Sparkss journey to recovery

hairygrandpa said:
When my Triglycerides are high, I take Niacin 2x 1g x day, for 2-3 weeks. Works like a charm!
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Thanks, I will pick some up. I am still not sure if mine are back under control or not. I need to find a local place to get a lipid panel test. I am hoping to find one that does it on the spot with results in minutes, like I get when I go to my yearly physical.

FireTitan said:
Sparkss you have really impressed me lately. I cant tell you how proud of you I am!!
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Thanks.
 
188.2 this morning. waist still hovering around 35.75" ~ 36", but I feel like I look leaner in the mirror.

I am actually surprised by any weight loss on the scale this morning. Yesterday was a horrible day. I was stuck at at event and the only food was pizza, so I ended up eating a couple of slices of chicken and mushroom pizza. I did take my SS and Ignit3 + 2 Slintensity (my go-to GDA/Partitioner), but still felt mentally bad for having eaten the pizza. Then later at work it was a stressful day, so last night I had a double shot of crown to ease me into the night, while watching TV with the wife. Some how I still managed to drop some weight along the way, I still don't know how.

Energy levels are even lower than before, this is most likely due to the caloric restriction more so than the waning test. 4 more days until the latter is resolved, then I will not have any more excuses. On the up side my joints, especially my shoulders, are enjoying the time off from lifting. They feel great, almost like "new".

After the Ignit3 dose yesterday I felt "funny" and think that my BP may have gone up. I am ordering a BP monitor off of Amazon and will start monitoring that. I should be able to get one here by Monday or Tuesday. I still have not found a place to got my lipid panel done, but per their web site a local pharmacy should be able to do it, I just need to call them to confirm. I will try to do that later today. I have a full day planned with the family, including the last scheduled cookie booth with my daughter's GS troop. I just need to remember that I am there to help sell the cookies, not buy and eat them all :)
 
I saw posted in another thread that RBC can be impacted by "longer" cycles/runs. I asked for clarification, but don't know what aspect of RBC is impacted. Does it go up or down? And is it just RBC or hemocrit too? I guess I need to add that to my list of markers to track. right now I track the following across my test results:

Hematocrit
BUN
Creatinine
AST (SGOT)
ALT (SGPT)
Cholesterol, Total
Triglycerides
HDL Cholesterol
VLDL Cholesterol Cal
LDL Cholesterol Cal

Testosterone,
LH
FSH
Estradiol

PSA

I guess I need to add in RBC and go back through my lab results and add that to my tracking spreadsheet. I have lab results back to June 2013, and again, not every set of labs included every test, but each marker I try to get tested at least once annually, most others bi-annually or even quarterly.

Are there any other data points I should be tracking and trending across my labs? I usually get the standard CBC and CMP with the other tests being added in as needed (hormones, lipids, PSA)

Thanks!
 
I pulled the RBC numbers out of my labs, here they are along with the hemocrit re-posted, since they are basically different ways to view the same marker (as I understand the measurements, anyways).

................Range................11/3/2016...1/10/2017...2/16/2017
RBC...4.14-5.80 x10E6/uL....4.84..........XXX...........5.22
Hematocrit...37.5-51.0 %......44.4..........XXX...........47.2


While the RBC did go up, my highest across the last 4 years was 5.28 (lowest was 4.58)
 
A real small drop in weight today, only down to 188.0 but waistline a lot closer to 35.75" (than it is to 36") I also continue to look leaner in the mirror each day. I ate late and large last night, so I was expecting a drop. My wife makes strawberry banana smoothies, no sugar added, just frozen strawberries, a banana (I think she uses just 1), ice and some orange juice (which I know does contain sugar, but she doesn't use a lot). Then she adds 2 scoops of Vanilla Modern Protein to it, blends it up and we split it. That often becomes our dinner, but we normally eat it around 6 PM (and I am full through to bed time). Last night was more like 7:30, and I felt it heading to bed. I also add BCAAs and another scoop of unflavored protein powder to the blender after she has taken her serving. I will add that we are not night owls. we are all usually asleep by 10 PM (not just in bed, but asleep), mainly due to getting up early for our daughter's school (actually need to get up earlier for her than for my work) and I need my 8 hours or I am a wreck.

I called around for the lipid panel and it is either $43 for a full blown workup, from a real lab (the closest being a 30 minute drive, worse in the morning during rush hour since I need to do it fasted) with results the following day or $60 to do it locally (less than 2 miles, all local roads), basic finger stick test with less accurate, but instant results. I am leaning towards the more accurate test, despite the longer drive to do it, but due to the logistics of getting there I am most likely going to wait until I am ready to start my LGD run (to just do it once), to give my body more time to normalize. While I would like to know how much good the cholesterol supps did for me on-cycle, the main concern is what state my lipids are in before I start anything else. Also, if doing the full blown lab I can get my CMP done for another $13, and I would be off of creatine for over a month at that time and I really want to see if my creatinine levels have come down.
 
