Water retention lasts how long?

[Nothingface81]

Currently cutting weight or at-least trying to. Have some previous posts that helped me piece everything together.
32 years old
5'6"
187lbs
Approx 15% BF

Currently starting week 3 of 15 on Sunday of my cycle
600mg Test E weekly, 300mg Thursdays, 300mg Sundays
Anavar will also be added the last 10 weeks

So my main question is how long does the water retention last? I'm assuming my issue is no Aromatase inhibitor (AI). I'm waiting on Armidex, no ill or negative side-effects at the moment except for the fact i have put on 6lbs which is obviously not the direction i want to be going. Assuming it is water. If not on an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) does the water retention last the whole cycle or eventually dwindle off or am i going to be bloated until i get the armidex?

Current diet is keto
2,500 calories
290g protein
132g fat
trace carbs under 20g

 

[halfwit]

Hopefully your Aromatase inhibitor (AI) shows up soon.

Okay, here's the quick and dirty of it: You're taking testosterone which is an aromatizable compound. This means that it has the ability for your body to convert it to estrogen, most notably estradiol. As the hormone enters your body, your HPTA (engine behind your balls basically) detects too much of this hormone for normal operation and turns on the dreaded aromatase enzyme. This enzyme then starts to convert that delicious testosterone into estrogen as your HPTA wants desperately to maintain a balance or ratio between test and estrogen in an attempt at homeostasis. This is where an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) comes into play as it prevents the aromatase enzyme from converting that testosterone into estrogen, helping you not only keep your testosterone levels nice and high, but keeping that estrogen nice and low.

Why the biology lesson you ask? It's because of your lack of an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) that has allowed your body to create estrogen unchecked as it wants to match that insane amount of testosterone you're injecting into your body with an equally insane amount of estrogen. Here's where it relates to your problem: This insane amount of estrogen has some interesting properties as seen in menstruating women such as water retention/acne/breast tenderness/mood swings/increased blood pressure and many many more side effects that pertain to men such as enlarging the ol' prostate.

Now to your question: As long as your estrogen is out of control, you will continue to exhibit water retention and may even start to develop other nasty side effects such as gynecomastia. Once this hormone has been reduced to normal levels, you should notice a decrease in swelling/blood pressure/etc. So, yes - you will remain bloated and probably continue to get worse symptoms until you get that pesky estradiol in check with an Aromatase inhibitor (AI). OR you could just stop taking testosterone and let the hormones equalize naturally, but I think we all know which is preferred here.
My .02c

 

[Nothingface81]

When putting this cycle together Halfwit you have helped me a ton. Yet again a ton of great info. As much as i have learned i hate pinning myself lol i'm not going to stop so basically i need armidex ASAP. I have clomid/Nolva on hand should i use that at all until then or just cross my fingers until armidex gets here?

 

[halfwit]

When putting this cycle together Halfwit you have helped me a ton. Yet again a ton of great info. As much as i have learned i hate pinning myself lol i'm not going to stop so basically i need armidex ASAP. I have clomid/Nolva on hand should i use that at all until then or just cross my fingers until armidex gets here?

If your nipples start to ache, you could probably take some nolva, but as long as the adex is on it's way - you can probably wait it out. When I say ache by the way - I mean truly, without touching them ache. Playing with them constantly doesn't count! It sounds counterproductive, but try drinking extra water in the mean time. This can help you flush out some of the excess.

 

[DaddyLongShanks]

Currently cutting weight or at-least trying to. Have some previous posts that helped me piece everything together.
32 years old
5'6"
187lbs
Approx 15% BF

Currently starting week 3 of 15 on Sunday of my cycle
600mg Test E weekly, 300mg Thursdays, 300mg Sundays
Anavar will also be added the last 10 weeks

So my main question is how long does the water retention last? I'm assuming my issue is no Aromatase inhibitor (AI). I'm waiting on Armidex, no ill or negative side-effects at the moment except for the fact i have put on 6lbs which is obviously not the direction i want to be going. Assuming it is water. If not on an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) does the water retention last the whole cycle or eventually dwindle off or am i going to be bloated until i get the armidex?

Current diet is keto
2,500 calories
290g protein
132g fat
trace carbs under 20g

My sub question, is does any or can very moderate levels of water retention occur when on the various test esters if:

1. Minimize sodium
2. Minimize carbs
3. Minimize excessive estrogens with AI's ( isn't this the primary reason in the first place? )

If I do these three things and also maybe sweat a bit with cardio, does there have to be excessive water retention when on the various test esters?

 

[DaddyLongShanks]

Hopefully your Aromatase inhibitor (AI) shows up soon.

Okay, here's the quick and dirty of it: You're taking testosterone which is an aromatizable compound. This means that it has the ability for your body to convert it to estrogen, most notably estradiol. As the hormone enters your body, your HPTA (engine behind your balls basically) detects too much of this hormone for normal operation and turns on the dreaded aromatase enzyme. This enzyme then starts to convert that delicious testosterone into estrogen as your HPTA wants desperately to maintain a balance or ratio between test and estrogen in an attempt at homeostasis. This is where an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) comes into play as it prevents the aromatase enzyme from converting that testosterone into estrogen, helping you not only keep your testosterone levels nice and high, but keeping that estrogen nice and low.

