Testosterone.

[5byfive]

Those of you taking TRT are you also taking Anastrozole? I was told by my DR its basically mandatory to prevent too much estrogen. Ive been on TRT for about 4 years now and its been great but it does take some time to get everything in the right place.

Mine spiked when I started and the doc gave me an AI. I looked into it and they tend to have some nasty sides. I was set up on the normal weekly dose which is actually not an ideal way to take TRT in general and can spike estrogen. I moved myself to bi-weekly then to EOD. My estrogen dropped to mid normal.

 

[MikeyMike]

I'll weigh in on the IM vs SubQ. I do IM, use a 25g 1" and use thigh. First couple of times was super freaked out, but painless. It did leave some soreness the first 3 times, but after that no issues at all.

I would recommend on online clinic and not do it self sourcing, at least for the first year or two. Plenty of reasonable easy sources. I used Nuform, around $57 per month for the test and $179 join fee. They did provide an AI just in case, but I have not needed it. It's a game changer! I have my first blood test next week, so don't know where my test sits now, but targeting 900.

As for the holy trinity, I can attest to that. I am using Reta (5mg), HGH (2iu) and Test(160mg x split twice weekly). I have reduced by BF by 5% in 90 days using this. Put on more than 5lbs of muscle and lost 11lbs of fat. I am 52 and found that in the previous 18 months of lifting and getting adequate protein, could barely move the needle on muscle gain. Lifting heavier and recovering better. I have not seen as much improvement in sleep as I would have liked, but have seen some. I highly recommend it.

 

[JCO79]

Your doctor is not correct. The AUA guideline says that two measurements below 300 (has to be a morning draw) along with symptoms is hypogonadism warranting treatment. There has been a lot of good advice in these comments. You can obtain treatment legally and inexpensively. Testosterone is easy to get but it is a controlled substance so using a legal route has some big advantages. You should get a second opinion if you are planning to do TRT. If you are planning to do something more than that (ie drive your levels into supraphysiological range) then UGL is the way to go. I also use TRT nation and have been happy with them. I am past the age of reproduction.

In terms of the pin, I transfer mine into a 3 mL pen cartridge. I use an insulin pen with 29ga, 1/2” needles. I only started a month ago and I have been pinning daily in my glutes. It is painless and easy. Once I see that my estrogen and hematocrit are fine on my current, conservative starting dose, I may experiment with slightly higher doses and space out the injections.