Studhorse said:
Make sure you get flush free niacin. Unless you like being red and on fire!
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I hear ya, good advice. I did pick up the "flush free" variant :)

hairygrandpa said:
When my Triglycerides are high, I take Niacin 2x 1g x day, for 2-3 weeks. Works like a charm!
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Thanks for the tip. I wanted to share that I did research a couple of years ago for the GRAS and toxicity levels for all the B vitamins. I think I shared it here once before, long ago, but thought I would add it in again.

VitB.png


EDIT: The red Max Dose numbers indicate toxicity levels the other are just GRAS.

Here are the sources I used to collect that data:

Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
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While Niacin (B3) does have a Max Dose of 2g daily, I double checked my sources and the therapeutic levels are actually 2+ g (I just have calculations in other parts of my spreadsheet and guess I couldn't put the + in the values column w/o messing those formulas up :)).

Vitamin B3/4 - Niacin / Niacinamide:

Therapeutic Range: 100mg - 2,000mg +
Best time to take Vitamin B3/4: Any time during the day; preferably with food.
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I am working up to a full dose of 2g, plus my multi-has some in it, which would put me over that once I hit 2 extra grams a day, but not by much. I could only find 500 mg capsules, so I am going up in .5g increments, which works to assess tolerance.

From the web site:

High levels / Overdose / Toxicity / Negative Side Effects - Symptoms and/or Risk Factors:

Vitamin B3/4:Flushing (Vit B3), nausea, vomiting, headaches,high blood sugar, high uric acid, jaundice, sweating,skin rash, raised stomach acid, insomnia, joint pains,calcium loss, PMS, increased choline requirements.
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I hope I don't get PMS from it LOL :)
 
Sparkss said:
A real small drop in weight today, only down to 188.0 but waistline a lot closer to 35.75" (than it is to 36")
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I took my Ignit3 and have been holding off on breakfast (per the advice from OL to wait at least an hour after taking IG), then I just had a morning BM and now weight 187.6. Guess I was holding a lot of food from the late-ish "dinner" last night :). Now I am I am really hungry :).

I also skipped coffee yesterday and am jones'in pretty bad for a cup, so that it on the menu for this morning too :)
 
187.0 this morning, but am feeling a bit "puffy", which bore out when I measured my waist. I am up a hair over 36" again. And I really thought I ate super lean/good yesterday. Oh well.

I am up to 1.5g+ of niacin, so between that and the cholesterol supps I hope to see clean lipid panel results. I am 2 days away from getting the new pellets implanted and will be happy to have my energy levels back. I have been participating in another thread about TRT and am going to start a conversation with my doctor about switching from pellets to self-administered shots. All things being equal I would stick with the pellets, but they are quite a bit more expensive than the shots would be (as I recently found out). I just have to get over the phobia about pinning myself, but if I can go that route I will use the subq method (also discussed heavily in that TRT thread). I am going to do some more research myself. What I don't know is if my current doctor will switch me or if he is dead set on pellets or nothing. If that is the case then I need to find a new doctor, which may or may not mean I need to let my levels bottom out again and get new labs (I will cross that bridge when I come to it). Then again I may try the shots and within a week or two decide the pellets are worth the extra money LOL

I spent yesterday doing some work around the house an actually worked up a bit of a sweat, which is why I am surprised by this morning's measurements. I took the drivers seat out of my Expedition as it no longer would move forward/backward. I thought it was something in the tracks, but it looks like the motor just died. I also took apart my elliptical to see if I could find a loose wire or something to explain why I no longer get RPM/Speed on the display. I don't care about the figures themselves, but the display turns off after 1 minute if it doesn't detect RPM movement. So that is a concern. If I could disable that auto-shutoff I would be fine, but that is not an option. Per the manufacturers web site the issue is likely a control PCB which is not user replaceable. So I opened a service ticket (it is out of warranty) with them last night and hope to hear back today or tomorrow for a service center in the area. I need to put it back together later today, or at least the part of the unit that I fully checked out (I traced the wires to see if there was a break, etc). I may give it another shot with my multi-meter and a closer look at the PCB to see if I can detect any burnt components (like a capacitor or resistor that I could replace). It is outside of warranty after all, so not like I could make things worse. :)
 
As expected the weight loss is slowing to a crawl. 186.8 and 36" (but just above my belly button, the top of the love handles, does look leaner/smaller, but that is not where I was measuring. I do recall reading that guys lose weight from the top down, with the waistline being dead last to lose it. We shall see. As it stands I think I depleted all of the excess glycogen stores and water weight, so not it is just plain old fat. Maybe cortisol is starting to kick in due to the calorie deficiency and now would be a good time to start back using the Ab Ab. I will make that decision later.

I did pick up the BP monitor, and the supps do raise my BP to pre-hypertension levels (no real surprise) but no higher than that and they also don't stay there, and that is still with my quad-shot of espresso in the morning. I didn't take readings early in the morning, but did this morning, so here is a mix of yesterday and today.

Several hours after morning doses (2 IG and 1 SS) and coffee
12:10 PM
124 / 89
69 bpm

Immediately afterwards I took 3 IG and 1 SS

45 mins later (wanted to do it at 30 mins, but got pulled into a meeting and missed that target time)
1 PM
125 / 82
63 bpm

Just after work, hours after any doses of anything, but still a bit stressed from work, as evidence by my BP #s
6:05 pm
110 / 75
69 bpm

More or less upon waking this morning (after shaving and what not) but before any doses
6:55 am
95 / 66
65 bpm

I took 3 IG and 1 SS at roughly 7

7:30 am
117 / 75
60 bpm

I will take a reading again after my coffee in an hour (per the IG protocol of refraining from anything that will lead to insulin release).

