So many fake natty influencers everywhere online. I've made it a hobby of going on their social media livestreams and asking simple questions like "Are you on TRT?". I usually get deliberately ignored, comment deleted, or even banned. I just find it so funny how easily triggered and secretitive they get even when simply asked if they take TRT. Why do they lie? Even the fitness/diet coaches lie about it too.

I went and did a hormonal panel:

Total Test: 3.44 ng/mL

Free Test: 28.00 pg/mL

SHBG: 9 nmol/L

FSH: 4.0 mIU/mL

LH: 3.9 mIU/mL

PRL: 10.0 ng/mL

E2: 9.0 pg/mL

ALB: 5.1 g/dL

Went to an endocrinologist today with these and the doctor told me values are alright. I was thinking that perhaps taking enclomiphene citrate for a few months and doing another panel and see where I'm at is the best course of action, because from what I've seen some of these values are very low. I'm not sure though. I feel like my SHBG and E2 values are bad. Any advice from people in a similar predicament?

38M, 5'-10", 155 lbs, over the last few years have been feeling low energy and mood, the beginnings of old man aches/pains/stiffness (throwing back out picking up a towel, sore neck shoulders, etc.), have always had what I considered to be low libido (2 times per week). I chalked it all up to just getting older, have two kids under 5, and a relatively sedentary lifestyle (white collar desk jockey, never working out, poor diet of fast food).

I decided to start working out at a gym and have been very consistent, four times per week, two of them with a trainer. Goal was to increase lean muscle mass, energy, libido etc. It has always been incredibly difficult for me to gain fat/weight including when binging on fast food for years. I significantly changed my diet, cut out soda from two cokes per day to one every two weeks, started drinking 64 oz of water every day from no water, started eating a lot more carbs and protein (rice, meat, pasta, etc.), started making protein shakes. In 3 months I increased my lean muscle mass by 15 lbs, going from 140 lbs starting to 155 lbs. I was pretty happy and am getting stronger but it feels like I am plateauing.

I always wanted to test my testosterone and recently ordered and completed an at-home total testosterone test offered by Everlywell (blood finger prick). The results came back (11/30/2024) shockingly low at 185 ng/dL. I have never tested before. The Everlywell results say normal range is 163-517 ng/dL which seems ridiculously low to me based on what I have read here.

I had already been reading about enclomiphene specifically from Maximus ads. I have a healthy skepticism of supplements and anything I see advertised online especially in the testosterone, male libido, hair loss etc. space, so I have been reading about it a lot. Given our desire to try for another kid and the fact that I fear shrinking testes, I decided to avoid direct TRT entirely. Enclo seems like a good option to try so I signed up for Maximus EP protocol. I know it is expensive because branded but I trust it is 100% enclo and I like that they make you get labs to start and 1 month after and presumably regularly after that, and also they say up front the goal is to start with the lowest effective dose and only increase slightly if does not yield results. I am familiar with the side effects so I know what to look out for as I start it.

I am waiting for the initial test kit to arrive (full blood vial shoulder thing, not finger prick), hopefully sometime this week. I mostly made this post to log my progress and add to the "lived experience" data pool.

I signed up for their multivitamin as well but am currently already taking the following supplements:

Below for general health: 1000 mcg B12 2000 IU D3

Below for resistance training: 3000 mg creatine hcl (1/2 morning 1/2 night) 2000 mg L-citrulline (morning) 2500 mg L-arginine (morning)

Let me know if you all have any questions otherwise I will update when I have something to share.

Thanks

I got pellet treatment about a week ago (last Friday) and the doctor told me to take Anastrozole 1 week out and then every 3 days for a total of 4 pills. So I took one this past Friday and by yesterday I felt like pure shit (depressed, low energy, etc.)

Is it possible I just took too high of a dose? I’m supposed to take it again tomorrow (and then next Thursday & Sunday). But I’m thinking about just waiting it out and seeing how I feel.

Also, she recommended that I take Saw Palmetto. But researching it on here and elsewhere it seems this might have potential to do more harm then good (one person even said that it crushed their libido permanently).

Any thoughts?

I got my bloodwork back recently and my test is at 331ng/dl. I’m 31 yrs old. Am I wrong or is this very low?

30M.

