On TRT - Opinions on first test-only cycle?

[testnoob]

My protocol is 200mg T-cyp and 1000 IU HCG per week. I split this into four shots - 100mg T-cyp on Wed/Sat and 500 IU HCG on Tue/Fri. This dosing keeps me feeling good and I haven't needed an AI.

I've been on TRT for a little over 6 months. I like the way things are feeling with my libido, which was why I went to the doctor's office in the first place. I just had my blood drawn last week, going in to go over the results this week. I do blood work every 3 months, and I'm considering a short blast. I want it to be test-only as it's my first one.

I have enough on-hand to do 300mg per week instead of my prescribed 200mg per week for ~7 weeks and then drop back down to let levels go to normal for my blood work. Assuming my diet and training are good, would I see anything noticeable in this time?

My biggest concern is that I don't have an AI and don't know what exactly would tell me I need one. Would I need an AI at 300mg/wk if I don't at 200mg/wk?

I'd really like to do this now, since the next time I'd get a chance would put me in holiday season when I'll be traveling a lot and not consistently eating good and training hard. But if it's just going to be a waste I'll keep stockpiling and do it in the spring.

Opinions welcomed! Thanks!

 

[Smont]

There's no way to know for sure, I never needed ai at anything under 600 in the past. Also your not going to see a huge difference between 200-300. I would wait till you have enough to do 400-500 for 8 weeks and then drop back to 200 for 4 weeks pre bloods.

 

[testnoob]

Thanks. Will I see anything noticeable? I'm not looking for a huge difference really... I just want to see some change and test the waters to see how I react to higher test (also why I don't want to introduce any new compounds, just to play it safe).

 

[Smont]

My point is your not going to see how you react to higher test because the increase is so small, probably not going to notice much difference

 

[AnabolicGuru]

I'd wait till you have enough to run it around 500mg like smont said

 

[EasyEJL]

You will see some difference at 300. What you should do is coordinate it with a higher intensity phase in your workouts. Worrying more about it helping get good recovery during a span of strength gains than about it directly adding to gains

 

[fueledpassion]

There's no way to know for sure, I never needed ai at anything under 600 in the past. Also your not going to see a huge difference between 200-300. I would wait till you have enough to do 400-500 for 8 weeks and then drop back to 200 for 4 weeks pre bloods.

I agree. 300mg/wk versus 200mg/wk is hardly justified. You'd get just as much out of adding 300-500kcals per day in protein and carbs.

Run at least 500mg/wk OR add something else to that 300mg of Test. My recommendation is Mast-E @ 300mg/wk. It seems to really amplify the strength of Test, probably through the reduction/binding to SHBG.

Anyways, you'll thank us later if you wait til you have the right amount to get true "gainz" out of it.

 

[testnoob]

I've decided to sit tight and stockpile some more until I can do a 400-500mg/wk run. I'm a little worried that I'll need an AI at those levels and will have to bail out after a few weeks, but worth testing either way. I wish it was easier to do my own blood tests, but I live in NY and we can't do them ourselves.

 

[Smont]

I've decided to sit tight and stockpile some more until I can do a 400-500mg/wk run. I'm a little worried that I'll need an AI at those levels and will have to bail out after a few weeks, but worth testing either way. I wish it was easier to do my own blood tests, but I live in NY and we can't do them ourselves.

Go online and Google pharma grade ai, it's not too hard to find, there's also a few research companies that have legit ones but make sure you check reviews. Nothing worse then getting stuck with bunk stuff

 

[testnoob]

I'd much rather get everything sourced via my doctor, so I 100% know it's legit and as labeled. Any idea what I might say to him to get him to prescribe me some AI? I definitely feel better since starting TRT, but maybe with low-dose AI I would feel better still?

 

[bigdavid]

I'd much rather get everything sourced via my doctor, so I 100% know it's legit and as labeled. Any idea what I might say to him to get him to prescribe me some AI? I definitely feel better since starting TRT, but maybe with low-dose AI I would feel better still?