It is interesting that while the BP went up, the bpm went down. But it may have been me trying to breath normally and slowing my heart rate in the process (by not breathing normally).

Still working on fixing my elliptical. I have been working with the manufacturer via Email, troubleshooting it. Still no luck. I really want to get ti working again for some fasted cardio in the morning, I think that will really kick the fat loss back into gear.
 
Studhorse said:
Make sure you get flush free niacin. Unless you like being red and on fire!
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If I remember correctly, flush free niacin does not lower triglycerides -but have to read again about it.
As far as I know: No flush - no benefit. Could be wrong... Sparkss has to google a bit too.
 
hairygrandpa said:
If I remember correctly, flush free niacin does not lower triglycerides -but have to read again about it.
As far as I know: No flush - no benefit. Could be wrong... Sparkss has to google a bit too.
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spot on

Niacin has multiple adverse effects, the worst of which is chemical hepatitis. However, at doses of 1.5-2 g/d, complications are unusual. Sustained-release niacin is more hepatotoxic than immediate-release niacin but is better tolerated. [59] Flushing, itching, and rash are expected adverse effects that are less common with long-acting formulations. These symptoms are an annoyance but are not life threatening and may be minimized by starting at low doses and increasing slowly. Switching from immediate-release niacin to an equal dose of time-release preparation has been reported to cause severe hepatotoxicity. Niacinamide, also called vitamin B-3, has no lipid-lowering effects; nor does inositol hexanicotinate.
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While it did say 1.5~2g per day was usually not a problem a different article referred to an NIH study that was terminated (18 months) early due to health risks. That study used 2g niacin.

The Flush-Free niacin that I bought is inositol hexanicotinate.

I guess that is one less pill to take now LOL. I am glad it wasn't too pricey.
 
Two years ago I brought my triglycerides down from 750 (!) to 170 in about 3 weeks, with 3x1g niacin daily. My doc could not believe it.
Nowadays I take it in short bursts for a week, every 2 month.
 
hairygrandpa said:
Two years ago I brought my triglycerides down from 750 (!) to 170 in about 3 weeks, with 3x1g niacin daily. My doc could not believe it.
Nowadays I take it in short bursts for a week, every 2 month.
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thankfully mine aren't (or weren't) that high :). I will reserve it for emergency cases. This is the first time mine have been high before. I am strongly guessing either the Sup3r-2 PH or Orig1n, both improve glycogen stores and bring muscle fullness. But my money is on the PH. Since I have stopped both I should be in good shape when I take my next test in 2 weeks.
 
hairygrandpa said:
Two years ago I brought my triglycerides down from 750 (!) to 170 in about 3 weeks, with 3x1g niacin daily. My doc could not believe it.
Nowadays I take it in short bursts for a week, every 2 month.
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Dam I turn red and feel like I'm on fire!
 
I tried drinking a protein shake for breakfast yesterday and even had a protein smoothie for dinner (strawberry / banana + 2 scoops protein, we use real fruit, no sugar and blend them up here). I figure with the fiber, carbs and protein that is more or less a full-on meal replacement. Normally when I have one of those for dinner I end up leaner the next morning, I also have been waiting up to 2 hours post Ignit3 dose, per advice from some OL reps, to allow the alpha-y and other ingredients (that are impacted by insulin) to "do their thing". This morning I actually weighed more, but my waistline is relatively unchanged, if anything it is a bit leaner. I was sitting at 188.4 and under 36" this morning. When I first measured my waist it was closer to, if not under 35", but then I realized I was holding my breath while I measured, so when I relaxed it went back out to closer to 36" LOL. then again I am less than two weeks into each supplement, so it is truly too early to tell for any of them. Since I finished shedding water weight I need to go back to being more realistic in my weigh in expectations :)

Still have not been able to fix my elliptical, which is bumming me out (it was not cheap and I shudder at the thought of the cost for a service tech to come out and assess/repair it).

I go in this morning to get my next round of pellets. I am also going to have a conversation with my doctor about switching to self-administered injections after this round. If he is not open to it then I will be shopping around for a new doc. At the very least I know he is going to campaign hard to dissuade me from the test-c and to stick with the pellets, worst case he flat out refuses. I say worst case because in addition to being an endo he is our adult family physician and that means we would need to find a new one (while my wife could stay with him she will likely just prefer to go to the same doctor as me, for convenience sake).
 
