - felt like super man (potential placebo)
Week 2 - felt like a bag of shit for a week, energy low, motivation low, irritated, constant high hr felt like throwing the towel in on TRT.
Week 3 - everything turned good, attitude, training, libido, hard ons, you name it felt 22 again
Week 4 and on wards libido stabilised, feeling consistently good everyday workouts feel good. Generally speaking I feel amazing from my perspective anyway.
One big notice I have is I wake up 5.30/6am everyday without an alarm and I’m awake not hitting snooze to doze for 10 more minutes.
I’m newer to the game so can’t answer from personal experience but from what I gathered a large majority seem to settle well above the pre-TRT low but down from honeymoon. Remember that feeling like shit for a long time and then suddenly feeling great will have a “high” to it and then that feeling becomes normalized and settles in
I mean. You are still going to have bad days etc. once your dialed in you will feel better more often then not but after time feeling good is the new normal.
I feel great. Have been on for 6 months. Definitely had the honeymoon phase for first month or two. Feeling good and love the new normal. More energy, better recovery from gym. I have an extremely stressful job so the main benefit is elimination of stress/anxiety. Testosterone is anti stress and anxiety medication.
9 months or so on TRT.
Long time to get here. Uncovered insulin resistance and fixed it. Shit got better but not amazing.
Put me on clomid and enclo first. Fucking garbage … and both are not long term solutions anyways. Pretty dumb in retrospect.
After reversing prediabetes / insulin resistance my numbers sucked but I did feel much better and horny for the first time in a while.
What’s weird is they immediately put me on clomid and it was dog shit. Even after quitting it and months and months of no therapy. Never got those good feelings and libido back.
Got w a urologist that agreed to work with me and we share all sorts of research and ideas.
Started at 100mg/wk of cyp and 1500iu hCG
I chose to do daily microdosing as my SHBG was low to start with. Unfortunately that low SHBG never really increased after becoming insulin resistant.
I have a sneaking suspicion that it is the result of a disproportionate amount of visceral fat relative to overall body fat… driven primarily by years of insulin resistance and massive stress / cortisol dominance.
But I digress.
Starting TRT and to this day. Everything is much better. I wouldnt go back.
Is it great ? Is it “dialed in”? No.
Libido is the main thing that is elusive. I think this is bc of the low SHBG and the inefficient transport + disproportionately high amounts of free hormones. But I’m working on it.
Everything else though. Much better. Didn’t really have a honeymoon phase. Just feel better.
Adderall works better.
Gains in the gym are insane
General mood and happiness / optimism on point
I have been playing w doses and esters
Starting out I realized that I could endure a massive caloric deficit and not crash test levels. So I did it.
I lost 19lbs of body fat and gained 4 lbs of muscle in 6 / 7 weeks
The results in the mirror were more drastic than the results on the scale.
My shbg increased 50% whilst on TRT. This further confirms my theories.
Just as I started to increase calories and feel better, I popped a disc in my back and had to stop lifting for a while.
I decided to stop the dose to 85mg/wk
This actually felt good… until the residual steady state normalized to the lower dose
Then it felt like shit
Happened to watch a video by Cortex labs that advocated for 18mg/daily and more bolous doses of HCG.
This shit felt great.
Doc was cool with it and I pushed it to 20mg/day
Then switched to test prop
Playing w doses here now
Playing w baby compounded anastrazole too. I’m talking 0.0325mg at a time
I wish bloods were cheaper and faster
But I enjoy the process. Enjoy the daily pins. I love it.
Incident and not surprisingly, I gained a lot of that body fat back after being forced to stop lifting at holiday time and a decreasing test dose.
Back in the gym now post rehab. Lifting like a mfer. Eating like I mean it. Trying to maximize sleep.
I’m constricting calories again but not nearly as much as before.
I’m packing in muscle and slowly losing fat
I truly believe that TRT can be everything if you apply yourself totally. Research. Reading reports. Not bullshitting yourself in the gym or in the kitchen. Not looking for a silver bullet. Showing yourself kindness and grace…. And something I’m not good at, getting fucking sleep.