So I just started my first cycle of Test E (300mg weekly). It's now week 3 and I feel great, I don't want to stop taking it.

I had originally planned to just alternate 12 week cycles and then PCT, but now I am considering just finishing this cycle and then dropping to 150mg weekly forever.

I mean... I can afford it, I'm not concerned with fertility, but maybe I am just getting carried away.

Hey guys. Just started clomid 50 mg every 3 days 2 weeks ago and yesterday I started developing breast tenderness on my left chest. I don’t feel more emotional yet but I am obviously concerned. Do any of y’all have suggestions on what I should do? Seems pretty quick to be experiencing this side since I only take it every 3 days. Any help is appreciated.

Okay so now 35 years old and I was feeling very sluggish very low motivation all those kind of things. I went for a testosterone level check and I was 212 the NHS said they wouldn't give me any testosterone replacement because I was above 200 ....... Even though most doctors around the world treat somebody who was below 300. So i thought I would take on this problem myself. I reside in Peru where you can buy testoviron depot 250 mg over the counter. I guess my questions are should I be taking this once a week or more or less I'm completely new to all of this.
I'm 35 6ft 2 120kg.

Would be nice for some people who are very experienced to give me as much information as possible and as clear as possible as when I look online it's all over the place with information. Thank you 😁

I am on lifetime TRT (Sustanon 250) for legitimate medical purposes (pituitary tumor). I am currently 7 or 8 years in and my levels are right where they should be, and I feel good which is most important.

I've been injecting in the glutes at home since day 1 with a 23G, 1-1/4" needle. I realize that is "a harpoon" by this communities standards but (a) I never feel it and (b) it's what my first doctor recommended and no subsequent doctors said they had a concern with 23G 1-1/4" when asked.

However, I've been having issues with my glutes... Pretty much every injection now results in severe PIP that effectively cripples me for at least 4-5 days. We're talking inflammation that turns my entire ass and upper leg bright red; a giant lump, that when ultra sounded, was not identifiable as anything besides inflamed muscle; and pain that results in me having to take opioids to simply sit down without shedding a tear. The only thing we didn't do was a biopsy.

I don't feel any scar tissue going in glutes and I am dealing with only pharmacy-grade testosterone that hasn't changed oil since the first day (I have all my old vials and checked). No sign of contamination, fresh vial, etc due diligence was conducted. I thought I was going crazy and screwing it up somehow (sub-q by accident with Sustanon can seemingly cause severe inflammation like this), so I had a nurse come and administer the injection and the same issue occurred. Bloods look good - no indication physically or metabolically of an infection or autoimmune issue. The doctor doesn't know what to make of it, but suggested I switched to delts since it's the next easiest thing and gives my glutes a break. He switched me to 23G to draw and 25G 5/8" to inject. I don't feel the 25G in my delts at all, but I noticed that there's scar tissue... Somehow?

When I start to put the 25G in my delts, I feel the crunch that everyone describes as scar tissue. It's on both arms. I'm definitely injecting in the right place, but it's literally ALL scar tissue. I feel the "layers" break as I go in; it starts right at the surface and easily all 5/8" in. Doc said he doesn't know why but it's concerning, and I couldn't Google-fu an answer, so here I am. How the fuck can I possibly have this much scar tissue in areas that I've never injected before? My doc is obviously a moron (as most are with TRT, especially in Europe) because he can't explain how it's concerning without understanding a root cause. Does anyone here have experience or a theory? Do I need to worry?

Side note - the same vial giving me PIP in the glutes does not give me PIP in the delts, at all. The scar tissue doesn't seem to affect absorption (at least I feel normal) and I don't get any pain besides the discomfort of having to push through all the scar tissue during injections.

Hey guys,

Today I was doing some research into whether or not I could set up an HSA and use it to pay for my testosterone therapy, which I'm not eligible for, when I stumbled upon this subreddit and found posts where people are paying $30 for their prescriptions.

I'm 6 months into a year long treatment plan from the Rocky Mountain Men's Clinic, and they are charging me a fixed fee of $200/month for their services, which includes the labs and however much test they prescribe.

I signed a contract that I would continue with them for a year, but is there a way for me to take whatever my dosage is at the end of the contract and get them filled some other way and save some money? I do not even know what kind of doctor/specialist I would see for this sort of thing at a regular clinic. For what it's worth I'm on Tricare right now.