Sparkss said:
I tried drinking a protein shake for breakfast yesterday and even had a protein smoothie for dinner (strawberry / banana + 2 scoops protein, we use real fruit, no sugar and blend them up here). I figure with the fiber, carbs and protein that is more or less a full-on meal replacement. Normally when I have one of those for dinner I end up leaner the next morning, I also have been waiting up to 2 hours post Ignit3 dose, per advice from some OL reps, to allow the alpha-y and other ingredients (that are impacted by insulin) to "do their thing". This morning I actually weighed more, but my waistline is relatively unchanged, if anything it is a bit leaner. I was sitting at 188.4 and under 36" this morning. When I first measured my waist it was closer to, if not under 35", but then I realized I was holding my breath while I measured, so when I relaxed it went back out to closer to 36" LOL. then again I am less than two weeks into each supplement, so it is truly too early to tell for any of them. Since I finished shedding water weight I need to go back to being more realistic in my weigh in expectations :)

Still have not been able to fix my elliptical, which is bumming me out (it was not cheap and I shudder at the thought of the cost for a service tech to come out and assess/repair it).

I go in this morning to get my next round of pellets. I am also going to have a conversation with my doctor about switching to self-administered injections after this round. If he is not open to it then I will be shopping around for a new doc. At the very least I know he is going to campaign hard to dissuade me from the test-c and to stick with the pellets, worst case he flat out refuses. I say worst case because in addition to being an endo he is our adult family physician and that means we would need to find a new one (while my wife could stay with him she will likely just prefer to go to the same doctor as me, for convenience sake).
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Find a men's clinic, and you can keep you family Dr. for the the rest. I'm thinking about doing the same. my Family Dr. is a Di ck and doesn't like TRT. says its bad for you. he thinks i'm fine and just want it for bodybuilding.
 
Studhorse said:
Find a men's clinic, and you can keep you family Dr. for the the rest. I'm thinking about doing the same. my Family Dr. is a Di ck and doesn't like TRT. says its bad for you. he thinks i'm fine and just want it for bodybuilding.
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I posted this on a TRT thread I am participating in, posting it here too:

my doc said he would switch me over to test-c injections after this run of pellets (since he already purchased the pellets), which I am fine with. He did tell me about all the downsides to injections vs the pellets.

1. Test levels fluctuate a lot more (day to day)
2. Pulmonary Embolism is possible due to the oil in the injections
3. Skin necrosis at injection site
4. Scarring at injection site leading to painful nodules (collagen build up that impedes blood flow)

But he also told me that his information was dated. He hasn't done anything other than pellets for the last decade or so it sounded, but he did used to do injections. His recollection was 1 ml - 2 ml at a time, which sounds a lot like e7d dosing and possibly lesser concentrations than we have today.

Between the e3.5d dosing, high concentration test-c available (less overall injected each time so less oil) and that reduces or greatly mitigates his 1st two concerns. The last two can happen with pellets also, to be frank, and the chance/risk of them may be even further lessened by going sub-q.

I got the impression that he really did not want me to switch off of the pellets, but he did say that he would do whatever I wanted, so long as he felt that I fully understood and accepted the risks. So in 5 ~ 6 months I will be jumping over. For today he actually had ordered me an extra pellet, since I used my last set up in 5 months, he expects this set to last up to 6. We will see. At the very least I may end up with a higher level of test .
 
Sparkss said:
I posted this on a TRT thread I am participating in, posting it here too:

my doc said he would switch me over to test-c injections after this run of pellets (since he already purchased the pellets), which I am fine with. He did tell me about all the downsides to injections vs the pellets.

1. Test levels fluctuate a lot more (day to day)
2. Pulmonary Embolism is possible due to the oil in the injections
3. Skin necrosis at injection site
4. Scarring at injection site leading to painful nodules (collagen build up that impedes blood flow)

But he also told me that his information was dated. He hasn't done anything other than pellets for the last decade or so it sounded, but he did used to do injections. His recollection was 1 ml - 2 ml at a time, which sounds a lot like e7d dosing and possibly lesser concentrations than we have today.

Between the e3.5d dosing, high concentration test-c available (less overall injected each time so less oil) and that reduces or greatly mitigates his 1st two concerns. The last two can happen with pellets also, to be frank, and the chance/risk of them may be even further lessened by going sub-q.

I got the impression that he really did not want me to switch off of the pellets, but he did say that he would do whatever I wanted, so long as he felt that I fully understood and accepted the risks. So in 5 ~ 6 months I will be jumping over. For today he actually had ordered me an extra pellet, since I used my last set up in 5 months, he expects this set to last up to 6. We will see. At the very least I may end up with a higher level of test .
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Good news!
 
weight still not going in the direction I want (188.4 this morning) and I didn't even bother to measure my waistline *sigh*. I slept moderately OK considering I am sore from the pellet implantation yesterday. I will be sore for the next couple of days, at least (from experience), but it should pass soon enough. On the plus side I woke up with nighttime wood twice last night, which caught me off guard this soon after getting the pellets. They normally take a week or two to "kick in". I do feel a little more energetic but not a lot, maybe only a little due to the lack of sleep too? Even if I felt like a rock star I can't do any exercise for another couple of days, until the incision heals more. I think the literature says 3 or 4 days. I am "planning" for Sunday or Monday morning.

Elliptical still broken. I was tied up with work until late last night and was not able to follow up with the manufacturer/technician about my issue. I did ask for prices on the replacement parts (two are indicated as possible causes based on the device's behavior). But so far nothing back. I may give them a call later today, but it does look like work today is going to be more crazy than yesterday.