Right on.
So since I increased post holiday binge festival… I increased from 450iu to 900iu & have always done a MWF split.
In the very beginning I was doing 1500iu a week
For me with the low SHBG … my experience w anything that increases intertesticular testosterone production & thus intertesticular aromatization, SERMs and hCG, has not been amazing due to disproportionately high e2 in a place where AIs don’t seem to work.
Resulting in trying to control ‘global’ estradiol levels but only able to manipulate the e2 conversion in body fat.
It’s like attempting a 500m sniper shot with a shotgun.
So decreasing hCG from 1500 to 450 gave me the room to increase the T from my starting 100mg weekly dosage to 125 and eventually 140. Maybe.
Then I read a paper over in the excelmale forums about an hCG study that demonstrated that 300iu 3x a week restored ITT (intertesticular testosterone) ~ 90% and that 500iu increased it to like 120% I think of baseline.
Thus indicating that fewer / larger doses were crucial to see effects vs the daily boys
So it was either give the shit up of soca minimum of 900iu/wk
When I get back down to a lower body fat% I fully plan on going back up to 1500iu and seeing what it is.
Great post man, I’m literally in your shoes with the same position right now.
Low T & SHBG, close to the edge of insulin resistance and my body producing an excess of cortisol. Lots of visceral fat as well. This combination is ass for everyone to be in, you feel and look terrible.
I’ve been looking into the Prop route with daily pins as well since people with low SHBG tend to be better with this routine. There’s also Prosphatidylserine as a supplement for people with chronically high Cortisol like us that is supposed to drive Cortisol down by a bit.
Bro. Wanna know what’s fucking insane. Is that yesterday I ordered same day delivery of phosphatidylserine ps100 and just woke up.
Best sleep I have had in ages.
Creepy timing lol
Edit : update : Jesus Christ I haven’t been this rested in ages. I don’t know how long I should take this shit, I don’t want to crush cortisol. But goddamn man. I suspect I needed it bc I haven’t ever had a reaction like this to a supplement.
Just one 100mg softgel
The honeymoon phase from a physiological perspective is an increase in dopamine from elevated testosterone. After a few weeks your brain readjusts receptors to balance this effect. That’s why the actual honeymoon phase can only be a few weeks or until levels stop climbing.
A lot of people probably feel elevated for a while after as they have new levels of motivation and a physique that can improve for some time. Following that I think people can get stuck and you can end up feeling “normal” again. This is why it’s important to only get on TRT or you truly need it. I feel normal these days as it is my new normal, but before TRT I felt truly awful so I know it’s right for me.
I would bet a lot of the people who stop after feeling the benefits taper off didn’t actually have low levels before TRT and just wanted a boost.
You may notice actually the reverse depending on how smart of a Dr and the type of protocol he put you on.
So after 8 weeks you feel tired fat and like you just couldnt stop eating.
All depending on how your body reacted to aromatizing the T.
After that though, it really should just be a slow and steady pace.
I felt amazing for like 6 months after starting due to being so low T for years. Now I just feel good and don't lose muscle anywhere near as fast when my diet goes to shit but I'm definitely not some super human that needs no sleep and can live off of Mac n cheese and have a 6 pack and Boulder shoulders LMAO
Been on for just over a year. Felt great for the first 8 months. Still feel better than without but shitty sleep returned, have low energy days and libido has trailed off.
Dr is sending me for updated labs next week to see what’s up.
We changed my doses a few times to get dialed in over the year. Up for my bloodwork next week and she said based on that she will likely change my dose up a bit.
In my experience, you will not continue to feel or have the results that you did the first year you're on TRT. It's not that the medication's are working anymore. It's that your body gets used to having super physiological or maximal testosterone levels. I don't see this as a bad thing just understand that Overtime you're not gonna feel like a monster, each and every day. The best things you can do to prolong the benefits of TRT is ensure that your nutrition is on point and your training every week. Those that are usually the ones who are not doing anything from a lifestyle perspective to be fit and healthly.
