So I made a real effort to see if I could stop TRT

[Bigtex]

So what's the better gauge of test levels? Free or total? I thought it was free is the most important but everyone quotes total....

Total testosterone is best for initial screening. Free testosterone is best for diagnostic clarity.

 

[jipped genes]

Thanks fellas. Great insight. I am not dead set on anything. I do wanna keep it legit if I can with a little extra maybe 1X a year or i like 40 mg of T bol on leg days as they are so damned skinny....like the rest of me to be honest. I have new insurance, the old was terrible and I paid up to my deductible. I checked today and they cover Low T and the script at 70%. that will really help also labs are covered 85% if it is wellness related. My PCP who does not do TRT told me they can have me in 4 times a year and do my labs and do my lipids and such and I pay for the T lab. I do not know if it will help.

We shall see.

Y'all have better luck going to a urologist or a gen practice? I used a T center and they are expensive.

 

[J2048b]

Thanks fellas. Great insight. I am not dead set on anything. I do wanna keep it legit if I can with a little extra maybe 1X a year or i like 40 mg of T bol on leg days as they are so damned skinny....like the rest of me to be honest. I have new insurance, the old was terrible and I paid up to my deductible. I checked today and they cover Low T and the script at 70%. that will really help also labs are covered 85% if it is wellness related. My PCP who does not do TRT told me they can have me in 4 times a year and do my labs and do my lipids and such and I pay for the T lab. I do not know if it will help.

We shall see.

Y'all have better luck going to a urologist or a gen practice? I used a T center and they are expensive.

i was introduced to my recent (20 yrs) urologist on a forum haha… a guy who lived in the valley said ge would drive up to see him and gave me his info… he so runs a clinic in palmsprings… asks me if i want to spend a fuck ton on other stuff and i laugh…

I use google earth with everyone else… go on there and search for compounding pharmacies… then call them and ask who scripts the test and get their numbers and call them or even ask the pharmacist where u pic up ur scripts… thats how i got my last local doc… he said yeah i got a few and gave me some names…

 

[almostgone]

Thanks fellas. Great insight. I am not dead set on anything. I do wanna keep it legit if I can with a little extra maybe 1X a year or i like 40 mg of T bol on leg days as they are so damned skinny....like the rest of me to be honest. I have new insurance, the old was terrible and I paid up to my deductible. I checked today and they cover Low T and the script at 70%. that will really help also labs are covered 85% if it is wellness related. My PCP who does not do TRT told me they can have me in 4 times a year and do my labs and do my lipids and such and I pay for the T lab. I do not know if it will help.

We shall see.

Y'all have better luck going to a urologist or a gen practice? I used a T center and they are expensive.

I deal with my primary care Dr.

 

[Littleguy]

Thanks fellas. Great insight. I am not dead set on anything. I do wanna keep it legit if I can with a little extra maybe 1X a year or i like 40 mg of T bol on leg days as they are so damned skinny....like the rest of me to be honest. I have new insurance, the old was terrible and I paid up to my deductible. I checked today and they cover Low T and the script at 70%. that will really help also labs are covered 85% if it is wellness related. My PCP who does not do TRT told me they can have me in 4 times a year and do my labs and do my lipids and such and I pay for the T lab. I do not know if it will help.

We shall see.

Y'all have better luck going to a urologist or a gen practice? I used a T center and they are expensive.

Personally I would use one of the 400 million places for guys our age group on FB or IG etc,to get your initial script so you are legal,
Your primary likely has not opened a book other than facebook since med school and TBH some things may be better left unknown to them.
DO get blood work the 4x per year he is allowing on insurance and don't be a fucking idiot with drugs, alcohol, smoking/vaping or eating triple bacon cheeseburgers'and fries.
You can then use the online script as needed or get your stuff "locally" (you know what I am saying) as stated previously it is very cheap $$ wise.
Endocrinologist is who you need to see if you want your hormones to be correctly addressed.
So, I have been through the entire process after having been shot in the groin in 1999 and a real pro is the only one that will really help all of the others will just half ass you is what I have found, so set an appointment and arm yourself with knowledgeable questions and really take this bull by the horns so you don't waste a fuck load of time and wasted and worthless appointments with months waiting in between.
Now, not knowing your health history at all I would recommend to a friend IF they were healthy to just get on 100-150 mg of test every 5 days or micro does daily after front loading and kick some ass.
But that is just me and I am not a medical professional just an old beat up fucker that has made it this far and gets recognition daily for looking better than I feel! HA-HA
Cheers bro

 

[Wilson6]

Thanks fellas. Great insight. I am not dead set on anything. I do wanna keep it legit if I can with a little extra maybe 1X a year or i like 40 mg of T bol on leg days as they are so damned skinny....like the rest of me to be honest. I have new insurance, the old was terrible and I paid up to my deductible. I checked today and they cover Low T and the script at 70%. that will really help also labs are covered 85% if it is wellness related. My PCP who does not do TRT told me they can have me in 4 times a year and do my labs and do my lipids and such and I pay for the T lab. I do not know if it will help.

We shall see.

Y'all have better luck going to a urologist or a gen practice? I used a T center and they are expensive.