He’d prob want you to have both symptoms and lab evidence to support it being the cause. But obv some Drs are more liberal than others

 

[testnoob]

He’d prob want you to have both symptoms and lab evidence to support it being the cause. But obv some Drs are more liberal than others

Yeah, but given I'm on relatively high TRT (200mg/wk) and using HCG (1K IU/wk), with no AI, I bet my level is already elevated.

 

[fueledpassion]

Yeah, but given I'm on relatively high TRT (200mg/wk) and using HCG (1K IU/wk), with no AI, I bet my level is already elevated.

Probably averaging around 1000 ng/dl with that setup. Maybe slightly more...

 

[bigdavid]

I think it’s important to mention that huperteophy and gains from AAS isn’t a continuous spectrum where gains increase linearly depending on the dose your use per week. It actually has more to do with change from baseline physiology and it can generally be thought of as being on a log scale. So if you have been on 200 per week for a while and say have made descent gains and these are either slowly increasing or leveling off currently, just going up to 300 will not change your physiology enough to cause enough additional stimulation to your muscle fibers to be worth the addition of side effects that you may get from that dose. If anything I’d say at least wait till you can do 400 per week for at least 8-10 weeks and that would likely be worth it IMO.

 

[bigdavid]

I've decided to sit tight and stockpile some more until I can do a 400-500mg/wk run. I'm a little worried that I'll need an AI at those levels and will have to bail out after a few weeks, but worth testing either way. I wish it was easier to do my own blood tests, but I live in NY and we can't do them ourselves.

Sorry missed this post when I made my last one. Good decision let us know how it goes when you get underway in the future.

 

[testnoob]

I've saved up enough to run the T-cyp @ 500mg/wk. Also, my normal dose is down to 140mg/wk and I managed to get some Arimidex so I'm set there. Now my only concern is the bloodwork.

Can I do 8 weeks @ 500mg, then 4 back down to 140mg? Will that be enough time for blood to be okay?

Maybe I should go shorter to be safe? Would I see decent gains for my first blast if I did 6 @ 500mg and 6 @ 140mg?

FWIW, I have good reason to believe that if my bloods read a little high, the doc will just call me back in for another test (and given the time they take for test results and scheduling this probably buys me another 5-10 days). And I think he'll just ignore the initial high result if the second test is okay.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to suss out whether he'll eventually let me come in less often for bloodwork.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[fueledpassion]

I've saved up enough to run the T-cyp @ 500mg/wk. Also, my normal dose is down to 140mg/wk and I managed to get some Arimidex so I'm set there. Now my only concern is the bloodwork.

Can I do 8 weeks @ 500mg, then 4 back down to 140mg? Will that be enough time for blood to be okay?

Maybe I should go shorter to be safe? Would I see decent gains for my first blast if I did 6 @ 500mg and 6 @ 140mg?

FWIW, I have good reason to believe that if my bloods read a little high, the doc will just call me back in for another test (and given the time they take for test results and scheduling this probably buys me another 5-10 days). And I think he'll just ignore the initial high result if the second test is okay.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to suss out whether he'll eventually let me come in less often for bloodwork.

Any advice would be appreciated!

4 weeks would probably get you back down to normal or slightly high. Should 't be off-the-charts at that point anyways.

This is also why you need to grab stuff like Test-P, MENT, Tren-A and Mast-P. You can run those for 8 weeks and be normal 4 weeks after and still would have had a great cycle.

 

[bigdavid]

Yeah honestly if I were you I’d find a good source for tren and mast. You could run those and your test levels shouldn’t be altered if you have to get super frequent labs done.

 

[bigdavid]

Actually to be honest I don’t know the specific assay that the lab does for measuring test. There is the chance that other androgens could react and show a false elevation. So deff research that if you choose to add other compounds and get tested at the same time.

