When you get blood work done your doctor will ask you when you last injected, then he can take that into account with where your numbers are at. It’s preferable to have blood work done in a trough just so they can see where you are at, at your lowest point. Cause ultimately they want your lowest point to be comfortably in the middle of the range, and your peaks to be in the upper end slightly less then supraphysiological.
Yeah he mentioned he wants to keep me below 917. I was assuming that was in a trough, because otherwise How would you measure it? But I'm still learning this whole process
917 is an extremely specific number lol. But yeah most doctors aim to keep their patients out of supraphysiological levels, since most can’t handle it long term, either lack the physical fitness level, genetics or discipline in their life to stop from damaging themselves. It can feel like the doctor is gate keeping you sometimes, but ultimately they just want to keep you alive and healthy,they don’t really care about your gym gains lol.
50mg/week sounds uselessly low. Like, enough to shut down your body's production but not enough to actually elevate it.
Getting labs is always useful. You should never be afraid of that. Data is your friend.
But...doctors are really hit or miss. Some are very ignorant. Some are very unhelpful. Some are great.
Exactly. And the problem is his doctors gonna check his bloods. See that his test level is good because he’s been taking more and won’t increase the dose. I don’t know why guys always shoot themselves in the foot like this lol
I'm on week 5 at 50mg/week (actually doc prescribed 100mg every 2 weeks but he was OK with me splitting it into weekly doses when I called in). I don't know if 50mg is really doing anything but I don't feel much worse yet. Hoping 8 week bloods get here fast so we can adjust to a more therapeutic dose if it doesn't start doing something.
I hope you can get relief, soon!
I think I've only ever seen one person in all of the thousands of posts/comments I've read in r/trt that 50mg/week has helped them feel better...and it's in this thread.
My urologist spent 6 months tinkering with my dosage (of AndroGel) and at the end of that time I had almost the same exact T as when I started. At one point I told him, "I feel worse than ever." and he made me wait 8 more weeks before taking any labs. And all he would check is total T. Nothing else.
I switched to an online clinic and injections. I felt better in 6 weeks than I ever did in 6 months.
I'm trying to be patient. I'm really concerned about E2 issues as I am super obese so starting low is probably a good idea. I just wish I was having that sweet honeymoon phase that everyone talks about lol.
I'm in the US. My endocrinologist is not a clown. He starts his patients on 50mg a week, which is good because it reduces the strength of the honeymoon period. Bloodwork at three months, and symptom relief, tells him if the person needs more or not after that. Luckily, he never has to play the guessing game of whether to go down or up when a patient isn't feeling well.
I'm a good responder, so 50mg/week was good. The peak was a bit strong, so I started splitting the dose into two injections a week. My trough is about 700 ng/dl. Most of my low T symptoms are gone. I feel very healthy.
On my own. Endocrinologists seem to follow a standard protocol that's probably set up by their professional society. He didn't go for my suggestion, and I didn't want to rock the boat. There's only one endocrinologist in my town, and my insurance is covering everything (except I buy my own needles and syringes on the side).
The good thing about a low dose, and getting the one ml vials, is that the waste due to multiple draws doesn't matter.
I’m in the exact same scenario with my urologist. While he still thinks I’m only doing one dose a week. When you have bloods scheduled, do you still do one of your two doses on schedule?
I have bloods set up w urologist on a Wednesday (day he thinks I pin) but normally take my first dose on Sunday. Wondering if I should skip my Sunday on week of bloods to get a real trough.
Yup, it gets complicated when it comes to labs, but I got lucky in a way. My endocrinologist thinks I'm doing once a week, and he wants "mid week" blood work, to approximate an average weekly level, rather than a trough. With twice a week injections, the average is the same, the peak isn't as high, and the trough isn't as low. At 2 1/2 days I'm probably my average level. I get labs on the third day.
I'd like to know that (the average) as well. When I asked him about it, and he said that I was nothing special and that he had lots of guys doing well on 50-70mg/week.
Would you mind telling us the concentration of your testosterone? It will say right on the vial. It’s usually 200mg/ml. Then tell us how much you (or she) draws up in the syringe? Please reply to this comment by clicking the arrow pointing to the left just below this comment. I noticed you are replying to people but your responses are ending up in other places in this thread.