Urologist for sure. I get my T checked about every 3 - 4 years, always the same. 120 mg of TC every 5 days and 500 IU hCG every 5 days (2 days after the T/ME inj). Labs for general chem every 6 mo. Nothing has changed in decades. I get a phlebo about every 3 months and a CBC. That's the only lab I watch quarterly. Some urologists will prescribe up to 200 mg/wk and how you time your labs from your last inj matters in terms of what they will prescribe. For the labs that go to the doc I wait an extra few days to keep the T lower for their comfort. Private labs to see where I really am and I like to stay between 800 - 1200. At age 68 anything less just doesn't work anymore for QOL.

 

[jipped genes]

Littleguy and Wilson, thanks fellas. great info.

 

[ogre]

I went cold turkey about a year ago.I was on for 10 yrs trt for short periods than 300mg of test for 6 months.Im 64 and after a year Im at 350 total test.I had alot of infections from knee replacement so I quit in hope of recovery.I felt like shit for some time and lost alot of muscle.

I forgot to mention I'll be digging through my stash this weekend and I'm gonna start back at 200 mg of cyp per wk.Life is too short not to feel as good as posible.

 

[jipped genes]

I forgot to mention I'll be digging through my stash this weekend and I'm gonna start back at 200 mg of cyp per wk.Life is too short not to feel as good as posible.

AMEN Brother. I threw out some T400 that was at minimum of 15-20 years old and had turned real dark. It hurt when I bought it, now who knows, I do not think gear ages like whiskey. I still have one vial of pharm T I got before i quit. I am gonna save it for a rainy day.

 

[Glycomann]

I quit using when I was 37 after cycling on and off for 11 years. I looked like shit for a good 6 months. By a year I felt normal. I stayed off for nearly10 years and fully recovered but it took a long time, over a year. I never stopped working out. I always cycled on and off so that may have been one reason why I recovered. I really don't know what percent of men can recover after staying on at least some steroid for years and years. I did go off other times for 1 year and 3 years. So over that 11 years 4 of them were completely off and I recovered. I can't really say with blood work when my test levels came back over those periods. I know my body snapped back and I could train twice a day a lot of the time for a long long time. I know after I started cycling again at 46 I would go off for 3-6 months and test before I went back on. My levels would go back to 500-600 ng/dL all the way up into my mid 50s. Cycling on and off saves you. Staying on blasting and cruising... probably not so much. I know looking and feeling all hypogonadal sucks but I didn't care that much back then. I was doing other stuff, going to the dojo, hitting the gym, working more than one job, earning advanced degrees. Now I'm just fucking old and my balls are well worn. Who's 64 and still has a set of nuts that pump out 800 ng/dL? No one. Fuck it at this point. I proved my point into my mid 50s not that I was trying to prove a point, just taking my best balanced approach is all.

The young guys just stay on now. At some point it's time to pay the piper. Maybe that means no kids. Maybe that means having to go off for health reasons. Maybe it means hot to shit joints. Then it's Pee Wee Herman time. Some of us have no choice, whether its hypogonadism from head injuries or whatever. For most of us it's just ego or vanity. Most of us are drug addicts, me included. We just manage it differently I guess.

 

[Megatron28]

Everyone has their own row to hoe so I understand. I'm just afraid you're going to feel like dog crap for a long period of time and find out the experiment didn't work.

My advice would be to go UG for the test and bypass the Dr visits with private MD labs. That's also assuming you don't live in one of those communist States that prevent you from doing your own blood work.

My heart goes out to you with Mom. I've been there.

This is funny and a little embarrassing... I don't know why but I always thought the expression was "road to hoe." I never thought that made much sense lol but some expressions are obscure (e.g. "Balls to the wall". Google it if you don't know the Vietnam war aviation origin). And now I know it is "row to hoe" which makes perfect sense! I guess I had just never seen it actually written before. Thanks!!!

 

[jipped genes]

I quit using when I was 37 after cycling on and off for 11 years. I looked like shit for a good 6 months. By a year I felt normal. I stayed off for nearly10 years and fully recovered but it took a long time, over a year. I never stopped working out. I always cycled on and off so that may have been one reason why I recovered. I really don't know what percent of men can recover after staying on at least some steroid for years and years. I did go off other times for 1 year and 3 years. So over that 11 years 4 of them were completely off and I recovered. I can't really say with blood work when my test levels came back over those periods. I know my body snapped back and I could train twice a day a lot of the time for a long long time. I know after I started cycling again at 46 I would go off for 3-6 months and test before I went back on. My levels would go back to 500-600 ng/dL all the way up into my mid 50s. Cycling on and off saves you. Staying on blasting and cruising... probably not so much. I know looking and feeling all hypogonadal sucks but I didn't care that much back then. I was doing other stuff, going to the dojo, hitting the gym, working more than one job, earning advanced degrees. Now I'm just fucking old and my balls are well worn. Who's 64 and still has a set of nuts that pump out 800 ng/dL? No one. Fuck it at this point. I proved my point into my mid 50s not that I was trying to prove a point, just taking my best balanced approach is all.

The young guys just stay on now. At some point it's time to pay the piper. Maybe that means no kids. Maybe that means having to go off for health reasons. Maybe it means hot to shit joints. Then it's Pee Wee Herman time. Some of us have no choice, whether its hypogonadism from head injuries or whatever. For most of us it's just ego or vanity. Most of us are drug addicts, me included. We just manage it differently I guess.

Thanks bro. I have pretty much been on straight for a decade with 6 weeks off a year and some form of PCT. That was not enough I reckon.