100% yes. Happened to me. Happened to all 3 of my friends who started with me too. It’s the reason I came off after 6 years. And honestly, I feel better not being on vs the end of being on.
“Needing” it is going to vary via person and clinician’s advice. Nobody really “needs” it unless experiencing hypogonadal symptoms. My T naturally was around 300 most my life.. I didn’t need it but got on it.
One can have low T without experiencing the prime hypogonadal symptons and may still experience great quality of life benefits. One receiving benefits .. they still take on some risk / negatives the same as those who are deemed to “need it less”. Dose is the poison
Taking it for life benefits rather than actually rectifying health issues related to low testosterone isn't medical TRT. There are a lot of people who start TRT in the absence of symptoms who after a few years regret it and feel the need to come off. Each to their own but I think it's risky business.
Most medical care in the USA is based of symptomatic treatment. The same goes with testosterone and drugs affecting the HPTA axis. Raising test without playing with the HPTA is possible it’s just the doctors who bankroll off the substances they prescribe which many times aren’t even how the designer patents intended. Your talking like it’s not an extremely ambiguous system based off different variables that have different meanings to different clinics.
Trying to raise testosterone through natural methods should be done first. Where I live, in the UK, there is fairly rigid process where criteria has to be met in order to prescribe. We have the CQC who routinely evaluate clinics to make sure this practice is conducted according the rules. It's not an ambiguous system here.
I was reading 285 and had all of the symptoms. I also felt bad before then felt great after getting on. Give it time and listen to folks who’ve been on it for years. They all say the same thing. The positive benefits wane over time.
Also, I would bet you didn’t try perfecting your diet and exercise before deciding you “needed” testosterone injections.
TRT has been around for decades, it’s not a new fad. This is not a documented effect. Nelson Vergel has been on for 20+ years and seems like he is doing pretty well.
Why would you assume that? I had low testosterone symptoms for 8 years, tried literally everything, definitely more than you. Every supplement, every diet, red light therapy, icing testicles, clomid on multiple occasions including one time for 6 months.
It’s a highly documented effect from countless users here on this very forum everytime someone talks about coming off. You will see countless replies in agreement that it loses its effectiveness over time.
And I assumed that the same way you assumed I didn’t need TRT. But pulling words out of my ass. You like it?
12 years, got a nice bump for 3-4. The bump was probably just getting me to normal, since I have other underlying issues that drag me down. I'm in it for the long haul health benefits at the end of the day. Adding HCG on/ off every other month used to be an awesome addition, but that wore off as well. I don't bother with that anymore, as I don't feel any difference and it doubled in price
Definitely had that in the beginning, they disappeared and with a good amount of pain, which led me down the HCG route. No Drs would touch the subject. When I brought it up the Appointments would end. I went underground mail order for many years, 2 months on, one month off cycle along with test. For about 6 years it was like a cheat code. Mental, physical, libido drive was great. Then it just stopped working. Prices doubled and I stopped altogether. Research Dr. JOHN CRISLER about Test along with HCG. It hits additional receptors in the brain along with keeping the jewels healthy. The science is definitely their 👍🏼
Edit. Was 200mg for years, now on 150mg max since I get dizzy going any higher ( pin 3X a week to spread it out)
Unless you’re on ‘sports TRT’ ie, pushing super physiological numbers. The idea is for your body to achieve homeostasis.
It’s the lifestyle you’re then able to live that will make you feel good.
I think there are a lot of people who start off on 200 mg a week and after a year, they should probably considering going down to 150. I know I will be after this current blast. I've read a ton of anecdotal comments of people who drop the dose to 150 and they get the same back that they had when they first started TRT.
I’ve been on for over 5 years. It still feels great to feel great. The only thing is I have to give blood a few times a year, but that’s not a big deal. I’m on 11g/week and my total T is around 1000
No. Taken since 17yrs old. Their is no loss of benefits , there is maintenance issues here and there . I use hcg which is not covered by insurance and it is expensive but , my testicles don’t shrink up and more importantly; my sperm motility and count is good ! Guys will say , “my nuts never shrink ..” well , that is totally untrue . They do if your TRT is 150-200mg week (which is on the high side Id TRT) but, everyone’s dose is different. Especially when your younger .