 

[bigdavid]

Is it possible you can make an excuse like you are going on vacation at the 3 month mark and delay the blood work by a month or so? That would make your life and any worry over this much better and less, respectively

 

[testnoob]

I really want to try to make it work with what I can get "legitimately" (meaning prescribed and picked up from a pharmacy). It's just nice to never have to mess with online ordering, possibility of bunk/misdosed gear, law enforcement, etc. I know some might call me a ***** for not wanting to do this, but it changes the risk for me since I'm just doing this to boost my gains and aesthetics and I'm not planning on competing ever.

What if I do 400mg/wk for 8 weeks, then nothing on week 9, then weeks 10-12 back at my 140mg/wk? I plugged that in (here: steroidcalc.com/index.html) and I think my bloods will be good for the next test. The way I accumulate prescribed T-cyp/arimidex, I should be able to do this twice a year, with 3 months of normal TRT dosage in between. And I think I've read that as long as my diet and training are on point I can still make good gains going from my 140 -> 400.

 

[testnoob]

Is it possible you can make an excuse like you are going on vacation at the 3 month mark and delay the blood work by a month or so? That would make your life and any worry over this much better and less, respectively

I'm 100% sure I can pull that off once or twice. And that's what I would do if I lived outside NY (so I could get my own blood work done and see if I'm coming down enough). I guess if I get really nervous or something I may still do this, but given I think he'll just have me re-test if I come in kinda high I think I'll try the first blast sticking to the 3 months to see if I can make it work.

 

[bigdavid]

I really want to try to make it work with what I can get "legitimately" (meaning prescribed and picked up from a pharmacy). It's just nice to never have to mess with online ordering, possibility of bunk/misdosed gear, law enforcement, etc. I know some might call me a ***** for not wanting to do this, but it changes the risk for me since I'm just doing this to boost my gains and aesthetics and I'm not planning on competing ever.

What if I do 400mg/wk for 8 weeks, then nothing on week 9, then weeks 10-12 back at my 140mg/wk? I plugged that in (here: steroidcalc.com/index.html) and I think my bloods will be good for the next test. The way I accumulate prescribed T-cyp/arimidex, I should be able to do this twice a year, with 3 months of normal TRT dosage in between. And I think I've read that as long as my diet and training are on point I can still make good gains going from my 140 -> 400.

Yes you can certainly see good gains from 400 per week if your training and diet are good. And based on your goals I’d say twice per year would be great and would prob be beneficial for at least a few years. At which pt you might reach your plateau, at least for that dose schedule. But I agree with your plan and think it’s a good one.

 

[testnoob]

Also, my current plan is to finish my cut (~mid December), then eat at roughly maintenance until my next blood test in January. Then I'll do this blast right after. Fingers crossed that in January he tells me I can come in less often than every three months!

 

[testnoob]

Yes you can certainly see good gains from 400 per week if your training and diet are good. And based on your goals I’d say twice per year would be great and would prob be beneficial for at least a few years. At which pt you might reach your plateau, at least for that dose schedule. But I agree with your plan and think it’s a good one.

Nice. That's what I figure. If I can keep this up with moderate but steady gains for a few years, I'd be very happy and never have to mess with orals or doses high enough that would worry me for long-term health.

 

[testnoob]

I've been transferred to a new urologist... that doesn't require blood tests as long as the protocol isn't changing! Now it's a question of how long I should blast each time, given I don't have to squeeze in as much as I can in a three month window.

I'm thinking it would benefit me to keep the blast as short as possible and avoid the sides that come from running higher dosage for too long. I don't have to worry about PCT, so I could make some modest gains, go back to TRT dosage to stabilize, then do it again. I'd guess 8 weeks is the max length, since I've read that's when myostatin peaks and I'd need to add compounds or up the dosage to get more gains.

So, how long should I go? And how long should I be back at TRT after before doing it again?

 

[testnoob]

Bump. Currently thinking 6 weeks on, 6 weeks back at TRT.