On TRT and thinking about increasing my test dose

Been on 150mg's of test a week for 2 months now and so far no side effects at all. Going to incrfease to 200 a week soon
 
paranoid android said:
Whats h and h? So far my bp is really good anyway
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Hemoglobin and hematocrit, for blood work values. Might see a slight bump in them over time but any change would likely be in the margin of regular fluctuations with hydration status and what not.
 
I've had to really cut back my test dosage - couldnt stand the acid reflux. Soon as I cut back the acid reflux cured itself.
 
So I had another testosterone test Thursday. Normal range was 175-781 and I scored 11. 11vman, lol. No wonder I've lost all my chest hair and feel like a wet mop. Been submitted to insurance to pay for TRT. Gonna start me at 50mg a week. Gonna take forever together to baseline? How long does test take to build up in your system? My Hemoglobin and Hemocrit were low too. I just wanna feel better man im sick of being so tired. Can't hardly function. Everything is a chore.
 
TRT can be great and it can also push you into a spiral when you start to want more from the therapeutic benefits of TRT.
From there you can turn it into a full blown addiction and this is very common.
Guys start on a respectable dose (well within limits of TRT) and then slowly start to increase until they are taking supraphysiological doses.
Risk factors here are likely previous drug use especially stimulants because steroids can provide a similar effect. If you begin to notice certain effects and try and seek them out you can go beyond therapeutic use and into abuse. If you find yourself chasing the high you're at a higher risk of going from therapy to abuse and this hooks a lot of men in and can be very hard to shake especially if they think they feel better on gear than off it.

That being said, chasing the high is very easy to do. Anabolic steroids can make you feel on top of the world but that also can be a ticket to a delusional self-destructive place (the superman effect) depending on how well you can handle them. Feeling on top of the world can lead to risky decision leading to do things you otherwise wouldn't do. Tied to that, impulsiveness increases so you may react to things you wouldn't normally react to as easily. It can also increase traits of narcissism (if you are already narcissitic this can be an issue) which can affect your social life significantly. But seeing as you have higher testosterone you might also feel more confident in not giving a sh*t therefore only digging yourself deeper into harmful patterns. If your mental health has been sketchy they can accelerate your downfall. They can increase all the behavioural markers for big problems and this is well known. Although "roid rage" is an old wives tale for the most part it is true that some people struggle to control themselves because the physiological changes that steroids do to their body also change their behaviour. Remembering that the brain is also changed when you start messing with testosterone levels, if there are any underlying problems, steroids can bring them out. When the brain changes, so do you. Historical emotional issues? Steroids can accentuate them. Relationship issues? Same. If you already have difficulty understanding your emotions or maybe you just feel emotionally blunted on a daily basis steroids can increase the severity of that. It's very common for habitual steroid users especially at high doses to feel completely empty most of the time. Their emotional life is pretty much none-existent but they can also have very strong mood swings so the effects can be very similar to bipolar or borderline personality disorder. Not a nice place to be when you're supposed to be taking a therapeutic medicine.

Steroids are like any other drug. They ARE addictive and CAN bring skeletons out of your closet if you are not careful much like any other drug on the street if you let them. Therapeutic doses are NOT recreational ones. As an example, therapeutic doses of THC are nowhere near what most people consume recreationally. The therapeutic application of cannabis is NOTHING like street level use. TRT likewise, the use is supposed to replicate the natural production of testosterone. Human males don't produce an unworldly amount and usually less than 100mg a week is sufficient for the majority of people and even that may be considered excessive. Anything above this and you are not on TRT anymore. You are on supraphysiological doses. Know the difference. The risks increase significantly the higher the dose. The difference between 75mg and 100mg is noteworthy. The difference between 100-150mg a week is big. The difference between 150-200mg is big. Onwards above 200mg and you are now taking a dose appropriate for the majority of beginner level bodybuilding cycles. A dose of 150mg per week and you are taking roughly double the amount an average male produces in a week if we say that's around 75mg.

