hey so I'm almost 21 years old , I'm 3rd year medical student in Poland and i wish to understand testosterone therapy a bit more , so I'm quite familiar with our endocrine system as I've been studying it. So recently I've decided to test my testosterone and it came up quite short which was considered normal range , i'm out of normal range. So i'm in a bit of a dilemma what to do. To be honest besides maybe taking a bit longer to finish while i'm having sex i feel totally fine , yeah my facial hair is patchy, but that doesn't bother me that much. I notice my strength gains coming , but not as muscle as i hoped. I'm considering taking clomid to take me to normal range, would this significantly help with my muscle gains? side note i workout very hard and have a good diet , just testosterone i feel is holding me back. i'm curious as if i took steroids how bad could it be for me as my testosterone is already below what's normal , please dont tell me to see a doctor hahaha. i see them everyday and besides i want to get some broscience advice about this. i'm 6'3 87kg and quite well defined , about 13% BF , My main question is would taking clomid have a effect on my muscle gains if it brought me to normal range? and same if i took testosterone injections or androgel..... and im seriously considering some roids , just have to understand more the impact it will have on my hormones since im already below normal range and i'm quite aware how it shuts off normal production ,..... it's just really disappointing to work so hard in the gym and have such a strict goddamn diet and to only know that it's not my work ethic holding me back but my hormones... anyway some advice how i can increase my gains , bearing safety in mind of course , any help would be great, thank you very much.
Here are some points to touch on your post.....
1. What was your result. Ranges vary from lab to lab.
2. Second I know you said you don't want to see a doctor but if your levels are indeed pretty low for a 21 year old, I would run some tests to see if you are dealing with primary or secondary hypogonadism.
3. As for Clomid, that is a hard question to answer. Yes Clomid could raise your testosterone levels as sort of a system restart. But again, you would have to blood test before, during and around 2-3 months after you get off the clomid to determine if you recovered from it.
4. Increasing your testosterone levels will definitely help with muscle gains. The thing is you will have to determine your sweet spot so to speak. Some guys could have a Total Test level of 400-500 and feel like shit at those levels. Some guys can feel fine. I feel perfect with my testosterone levels at 800-900 and my blood work checks out perfect when I am at that level.
5. If you do get on testosterone, you don't want to get on Androgel or any other cream. Stick to injections. The gels/creams are known to aromatize very easily to estrogen. And as you should know, a good protocol involves estrogen control, injectable testosterone, and HCG.
6. You are right by saying that exogenous testosterone will shut down your natural production. You can take Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) at 500ius per week to stimulate your LH, but you will still experience shutdown to a degree. As for side effects, there are differences whether you are blasting a full cycle or just supplementing for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) purposes. For testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) I am on 100mg per week of test Cyp. When I cycle, I shoot 500mg per week of test Cyp. And like I said, you will need to monitor your estrogen, blood pressure, liver values, lipids, etc. You might get acne and never recover. Everyone is different.
Now for my advice and again, this is just my opinion. I would honestly look in to why your test levels are low. If you don't care to and want to cycle, then have at it. I would rather cycle and then do a PCT of Clomid and Nolva and then retest later rather than just do a system restart with Clomid only. So you could do a 12 week Test E or C cycle and then PCT and blood test a few months later. I assume you have access to blood work due to being a med student. Also, what time of the day did you test your testosterone?? You realize it should be tested in the AM first thing.