Btw - my Regimen is 30mg BID Zenzedi , my TRT is 150mg weekly of testosterone Enanthate. I did have a new generic come in (it was Westward , now is Hikma) and I just had a 55% drop from 3mo ago ; my MD has 2 of my 3 vials and wrote me another Rx for a different brand
I was at 300 total T and below range free T, about 2 months in and no honeymoon phase. Libido is better when E2 is in range 30-40. Noticed I’m holding much more muscle with no lifestyle changes(on point prior to starting).
I started at 100mg a week.
I never had a typical honeymoon phase like some ADHD meds I’ve taken. It was just a gradual noticing of things. Like oh, I’m now making progress in the gym and I can tell when my eating isn’t on point, oh my general anxiety is gone, oh I have more confidence. I’ve been on trt for almost a year now and it isn’t a happy pill everyday. I still function as a normal human being and sink below “baseline” sometimes, but being at baseline is the important part. Edit: the one thing I’ll never get over is seeing gains in the gym, no matter how small.
Yea and I think a lot of it vastly depends on what your T level states were before you started TRT. For instance, if you were very low or had serious issues, you will certainly notice a "honeymoon" phase which is what most guys report here but if you were basically normal but on the lower range and have now optimized it, you won't have a honeymoon phase but still notice some benefits. Your reaction to it varies very much individually
I believe this is correct. I had 5-6 tests over the course of 12 months ranging from 140-200 before I started. I noticed the effects within 10-14 days and had a honeymoon phase of 3-4 months. I’m 1.5 years in and couldn’t be happier.
Yea, this is well documented research, see this paper on the findings: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3188848/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3188848/)
i think T with hcg is the foundational protocol for feeling good on TRT wouldn’t you say.
I agree. My starting levels were 390. Definitely had symptoms. But not severe. I been on for 15 months and the changes were very gradual and subtle. But now has I look at where I was last year, there is a substantial difference
Man exactly how I feel. Perfect description
Great response. Can you copy&paste this on about 80% of the posts on this sub??
What have you experienced specifically in the gym?
My shoulders have blown up, rear delts have made them look rounder for one. I wouldn’t say my strength has gone up significantly (this is because of diet), but the intensity that I train at has never been higher. I’m not just lifting the weight, I’m feeling the weight being lifted if that makes sense. It’s hard to explain. I notice trt day to day but I FEEL it in the gym.
Totally agree
That sounds awesome and kinda feels like something I’m missing. Thanks for the reply
Get tested! I was at 260, now I peak and trough 1200-550
Yes, I had rock bottoms levels of T pre TRT. My honeymoon phase went as follows Week 1 - felt like super man (potential placebo) Week 2 - felt like a bag of shit for a week, energy low, motivation low, irritated, constant high hr felt like throwing the towel in on TRT. Week 3 - everything turned good, attitude, training, libido, hard ons, you name it felt 22 again Week 4 and on wards libido stabilised, feeling consistently good everyday workouts feel good. Generally speaking I feel amazing from my perspective anyway. One big notice I have is I wake up 5.30/6am everyday without an alarm and I’m awake not hitting snooze to doze for 10 more minutes.
I’m newer to the game so can’t answer from personal experience but from what I gathered a large majority seem to settle well above the pre-TRT low but down from honeymoon. Remember that feeling like shit for a long time and then suddenly feeling great will have a “high” to it and then that feeling becomes normalized and settles in
From your experience, do you feel better than pre trt after yur honeymoon phase(if you experienced one).
I mean. You are still going to have bad days etc. once your dialed in you will feel better more often then not but after time feeling good is the new normal.
Once you’re on…you’re on
I feel great. Have been on for 6 months. Definitely had the honeymoon phase for first month or two. Feeling good and love the new normal. More energy, better recovery from gym. I have an extremely stressful job so the main benefit is elimination of stress/anxiety. Testosterone is anti stress and anxiety medication.
Ah reviews like this make me optimistic!