I also have to work a project over night on Saturday (start @ 5, give or take, expect to be done around midnight), so a lot is going into preparing for that.

for working out (once I am able) I have 2 obstacles. If I work too late Saturday night I may not get enough sleep Sunday before the family wakes me up. If so I am not going to force a workout in. I also have the elliptical pulled into the middle of the room and taken apart in (many) pieces right now. It shares the space with my office and home gym. No big deal for my office, but I will need to clean it up (maybe put it back together) if I want to exercise. Not a big deal overall, just something I need to take care of ahead of time.
 
Sparkss my doctor wasnt to big on the shots either..mainly because of the fluctuations, but he didnt like the pellets either. So I opted for the shots and have no intention on looking back!
 
FireTitan said:
Sparkss my doctor wasnt to big on the shots either..mainly because of the fluctuations, but he didnt like the pellets either. So I opted for the shots and have no intention on looking back!
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I hear you on "no intention on looking back". I get to ride out this batch of pellets and start pinning in another 5 months, 6 if his calculations on the increased count are correct, but I disagree. More pellets does not mean they last longer, since they dissolve at the same rate. I think it will mean just a higher T level through the 5 month duration. Time will tell.

Are you doing IM or subq?

Here is a thread where the various methods and dosing frequencies were discussed : Invalid Link Removed

It is relatively short but there is some great feedback in that thread.
 
Slept reasonably well, woke up to 187.2 on the scale, got off the scale, rubbed my eyes, stepped back on, still 187.2, Nope, I wasn't still sleeping. went to measure my waist (just bellow the belly button), yup, still just under 36", I was definitely awake *sigh* :).

My diet yesterday was far from "on point". My intake and timing were all off. I ended up having a frozen spaghetti dinner at 7:30, due to a combination of factors, not the least of which was being on a troubleshooting call with multiple groups involved from 10 am yesterday until just before 7 last night. So high stress level all day, worked right up until dinner, heavy carb dinner (was not my choice, my wife thought I would like it and prepared it for me while I was wrapping up work, she had good intentions, so I just ate it), and then within an hour of finishing eating was prepping for bed (we go to bed early). But somehow my stalled weight loss picked up momentum again. We will see how far that goes.

I can feel the effect of the pellets. I am starting to feel (short lived) bursts of energy now. I also noticed that I am hungry sooner that I was before, almost going hypo yesterday around 4 PM. I had to grab a small bowl of mixed nuts to carry me through. I think I am on track for that next first workout on Sunday. Keeping my fingers crossed.



FireTitan said:
Sparkss my doctor wasnt to big on the shots either..mainly because of the fluctuations, but he didnt like the pellets either.
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Well, don't let the literature fool you, the pellets also have fluctuations. They are less frequent than the shots, but longer and a deeper trough than the shots. They take a little longer than the shots to kick in (the first set took between 1.5 and 2 weeks to see a rise). Then at the end you taper off and pretty much need to bottom out before they can prescribe/insert a new set. When I dropped down to a level of 400 the doc wanted to wait until I was under the "normal lower end" of 349, which I got the implication that he needed labs to support new pellets, but I was already feeling major lethargy and experiencing quality of life issues that from past experience I knew were due to low test. I went through almost 3 weeks of low test before I got the new pellets, and up to another week before I feel "myself" again. I might as well have been going through PCT, from what I have read about the duration and others experiences. The upside is that I don't have to think about TRT again for up to 5 months.

But I think the month to month consistency of the shots outweighs the day to day consistency of the pellets against the cost and the significant drop in between doses. From what I have read injecting e3.5 reduces the trough to still be above "good" levels (which for me is 600+, below 500 and I feel terrible). Going e7d is a bit too much of a trough though (at least for me), if that was what you and your doctor were talking about for fluctuations. And that was also what my doctor was against. But his experience was with the older dosing protocols, not the newer ones, which he freely admitted.
 
Some info for you FireTitan (although you may already know this)

Nac said:
This has got me curious. Study:


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This was with test enanth. At a quick glance, the single shot peak level PK here is pretty much similiar to that of IM. Id assume the same would be true for cyp IM vs subq.

Interestingly, the e2 levels for the 100mg subq group werent too much lower than the 200mg IM group.

EDIT: hmmm. This is real interdasting. If we compare IM to subq TT levels:

1) It takes up to 5 weeks for subq peak plasma levels to be reached. This TT level is what was achieved with a single IM shot.

2) Subq levels are faaaar more stable. There appears to be less TT drop post-pins.

3) A single shot of subq has a lower peak value than IM.

If Ive interpreted the graphs right, Im sold lol
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InItForGainz said:
That's one of the reasons why I'm going with sub-q injections,

Extended Release Time (No Spikes)
Slightly Less E Conversion
Less Painful
Less Scar Tissue Buildup
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weight continues to move downward, weighed in at 186.6 this morning. waistline appears unchanged (still hovering around 36", this morning being a little on the "less than" side). Then again I can just see the outline of the outside edge of my upper abs (call it the top of a one-pack, I guess). Diet yesterday was so-so. I also ended the evening with a glass of Crown, neat, which I figured would through my progress off a little, but my pellet insertion site (my a**) was sore and work has been stressful as he** so I wanted something stronger than ibuprofen, so I went for the Crown :).

