Messages

1

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Re: Berberine and muscle loss

« on: April 15, 2016, 05:44:38 pm »

jumpingthrough,

What are the reasons you have chosen to take Berberine?

Hi Torrential
I have had low SHBG 15-18 nmol/L for several years.
I checked PeakT's page on low SHBG and also read online.
The big common causes were: sleep apnea, hypothyroidism, obesity/overweight, insulin insensitivity.
My TSH is subclinically elevated, I will check for apnea in a few months and I try to treat a potential insulin problem with berberine.

It doenst cause muscle atrophy, how did this rumor even get started lol?

Hey Euphori
https://examine.com/supplements/berberine/ (ctrl+f ''muscle'')
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20522589 (this one is good, read this one it's a really short study.

Excuse me if I missunderstood the above links, English isn't my native language.  I do understand that the study was done on mice, but it's also the only study done on berberine and muscle function.

2

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Berberine and muscle loss

« on: April 15, 2016, 12:43:57 pm »

So I recently read that berberine promotes muscle loss and at best you can maintain muscle through weightlifting.

What are your thoughts on this, is it correct?
And personal experiences on berberine and building muscle?
I do personally feel since I started berberine 10 days ago I do feel flatter/softer muscles/no pump
It might just be placebo tho..

3

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Re: 18y updated situation

« on: April 11, 2016, 03:25:54 pm »

Are you positive you are injecting real test?  It looks like you are shut down due to your levels being lower than original post, but are you positive that it says 200mg/ml?  Or does the bottle say 100mg/ml?

Hi
I am selfmedicating, so my medicine isn't pharmagrade. The bottle said 250mg/ml of testosterone enanthate and I'm injecting 0,3ml twice a week.

I'm trying another lab now. Yeah I am pretty sure there is atleast some testosterone in the vial as you said. Since my testosterone went down that low and also the estradiol tanked. I could also feel my nuts shrinking abit and scrotum getting abit tighter.

I think it's most likely that the lab was heavily underdosed. But do you think it's likely that my low SHBG tanks out 75mg testosterone to 138ng/dl in only 3 days? I understand that low SHBG clears out testosterone faster. But really that fast? Is there someone with low SHBG that have lab results?

Damn it sucks for sure wasting 2-3 months just wondering if what you're injecting is real..

4

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Re: 18y updated situation

« on: April 08, 2016, 07:19:50 am »

Thanks. I will try another lab and retest bloods in a Monty. Do you suggest the same frequency or to increase it?

5

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Re: 18y updated situation

« on: April 07, 2016, 03:58:47 pm »

Hi guys
So this is my situation atm: On TRT 120mg per week for 5 weeks. Last 3 weeks bumped it up to 150mg/week.
I inject every 3.5 days. As for other medications I have since 3 days ago also started taking Milkthistle and Berberine (800mg/day). To hopefully increase my SHBG.

I lift weights 6x days a week about 40-50min per session. And I have a quite physical job.

Lab results below is taken on the morning of third day after injection (I would inject on the evening).

I have all my Pre-TRT lab results on the first post.

Note: I donated blood 1 month ago. I will donate again in 1.5 months.

LABS:
Blood
Hematocrit 0,49 (0,39-0,49)
Hemoglobin 150g/l (134-170g/l)
MCV 96 (82-98FL)

Fat lipids
HDL Cholestrol 1,03 (0,8-2.1mmol/L)
Cholestrol 3,58 (2,9-6,1mmol/L)
LDL Cholestrol 2,36 (1,2-4,3mmol/L)

Glucose 5mmol/L

Hormones
TSH 1,3miU/L (0,4-4,0miu/L (This one really shocks me. I have always been around 3-3.3TSH over the course of 2 ˝ years. Dosen't TRT worsen thyroid function? This puts TSH in optimal range!...)
Total testosterone 138ng/dl (232-900ng/dl)
Estradiol (nonsensitive) <12pg/ml (<40pg/ml)

Liver
ALAT 0,3 ukat/L (0,15-1,1 µkat/L)
ASAT 0,53 (0,25-0,75 µkat/L)

Iron 14umol/L (9-34 µmol/L)

Kidney
Kalium 3,9umol/L (3,5-4,4 mmol/L)
Creatinine108umol/L (60-100 µmol/L)
Natirum 141nmol/L (137-145 mmol/L)

I have a few thoughts. Please write yours.