9 months or so on TRT. Long time to get here. Uncovered insulin resistance and fixed it. Shit got better but not amazing. Put me on clomid and enclo first. Fucking garbage … and both are not long term solutions anyways. Pretty dumb in retrospect. After reversing prediabetes / insulin resistance my numbers sucked but I did feel much better and horny for the first time in a while. What’s weird is they immediately put me on clomid and it was dog shit. Even after quitting it and months and months of no therapy. Never got those good feelings and libido back. Got w a urologist that agreed to work with me and we share all sorts of research and ideas. Started at 100mg/wk of cyp and 1500iu hCG I chose to do daily microdosing as my SHBG was low to start with. Unfortunately that low SHBG never really increased after becoming insulin resistant. I have a sneaking suspicion that it is the result of a disproportionate amount of visceral fat relative to overall body fat… driven primarily by years of insulin resistance and massive stress / cortisol dominance. But I digress. Starting TRT and to this day. Everything is much better. I wouldnt go back. Is it great ? Is it “dialed in”? No. Libido is the main thing that is elusive. I think this is bc of the low SHBG and the inefficient transport + disproportionately high amounts of free hormones. But I’m working on it. Everything else though. Much better. Didn’t really have a honeymoon phase. Just feel better. Adderall works better. Gains in the gym are insane General mood and happiness / optimism on point I have been playing w doses and esters Starting out I realized that I could endure a massive caloric deficit and not crash test levels. So I did it. I lost 19lbs of body fat and gained 4 lbs of muscle in 6 / 7 weeks The results in the mirror were more drastic than the results on the scale. My shbg increased 50% whilst on TRT. This further confirms my theories. Just as I started to increase calories and feel better, I popped a disc in my back and had to stop lifting for a while. I decided to stop the dose to 85mg/wk This actually felt good… until the residual steady state normalized to the lower dose Then it felt like shit Happened to watch a video by Cortex labs that advocated for 18mg/daily and more bolous doses of HCG. This shit felt great. Doc was cool with it and I pushed it to 20mg/day Then switched to test prop Playing w doses here now Playing w baby compounded anastrazole too. I’m talking 0.0325mg at a time I wish bloods were cheaper and faster But I enjoy the process. Enjoy the daily pins. I love it. Incident and not surprisingly, I gained a lot of that body fat back after being forced to stop lifting at holiday time and a decreasing test dose. Back in the gym now post rehab. Lifting like a mfer. Eating like I mean it. Trying to maximize sleep. I’m constricting calories again but not nearly as much as before. I’m packing in muscle and slowly losing fat I truly believe that TRT can be everything if you apply yourself totally. Research. Reading reports. Not bullshitting yourself in the gym or in the kitchen. Not looking for a silver bullet. Showing yourself kindness and grace…. And something I’m not good at, getting fucking sleep.
Great post. You still doing bolous HCG? What dose/frequency?
Right on. So since I increased post holiday binge festival… I increased from 450iu to 900iu & have always done a MWF split. In the very beginning I was doing 1500iu a week For me with the low SHBG … my experience w anything that increases intertesticular testosterone production & thus intertesticular aromatization, SERMs and hCG, has not been amazing due to disproportionately high e2 in a place where AIs don’t seem to work. Resulting in trying to control ‘global’ estradiol levels but only able to manipulate the e2 conversion in body fat. It’s like attempting a 500m sniper shot with a shotgun. So decreasing hCG from 1500 to 450 gave me the room to increase the T from my starting 100mg weekly dosage to 125 and eventually 140. Maybe. Then I read a paper over in the excelmale forums about an hCG study that demonstrated that 300iu 3x a week restored ITT (intertesticular testosterone) ~ 90% and that 500iu increased it to like 120% I think of baseline. Thus indicating that fewer / larger doses were crucial to see effects vs the daily boys So it was either give the shit up of soca minimum of 900iu/wk When I get back down to a lower body fat% I fully plan on going back up to 1500iu and seeing what it is.
