Stopping Test before drawing Labs

[LionsDen21]

I’ve been somewhat diagnosed with low T. (218, 283, and 305). Prior to the pandemic I was scheduled to see a endocrinologist which then shutdown for 6 months. Since then I started my own program at 200-250 a week for the last 8 or so months. I’m scheduled for labs soon and would like to know how long after my last pin will my results be back my normal low levels? Im sure this question has been asked but was not able to get a clear answer from the web. Thanks

 

[Mathb33]

What Ester are you pinning?

 

[LionsDen21]

What Ester are you pinning?

First 4 months was E then switched to C for the remaining 4 months

 

[brofessorx]

It’s tough to say. You should get some labcorp blood work done on your own 2-4 weeks after last inject before having the dr check it.

 

[Mathb33]

Test cyp half long is about 8 days. That means (approximatively) if you Inject 250 mg, 8 days later you’ll have around 125mg left in your system. 8 days later 62.5mg , 8 days later half of that. Etc. 3 to 4 weeks after your last injections your levels should be pretty shitty. I’d go for 4 weeks personally.

 

[Whisky]

The issue here is that you need to wait for the Ester to clear (around 5 half life’s so 40 days) and then your own levels to kick back to where they were before.....and that second bit is really individual and will also depend on any pct.

just my personal opinion and based on my own bloods in the past but 3 months would be the likely minimum and 6 months is what I personally would do.....

 

[Whisky]

Test cyp half long is about 8 days. That means (approximatively) if you Inject 250 mg, 8 days later you’ll have around 125mg left in your system. 8 days later 62.5mg , 8 days later half of that. Etc. 3 to 4 weeks after your last injections your levels should be pretty shitty. I’d go for 4 weeks personally.

agreed at 4 weeks they’ll be **** but he wants his normal low level......won’t they question it if he does in much much lower? issue with that is if they want to wait a month and draw again he might show higher and they’ll wait again as it seems to be improving?

 

[thebigt]

agreed at 4 weeks they’ll be **** but he wants his normal low level......won’t they question it if he does in much much lower? issue with that is if they want to wait a month and draw again he might show higher and they’ll wait again as it seems to be improving?

it also might depend on age...i was close to 50 when i was put on trt, my test was under 200 so doc had nurse give me a shot during office call and immediately gave me a script....for a younger guy things might be different?

 

[Mathb33]

agreed at 4 weeks they’ll be **** but he wants his normal low level......won’t they question it if he does in much much lower? issue with that is if they want to wait a month and draw again he might show higher and they’ll wait again as it seems to be improving?

Agree and that’s why I always said with a true doctor that method will never work because he’s going to question everything. It only works at clinics where they don’t care and want your money. Finding the sweet spot around 200-300 is going to be extremely hard as someone week 3 could still have 500-600 while another one could have half of it. We don’t process and eliminate test the same rate

 

[Whisky]

Agree and that’s why I always said with a true doctor that method will never work because he’s going to question everything. It only works at clinics where they don’t care and want your money. Finding the sweet spot around 200-300 is going to be extremely hard as someone week 3 could still have 500-600 while another one could have half of it. We don’t process and eliminate test the same rate

oh for sure, agree totally.

that’s why I think for a real number he needs 6 months tbh.

 

[Whisky]

it also might depend on age...i was close to 50 when i was put on trt, my test was under 200 so doc had nurse give me a shot during office call and immediately gave me a script....for a younger guy things might be different?

fair point, country as well i guess. America’s is more progressive than the uk in using trt

 

[thebigt]

fair point, country as well i guess. America’s is more progressive than the uk in using trt

i think a doctor should be more reluctant of putting someone in 30's on trt versus someone close to or in 50's....but this is just my opinion.

 

[LionsDen21]

Appreciate the insight and feedback. I will be getting the lab work down in roughly 4 weeks regardless. Needing the readings to be 200-400 ideally. Maybe the small half life remaining will put me into that category. Unfortunately I do not have much control when I do the labs

 

[Whisky]

i think a doctor should be more reluctant of putting someone in 30's on trt versus someone close to or in 50's....but this is just my opinion.

agree, other avenues should be explored more with a younger person given the life long commitment.

but in the uk they would be more reluctant even with someone in the 50’s for sure.

 

[thebigt]

agree, other avenues should be explored more with a younger person given the life long commitment.

but in the uk they would be more reluctant even with someone in the 50’s for sure.

i have a feeling things would be much the same here if democrats ever put 'welfare for all' into place.