Energy levels are slowly climbing. I still need to clean up the elliptical (parts), which I plan to do this afternoon, or maybe even this evening while I am working (in between tasks when I am waiting on other groups to finish their tasks before I can proceed). If I don't get stuck working too late I will try to get my first workout in tomorrow morning. If I not then Monday should be a lock.
 
I am lining up my tests for the week after next, just before I start the LGD (and possibly MK). In addition to the E2/Test, CMP and CBC that I normally get, I am adding in lipids (since my last test showed wonky values) and also looking at a DHEA test. I do supplement with Pregnenolone and DHEA, but I don't know if they are keeping my levels where they should be (or I am too high or too low). I have read that too much DHEA can be as bad as too little, as it is with many hormones. The DHEA test is $71, so not something I want to be having done on a regular basis. The E2/Test panel, which includes the CBC and CMP, is less than that, and the E2/Test + lipids is only a little more, so the DHEA test almost doubles my cost for this round of tests. The Pregnenolone test is $175 and takes over a week to come back, something about requiring an isotype assay. The cost coupled with the turn around time that likely will keep the other test results from being delivered for that long, and I am going to pass on that one. Since Pregnenolone is a precursor to DHEA (as well as doing some of its own tasks) I will just use the DHEA levels as my gauge for now.

The Pregnenolone is only $5.70 per month, but it is a 100mg dose and I have read others take 50mg per day. So I might be OK or ever better off with the 100mg capsule eod. But $175 to save $2.85 per month doesn't add up. I know that when I added DHEA and Pregnenolone to my supps that my libido and other energy markers went up. I just want to be sure I am in the target zone and not too high or too low.

The DHEA is less than $4 per month in capsules. I also bought some bulk powder and use that in my nighttime shakes/drinks and that takes the cost down to $3 per month (just an experiment that I ran, I will likely not re-up once the bulk powder runs out and just stick 100% with the capsules as the convenience/hassle is not worth the $1 per month, LOL). In the beginning I was trying to find a balance for the lowest per-month expenditure to support my TRT, since there are several supplements that are recommended, in addition to the DHEA and Pregnenolone there is A.D.K. and DIM, with the latter being better served for controlling E2, if that is an issue. When I switch to injections I am going to push for arimidex (sp?), probably .25 or .5 the day after the injection, if that even becomes necessary. So far my E2 has stayed in check, but I cannot say if the DIM played any role in that or not. I am pretty sure a prescription for arimidex would be cheaper than the DIM anyways.
 
weight still at 186.6, I didn't bother measuring my waistline. I was working until after midnight last night, so I ended up with a late snack (1/3 of a left over protein smoothie and a dinner left overs of a small amount of rice and broccoli and a small piece of salmon. Really barely more than a snack. I have them at about 8 and 0 pm respectively. They helped carry me through last night, but the price being no movement on my weight loss. I pretty much expected that, actually expected to to backwards a little, so it could have been worse.

I did put the elliptical back together, just so that it is no longer in pieces in the middle of my exercise space, it still is not repaired yet. But I am wiped out this morning so exercise will need to wait until tomorrow. Our daughter also started with a low fever last night, so she will take priority today. We almost lost her once, many years ago, that included a frantic 3 AM run to the ER with her having small seizures from a massively high fever. Ever since then we are extra diligent, I am sure from an external perspective overly so, when she has a fever at night. We take turns watching over her. My wife was on the last shift, and will sleep this morning while I take care of our daughter (that is what I meant by "she will take priority").
 
Family has been sick, fevers and GI issues (awoken at 1:40 AM by our daughter in severe GI distress). It has been a rough couple of days. All of use are feeling better, but I am completely sapped of energy, between whatever I had and the lack of sleep. We are all trying to recover.

weighed in at 186.2 this morning, but I sort of question it because my diet was rubbish yesterday and I feel bloated. Plus my digital scale appears to have some averaging algorithm where it tries to "match" any recent weight if it is within .4 or so lbs. I really need to replace it just have not done so yet.

The company that manufactured my elliptical has shipped me some parts. They should be here later this week. After that hopefully I can get it repaired and back in operation.
 
Sparkss said:
Family has been sick, fevers and GI issues (awoken at 1:40 AM by our daughter in severe GI distress). It has been a rough couple of days. All of use are feeling better, but I am completely sapped of energy, between whatever I had and the lack of sleep. We are all trying to recover.

weighed in at 186.2 this morning, but I sort of question it because my diet was rubbish yesterday and I feel bloated. Plus my digital scale appears to have some averaging algorithm where it tries to "match" any recent weight if it is within .4 or so lbs. I really need to replace it just have not done so yet.