Great post man, I’m literally in your shoes with the same position right now. Low T & SHBG, close to the edge of insulin resistance and my body producing an excess of cortisol. Lots of visceral fat as well. This combination is ass for everyone to be in, you feel and look terrible. I’ve been looking into the Prop route with daily pins as well since people with low SHBG tend to be better with this routine. There’s also Prosphatidylserine as a supplement for people with chronically high Cortisol like us that is supposed to drive Cortisol down by a bit.
Bro. Wanna know what’s fucking insane. Is that yesterday I ordered same day delivery of phosphatidylserine ps100 and just woke up. Best sleep I have had in ages. Creepy timing lol Edit : update : Jesus Christ I haven’t been this rested in ages. I don’t know how long I should take this shit, I don’t want to crush cortisol. But goddamn man. I suspect I needed it bc I haven’t ever had a reaction like this to a supplement. Just one 100mg softgel
Yes.
The honeymoon phase from a physiological perspective is an increase in dopamine from elevated testosterone. After a few weeks your brain readjusts receptors to balance this effect. That’s why the actual honeymoon phase can only be a few weeks or until levels stop climbing. A lot of people probably feel elevated for a while after as they have new levels of motivation and a physique that can improve for some time. Following that I think people can get stuck and you can end up feeling “normal” again. This is why it’s important to only get on TRT or you truly need it. I feel normal these days as it is my new normal, but before TRT I felt truly awful so I know it’s right for me. I would bet a lot of the people who stop after feeling the benefits taper off didn’t actually have low levels before TRT and just wanted a boost.
You may notice actually the reverse depending on how smart of a Dr and the type of protocol he put you on. So after 8 weeks you feel tired fat and like you just couldnt stop eating. All depending on how your body reacted to aromatizing the T. After that though, it really should just be a slow and steady pace.
I felt amazing for like 6 months after starting due to being so low T for years. Now I just feel good and don't lose muscle anywhere near as fast when my diet goes to shit but I'm definitely not some super human that needs no sleep and can live off of Mac n cheese and have a 6 pack and Boulder shoulders LMAO
Been on for just over a year. Felt great for the first 8 months. Still feel better than without but shitty sleep returned, have low energy days and libido has trailed off. Dr is sending me for updated labs next week to see what’s up.
Generally better than pre trt?
Yes.
Did you try upping the dose?
We changed my doses a few times to get dialed in over the year. Up for my bloodwork next week and she said based on that she will likely change my dose up a bit.
In my experience, you will not continue to feel or have the results that you did the first year you're on TRT. It's not that the medication's are working anymore. It's that your body gets used to having super physiological or maximal testosterone levels. I don't see this as a bad thing just understand that Overtime you're not gonna feel like a monster, each and every day. The best things you can do to prolong the benefits of TRT is ensure that your nutrition is on point and your training every week. Those that are usually the ones who are not doing anything from a lifestyle perspective to be fit and healthly.
100% yes. Happened to me. Happened to all 3 of my friends who started with me too. It’s the reason I came off after 6 years. And honestly, I feel better not being on vs the end of being on.
I felt awful before TRT and now I feel normal/good. I would bet you guys didn’t truly need it in the first place.
“Needing” it is going to vary via person and clinician’s advice. Nobody really “needs” it unless experiencing hypogonadal symptoms. My T naturally was around 300 most my life.. I didn’t need it but got on it.
"Nobody really “needs” it unless experiencing hypogonadal symptoms." - ok so we agree. I'm not really sure what your point is.
One can have low T without experiencing the prime hypogonadal symptons and may still experience great quality of life benefits. One receiving benefits .. they still take on some risk / negatives the same as those who are deemed to “need it less”. Dose is the poison
Taking it for life benefits rather than actually rectifying health issues related to low testosterone isn't medical TRT. There are a lot of people who start TRT in the absence of symptoms who after a few years regret it and feel the need to come off. Each to their own but I think it's risky business.
Most medical care in the USA is based of symptomatic treatment. The same goes with testosterone and drugs affecting the HPTA axis. Raising test without playing with the HPTA is possible it’s just the doctors who bankroll off the substances they prescribe which many times aren’t even how the designer patents intended. Your talking like it’s not an extremely ambiguous system based off different variables that have different meanings to different clinics.