Obviously my total T is very low considering the amount I inject 75mg every 3.5 days and I'm at 138ng/dl on the third day is awfully low.

1. My medicine might be underdosed?
2. My low SHBG clears the testosterone extremely fast?
3. Why is my TSH in the optimal range for the first time in ever? I thoguht that TRT is suppose to worsen thyroid function not improve it? I must say that on TRT I do feel alot more resistant to cold now. I use to get cold really easily.


How should we proceed?
1. Increase frequency to 3x a week injections?
2. Increase dose?
3. ?

Thank you very much 

6

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Re: Low SHBG supplements

« on: March 11, 2016, 03:00:10 pm »

Bump

7

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Low SHBG supplements

« on: March 10, 2016, 10:00:18 pm »

Hi
So basically I'm on TRT. 125mg/week. My SHBG has also been consistently low and I've been reading your article ''How to Cure Low SHBG'', Peak.

I'm doing cardio and weight training weekly. Atm I'm looking into supplements. I wonder if Sam could chime in and help.

I'm thinking of taking ''Swanson Milk Thistle, Dandelion & Yellow Dock'' per serving:
Milk Thistle Seed    700 mg    *
Dandelion Root    350 mg    *
Yellow Dock Root    350 mg    *
Beet Root    100 mg    

or should I just go with Milk thistle only?
Is Berberine needed?

Are there any significant side effects with these supplements? I'm not on any medication except for TRT.

Do you guys think there are correlations with fatty liver/low SHBG and difficulty losing weight?
Been on a calorie deficit (1800cal per day) for 3 weeks now without any change in weight or in waist circumfence.

Here are some related bloodwork:
Glucose 4.8 mmol/L (4.2-6.0)
Hba1c 34 mmol/mol (27-42)


Liver
P-ALAT 0.44 ukat (0,15-1.1)
P-ASAT 0.38 ( 0.25-.75)

Blood lipids
Triglycerides 0.69 mmol/L (0.45-2.6)
HDL- cholestrol 1.2 (0.8-2.1)
Ldl- cholestrol 2.1 (1.2-4.3)
Cholestrol 3.4 mmol/l (2.9-6.1)
Apo A1 1.33g/l (>1.35)
Apo AB 0.6 (<1.5)

8

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Re: Breathing problems and chest tightness

« on: February 29, 2016, 05:06:53 pm »

OK thanks everyone. Will get a CBC pulled together with test and estradiol. It dosent feel as bad this time (knock on wood) I might power my dosage, I usually feel best on the third day after injection. Maybe 125mg/week is too much since I heard 2 injections/week can cause higher levels than one injection. I will probably power it to 100mg or 90 MG/week.

9

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Breathing problems and chest tightness

« on: February 28, 2016, 11:50:43 pm »

Hi guys. Im almost 1 month into 125mg/week test E.
Last week I've been feeling a signifcant tightness in my chest and difficulty breathing like I'm gasping for air. It occurs as fast as 1 hour after the shot? Could it be an allergic reaction? I will be getting bloods done in about a week. This issue concerns me alot.

10

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Subq Injection sites

« on: February 15, 2016, 01:41:19 pm »

I've a question for the guys that inject SubQ:

What sites do you rotate between? Is it always the stomach you inject into?

I've seen some people inject into the delt and quad etc with an insulin syringe, but isn't this more of a shallow IM?

I can't think of any places except for the stomach with enough fat to not inject shallow IM..Maybe I'm just stupid

11

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Two SubQ questions..

« on: February 10, 2016, 01:26:35 pm »

Hi guys. For all of you that do SubQ injections out there, I would like to ask you two questions:

1. Does it take longer to feel the effect of SubQ injections compared to IM? As I understand SubQ has a slower more stable release.
I took my 1st shot on sunday of 60 mg testo and my second one today. I haven't felt any difference. Maybe a slight relief in anxiety and depression. But it's so small that it might aswell be placebo.

2. Is it normal to get a slight dime-sized raised swelling (2mm rise) over the injection area? It's still abit sore if I press on it (from sundays injection) no redness or puss, just hurts abit if I press on it.

Thank you

12

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Re: Are the following statments about TRT true?

