cycle while on HRT

[pig farmer]

I was told I should post this on this forum. I originally posted on The Clinic under HRT

I am 6ft 195 lbs and 45 years old. I have been on Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) with pellets for 1 year and have been extremly pleased with the results. My test levels run between 1000 and 1400. I competed in my first bodybuilding show this past June and felt pretty good about it. I would however like to gain 10-12 lbs.

Can I run a cycle while I'm on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) safely? If I can what should it be. I'm not 20 trying to take short cuts and get huge fast with out the work. My diet is tight and my workout is intense and on target. It would be nice however to see a little faster results.


I've seen this question on variouse forums but I havn't seen it answered fully. I joined this site specifically to ask this question and continue to learn. This is my first post so be gental if I screw something up.

 

[Teutonic]

Welcome..

I m a trt guy too. (You like the pellets ?)

Cycling while on trt is sort of called a blast..if you view trt as a cruise.

I d just up my trt (what s your dose ?),stay with test , e , c , or Sustanon (sust), at 500-750 mg s a week..12-16 weeks and maybe add 1 compound like deca for 14 weeks, if the side s are not an issue ( prolactin ) or an oral, for a jump start like d bol at 50 a day for 21-28 days...or tbol if water bothers you.

Keep an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) on hand for the conversion rate , dbol and test will convert heavily..to avoid bloat or gyno .

T

 

[coltmc45]

There's quite a few guys here on trt. Like Teutonic said it's called blast and cruising which is running your trt dose and then running a cycle then going back down to your trt dose. Just make sure that you go back down to your trt dose in plenty of time for your bloodwork to be back in your normal range.

 

[pig farmer]

The dosage with the pellets vary depending on the level your'e at when bloodwork is done. Each pellet is considered 200 mg but its released slowly so I have to assume theres actually more there than 200 mg of actual test. IE at my last insertion my level was at approx. 1000 and I was given 3 200 mg pellets with the expectation that i would bump up to 1300-1400. I'm due for bloodwork next week which will be 4 weeks after the insertion. Based on past experiance My levels will probably be in that range.

I have been very pleased. I took about 6 months to get levels stable and consistant but now my levels stay fairly constant. I also had to get implanted every 6-8 weeks initially but I was training hard and cutting fat. When my diet changed and I increased carbs and total calories I've been able to go longer between implants. Remember When the clinics say implants every 3-4 months they often aren't considering the guy thats training hard 5 days a week.

I read about a lot of guys complaining about the pain for the week after but the worst Iv'e had felt more like a deep bruise and Iv'e had some with almost no discomfort.

Cost for mine has been 3000-3500 per year which includes all blood work and implants reguardless of how often they are required. For me at age 45 the bloodwork and safty has been worth it. I want to look good and feel good while I reach my goals but my overall health is the most important thing to me.

Thanks for the reply. I now have many more questions but its good to be talking to somone in my general situation that is knowledgable. I'll do some reading and be back with those questions.

 

[cashout]

I'm Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) also and I have been now for almost 18 months.

I take a 100 mg Test Cyp shot twice a week.

My levels are similar to yours - between 1000 - 1600 ng/dl.

With pellets, I'd be very careful about adding additional steroids to your protocol. It is much easier to control the amount of test via a shot as opposed to a pellet implant.

As you stated, it took you about 6 months to get your levels stable. I would be concerned that if you tinker with other steroids and have a blood test that is high, they might reduce the number of your implants. It could create a situation where you are roller-coastering through some pronounced peaks and valleys.

How often do you get blood work done with your pellets? That would be a big factor in whether I'd think you could add something and still be able to reset your levels 1000-1400 your are expected to keep.

 

[pig farmer]

I get blood work 4 weeks after insertion and if my levels are good I schedule labs when I begin to "feel" levels droping. This is often 8-10 weeks after last blood work or 12 weeks after insertion.

 

[pig farmer]

Would'nt the steriods have a short life in the blood stream in an injectable form? If I choose a steriod that has a short life.

 

[NastyNate500]

Would'nt the steriods have a short life in the blood stream in an injectable form? If I choose a steriod that has a short life.

Depends on the ester that's attached to it. Prop has a half-life of just a few days but you have to pin every other day. Enanthate has a half-life of ~7 days so it's pinned twice a week. Cyp has a half-life of ~10 days and is also pinned twice a week but some people using Cyp on TRT just get pinned once a week from their doctor.

With that said, Enanthate and Cyp are run a minimum of 10 weeks, more typically 12-14. Prop can be run less because of its short ester but you're still looking at 8 weeks usually.

 

[cashout]

Would'nt the steriods have a short life in the blood stream in an injectable form? This being the reason injectables are given at least weekly.

Yes the half-life is only 6-7 days with Test Cyp BUT what that means is that half of the drug is still active in your system after 6-7 days. 6-7 days after that there is a quarter of the drug active in your system, 6-7 days after that there is one eight of the drug...see why this is all about timing?

So if you start adding 200 mg of injectable test cyp, you are going to need several weeks to allow for that 200mg to work its way out of your system completely and not produce higher than expected levels on your blood work. This time varies from person to person and their are a lot of factors that might affect how quickly a person's body clears the drug.

When you are supplementing additional test, it is a very tricky thing to gauge it properly to get your levels back to the 1000-1400 b/c that is a pretty small range.

 

[Bullseye Forever]

There's quite a few guys here on trt. Like Teutonic said it's called blast and cruising which is running your trt dose and then running a cycle then going back down to your trt dose. Just make sure that you go back down to your trt dose in plenty of time for your bloodwork to be back in your normal range.

good post brother,I too am on TRT and ive done the same thing,the cruise and blast,and worked great,but like Coltmc said,just go back to your normal trt dose about 3-4 weeks proir to your scheduled blood test

 

[rp2100]

I had also wondered about cycling while on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

Question: for those on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), how often does your doctor order blood work? Is there a standard time frame, or does it vary depending on your doctor?