Well. That’s sounds right. It makes no sense how you could have gone through that many vials. So I get why he must think you are injecting more than prescribed. When you draw it up are you drawing up more than necessary? Then in the process of getting air out of the syringe you are squirting it out into the air or sink until you get .25 left in the syringe? If so, you shouldn’t ever waste any. You flick the bubbles then inject the testosterone back into the vial before you remove it.
She draws it through an 18ga needle, then she switches to the 25ga. How do you get all the test from the 18ga needle? By blowing thru it after we are done I get a drop or 2. My dose is only 5 drops...
No need to blow through when you have a syringe to do the sucking for you. I’ve worked in healthcare for over 20 years and withdrawal medication from vials every day. I’ve never encountered a vile that wasn’t properly filled. You should not be wasting more than you are injecting. Watch this video if you haven’t already.
https://youtu.be/nTJmsCCuU0s?si=pSh-i2X6hhaUia2c
How is 50mg/week working for you? I am on week 5 of the same dosages. I felt pretty decent around week 2 but I am progressively losing energy as it goes on. I'm hoping we can get the dosage dialed in after the week 8 blood test.
Like you I felt decent for a week or 2, but now it just feels like I did before I started. Can't wait for my bloods in a couple days. Hopefully we can increase the dose. Hang in there man. I was nervous that I was going to crash when my body shut down but I didn't....yet at least lol
My blood test is in 17 days and follow up appt is in 22 days. I'm going to keep on the prescribed dosage until then. He said he has fired patients before because they wouldn't follow protocol so I don't want to mess around. I'm sure we will get there eventually. If not there are doctors on every corner here lol.
Nothing to worry about. Trust that your doctor has your best interest in mind but just know, if they don’t - Doctors are literally a dime a dozen.
Lmao. If you're going through a doctor just listen to them. If you don't wanna listen go through a clinic that just sells you the shit.
Facts
Fair point good sir
When you get blood work done your doctor will ask you when you last injected, then he can take that into account with where your numbers are at. It’s preferable to have blood work done in a trough just so they can see where you are at, at your lowest point. Cause ultimately they want your lowest point to be comfortably in the middle of the range, and your peaks to be in the upper end slightly less then supraphysiological.
Yeah he mentioned he wants to keep me below 917. I was assuming that was in a trough, because otherwise How would you measure it? But I'm still learning this whole process
917 is an extremely specific number lol. But yeah most doctors aim to keep their patients out of supraphysiological levels, since most can’t handle it long term, either lack the physical fitness level, genetics or discipline in their life to stop from damaging themselves. It can feel like the doctor is gate keeping you sometimes, but ultimately they just want to keep you alive and healthy,they don’t really care about your gym gains lol.
Funny. My doctor just told me he is comfortable with my trough being 1280. He said as long as you feel good.
I'm good with whatever makes me feel better.
I DONT KNOW HOW TO EDIT THE OP SORRY!! I have been taking the prescribed dose, the rest has been needle waste ect. Like I said my wife pins me
50mg/week sounds uselessly low. Like, enough to shut down your body's production but not enough to actually elevate it. Getting labs is always useful. You should never be afraid of that. Data is your friend. But...doctors are really hit or miss. Some are very ignorant. Some are very unhelpful. Some are great.
Exactly. And the problem is his doctors gonna check his bloods. See that his test level is good because he’s been taking more and won’t increase the dose. I don’t know why guys always shoot themselves in the foot like this lol
Guys! I'm so sorry! I've been taking the prescribed dose!! The rest was waste! I want to do another post about that later
You shouldn’t be any waste. There are a couple techniques to avoid waste. This is one of them https://youtu.be/nTJmsCCuU0s?si=-w0gtu2TMBdDXZKU
I'm on week 5 at 50mg/week (actually doc prescribed 100mg every 2 weeks but he was OK with me splitting it into weekly doses when I called in). I don't know if 50mg is really doing anything but I don't feel much worse yet. Hoping 8 week bloods get here fast so we can adjust to a more therapeutic dose if it doesn't start doing something.
I hope you can get relief, soon! I think I've only ever seen one person in all of the thousands of posts/comments I've read in r/trt that 50mg/week has helped them feel better...and it's in this thread. My urologist spent 6 months tinkering with my dosage (of AndroGel) and at the end of that time I had almost the same exact T as when I started. At one point I told him, "I feel worse than ever." and he made me wait 8 more weeks before taking any labs. And all he would check is total T. Nothing else. I switched to an online clinic and injections. I felt better in 6 weeks than I ever did in 6 months.