It also depends on what you take.
You may get injections fortnightly. Here they will likely be around 150-200mg. Testosterone comes with different esters which are basically attached to the testosterone to increase it's half-life so absorption can be modulated. You can get tesosterone that has little to no half-life (with esters like acetate or suspension - which is essentially held in water) but this is incredibly unstable for therapeutic uses because your blood plasma levels of testosterone need to stabilized far more regularly than with a longer ester like cypionate or enanthate as the drug is in and out very quickly. With fortnightly injections the longer ester is slowly cleaved off in the body allowing for a gradual release of the testosterone. Stick to longer esters for stability. Your doctor will know this already. Longer esters typically have lower side effects and are tolerated better by most people. There are protocols to take twice weekly to ensure stable levels but for therapeutic use this isn't going to be much of a problem and you risk making your use case recreational the more you start pinning to keep up blood plasma levels. In contrast, taking testosterone acetate for example can give a huge boost for the best part of 24 hours before your blood plasma levels plummet. Never take anything other than testosterone. Don't be tempted to try other compounds. For TRT you don't need anything except testosterone.

Remember why you're taking TRT. Although it's tempting to want to aim for a 200kg bench press, become superman or to mate with every member of the opposite/same sex (or whatever temptations come your way), you're doing it for therapeutic reasons. This is where looking after yourself comes in and prioritizing your mental, emotional and psychological wellbeing. When this no longer is a priority, it's no longer therapeutic. If you know there is a part of you seeking something else out, be honest with yourself and work these out.
 
That was all very helpful thank you. I have substance abuse in my history with alcohol and opiates. Ive done them all but stimulants were never my thing. I just want to feel better. I can see TRT work and people want more of that feeling. I dont understand much about testosterone but I've read enough to know it can mess you up if not done properly. I dont know where my Dr is gonna start. My friends level was low like mine and they started him atv50mg a week one shot bi weekly. Everyone is different I know. Even getting my levels up a bit shoukd help. I feel so flat. I gotta pep myself up just to go b take a shower. But I must say I never thought aboutbit potentially becoming a problem of addiction so thank for your post.
finitelifeform said:
TRT can be great and it can also push you into a spiral when you start to want more from the therapeutic benefits of TRT.
From there you can turn it into a full blown addiction and this is very common.
Guys start on a respectable dose (well within limits of TRT) and then slowly start to increase until they are taking supraphysiological doses.
Risk factors here are likely previous drug use especially stimulants because steroids can provide a similar effect. If you begin to notice certain effects and try and seek them out you can go beyond therapeutic use and into abuse. If you find yourself chasing the high you're at a higher risk of going from therapy to abuse and this hooks a lot of men in and can be very hard to shake especially if they think they feel better on gear than off it.

That being said, chasing the high is very easy to do. Anabolic steroids can make you feel on top of the world but that also can be a ticket to a delusional self-destructive place (the superman effect) depending on how well you can handle them. Feeling on top of the world can lead to risky decision leading to do things you otherwise wouldn't do. Tied to that, impulsiveness increases so you may react to things you wouldn't normally react to as easily. It can also increase traits of narcissism (if you are already narcissitic this can be an issue) which can affect your social life significantly. But seeing as you have higher testosterone you might also feel more confident in not giving a sh*t therefore only digging yourself deeper into harmful patterns. If your mental health has been sketchy they can accelerate your downfall. They can increase all the behavioural markers for big problems and this is well known. Although "roid rage" is an old wives tale for the most part it is true that some people struggle to control themselves because the physiological changes that steroids do to their body also change their behaviour. Remembering that the brain is also changed when you start messing with testosterone levels, if there are any underlying problems, steroids can bring them out. When the brain changes, so do you. Historical emotional issues? Steroids can accentuate them. Relationship issues? Same. If you already have difficulty understanding your emotions or maybe you just feel emotionally blunted on a daily basis steroids can increase the severity of that. It's very common for habitual steroid users especially at high doses to feel completely empty most of the time. Their emotional life is pretty much none-existent but they can also have very strong mood swings so the effects can be very similar to bipolar or borderline personality disorder. Not a nice place to be when you're supposed to be taking a therapeutic medicine.

Steroids are like any other drug. They ARE addictive and CAN bring skeletons out of your closet if you are not careful much like any other drug on the street if you let them. Therapeutic doses are NOT recreational ones. As an example, therapeutic doses of THC are nowhere near what most people consume recreationally. The therapeutic application of cannabis is NOTHING like street level use. TRT likewise, the use is supposed to replicate the natural production of testosterone. Human males don't produce an unworldly amount and usually less than 100mg a week is sufficient for the majority of people and even that may be considered excessive. Anything above this and you are not on TRT anymore. You are on supraphysiological doses. Know the difference. The risks increase significantly the higher the dose. The difference between 75mg and 100mg is noteworthy. The difference between 100-150mg a week is big. The difference between 150-200mg is big. Onwards above 200mg and you are now taking a dose appropriate for the majority of beginner level bodybuilding cycles. A dose of 150mg per week and you are taking roughly double the amount an average male produces in a week if we say that's around 75mg.

