starting TRT next week - help me avoid common mistakes

[inhaus]

i'm thinking going, right quad, left quad, right glute, left glute, then repeat. is that enough? or should I consider delt shots?

 

[Mdrive]

Looking forward to following your new TRT journey, as you probably know by now there are lots of knowledgeable folks here.
I want to say I believe I've been on TRT for almost 2 years now, and wow what a life changer. I've never cycled, but just being on TRT there are so many positive benefits.
As far as the rotating the injection sites, your good there, I pin the same spots as well, and the wife helps with the delts.

 

[juced_porkchop]

My only advice would be to understand that you may have a long road ahead to feeling better and don't waste time with uninformed medical "professionals". If a doc sets off any of the usual red flags, dump him/her immediately and move on to the next one. And the next one and the next one. Interview them like you would a prospective employee, because that's what they are.

Doesn't know about estrogen in males? Dump them.

Doesn't understand testosterone half life or or proper protocols? Kick 'em to the curb.

Doesn't understand AI's? Punch 'em in the tooth.

Doesn't understand that everyone reacts differently to TRT? Kick 'em in the jimmy.

I've been hypogonadal for over a decade. I ended up having to diagnose myself because of the rampant ineptitude in the medical community. I'm in my 9th month of TRT, my total Testosterone level is still only at 414 (range 348-1197 ng/dL) and I still feel like crap, thanks to incompetent docs.

Hopefully you'll have better luck, but the deck is stacked against you. Don't give up and keep firing doctors until you find a good one.

couldent agree more with every single statement here! ^^^
and know even with a good doc it may take some time to figure out what works best for YOU.
but i rec doseing 1x a week and usually around 100-200mg ew. but remember it takes time to figure out

 

[halfwit]

i'm thinking going, right quad, left quad, right glute, left glute, then repeat. is that enough? or should I consider delt shots?

I'd throw in delts too, the more sites you have - the better off you are.

 

[inhaus]

OMG I love my doctor!

so he reconfirmed my bloods and this time my total level was 165... again, I'm 28 and have NEVER done AAS of any kind. I spoke with him on the phone and he said he is calling in injectable test to my pharmacy right now for me to take home. He said he's ok with 1 week injections and is kind of leaving it up to my discretion and is just going to get back to me on a good weekly starting dose. He wants me to check in again in 3 months...






this type of freedom is amazing, he must have had a lot of confidence in my wife and I as we were very knowledgeable in our first meeting and knew exactly what we needed to do so I guess he saw that and was ok with it. Does anyone have suggestions on when I should check my E2? I kind of want to keep an eye on it myself so that when I go in with him in 3 months it'll be a quick "yep everything looks good see you in 6 months" sort of situation...

 

[juced_porkchop]

OMG I love my doctor!

so he reconfirmed my bloods and this time my total level was 165... again, I'm 28 and have NEVER done AAS of any kind. I spoke with him on the phone and he said he is calling in injectable test to my pharmacy right now for me to take home. He said he's ok with 1 week injections and is kind of leaving it up to my discretion and is just going to get back to me on a good weekly starting dose. He wants me to check in again in 3 months...






this type of freedom is amazing, he must have had a lot of confidence in my wife and I as we were very knowledgeable in our first meeting and knew exactly what we needed to do so I guess he saw that and was ok with it. Does anyone have suggestions on when I should check my E2? I kind of want to keep an eye on it myself so that when I go in with him in 3 months it'll be a quick "yep everything looks good see you in 6 months" sort of situation...

THATS GREAT TO HEAR MAN!!!
I would maybe check in 8-10 weeks if you like atleast on next visit check them. awesome man!

 

[inhaus]

ok, so my wife picked up my prescription on the way home and I just took my first shot. He gave me 2 1ml viles of test cyp 200mg/ml and 4 refills of the 1ml. He said to check back in 1 month if I don't feel better and we'll increase the dose. I just took 100mg and plan to do that every 7 days at this point. Does that dose sound good? He kind of just said read the instructions which said 200mg every 2 weeks so I just split that in half and will do that for now.