The company that manufactured my elliptical has shipped me some parts. They should be here later this week. After that hopefully I can get it repaired and back in operation.
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Hope everyone starts felling back to normal soon. that sucks!
good luck on the elliptical. (Keep the cus word to a minimum when trying to fix it). lol
 
weight was back up to 186.6 this morning, which is odd since yesterday was a pretty lean day, intake wise. I really wanted to do some exercise, anything, so I did a couple of compound exercises, 2 ~ 3 sets each, shooting for 15 reps. I did drop the weight on most of them to be able to hit the 15 reps. I didn't record the weights, but I hit squats, bent over rows, upright rows, hex DB press, lower back hyper extensions. I felt my heart rate and temperature rise, but didn't really break a sweat to speak of. I didn't have any discomfort for any of the exercises except for the hyper extensions, I felt like I pulled open the incision used for the pellet implantation. I have not yet pulled off the bandage to check it yet (sort of not wanting to know). Per the pellet protocols I should have been fine to exercise starting a couple of days ago. But the hyper extensions pulled on the skin around the area of the incision, so that appears to have been less than optimal.
 
weight up to 187.0, but waistline is down a little, under 35.75". I worked out fasted this morning with only the Ignit3 for a PWO and water for my intra drink. I did mainly isolation exercises, shooting for 3 sets of 15 reps. Chest flyes, side lateral, front and bent-over rear delt raises, single legged calf raises, DB curls and triceps extensions. I went light weight on most. My main goal was to raise my heart rate a bit and remind my muscles what it felt like to lift something heavier than a coffee cup :). I also waited at least 30 minutes post before I finally ate my breakfast :).

I avoided lower body exercises or any that "flexed" the incision point, even though it should be fine, I did not like how it felt yesterday (and even though the squats did not see to bother it, I did not want to chance it).

Elliptical part will not be here until mid-next week.
 
Sparkss said:
weight up to 187.0, but waistline is down a little, under 35.75". I worked out fasted this morning with only the Ignit3 for a PWO and water for my intra drink. I did mainly isolation exercises, shooting for 3 sets of 15 reps. Chest flyes, side lateral, front and bent-over rear delt raises, single legged calf raises, DB curls and triceps extensions. I went light weight on most. My main goal was to raise my heart rate a bit and remind my muscles what it felt like to lift something heavier than a coffee cup :). I also waited at least 30 minutes post before I finally ate my breakfast :).

I avoided lower body exercises or any that "flexed" the incision point, even though it should be fine, I did not like how it felt yesterday (and even though the squats did not see to bother it, I did not want to chance it).

Elliptical part will not be here until mid-next week.
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Nice work old man!
Ever looked at Flexatril for the joints? Stuff is working wonders for me.
 
weight up again, up to 187.4, waistline down, closer to 35.5". I feel and look leaner, even my wife commented. Today was yet again a fasted workout. I did a quick push/pull session. 3 sets of 15 reps each exercise. Deadlifts, pendalay rows, rev grip BB press, 1-arm DB rows, B hex press. Not much else to report at this time :).
 
woke up this morning to a 185.8 weight in ( weighed it three times just to be sure, since it was such a big drop from yesterday). Seems that the fasted workouts have me back on track. I was worried as I was very bloated last night headnig to bed, but it all seemed to have shed itself overnight. Waistline measurements was not changed though, still hovering between 35.5" and 35.75". Today is a rest day. :)
 
Just got back from some time off. I weighed in at 185.2 this morning, which is surprising considering how my diet has been the last week. The first couple of days I was pretty good, but the last Friday was a pool party that included many (and I do mean many) fruit juice based adult drinks and a few slices of pizza, capped by a super late night meal. The only saving grace was that the juice used was "No Sugar Added", although it still rang in at 26g per servings and at I went through at least 6 servings worth throughout the day.

Fast forward to last night, I started taking MK-677 at 10mg, just prior to bedtime. I slept pretty good, especially considering that I skipped my nightly melatonin. I noticed a little hunger today, but to be honest I felt that a little last night, even before I took the MK.

Here are some pictures from last week. All in all I think the last S2 and Orig1n runs really helped to fill in my upper body.

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Here is one of my back (I blurred out some people we met on the beach for their privacy)

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I like this side turned pose since it minimizes my waistline :)

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And this one came out good, since the wave hides my spare tire :)

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Oh, almost forgot. I am back on Ignit3 (I took the week off to sort of "reset" stims). I was basically stim free the whole week.

I did a quick fasted workout this morning. Squats, deadlifts, pendalay rows and DB hex press. I was feeling a bit run down so I shot for 2 set of 15 reps. On the deadlifts I had to stop because I started getting a major headache. I checked my BP and it was at 170, which is to be expected during exercise, but it just felt "wrong" so I stopped at 1 set.

The part for the elliptical that came in did not resolve my issue. I am sending a response back to their support to see what my next steps are. I really want that for the cardio. *sigh*

I plan to run a cut until either I hit 175 or I hit 60 days (from the beginning of the cut). I am already at 30 days running the cutting compounds. Once I hit that mark (either one) I am doing my bloodwork and switching gears to bulk, and will start taking LGD (shooting for 12 weeks). I will likely stack the S2 (Sup3r-2) at some point and will continue to take the MK through the run.
 
Nice vacation pics! Argh, I'm missing the ocean, even the medusa stings. :)
 
weight has not moved, hovering around 185.4 still. Waistline is closer to 36" now, but my belly looks flatter. I am 3 days/doses into MK now, so maybe it is a little bloat, although I am only at 10mg still.