It also depends on what you take.
You may get injections fortnightly. Here they will likely be around 150-200mg. Testosterone comes with different esters which are basically attached to the testosterone to increase it's half-life so absorption can be modulated. You can get tesosterone that has little to no half-life (with esters like acetate or suspension - which is essentially held in water) but this is incredibly unstable for therapeutic uses because your blood plasma levels of testosterone need to stabilized far more regularly than with a longer ester like cypionate or enanthate as the drug is in and out very quickly. With fortnightly injections the longer ester is slowly cleaved off in the body allowing for a gradual release of the testosterone. Stick to longer esters for stability. Your doctor will know this already. Longer esters typically have lower side effects and are tolerated better by most people. There are protocols to take twice weekly to ensure stable levels but for therapeutic use this isn't going to be much of a problem and you risk making your use case recreational the more you start pinning to keep up blood plasma levels. In contrast, taking testosterone acetate for example can give a huge boost for the best part of 24 hours before your blood plasma levels plummet. Never take anything other than testosterone. Don't be tempted to try other compounds. For TRT you don't need anything except testosterone.

Remember why you're taking TRT. Although it's tempting to want to aim for a 200kg bench press, become superman or to mate with every member of the opposite/same sex (or whatever temptations come your way), you're doing it for therapeutic reasons. This is where looking after yourself comes in and prioritizing your mental, emotional and psychological wellbeing. When this no longer is a priority, it's no longer therapeutic. If you know there is a part of you seeking something else out, be honest with yourself and work these out.
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Thanks for y I ur post. I never thought about it from that perspective. I have substance abuse in my history so I will take heed when I start TRT. I can see it working and start feeling better and want more of it. I feel so low even the slightest bit woukd help I think. Im not sure where she is starting me but I have a friend who's about my size and levels were low like mine and he gets 50mg a week biweekly injection. I know everybody is different. Everything takes so much energy. Gotta pep myself uo just to gobtske a shower. Butbi def see what you mean abd will take heed. Thanks
 
Satori446 said:
That was all very helpful thank you. I have substance abuse in my history with alcohol and opiates. Ive done them all but stimulants were never my thing. I just want to feel better. I can see TRT work and people want more of that feeling. I dont understand much about testosterone but I've read enough to know it can mess you up if not done properly. I dont know where my Dr is gonna start. My friends level was low like mine and they started him atv50mg a week one shot bi weekly. Everyone is different I know. Even getting my levels up a bit shoukd help. I feel so flat. I gotta pep myself up just to go b take a shower. But I must say I never thought aboutbit potentially becoming a problem of addiction so thank for your post.

Thanks for y I ur post. I never thought about it from that perspective. I have substance abuse in my history so I will take heed when I start TRT. I can see it working and start feeling better and want more of it. I feel so low even the slightest bit woukd help I think. Im not sure where she is starting me but I have a friend who's about my size and levels were low like mine and he gets 50mg a week biweekly injection. I know everybody is different. Everything takes so much energy. Gotta pep myself uo just to gobtske a shower. Butbi def see what you mean abd will take heed. Thanks
Click to expand...
The "feeling" part could be the issue. We all want to "feel" better but it doesn't always mean we should chase things that feel good because lots of stuff can make you feel good but in the long run causes harm. Steroids are in a gray area cause they aren't recognized as drugs in the same way weed or coke or psychedelics are so people justify taking them because "its not the same thing". Try saying that when you're injecting every week just to "feel" good and you NEED to stabilize your blood plasma levels just to feel normal or you'll crash out and then probably need to run PCT or jump on something to elevate your T levels. You can watch documentaries on YouTube of steroid use. The problems are real.