I was on Testosterone Cypionate, Anastrozole, DHEA, and Oxandrolone about a year and a half ago. I still have a few vials of Testosterone (Empower), but I no longer have the original boxes. Do you think it's safe to start using it again? Additionally, my previous provider requires extensive blood work, which I find unnecessarily expensive. Does anyone have suggestions on affordable ways to source these medications or handle the blood work without too much $$$? Thanks.

Sup guys? I'll be brief. Fed up with everything going on, I just hopped on test for the first time ever. Feeling great to be honest, and I'm doing a 20 weeks cycle with a shot per week, BUT I gotta travel abroad for christmas with my kid so I won't bring the bottle with me to my mom's place(she knows the man I am but no need to visually confirm it LOL). I calculated somewhere around 12 days of missing test, will anything serious happen? Or will it be ok? I'm at week 10 btw. Thank you.

Been on 150mg test a week for a year or so and started hcg 1000iu a week about 6 months ago. Im gonna continue the hcg cuz I'm trying to have a baby. Just wondering what I'm gonna be facing coming off? I also have a stash of chloride shoukd I take that as well? And last but not least I have high hemoglobin and hemocrit. It's just tipping high and feel like shit constantly. Should I see a doc or wait to see those numbers go down from hoping off trt?

After a lot of lurking and research, I’m stepping out of anon to make my first post, hoping to get some input from this community.

I’ve decided it’s time to start TRT and need help choosing the right clinic.

Here’s some context: At 33, I was sitting at 20% body fat with T levels at 114. A year later, I’ve dropped to 18% and managed to raise my levels to 267. Despite those improvements, I’m still dealing with all the classic low T symptoms. I feel confident I’ve done everything possible to optimize my levels naturally, and since the symptoms persist, I’m ready to move forward.

I’m specifically looking for feedback or testimonials. I’m leaning toward using an online clinic and have already done a fair bit of research to narrow down my options.

Also, I happen to know the owner of Hallandale pharmacy and he actually knows a lot of these men’s clinics (whether or not they use Hallandale, he’s still plugged into the know) and he knows a lot of these guys are involved in some sketchy shit. So with this knowledge, I have crossed off all but three from the list (so please do not suggest one not on this list):

Peter MD

FYR Body

Blokes

I’m price-conscious but also value quality care, great customer service, and a smooth ordering/billing process.

If anyone has firsthand experience with these clinics or has heard anything (good or bad), I’d really appreciate your input. Thanks in advance!

Just sharing progress. No pump photos. 39y old. Climber for over 10y and now into lifting.

I'm pinning 5 times a week. Total is 150mg, trt dose, as this is my first experience with testosterone. Previously tried enclomiphen and proviron, fake anavar. I sorted out my blood work and started pinning. I had 700ng/DL test, but still experiencing low test symptoms. Probably due to high shbg. Now mood is a lot better and libido thru the roof. The only thing I regret is not starting earlier.

I try to limit the calories, but still put on 5kg in 4 weeks.

My bench, squat, deadlift, ohp went up, but pull up strength went slightly down. I was able to pull up be+70 before, now BW+60kg. Extra weight doesn't help, who knew?

Hey guys, I need some help. My doctor is being a total D and won’t talk to me about AIs. I’ve been on T for little over a year. I’ve seen amazing results in my body, sex drive, mood and overall well-being. But the last few months, my libido has completely dropped off. I’ve asked my doctor about it a couple times. His first suggestion was to switch to the cream, applied every day to my ball sack, but after a couple weeks of that, I started having some discomfort and my right nut And I came I felt a little twinge and then some heaviness afterwards he switched me back to injecting IM once a week. Test C 80mg a week. (200 mg/mL of Testosterone Cypionate. @ 0.4 mL. per week) I am also on 300 iu of hcg injected twice weekly but a couple months ago I dropped that down on my own to 150 as I was having some nipple sensitivity and a lot of guys on here said my dose was way too high.

The only other thing that I added and then stopped after about two weeks was I’d started back on finestaride as I’d seen my hair thinning again. I’d been on it all through my 30s and 40s but stopped about 2.5 years ago. I was only on it again this time for a few weeks but worried that maybe that was impacting my sex drive which had been through the roof - which l like.