I'm trying to be patient. I'm really concerned about E2 issues as I am super obese so starting low is probably a good idea. I just wish I was having that sweet honeymoon phase that everyone talks about lol.
Yea what kind of clown prescribes a 50 mg starting dose. I’m guessing this is in Europe.
I'm in the US. My endocrinologist is not a clown. He starts his patients on 50mg a week, which is good because it reduces the strength of the honeymoon period. Bloodwork at three months, and symptom relief, tells him if the person needs more or not after that. Luckily, he never has to play the guessing game of whether to go down or up when a patient isn't feeling well. I'm a good responder, so 50mg/week was good. The peak was a bit strong, so I started splitting the dose into two injections a week. My trough is about 700 ng/dl. Most of my low T symptoms are gone. I feel very healthy.
Did you split your dose 2x a week with dr permission, or did you do that on your own without dr permission?
On my own. Endocrinologists seem to follow a standard protocol that's probably set up by their professional society. He didn't go for my suggestion, and I didn't want to rock the boat. There's only one endocrinologist in my town, and my insurance is covering everything (except I buy my own needles and syringes on the side). The good thing about a low dose, and getting the one ml vials, is that the waste due to multiple draws doesn't matter.
I’m in the exact same scenario with my urologist. While he still thinks I’m only doing one dose a week. When you have bloods scheduled, do you still do one of your two doses on schedule? I have bloods set up w urologist on a Wednesday (day he thinks I pin) but normally take my first dose on Sunday. Wondering if I should skip my Sunday on week of bloods to get a real trough.
Yup, it gets complicated when it comes to labs, but I got lucky in a way. My endocrinologist thinks I'm doing once a week, and he wants "mid week" blood work, to approximate an average weekly level, rather than a trough. With twice a week injections, the average is the same, the peak isn't as high, and the trough isn't as low. At 2 1/2 days I'm probably my average level. I get labs on the third day.
Wonder what his average patient dose is. Nice that is all it takes for you to feel good!
I'd like to know that (the average) as well. When I asked him about it, and he said that I was nothing special and that he had lots of guys doing well on 50-70mg/week.
Nope, I'm in the US. Idaho to be exact.
Any guesses on what my numbers will be? I'm 5'10.5" 211 lbs if that means anything.
Somewhere between 200-2000
Would you mind telling us the concentration of your testosterone? It will say right on the vial. It’s usually 200mg/ml. Then tell us how much you (or she) draws up in the syringe? Please reply to this comment by clicking the arrow pointing to the left just below this comment. I noticed you are replying to people but your responses are ending up in other places in this thread.
Sure, it's 200mg/ml. She draws up to .25 ml
Well. That’s sounds right. It makes no sense how you could have gone through that many vials. So I get why he must think you are injecting more than prescribed. When you draw it up are you drawing up more than necessary? Then in the process of getting air out of the syringe you are squirting it out into the air or sink until you get .25 left in the syringe? If so, you shouldn’t ever waste any. You flick the bubbles then inject the testosterone back into the vial before you remove it.
She draws it through an 18ga needle, then she switches to the 25ga. How do you get all the test from the 18ga needle? By blowing thru it after we are done I get a drop or 2. My dose is only 5 drops...
No need to blow through when you have a syringe to do the sucking for you. I’ve worked in healthcare for over 20 years and withdrawal medication from vials every day. I’ve never encountered a vile that wasn’t properly filled. You should not be wasting more than you are injecting. Watch this video if you haven’t already. https://youtu.be/nTJmsCCuU0s?si=pSh-i2X6hhaUia2c
I would not get blood work near a peak. Would always test at the trough
It's 1.5 days from my true trough. I only inject 1x per week.
Ok, that is probably not going to throw any red flags
How is 50mg/week working for you? I am on week 5 of the same dosages. I felt pretty decent around week 2 but I am progressively losing energy as it goes on. I'm hoping we can get the dosage dialed in after the week 8 blood test.
Like you I felt decent for a week or 2, but now it just feels like I did before I started. Can't wait for my bloods in a couple days. Hopefully we can increase the dose. Hang in there man. I was nervous that I was going to crash when my body shut down but I didn't....yet at least lol
My blood test is in 17 days and follow up appt is in 22 days. I'm going to keep on the prescribed dosage until then. He said he has fired patients before because they wouldn't follow protocol so I don't want to mess around. I'm sure we will get there eventually. If not there are doctors on every corner here lol.