FTM transman in need of cycle advice

[ard1919]

So this is my first post here, and I need advice on how to begin with my first cycle. As the title says I am a female to male trans man, really not here to discuss your personal opinion on that fact. Just here because I have been on testosterone injections for a bit over a year now, (.4ml/200ml a week, so 80mg) and my levels are in the 700-800 range, so the same as an average cisgender male. I want to start a steroid cycle to gain lean mass and maybe cut down my body fat a bit, i am fairly small as is and have been body building for about a year and a half. The only tricky part about this is the fact that I already take test so i want to make sure nothing reacts with that. So, for a beginning cycle what would you recommend? Should I just take more test with an estrogen blocker? Or something completely different? Again not here to hear what you have to say about my life choices, just need advice on a cycle since there is little to no info out there about this. Also note that i have had a full mastectomy and don’t want any gyno going on. Let me know your suggestions.

Stats:
Weight: 142
Height: 5’6”
Body Fat %: 19%

 

[Megatron28]

First of all, if you are taking .4ml per week of testosterone and it is 200mg/ml, then you are taking 80mg per week. Not 40mg per week. I am pointing this out becuase it is important to know your dosages so we can talk about what you should run for a cycle.

Also, can you please tell us what your Estradiol comes in at on your current Testosterone dosage? I am am guessing that you may need an Aromatase Inhibitor given how high your TT is and how high your body fat % is.

How did you estimate your body fat %?

Ok. Let's talk about the cycle now. I would recommend running the same cycle we recommend for every first-timwr on here. Go with 500mg/wk of testosterone. Most guys split that into taking 250mg every 3.5 days. This helps reduce Aromatization a bit and makes each Injection smaller.

Make sure you have at least 4 injection sites. I recommend going with Quads, Delts and Ventroglutes.

It is hard to know how much Aromatase Inhibitor to run. If you use Anastrozole, I recommend starting with .25mg every other day. Get blood work and adjust the dosage as necessary. Ideally your want your Estradiol between 20-40pg/ml.

If you do not know how to get private blood work, read the sticky thread located below in my signature.

When you are done with your cycle simply return to you normal testosterone protocol. Keep in mind that you may need to adjust that protocol later depending on how much mass you gain.

Make sure you adjust your diet to be in an Anabolic stste. Otherwise you will not get the most out of your cycle.

No PCT will be necessary since you will got back to your testosterone treatment.

 

[Megatron28]

Let me also ask this. How often does your doctor have you come in for appointments and submit blood work? You don't want to get busted running a cycle.

How old are you?

 

[Milton]

bf% is high fir a cycle, why did you have a mastectomy?

 

[Megatron28]

bf% is high fir a cycle, why did you have a mastectomy?

He is "post-op" transgender.

 

[Mycelium]

Welcome to the boards!!

I second Megatron on knowing doses. Very important. So are labs. Blood levels are very important. Preventing gyno is far better than trying to get estrogen down once nipple soreness kicks in. Also watching blood counts to male sure we're not gonna get blood clots or stroke out from high blood pressure.

Cycles dont really cut fat, there are just things people use when cutting fat. A little more advanced into the steroid world. Some will cause water retention so they are not used when trying to lean out. Others are known for "keeping you dry" and used when cutting. We wouldn't want to use something known for water retention when we are trying to look vacuum sealed!

I hope you stay around. Wife's friend is married to a FTM and I've been wanting to talk with him about going onto test and if there are any different concerns, psychological effects and the experience itself. One thing that makes cycles a little simpler for dudes is not worrying about androgenic effects. Deepening of the voice, increased hair ect. Women dont want a mustache so test doses are LOW.

Also testicle atrophy isn't a concern for you like PCT isn't a concern for us on HRT/TRT. We just drop doses and c r u I s e. I'm a domesticated and neutered male but didnt want my nuts to atrophy incase I ever had to come off TRT. I'm not concerned with fertility but adding hCG is just another variable.

Like Megatron said know when labs are coming. Doctors will be mad if you come in with a TT at 3,000 ng/dL haha

Keep posting! Stay around. 'Ology has a good group of really experienced people with years of use and more reading/research based people like me who read and read and read and then repeat what studies say and the experienced members results. Playing catch up is pretty easy if you read the stickies. You'll quickly see the same questions and issue come up constantly.

We need all kinds. Healthy men, low T men, I'm an epileptic from a closed head injury on TRT due to med sides and where my seizure focus is. A trans member with knowledge and direct experience would just add to the forums knowledge.

 

[ard1919]

22. She has me come in once every 6 months unless something’s wrong.

 

[ard1919]

I am looking for my old lab results from a couple months back to find my estradiol and I will get back to you.