 

[Whisky]

i have a feeling things would be much the same here if democrats ever put 'welfare for all' into place.

there’s pros and cons bro. It’s decent that when you really need it there’s no issue accessing it ever but we pay a boat load of tax so in my mind it’s not really free for me anyway (in the uk if you are fortunate enough to earn the equivalent of $225,000 then you’ll pay $110,000 in tax.....)

 

[Rocket3015]

It takes me about 4 weeks to get back to "Normal"

 

[thebigt]

there’s pros and cons bro. It’s decent that when you really need it there’s no issue accessing it ever but we pay a boat load of tax so in my mind it’s not really free for me anyway (in the uk if you are fortunate enough to earn the equivalent of $225,000 then you’ll pay $110,000 in tax.....)

'fortunate enough', lol. paying nearly half of income in taxes hardly seems fortunate!!!

 

[Whisky]

'fortunate enough', lol. paying nearly half of income in taxes hardly seems fortunate!!!

it’s brutal when you see the pay check and the deductions but I lead a comfortable life for sure so I have a wry smile and carry on

 

[thebigt]

it’s brutal when you see the pay check and the deductions but I lead a comfortable life for sure so I have a wry smile and carry on

hanging on in quiet desperation is the english way-eh?


couldn't pass up an opportunity for a pink floyd line...one of, if not my favorite band.

 

[Whisky]

hanging on in quiet desperation is the english way-eh?


couldn't pass up an opportunity for a pink floyd line...on of, if not my favorite band.

it really is bro. No one better at being buggered brutally from behind and just having a cup of tea and carrying on with the day

 

[thebigt]

it really is bro. No one better at being buggered brutally from behind and just having a cup of tea and carrying on with the day

lol....nice to see you keeping that upper lip stiff.

 

[Rocket3015]

there’s pros and cons bro. It’s decent that when you really need it there’s no issue accessing it ever but we pay a boat load of tax so in my mind it’s not really free for me anyway (in the uk if you are fortunate enough to earn the equivalent of $225,000 then you’ll pay $110,000 in tax.....)

Question for you @Whisky Do you pay just income tax or do you have a lot of little taxes also?

Federal Income Tax
State Income Tax
Local Tax
Sales Tax
Property Tax
School Tax
Personal Tax
I live in Pennsylvania I'm sure I am missing a few

 

[Whisky]

hanging on in quiet desperation is the english way-eh?


couldn't pass up an opportunity for a pink floyd line...on of, if not my favorite band.

it really is bro. No one better at being buggered brutally from behind and just having a cup of tea and carrying on with the day

Question for you @Whisky Do you pay just income tax or do you have a lot of little taxes also?

Federal Income Tax
State Income Tax
Local Tax
Sales Tax
Property Tax
School Tax
Personal Tax
I live in Pennsylvania I'm sure I am missing a few

Income tax is the biggest (that and national insurance are deducted at source) but we also get hit in a few other ways.

the tax on certain items is very high which drives the price up (petrol/diesel i.e gas) is really high (filling my car costs me approx $125 dollars). Cigarettes and alcohol is the same (neither of which are an issue for me).

then we have capital gains tax and taxable income (basically if you make money through any other source outside your job you pay tax at the same rate as you do for you job or higher if it takes you up a bracket).

they also tax inheritance, we pay stamp duty (tax) when we buy a house etc

so there’s a few little ones although probably not as many as you guys

 

[StarScream66]

Can you guys who are talking politics create a new thread in the politics suggestion and keep this thread from getting derailed?

The issue here is that you need to wait for the Ester to clear (around 5 half life’s so 40 days)

Wait, what? I'm not sure if I follow what you're saying here. Are you saying the esters stack and thus cause a 40 day half life for testosterone?

[/QUOTE]

fair point, country as well i guess. America’s is more progressive than the uk in using trt

I called around to all my local TRT clinics and only one said they would prescribe it to me even if I was on or above the normal levels. But, it was $60 a week and insurance didn't cover it, so I just picked up a bottle of Sustanon for $60 and did it myself.

 

[Whisky]

Can you guys who are talking politics create a new thread in the politics suggestion and keep this thread from getting derailed?



Wait, what? I'm not sure if I follow what you're saying here. Are you saying the esters stack and thus cause a 40 day half life for testosterone?

I called around to all my local TRT clinics and only one said they would prescribe it to me even if I was on or above the normal levels. But, it was $60 a week and insurance didn't cover it, so I just picked up a bottle of Sustanon for $60 and did it myself.
[/QUOTE]

no I’m just saying that for test cyp to fully clear is around 40 days (any substance typically takes around 5 half lives to clear the system fully).

 

[StarScream66]

no I’m just saying that for test cyp to fully clear is around 40 days (any substance typically takes around 5 half lives to clear the system fully).

Do you have a source for this information? I've never heard this before.