I did a short workout today. Deadlifts, reverse grip BB press and upright rows. My workouts are all over the place right now, but I am more focused on keeping my heart rate up and exercising the muscles so that they don't forget what it feels like. Mainly hitting compound movements. I am a little more tired this week than before, but work has been brutal, so I equate it at least partially to stress. It has had an impact on my appetite, with cravings on the rise. But that could also be the MK. I ordered some Radiant today since I read it did wonders for curbing appetites. I will try that as a PWO when it arrives.

I have been on a pretty severe caloric restriction lately (wouldn't know it to look at me, right?). I am wondering if I hit a plateau with the weight loss (basically the same weight for over a week now, and except for the pizza/booze on Friday I have had a pretty lean diet + lots of physical activities (every place we visited was something to walk around/explore, and the beach included fighting the waves). I had heard that the body can shut down fat burning if too harsh a caloric restriction for too long. I don't remember any details though, but it makes me wonder. I plan to add back in a (moderate) protein shake during the day to see if that helps with both the energy and fat reduction (or if it does the opposite).
 
Sparkss said:
weight has not moved, hovering around 185.4 still. Waistline is closer to 36" now, but my belly looks flatter. I am 3 days/doses into MK now, so maybe it is a little bloat, although I am only at 10mg still.

I did a short workout today. Deadlifts, reverse grip BB press and upright rows. My workouts are all over the place right now, but I am more focused on keeping my heart rate up and exercising the muscles so that they don't forget what it feels like. Mainly hitting compound movements. I am a little more tired this week than before, but work has been brutal, so I equate it at least partially to stress. It has had an impact on my appetite, with cravings on the rise. But that could also be the MK. I ordered some Radiant today since I read it did wonders for curbing appetites. I will try that as a PWO when it arrives.

I have been on a pretty severe caloric restriction lately (wouldn't know it to look at me, right?). I am wondering if I hit a plateau with the weight loss (basically the same weight for over a week now, and except for the pizza/booze on Friday I have had a pretty lean diet + lots of physical activities (every place we visited was something to walk around/explore, and the beach included fighting the waves). I had heard that the body can shut down fat burning if too harsh a caloric restriction for too long. I don't remember any details though, but it makes me wonder. I plan to add back in a (moderate) protein shake during the day to see if that helps with both the energy and fat reduction (or if it does the opposite).
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I thought you looked pretty good in the pics.
Yes don't starve yourself. my sister was a model in her 20's and now she is always fighting her weight. It ruined her metabolism. she works out like mad and eats a strict diet 6 small meals a day just to keep her weight under control. if she lets up for a week she will put on 5-10 pounds even with exercise.
 
let me know how the MK-677 works for you. If I was going to try something that isn't natty it might be that since I'm not a spring chicken anymore.
 
Studhorse said:
I thought you looked pretty good in the pics.
Yes don't starve yourself. my sister was a model in her 20's and now she is always fighting her weight. It ruined her metabolism. she works out like mad and eats a strict diet 6 small meals a day just to keep her weight under control. if she lets up for a week she will put on 5-10 pounds even with exercise.
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Thanks, I appreciate the compliment, especially since your physique is killin it these days! I am sorry to hear about your sister's challenges, that sucks. I am starting to add a little more into my diet this week, however when I tried just eating a little more today I felt the hunger start to take over and my appetite sky rocketed, now I am trying to get my cravings back under control LOL. It is a slippery slope and I am not sure I can venture out without sliding all the way down *sigh*
 
Sparkss said:
Thanks, I appreciate the compliment, especially since your physique is killin it these days! I am sorry to hear about your sister's challenges, that sucks. I am starting to add a little more into my diet this week, however when I tried just eating a little more today I felt the hunger start to take over and my appetite sky rocketed, now I am trying to get my cravings back under control LOL. It is a slippery slope and I am not sure I can venture out without sliding all the way down *sigh*
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from what I read about MK-677 it will increase your appetite. The Radiate will curb it but this stuff is pretty intense in my opinion. I know you like your caffeine Like I do. I had to cut back on the coffee taking radiate. I drink 4 cups from 7:00am to noon. and then one at about 2:00, drink my radiate @ 4:30pm and hit the gym by 6:00. if I take it later than 4;30 I can't get to bed till like midnight at best.

I think you workout in the morning so you should be ok but you might want to cut back on the 4shots of espresso in the morning. lol
 
Studhorse said:
from what I read about MK-677 it will increase your appetite. The Radiate will curb it but this stuff is pretty intense in my opinion. I know you like your caffeine Like I do. I had to cut back on the coffee taking radiate. I drink 4 cups from 7:00am to noon. and then one at about 2:00, drink my radiate @ 4:30pm and hit the gym by 6:00. if I take it later than 4;30 I can't get to bed till like midnight at best.

I think you workout in the morning so you should be ok but you might want to cut back on the 4shots of espresso in the morning. lol
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I have already cut back on the morning espresso due to the heavy stims in Ingit3. I will drop the Ingnit3 when I try out the Radiate. I still had 2 Ignit3 upone waking then CU PWO. Followed by the remaining 3 Ignit3 before lunch. Sort of jones'in for a coffee right now LOL :)
 
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