joecoolredbarron
New member
Hey fellas – quick intro…been lurking here forever and I wanted to finally contribute in hopes my experience can help give a perspective to others. Quick background…36yrs old, 5’9, 180, ~12% body fat +or- a bit , lifting on and off forever but seriously going hard (hard hard) for 4years. When I was considering TRT years ago, I found this forum to be the most helpful and educational. I like to hope that someone like me (the pre-TRT me) is reading this because they’re interested in feeling better but still apprehensive or frankly scared to pull the trigger and find some value in my experience. It’s a commitment, a lifetime commitment – it’s a bit demoralizing (at first – at least for me) like you’re not quite a man and need some help being a “man” – goes against every alpha instinct I know I ever had. BUT in my experience it was well worth the leap.
How I got here :
I lift, as most guys around these boards do. I’ve always wanted to do steroids, because let’s face it 99.9% of us that lift want to get big, lift more, look better, we’re alphas…it’s primal. I was always scared of the side effects and how it might impact my relationships. Over the years I found myself settling into life and less and less interested in my ‘private time’ with the old lady. It’s not that I couldn’t get the job done, I just didn’t care. I didn’t have the same “go get em” spirit I had in my 20’s and early 30’s. I found out that I wasn’t alone tons of guys here and elsewhere had the same symptoms I was having. So I read, and read, and searched and read and studied and read (get the picture) as much as I could find and educated myself on the topic. Then I sat down and talked with my soon to be wife, it was obvious we needed help, it was obvious I needed help, and I wanted her in my corner for this journey – which she was. By extensively educating myself early in the process I was able to answer her questions and put her at ease.
IMT and Why I chose them:
I learned that there are a few basic options to pursue for TRT. Option 1 – find a knowledgeable doctor in my area. GO FISH. I live in a town slightly larger than Mayberry. Option 2 – Travel to an endo / urologist / hrt clinic. The last damn thing I wanted to do was run all over creation to manage my HRT and have someone who may or may not be up to speed with the latest, greatest and safest means of treatment, may have to change Dr’s, or travel to office for shots I can administer myself. Option 3 – My choice - I called an HRT specialist, notably I called IMT from this forum. Reputation was very high on this board so it seemed logical to go this route. I had blood work done (187 total T) which I think is borderline castrated and I now felt like Varys from Game of Thrones. IMT’s staff (Todd) was awesome about answering questions, explaining their process, organizing treatments, and following up. Their doc's put me on 200mg of Test / week and HCG. For those who may have read some old posts they recently changed their process, which is GREAT and better but honestly, I didn’t experience too many issues with the old process. I did have a less than ideal conversation with the old physician they used, but just a few days ago I was able to experience the new Doc via face-time and he was outstanding! Always had great experience with Todd and his staff. Shipping times are less than a week, new 20 week programs available (we’re on this for life, no need for a million shipments a year - thank you Todd) and best of all if you have questions – he’s right there. If you’re like I was and you don't know where or how to start – I would personally recommend IMT based on my experience. I’m a HUGE pain in the ass as a customer and high maintenance, if I give a reference it’s quite rare and well deserved.
Ok, let’s get something out of the way…YES they’re a board sponsor...but that's how i found them in the first place. This is a representation of my experience and it works perfect for me, maybe not everyone.
Life on TRT after 6 months:
So we covered background, covered options, covered my shameless IMT plug based on great experience…but how is it going?....AWESOME. So I’d say that in my experience weeks 3-8 were the BOMB. This is where I started to actually feel different. I had more energy, libido showed back up (woo hoo) I was sharper in my work and I just felt…well better. As noted above, I like managing my treatment with the consultation of IMT and their staff, so I run my blood work pretty regularly. You’ll read (providing you do your homework, which is mandatory) that getting dialed in takes some time, and it does. Somewhere in the 3 month range I found myself crying over one of that Budweiser horse / pony commercial and thought “time to check the estrogen”. I switched the shots to 2x per week and after a month that my E was back in check. Might happen to you, research and you’ll know what could come and what to look for if it does – like crying over stupid sh!+ and feeling like a girl...lol RED FLAG there. Love life is nothing short of fantastic, my demeanor is better than what it’s ever been, I’m more positive, patient, energetic, and motivated. You’ll notice I didn’t mention a thing about body fat reduction, lean mass increases, lifting personal records, how much I can squat now vs. pre TRT – because frankly looking back...that’s last on my list of positive impacts. Sure I look better, lifts went up, and I dropped a few body fat points but the feeling of well being, confidence and masculinity far outweigh my training improvements (which admittedly are fun
).