I’m 53, 5’11”, 162lbs, work out fairly hard 2-3 times per week. Not doing cardio atm bc I’m trying to gain weight. Eat healthy. Sober and don’t smoke obv. Get 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep a night.

Any advice welcome! Thanks man

I am curious to how many people that have low hormone levels & not getting enough dietary saturated fat in their diet? Seems like a lot of people get sub 20% of their nutritional calories.

Has anyone come across studies that have compared individuals at 10,20,30,40% of the nutritional calories coming for fat & what response it showed?

It seems like protein is so beat to death with studies. But fat isn’t as much when it comes to optimal levels.

These are from last year. I (23M/24 as of writing this) was experiencing a lot of anxiety, fatigue, and most importantly erection/libido issues. Much of which I can attribute to performance anxiety and relationship issues.

I remember feeling frustrated with my doctor just assuring me everything was mental. In a new relationship now and still dealing with lower libido and erection issues.

Not seeking medical advice or a diagnosis. Just venting I guess?

I bought a fake DHEA from a seller and ofc I didn't know that it was fake until recently, I was shocked to find out that the product contained estrogen and my lab work confirms that I have a very low total and free testosterone levels, 235 and 9 respectively and 53 estrogen. My doctor prescribed me 4 supplements (t boosters) plus tadalafil 10mg in addition to Crestor 10mg to lower my cholesterol levels. My doctor doesn't want to hear me or discuss anything with me, he told me everything will be ok end of story, I told him how can I bring down my estrogen, he said change your dietary habbits without explaining what to change.

What shall I do to negate the effect of this estrogen I took? Apparently, the prescribed supplements won't help much, it's been two months since I stopped taking this fake supplement and I'm still experiencing weak erections, low libido, loss of sensation even after taking taladalafil 10mg plus the t boosters. I'm never like before.

I recently started TRT and right now I am on 100mg test C every 5 days. I started on 200mg every 14 days but the half life was too short and I was super tired and slow after day 9-10. Now I have my 200mg split up into two doses (one every 5 days of 100mg) and I am feeling great all the time. The only concern is my total estrogen levels are at 116 based on a 56-213 pg/ml reference interval. This seems good and in range and I don’t feel any symptoms of my estrogen being too high. I just see a lot of people talking about AI’s and of course I would like to avoid it if possible. I am going to get my E2 tested specifically soon since my last estrogen test was total estrogens. Just looking for opinions considering I am new to all of this and of course I will consult with my doctor more.

Thank you to this amazing forum for all of your knowledge (and trolling).

I started TRT in Sept 2023. Currently at 144mg / week sub-q split into 4 doses. 33M.

HCT a month ago was 51 and I freaked out. Before starting TRT it was 44. Here are some things I did:

• Hydrate. Almost a gallon of water a day with salt and sometimes lemon (this has been the biggest issue for me because I don’t have a habit of drinking water)
• Nattokinase 4000 FU daily
• One double red donation

I don’t do specific cardio but given my work commute, and spending 2 hours sometimes a day running around with my toddler boys - I get like 10K-12K steps in. I lift 5 days a week.

Does anyone have experience with science and humans trt program?

I am wondering whether the treatment would be covered by various health plans in Canada.

So for the last few injections, I’ve put my testosterone vial on top of the floor vent in my house for about 10 minutes before injecting. It’s winter here in Canada so the air coming out of the vent is hot.

Do not do this. Warming your testosterone is one thing. Heating it is something else. I’ve had some of the worst post injection pain ever since doing this. I can’t imagine it’s any other factor than this. If the testosterone gets too warm, I feel it changes its flow characteristics and either gets absorbed too quickly, or something bio-mechanically changes with the injection. It’s made my 2 injection per week cruise feel like I’m doing the damage to my quads as if I was blasting and doing 3 injections a week. Room temp is honestly best. Thought id share.

Hello! First time posting and appreciate any/all opinions. If my test levels are naturally high (above upper normal range) and I was planning on introducing 300mg test enan /week , would this simply shutdown my natural test and then I would be receiving lower test than naturally occurs in my body? Should I take more test per week after becoming accustomed to 300mg/week. Or should I forego the exogenous test and simply use 10mg anavar 4-6 days a week (on training days) like I was planning?