 

[Megatron28]

Have your read the Basic TRT Overview sticky? It has advice for you on this subject.

http://www.steroidology.com/forum/testosterone-replacement-therapy/662394-basic-trt-overview.html

200mg per week is a common starting dose. Common TRT dosages are 100-200mg/week. Many of is prefer pinning twice a week (i.e. 50mg every 3.5 days) to help manage estradiol better. This evens out Hormone levels.

Ask your doc to prescribe a 10ml vial instead of 1ml vials. It is a lot cheaper usually and more convenient. Not sure what you paid, but out of pocket cost for a 10ml vial is around $45 if you get a coupon off Prices, Coupons and Information - GoodRx.

 

[inhaus]

Have your read the Basic TRT Overview sticky? It has advice for you on this subject.

http://www.steroidology.com/forum/testosterone-replacement-therapy/662394-basic-trt-overview.html

200mg per week is a common starting dose. Common TRT dosages are 100-200mg/week. Many of is prefer pinning twice a week (i.e. 50mg every 3.5 days) to help manage estradiol better. This evens out Hormone levels.

Ask your doc to prescribe a 10ml vial instead of 1ml vials. It is a lot cheaper usually and more convenient. Not sure what you paid, but out of pocket cost for a 10ml vial is around $45 if you get a coupon off Prices, Coupons and Information - GoodRx.

yea i've read the trt overview. i'm playing it very low maintenance with him so far and am going to give it a month before changing anything up. I don't really care what his views are on frequency since he has me on take home injections from day 1 i can just dose however I want with frequency as long as he gives me enough test to work with.

I'm with you on the 10ml vials. I'm going to give it a month of this at 100mg/week and make an appt asking for 10ml refills from now on as well as an increase in dose to 200mg/week which i'll split in to two injections. Trying to play the long term game here and not come off too strong right away.

 

[Virginian]

This is my experience from 2 years on TRT, age 72, weight not quite 150 lbs.

I self-inject 90 mg (0.45 ml) E4D. I don't like needles. So I use a small 29 gauge 1/2" and inject in lower outside quads. It's a relatively painless injection. I am not sure if I am doing sub Q or IM, but I suspect that it is shallow IM. It is very effective. It keeps my trough well above 1000 ng/dL. If big needles bother you, you could try using the smaller ones.

I like keeping TT comfortably above 1000 and peaking at about 1300. Makes me feel stronger, harder muscles, and more energetic. No adverse effects as far as I can tell. I used to donate blood every 3 months, but my HCT kept dropping until it approached the low end of the acceptable range, so I stopped 10 months ago. Recent BW put HCT at 45.

But my insurance company will not pay for TRT unless my TT is below 800. So when I need a blood test, I skip an injection and have the blood drawn 8 to 10 days after last injection. I'm a numbers guy, so I have an excel spreadsheet that tracks injections and estimates TT. I've got the spreadsheet so well adjusted that my TT from the blood work always comes in within a few per cent of my estimate. Doctor and insurance company are happy. So am I.

 

[Mdrive]

This is my experience from 2 years on TRT, age 72, weight not quite 150 lbs.

I self-inject 90 mg (0.45 ml) E4D. I don't like needles. So I use a small 29 gauge 1/2" and inject in lower outside quads. It's a relatively painless injection. I am not sure if I am doing sub Q or IM, but I suspect that it is shallow IM. It is very effective. It keeps my trough well above 1000 ng/dL. If big needles bother you, you could try using the smaller ones.

I like keeping TT comfortably above 1000 and peaking at about 1300. Makes me feel stronger, harder muscles, and more energetic. No adverse effects as far as I can tell. I used to donate blood every 3 months, but my HCT kept dropping until it approached the low end of the acceptable range, so I stopped 10 months ago. Recent BW put HCT at 45.

But my insurance company will not pay for TRT unless my TT is below 800. So when I need a blood test, I skip an injection and have the blood drawn 8 to 10 days after last injection. I'm a numbers guy, so I have an excel spreadsheet that tracks injections and estimates TT. I've got the spreadsheet so well adjusted that my TT from the blood work always comes in within a few per cent of my estimate. Doctor and insurance company are happy. So am I.

I haven't heard that insurance company's are dictating what's the appropriate levels are for men, although it doesn't surprise me. However sounds like you have a solid protocol. I hope to be energetic and strong when I'm 72.