So if you’re lurking like I did and you think you’re a candidate, do something about it. I recommend IMT but you can talk to your Dr., you can ask q’s on this board. You can really learn damn near everything you need to know on here (some really smart dudes posting on this site)…especially in the sticky’s. Saddle up, get some some coffee and get to reading. Good luck and thanks for reading my story.
How I got here :
I lift, as most guys around these boards do. I’ve always wanted to do steroids, because let’s face it 99.9% of us that lift want to get big, lift more, look better, we’re alphas…it’s primal. I was always scared of the side effects and how it might impact my relationships. Over the years I found myself settling into life and less and less interested in my ‘private time’ with the old lady. It’s not that I couldn’t get the job done, I just didn’t care. I didn’t have the same “go get em” spirit I had in my 20’s and early 30’s. I found out that I wasn’t alone tons of guys here and elsewhere had the same symptoms I was having. So I read, and read, and searched and read and studied and read (get the picture) as much as I could find and educated myself on the topic. Then I sat down and talked with my soon to be wife, it was obvious we needed help, it was obvious I needed help, and I wanted her in my corner for this journey – which she was. By extensively educating myself early in the process I was able to answer her questions and put her at ease.
IMT and Why I chose them:
I learned that there are a few basic options to pursue for TRT. Option 1 – find a knowledgeable doctor in my area. GO FISH. I live in a town slightly larger than Mayberry. Option 2 – Travel to an endo / urologist / hrt clinic. The last damn thing I wanted to do was run all over creation to manage my HRT and have someone who may or may not be up to speed with the latest, greatest and safest means of treatment, may have to change Dr’s, or travel to office for shots I can administer myself. Option 3 – My choice - I called an HRT specialist, notably I called IMT from this forum. Reputation was very high on this board so it seemed logical to go this route. I had blood work done (187 total T) which I think is borderline castrated and I now felt like Varys from Game of Thrones. IMT’s staff (Todd) was awesome about answering questions, explaining their process, organizing treatments, and following up. Their doc's put me on 200mg of Test / week and HCG. For those who may have read some old posts they recently changed their process, which is GREAT and better but honestly, I didn’t experience too many issues with the old process. I did have a less than ideal conversation with the old physician they used, but just a few days ago I was able to experience the new Doc via face-time and he was outstanding! Always had great experience with Todd and his staff. Shipping times are less than a week, new 20 week programs available (we’re on this for life, no need for a million shipments a year - thank you Todd) and best of all if you have questions – he’s right there. If you’re like I was and you don't know where or how to start – I would personally recommend IMT based on my experience. I’m a HUGE pain in the ass as a customer and high maintenance, if I give a reference it’s quite rare and well deserved.
Ok, let’s get something out of the way…YES they’re a board sponsor...but that's how i found them in the first place. This is a representation of my experience and it works perfect for me, maybe not everyone.
Life on TRT after 6 months:
So we covered background, covered options, covered my shameless IMT plug based on great experience…but how is it going?....AWESOME. So I’d say that in my experience weeks 3-8 were the BOMB. This is where I started to actually feel different. I had more energy, libido showed back up (woo hoo) I was sharper in my work and I just felt…well better. As noted above, I like managing my treatment with the consultation of IMT and their staff, so I run my blood work pretty regularly. You’ll read (providing you do your homework, which is mandatory) that getting dialed in takes some time, and it does. Somewhere in the 3 month range I found myself crying over one of that Budweiser horse / pony commercial and thought “time to check the estrogen”. I switched the shots to 2x per week and after a month that my E was back in check. Might happen to you, research and you’ll know what could come and what to look for if it does – like crying over stupid sh!+ and feeling like a girl...lol RED FLAG there. Love life is nothing short of fantastic, my demeanor is better than what it’s ever been, I’m more positive, patient, energetic, and motivated. You’ll notice I didn’t mention a thing about body fat reduction, lean mass increases, lifting personal records, how much I can squat now vs. pre TRT – because frankly looking back...that’s last on my list of positive impacts. Sure I look better, lifts went up, and I dropped a few body fat points but the feeling of well being, confidence and masculinity far outweigh my training improvements (which admittedly are fun
).So if you’re lurking like I did and you think you’re a candidate, do something about it. I recommend IMT but you can talk to your Dr., you can ask q’s on this board. You can really learn damn near everything you need to know on here (some really smart dudes posting on this site)…especially in the sticky’s. Saddle up, get some some coffee and get to reading. Good luck and thanks for reading my story.