My apologies for my dosage mistake, I was super tired when I wrote this. I’ve been on that dose for about 6 months so I know what it is. I know I will need an inhibitor because even when I upped my dose to .5 a few months ago it started to get into the 900s after a couple weeks and would’ve been too high to continue on. So I really want to make sure gyno is not a problem as I literally just had a mastectomy. So if I take anastrozole, should that keep it under control as long as I am monitoring my levels?

How long do i run a cycle? How often do I cycle?

Also, i was wondering about your opinion on subcutaneous shots as a potential site. I do quads as of now for my shots, but when i first started i did subq into my stomach. Do you have any opinion on subq injections?

Also, my testosterone vial would not be enough to sustain 500mg/week for very long, so i’m guessing is have to purchase more without my prescription somehow. (which sucks because i get 10mL vials for like $4). But Id rather have my vial for regular dosing and a vial for cycles.

 

[ard1919]

Hey good points, I was just talking to my friend about this yesterday and told him I had nothing to worry about when it came to that. hahaha. But thanks for the welcome, you all on this site have been much more helpful than other people I’ve seen.

 

[ard1919]

Also since my levels are just average, like any man with basic testosterone in his system, why wouldn’t I need any PCT?

 

[Megatron28]

I am looking for my old lab results from a couple months back to find my estradiol and I will get back to you.

My apologies for my dosage mistake, I was super tired when I wrote this. I’ve been on that dose for about 6 months so I know what it is. I know I will need an inhibitor because even when I upped my dose to .5 a few months ago it started to get into the 900s after a couple weeks and would’ve been too high to continue on. So I really want to make sure gyno is not a problem as I literally just had a mastectomy. So if I take anastrozole, should that keep it under control as long as I am monitoring my levels?

How long do i run a cycle? How often do I cycle?

Also, i was wondering about your opinion on subcutaneous shots as a potential site. I do quads as of now for my shots, but when i first started i did subq into my stomach. Do you have any opinion on subq injections?

Also, my testosterone vial would not be enough to sustain 500mg/week for very long, so i’m guessing is have to purchase more without my prescription somehow. (which sucks because i get 10mL vials for like $4). But Id rather have my vial for regular dosing and a vial for cycles.

Yes, an Aromatase Inhibitor (AI) will help control estradiol. Are you familiar with how the Aromatase Enzyme converts testosterone into estradiol?

The higher your TT, the more AI you need. With me for example, when I run TRT at 200mg/wk of test, I need .50mg of Anastrozole per week. When I run 500mg/wk of testosterone on a cycle, I need 1mg of Anastrozole per week. The former puts my TT around 1000ng/dl. I can't remember where the latter puts me -- maybe 2200ng/dl...

You will have to try a dose of AI based on an educated guess and adjust it based on blood work results. If you manage the Estradiol you will not get Gynocomastia. If you are very worried about Gynecomastia, you can run a SERM like Raloxifene or Tamoxifen as an 'insurance policy". A SERM will not reduce estrogen but it will block it from attaching to the receptors in the breast tissue. Given that you still have ovaries though, I would have to look into what effect a SERM would have on them producing hormones. That isn't a question we get here very often.

Most guys run cycles for 12-15 weeks. The general rule of thumb is Time On = Time Off for guys on TRT. So if you run a cycle for 15 weeks, take 15 weeks off before starting another one.

Subq is not going to work with the injection volumes we are talking about. Subq works for less than .3ml. I personally wouldn't want to put more than that in subq. I recommend sticking to intramuscular. You will need more sites than just your quads. But you will want more sites for your TRT anyway so this is a good time to learn. Rotating more sites means less chance of scar tissue buildup. Remember that you are going to have to do this for the rest of your life.

Yes, you will need to source more testosterone and also source an AI (Anastrozole or Exemestane). 10ml at 200mg/ml is only going to get your through about 4 weeks of a cycle.

 

[Megatron28]

Also since my levels are just average, like any man with basic testosterone in his system, why wouldn’t I need any PCT?

PCT is not needed since you are essentially on TRT. You get your Testosterone exogenously, so you don't have to worry about maintaining your endogenous production.

 

[3J]

difficult subject to tackle.. not because there are issues health wise with you running a cycle, but because of doctors.

let me ask you, when you say youre post op, are you totally post op? i know you had a masectomy which handles one of the two major female characteristics, but if you haven't done anything down there and plan to, be very careful with your doctors.

a trans genital operation is usually only approved after a very rough and rigorous psychological and physical analysis.

they will find every reason to deny you that.


other than that, the guys here have given you great advice.

 

[Dreaded Pirate Roberts]

Diet Diet Diet..... lets talk about the things that need to be adressed before a cycle. First and formost is your diet then taining and cycle.