 

[Whisky]

Do you have a source for this information? I've never heard this before.

sure thing bro

Half Life - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf

Drug Half-life Explained: Calculator, Variables & Examples

What is the half-life of a drug, how is this calculated (with calculator), what affects half-life calculations, common drug half-lives and more....

www.drugs.com

What is the Half-Life of a Drug?

The elimination half-life of a drug is the time it takes for the concentration of the drug in the plasma or the total amount in the body to be reduced by 50%.

www.google.co.uk

 

[StarScream66]

sure thing bro

Half Life - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf

Drug Half-life Explained: Calculator, Variables & Examples

What is the half-life of a drug, how is this calculated (with calculator), what affects half-life calculations, common drug half-lives and more....

www.drugs.com

What is the Half-Life of a Drug?

The elimination half-life of a drug is the time it takes for the concentration of the drug in the plasma or the total amount in the body to be reduced by 50%.

www.google.co.uk

I'm not trying to get into a super big argument with you, so I hope you don't take it that way. But, I understand what the half life of a drug is, but it's not the same as it's clearance level, for example, what you would look at on a drug screen. The half life of testosterone cyp for example is about 7-10 days. It doesn't stay in your system for longer than that, which is why you have to take it weekly to keep your testosterone levels high.

But, if you were looking at it from a drug screening perspective, then it would still be pretty short (definitely not detectable up to 40 days afterwards). If you remember that whole BALCO scandal, Patrick Arnold synthesized epitestosterone and they would take testosterone and then take an equal amount of epitestosterone so when they did a blood test, it would make it look like their testosterone levels weren't out of range because the epitest was at an equal level. But, still after that, it would not show up in the body on a drug screen for MAYBE more than 30 days, but those are just the metabolites of the drug, and since the ester detaches from the hormone as it breaks down, it's not going to last that long. The only exception to this I can think of is Deca, because nadrolone deconate can store in fat tissue and can show up years down the line if that person who took nandrolone starts to lose fat, it can come out in the fat stores and show up on a drug screen. But, it's not active as an actual drug during that time.

So, I think you're confusing the half life of a drug with the clearance level that it would show up on a drug test. Another example, that's why you go on PCT about 2 weeks after your last shot of test cyp or enan, but with something like Sustanon, because it has esters that can take 4 weeks to break down, you would start your PCT a month after your last Sustanon shot.

 

[Whisky]

I'm not trying to get into a super big argument with you, so I hope you don't take it that way. But, I understand what the half life of a drug is, but it's not the same as it's clearance level, for example, what you would look at on a drug screen. The half life of testosterone cyp for example is about 7-10 days. It doesn't stay in your system for longer than that, which is why you have to take it weekly to keep your testosterone levels high.

But, if you were looking at it from a drug screening perspective, then it would still be pretty short (definitely not detectable up to 40 days afterwards). If you remember that whole BALCO scandal, Patrick Arnold synthesized epitestosterone and they would take testosterone and then take an equal amount of epitestosterone so when they did a blood test, it would make it look like their testosterone levels weren't out of range because the epitest was at an equal level. But, still after that, it would not show up in the body on a drug screen for MAYBE more than 30 days, but those are just the metabolites of the drug, and since the ester detaches from the hormone as it breaks down, it's not going to last that long. The only exception to this I can think of is Deca, because nadrolone deconate can store in fat tissue and can show up years down the line if that person who took nandrolone starts to lose fat, it can come out in the fat stores and show up on a drug screen. But, it's not active as an actual drug during that time.

So, I think you're confusing the half life of a drug with the clearance level that it would show up on a drug test. Another example, that's why you go on PCT about 2 weeks after your last shot of test cyp or enan, but with something like Sustanon, because it has esters that can take 4 weeks to break down, you would start your PCT a month after your last Sustanon shot.

ive no issue with people questioning my stuff bro, could easily be me that’s wrong

but I wasn’t coming from a drug detection standpoint at all.

I was coming from the standpoint that the presence of any significant level of exogenous test will prevent the production of natural test (I.e if a natty high range guy took a really small dose of test c, say 25mg a week, he would reduce his test levels as all he would have is the 25mg a week).

therefore until 4-5 half life’s have passed the presence of that exogenous test is enough to prevent natural production (I appreciate that individuals will metabolise at different rates so the half life may actually be longer or shorter though) hence needing to wait 40 days in the case of test c (in theory).

I can’t remember what thread it was but someone was running sust for a cycle which doesn’t make sense to me for exactly this reason (that the longer esters take a ducking age to clear but most of that time you have sub par test levels whilst trying to hang onto gains.)

if I ever do come off I’d run prop for the last 4 weeks for the same reason....