« on: December 30, 2015, 08:36:49 pm »

Good questions.  For 1, I'd say it's possible to regain pre-TRT levels if you're tapering off just TRT, much less with hCG.  The support for this is pretty sparse because few guys do this (once you're on it and feeling better you usually have no reason to get off), but generally the younger you are the more easily and quickly you should bounce back, according to doctors like Crisler and Mariano. 

2, TRT is easy to monitor, but near the beginning it can take a few weeks or months to find a dose that's right for you, i.e., that achieves robust but not supraphysiological levels of T, reasonable E2 levels (20-30 pg/ml), and choosing an injection schedule and method that works for you, e.g., IM or subq, once per week, every other day, every three days, etc.

3.  Yes, it's possible, but won't be fun.  Nobody I know has had success tapering off testosterone, as opposed to just stopping it bluntly.  One guy (lowtguy on his now-defunct Youtube channel) was on hCG monotherapy and stopped and was able to maintain a 700 ng/dl total T level for a few months -- and then crashed pretty hard and had to go back on hCG.  A crackpot theory I have is that perhaps the return of natural production of testosterone after stopping exogenous sources could be easier if the ester for testosterone was much shorter.  It takes cypionate at least 5 weeks to leave your system given its half life of 7 days, and so theoretically it should take at least 5 weeks before your body starts going "welp, guess I'm in this without help, so I better start putting some work in" and increases natural T production.  But what if you were to take a short-estered testosterone, like propionate, half life of about 2 days?  Then it should take 10 days for the drug to be pretty much gone from your system, and perhaps then your body picks up natural testosterone production faster.  Who knows?

We don't really do cycling at this forum; there are a few doctors who cycle hCG every few months for reasons you mention, but I don't know anything about how well this works.  Dr. Gordon says it takes 4-6 months for LH and FSH to shut down, so cycling every few months could theoretically keep at least LH going, which can be a little important given LH's influence on converting cholesterol to pregnenolone and so keeping adrenal hormones more active, including the ever-important cortisol and DHEA.  Nobody here cycles like this, though, and instead do hCG a few times per week while doing weekly, EOD, or E3D injections of cypionate.  I just started 100 IUs daily subq hCG injections on top of E3D cypionate injections at 20 mg.

1. What do you exactly mean by this? Are the chances of returning to pre-TRT lvl higher if one would just use testosterone? And the chances would be lower to return to pre-trt lvls if one uses both testosterone + hcg?

Wouldn't the 5-10 years  of TRT (without hcg) atrophy the balls to a point where it would be difficult to regain the size?

The way I would go off TRT (if needed in the future for kids or whatever reason) would be:
Go off TRT and HCG cold turkey = Only the HPTA axis would have to recover and send LH/FSH to the testes. Am I correct in this?

Drop testosterone and continue with HCG + adding in Clodmid/Nolvadex after x amount of days drop HCG. Test for testosterone + LH/FSH if PCT was sucessful. Is this correct?

Thanks Kierke

13

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Re: The HPA and How it Works

« on: December 30, 2015, 05:18:30 pm »

Thank you for taking the timee to write this Kierke.

It looks very well written. I've only read the first part so far, it seems like alot to take in but I think the pictures helps alot!

I appreciate that you take the time to write a post like this and contribute to the forum and everyones knowledge

14

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Re: 18y updated situation

« on: December 29, 2015, 01:32:28 pm »

My 19.5pg/ml reading was from a standard estradiol test. This tend to test incorrectly higher if I'm right. Would it mean my estradiol in reality probably is lower?

15

Testosterone, Hormones and General Men's Health / Are the following statments about TRT true?

« on: December 29, 2015, 12:14:14 am »

Hi guys.
I've researched alot and double-checked studies, read on forums. Many people on this forums are very well-read and educated on this subject.  I just wanted to double check with you guys here to see if I got the facts right:

1. It's usually possible and likely to regain Pre-TRT Lvls and Fertility when tapering off TRT + HCG (HCG was running during TRT) even after 5-10 years on TRT:

2. TRT is fairly easy to monitor when sticking to actual TRT doses 100-200mg/week. The main things to look out for is : fat lipids, prostate (PSA + prostate exam), heart problems, blood presure and RBC + Hematocrit.

3. It's possible to stop TRT with HCG cold turkey.

Also, what's your guys opinion on HCG on TRT? Should it be cycled to not desensitize the testicles or can it be used E2D during TRT? I've read many different sides on this.