 

[ceo]

I would be concerned that if you tinker with other steroids and have a blood test that is high, they might reduce the number of your implants. It could create a situation where you are roller-coastering through some pronounced peaks and valleys.

How often do you get blood work done with your pellets? That would be a big factor in whether I'd think you could add something and still be able to reset your levels 1000-1400 your are expected to keep.

Yep. With getting blood tested 4 weeks after implant, then again another 8-10 weeks after that, you would have to do very short blasts within that 8-10 week period. I would try short, intense blasts. Get in, hit it hard, get out. 4-5 weeks. Short esters would work best and you could even get an extra week or maybe two out of the blast.

I'm surprised your docs want you guys so far above the range between 1000-1600. Top of the range is like 850-900. My doc (endo) is so conservative he thinks 500-600 is perfect. So that's where I test at. Of course he wants to make sure I feel good - mainly libido-wise, but still doesn't want me over the range.

At this point after initially getting levels established, which took several tests after injections of increasing doses, I am getting my bloodwork done every 4 months. It should go to every 6 months as long as everything goes well.

 

[pig farmer]

The range seems to be higher for the clinics that do implants. The endo doctors are probably much more conservative because they do a lot more than prescibe test. When you go to a Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) clinic, at least the ones Ive heard about or been to its about dollars. If you approch it that way and are proactive with your treatment it can work well. FYI Ive only had limited contact with a doctor and he is only there in a limited capacity.

 

[pig farmer]

ok, I've done a little more reading and have a few more questions. Since I'm on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is post cycle therapy (pct) nessesary? Would Test prop. be an appropriate choice run at 100 mg every other day for 4-6 weeks along with 200 mg per week of deca. I would run arimidex as well.

The short cycle would allow my labs to come back into range befor my next blood work and the Test prop would also clear my system faster while still giving reasonable results over a short time period?????

Does this make sense?

 

[cashout]

ok, I've done a little more reading and have a few more questions. Since I'm on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is post cycle therapy (pct) nessesary? Would Test prop. be an appropriate choice run at 100 mg every other day for 4-6 weeks along with 200 mg per week of deca. I would run arimidex as well.

The short cycle would allow my labs to come back into range befor my next blood work and the Test prop would also clear my system faster while still giving reasonable results over a short time period?????

Does this make sense?

I think the most important question is what do you want to get out of doing this type of cycle?

We are about the same age, so I ask from a perspective of trying to figure out what your goals are with Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and then cycling on top of that.

 

[pig farmer]

i would like to add 10-15 lbs muscle. I'm happy with what Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) has done for me but I want a little more.

 

[cashout]

i would like to add 10-15 lbs muscle. I'm happy with what Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) has done for me but I want a little more.

You won't be able to add 10-15 pounds of muscle with that cycle in 4-6 weeks between your blood test. The other consideration is that the Deca is a very long ester progesterone and depending on what your MD tests when he does your draw, the Deca may raise a red flag.

It would be much more beneficial to accomplishing your goal if you can find a means to convince your MD to allow you to move to blood draws every 6 months. He might be willing to do that if you can transition from pellets to injectable test.

A final note, before you go adding any additional test to your program, check your last blood draw for your hemicrit levels. Additional test will increase your hemicrit percentage. If your MD sees a spike in your hemacrit levels, you may have some 'spliaining to do. If it gets to a point of 52% or higher, your MD may pull you from your program all together do to increases in cardiovascular risks from the test.

 

[pig farmer]

My blood work is flexible with pellets. I had blood work today which was 30 days after my last insertion. My next labs are scheduled for the end of Dec. If I feel my levels droping I can get labs sooner of if I feel good I can move them back.

I get my results tomorrow and ill look at my hemicrit levels. Thus far they have not been a problem but I understand your caution.

The labs pulled are pretty limited due to the frequency but I can check to see if the Deca would be a problem.

The 10 -15 lbs doesnt have to be in one cycle but I would like to make the gains in the next 8 months.

What should a cycle look like to attain this? Remember I'm not jumping into anything i'm just trying to learn.

 

[ErectusMaximus]

I knew little of this subject matter and I learned a little bit, thanks for that. Just throwing this out here cause idk...if ester length is a problem ( I know prop is short) why not use suspension instead??? There must be another issue huh?

 

[cashout]

My blood work is flexible with pellets. I had blood work today which was 30 days after my last insertion. My next labs are scheduled for the end of Dec. If I feel my levels droping I can get labs sooner of if I feel good I can move them back.

I get my results tomorrow and ill look at my hemicrit levels. Thus far they have not been a problem but I understand your caution.

The labs pulled are pretty limited due to the frequency but I can check to see if the Deca would be a problem.

The 10 -15 lbs doesnt have to be in one cycle but I would like to make the gains in the next 8 months.

What should a cycle look like to attain this? Remember I'm not jumping into anything i'm just trying to learn.

That's different than the 4-6 weeks you originally stated.

If your next labs are the end of December - I'll assume the 25th for simplicity. Then we are looking at 13 weeks.

Then, I would run 300-400 mg of Prop a week taken on a EOD injection schedule for the next 10 weeks and give yourself 2 weeks to allow your levels to regress to baseline. No need to fool around with any other compounds. Just give it a go with the Prop to see how your body responds and also to give you the best chance to figure out how to much time you need to bring your levels back to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) baseline.

That should give you ample opportunity to make significant gains.