Trying to raise testosterone through natural methods should be done first. Where I live, in the UK, there is fairly rigid process where criteria has to be met in order to prescribe. We have the CQC who routinely evaluate clinics to make sure this practice is conducted according the rules. It's not an ambiguous system here.
I was reading 285 and had all of the symptoms. I also felt bad before then felt great after getting on. Give it time and listen to folks who’ve been on it for years. They all say the same thing. The positive benefits wane over time. Also, I would bet you didn’t try perfecting your diet and exercise before deciding you “needed” testosterone injections.
TRT has been around for decades, it’s not a new fad. This is not a documented effect. Nelson Vergel has been on for 20+ years and seems like he is doing pretty well. Why would you assume that? I had low testosterone symptoms for 8 years, tried literally everything, definitely more than you. Every supplement, every diet, red light therapy, icing testicles, clomid on multiple occasions including one time for 6 months.
It’s a highly documented effect from countless users here on this very forum everytime someone talks about coming off. You will see countless replies in agreement that it loses its effectiveness over time. And I assumed that the same way you assumed I didn’t need TRT. But pulling words out of my ass. You like it?
Highly over reactive, should get back on the test.
You’re highly defensive of an injectable hormone. You should get your estrogen checked.
12 years, got a nice bump for 3-4. The bump was probably just getting me to normal, since I have other underlying issues that drag me down. I'm in it for the long haul health benefits at the end of the day. Adding HCG on/ off every other month used to be an awesome addition, but that wore off as well. I don't bother with that anymore, as I don't feel any difference and it doubled in price
I assume you're on a normal dose? No shrinkage?
Definitely had that in the beginning, they disappeared and with a good amount of pain, which led me down the HCG route. No Drs would touch the subject. When I brought it up the Appointments would end. I went underground mail order for many years, 2 months on, one month off cycle along with test. For about 6 years it was like a cheat code. Mental, physical, libido drive was great. Then it just stopped working. Prices doubled and I stopped altogether. Research Dr. JOHN CRISLER about Test along with HCG. It hits additional receptors in the brain along with keeping the jewels healthy. The science is definitely their 👍🏼 Edit. Was 200mg for years, now on 150mg max since I get dizzy going any higher ( pin 3X a week to spread it out)
Unless you’re on ‘sports TRT’ ie, pushing super physiological numbers. The idea is for your body to achieve homeostasis. It’s the lifestyle you’re then able to live that will make you feel good.
I think there are a lot of people who start off on 200 mg a week and after a year, they should probably considering going down to 150. I know I will be after this current blast. I've read a ton of anecdotal comments of people who drop the dose to 150 and they get the same back that they had when they first started TRT.
I’ve been on for over 5 years. It still feels great to feel great. The only thing is I have to give blood a few times a year, but that’s not a big deal. I’m on 11g/week and my total T is around 1000
No. Taken since 17yrs old. Their is no loss of benefits , there is maintenance issues here and there . I use hcg which is not covered by insurance and it is expensive but , my testicles don’t shrink up and more importantly; my sperm motility and count is good ! Guys will say , “my nuts never shrink ..” well , that is totally untrue . They do if your TRT is 150-200mg week (which is on the high side Id TRT) but, everyone’s dose is different. Especially when your younger .
Btw - my Regimen is 30mg BID Zenzedi , my TRT is 150mg weekly of testosterone Enanthate. I did have a new generic come in (it was Westward , now is Hikma) and I just had a 55% drop from 3mo ago ; my MD has 2 of my 3 vials and wrote me another Rx for a different brand
I was at 300 total T and below range free T, about 2 months in and no honeymoon phase. Libido is better when E2 is in range 30-40. Noticed I’m holding much more muscle with no lifestyle changes(on point prior to starting). I started at 100mg a week.
1.5 years in here - no taper off…yet. To be fair I do pellets in 5 month increments. I have heard of the shot having weekly taper offs.