Why the biology lesson you ask? It's because of your lack of an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) that has allowed your body to create estrogen unchecked as it wants to match that insane amount of testosterone you're injecting into your body with an equally insane amount of estrogen. Here's where it relates to your problem: This insane amount of estrogen has some interesting properties as seen in menstruating women such as water retention/acne/breast tenderness/mood swings/increased blood pressure and many many more side effects that pertain to men such as enlarging the ol' prostate.

Now to your question: As long as your estrogen is out of control, you will continue to exhibit water retention and may even start to develop other nasty side effects such as gynecomastia. Once this hormone has been reduced to normal levels, you should notice a decrease in swelling/blood pressure/etc. So, yes - you will remain bloated and probably continue to get worse symptoms until you get that pesky estradiol in check with an Aromatase inhibitor (AI). OR you could just stop taking testosterone and let the hormones equalize naturally, but I think we all know which is preferred here.
My .02c

Your saying that a proper use of an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) can minimize water retention when on the various tests? Can you describe the degrees in which water retention is dropped by AI's? And many of us doing our studies are hearing it's .25 to .50 mg of Arimidex EOD, that 1 mg is too much. The .25 number is coming up more often than the .50 one in my readings.

 

[Nothingface81]

lmao 1st off i don't play with my nipples

The armidex can be up to 2 weeks away, im hoping i can make it that long. When in hand what would be a good dose to use already being 3-4 weeks into the cycle?

 

[halfwit]

My sub question, is does any or can very moderate levels of water retention occur when on the various test esters if:

1. Minimize sodium
2. Minimize carbs
3. Minimize excessive estrogens with AI's ( isn't this the primary reason in the first place? )

If I do these three things and also maybe sweat a bit with cardio, does there have to be excessive water retention when on the various test esters?

All of those will help to minimize your water retention and bloating. Esters don't really dictate this, although there is some research on prop having slightly less, but I haven't really looked into it since I'm a pussy and can't handle prop very well LOL. I think you're definitely on the right track though. I don't know if we can completely eliminate all bloat and raised bp, but this is probably the best way to ensure it's minimized.

Your saying that a proper use of an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) can minimize water retention when on the various tests? Can you describe the degrees in which water retention is dropped by AI's? And many of us doing our studies are hearing it's .25 to .50 mg of Arimidex EOD, that 1 mg is too much. The .25 number is coming up more often than the .50 one in my readings.

The biggest problem I've found is that the human body is so diverse in how we react to different drugs/hormones that it's nearly impossible to provide a blanket statement that covers everybody since we're all so different. .25mg EOD is a good starting place as a good portion of men that take AAS are fairly trim and won't aromatize greatly. With that said though, some of us aromatize like crazy and require doses well into 1mg ED since they have a great deal of sensitivity to estradiol and literally just make the stuff like crazy. .5mg EOD is the next step up in doses that cover the next "tier" of men that aromatize more, which is why you see this number come up less. This is also very dose dependent on how much testosterone you're taking along with other compounds like dianabol which really should be renamed estro-bombs since it literally does just that! This is why I recommend a blood test mid-cycle, so you can see exactly how your Aromatase inhibitor (AI) is doing with relation to your hormone levels. Once you have this information, you can easily adjust your dose up or down depending on how your E2 levels are doing.

lmao 1st off i don't play with my nipples

The armidex can be up to 2 weeks away, im hoping i can make it that long. When in hand what would be a good dose to use already being 3-4 weeks into the cycle?

Haha, you'd be surprised at how many guys do play with their nipples since they're so scared of gyno that they obsessively are performing mammograms daily on themselves! I'd start at .5mg EOD for a week and drop down to .25mg if you notice the swelling has gone down considerably. If you start to get boner problems or really bad joint aches, you can drop it down further. Six weeks in is pushing it, but I think you'll be fine.

 

[30yostarter]

Obv halfwit has given you a ton of great knowledge here... so just my two cents - the fact that you have gained a few lbs is ok, as you said it is water, and after it that goes away you'll notice what you lost whether with your dex or after your cycle -- it doesn't mean you are not cutting weight. I like a bit of water weight, as it helps with strength, but it certainly doesn't help with cardio!

Cheers -

Currently cutting weight or at-least trying to. Have some previous posts that helped me piece everything together.
32 years old
5'6"
187lbs
Approx 15% BF

Currently starting week 3 of 15 on Sunday of my cycle
600mg Test E weekly, 300mg Thursdays, 300mg Sundays
Anavar will also be added the last 10 weeks

So my main question is how long does the water retention last? I'm assuming my issue is no Aromatase inhibitor (AI). I'm waiting on Armidex, no ill or negative side-effects at the moment except for the fact i have put on 6lbs which is obviously not the direction i want to be going. Assuming it is water. If not on an Aromatase inhibitor (AI) does the water retention last the whole cycle or eventually dwindle off or am i going to be bloated until i get the armidex?

Current diet is keto
2,500 calories
290g protein
132g fat
trace carbs under 20g