Many guys are looking for that spark, to find what they are missing. I honestly think the spark they are looking can just be escapism.
Guys look to try and fill in all the holes in their life by pumping themselves full of hormones. You mean I can feel like superman, have a rock hard d*ck and want to f*ck everything that moves, have more energy, recover faster and have more confidence and all I have to do is inject this into my rear every week or so? Sounds like a no-brainer! Some time down the line and they have simply replaced one escape with another. Some like the fact they feel more when usually they feel like sh*t. It makes sense if you've got enough hormones in your body for 2-3 other men. But what is it hiding? That's when things can get dark. If the guy has an inferiority complex, maybe has repressed sexual issues or deep trauma taking steroids can make him feel like a unit and make him feel like he can do stuff he otherwise couldn't do. He gets false confidence and maybe doesn't ever want to come down and increases the dose until he's on bodybuilder doses and causes all sorts of issues in his life and maybe others too. This happens a lot. It's not a "new him" speaking but the hormones, just like it's the speed speaking or whatever else he has taken to get the same effect.

TRT should be a LAST RESORT and you should treat it like any other drug.
You should have exhausted all other options before altering your body chemistry and exposing yourself to powerful hormones your body doesn't naturally produce in the same quantities.

That being said, low T is a very real problem and it's a serious health issue. It's behind a lot of problems that men can go through, some less obvious and some more.
Perspective is key. If stress is a problem we don't reach for the weed and give everybody a bag. That doesn't solve the underlying issues. We don't give everyone powerful opiates in hospital, only those who are in severe pain. It's the same with TRT. TRT has been pushed over the past few years as a panacea for men's problems and that's simply not true and guys should be aware of that. It's a multi-billion dollar wellness industry looking to push another product and make people rich. If it sells there is a market for it.
 
finitelifeform said:
The "feeling" part could be the issue. We all want to "feel" better but it doesn't always mean we should chase things that feel good because lots of stuff can make you feel good but in the long run causes harm. Steroids are in a gray area cause they aren't recognized as drugs in the same way weed or coke or psychedelics are so people justify taking them because "its not the same thing". Try saying that when you're injecting every week just to "feel" good and you NEED to stabilize your blood plasma levels just to feel normal or you'll crash out and then probably need to run PCT or jump on something to elevate your T levels. You can watch documentaries on YouTube of steroid use. The problems are real.

Many guys are looking for that spark, to find what they are missing. I honestly think the spark they are looking can just be escapism.
Guys look to try and fill in all the holes in their life by pumping themselves full of hormones. You mean I can feel like superman, have a rock hard d*ck and want to f*ck everything that moves, have more energy, recover faster and have more confidence and all I have to do is inject this into my rear every week or so? Sounds like a no-brainer! Some time down the line and they have simply replaced one escape with another. Some like the fact they feel more when usually they feel like sh*t. It makes sense if you've got enough hormones in your body for 2-3 other men. But what is it hiding? That's when things can get dark. If the guy has an inferiority complex, maybe has repressed sexual issues or deep trauma taking steroids can make him feel like a unit and make him feel like he can do stuff he otherwise couldn't do. He gets false confidence and maybe doesn't ever want to come down and increases the dose until he's on bodybuilder doses and causes all sorts of issues in his life and maybe others too. This happens a lot. It's not a "new him" speaking but the hormones, just like it's the speed speaking or whatever else he has taken to get the same effect.

TRT should be a LAST RESORT and you should treat it like any other drug.
You should have exhausted all other options before altering your body chemistry and exposing yourself to powerful hormones your body doesn't naturally produce in the same quantities.

That being said, low T is a very real problem and it's a serious health issue. It's behind a lot of problems that men can go through, some less obvious and some more.
Perspective is key. If stress is a problem we don't reach for the weed and give everybody a bag. That doesn't solve the underlying issues. We don't give everyone powerful opiates in hospital, only those who are in severe pain. It's the same with TRT. TRT has been pushed over the past few years as a panacea for men's problems and that's simply not true and guys should be aware of that. It's a multi-billion dollar wellness industry looking to push another product and make people rich. If it sells there is a market for it.
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Well said. I understand where you are coming from. Escapism is reak and since I've been researching trt and found all these online rip off sites, I know its an industry built around escapism. Guys get into it for wrong reasons. Just like any other drug, it may mask problems but ultimately just maje them worse. I have exhausted most of my options abd with my test at 11 I def think ill benefit from trt. I will be getting injections at Dr. I know, nothing is stopping me down the road from getting my own and doing it myself bc I feel so much better. As a person who's recovered from hard-core drug use and alcohol I know how that works. I guess my experience with substance abuse will help me in this instance.
 
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