Burly's TRT journey

[weekend]

I was eating dinner with a friend the other day and we were talking about me turning 43 and I was reminiscing about age 42 and telling him how much better I feel now (he knows I'm on TRT) and about me keeping up this ridiculous schedule and how impossible that would have been without starting this journey. I started this whole process back in October, I believe, and started TRT the week of Thanksgiving. It hasn't been without some bumps in the road (gyno) that needed some fixing, but things are definitely on the right track at this point. I'm really glad I started this process and appreciate all of you coming alongside me for the journey as well.

In about 2 1/2 weeks I go in for more bloodwork. This will be a 6 month checkup. One of her concerns last time was my RBC/Hemo numbers. I have been meaning to get some blood drawn for quite some time, but my schedule has made it impossible. However, the project I am on will be winding down this next week, so I plan to go in and do a double RBC donation. They don't simply draw your blood in this process. They hook you up to a machine that takes your blood, separates out your hemoglobin and RBCs, and returns the rest of your blood to you intact. Not everyone is a candidate for this process, but I am because of my high numbers. This process takes a bit longer than a normal blood draw, but accomplishes a much greater degree of RBC reduction than normal. I will be presenting my blood tests to them and see if they think it is safe to take more than the double dose they normally take. If so, I will do that.

On my last blood test with the endo, I stopped my testosterone dosing 2 weeks prior to the test and my trough number came in at over 800, the next day (after an injection) it was over 2000. This bothered her a bit. I plan to stop my dosing 2 weeks prior again, but now, because I have upped my injection frequency to 1/2 dose (50mg) twice weekly, the last injection prior to the test will be 50 rather than 100 mg. Additionally, I plan to inject 50, rather than 100mg after the first test and see if it shows (I believe it will) a much less drastic jump in my total testosterone number. I'll be honest, I'm a little afraid she will want to reduce my dosage if I don't get the numbers to be a little closer in range. She never stated this. But doctors are notorious for wanting to keep numbers within a certain range. And understandably so.

I will let you guys know how things go with the RBC donation, the blood tests, etc. Thanks again for following along.

my dads endo is such a piece, he gave him bloodwork only once (only total test), refused to test estro,

and the one time he got bloods i had my dad not inject for 2weeks, his instructed dose was 300 mg every 3 weeks lol all at once,

his trough number came in at 430, got his dose bumped to 600 every 3 weeks! never had bloods again. my dad is too busy to get them himself too, so now hes shootin 100 mg 2x/week and no AI

he used to be 450 lb so he has big flabby manboobs already

[burlyman30]

my dads endo is such a piece, he gave him bloodwork only once (only total test), refused to test estro,

and the one time he got bloods i had my dad not inject for 2weeks, his instructed dose was 300 mg every 3 weeks lol all at once,

his trough number came in at 430, got his dose bumped to 600 every 3 weeks! never had bloods again. my dad is too busy to get them himself too, so now hes shootin 100 mg 2x/week and no AI

he used to be 450 lb so he has big flabby manboobs already

Your dads endo doesn't know much about TRT. Maybe he knows more about thyroid or diabetes or some other subset of endocrinology. I guess I can count myself fortunate, as my endo gives me a full panel of blood work each time I go in. She tested for estro upon my gyno symptoms. And she's concerned when things seem out of whack.

[burlyman30]

I had my dates wrong on my blood draws, dangit! I thought they were next week. Turns out they aren't until the 29th and 30th. I had skipped my (2) 50mg shots over the past week, but when I found this out, I decided to give myself my midweek injection and will do my weekend injection again prior to holding off. I could tell my energy level dropped off with the cessation of the last 2 (50mg) injections over the past week. I really NEED that energy and I MISSED it the last few days.

I gave blood today, too, in anticipation of my blood draws and the high RBC/HMG/HCT numbers. This should help a bit. I doubt it will get me in the range I need, though. I tried to do a "double red cell" donation, but they didn't want my blood type for that donation. That would have doubled the reduction for me. I am eligible to give blood again in 56 days and will plan to keep on a more regular donation period from here forward to keep my RBCs in check. I would have donated few weeks ago, but my insane work schedule just didn't allow me the time to do it.

I will say that all that oxygen-rich blood probably helped me get through these last few weeks. I was quite literally "a machine", putting in ungodly hours (over 100/wk) to get this project finished. And though I was a bit tired, I was doing better than my employees who were putting in 50 hours a week and they were complaining that I was burning them out. Wussies.

As far as donating blood with hormones in them, they were not concerned. They have an extensive list of medications or conditions which prevent you from donating, but hormones is not one of them. I think the fact that you are only giving about 8-10% of your blood volume, plus the fact that hormones are not 100% circulating in the blood (some is residing in tissue) that anything more that super high amounts of a compound would be insignificant in volume and effect.

[burlyman30]

Now that I have testosterone levels brought back up to normal levels, I have been interested in increasing my GH secretion to levels more equal to a younger man. I started the following thread in my quest for some practical knowledge on the subject after doing some studying on Dat's website:

http://www.swolesource.com/forum/hum...-peptides.html

Some good info here, I think.

[O_RYAN_007]

I really enjoy reading your journey and seeing how good you've progressed over the past 6 months. This type of insight will help many in their quest with TRT. I'm glad things are going great for you Burly.

[burlyman30]

I really enjoy reading your journey and seeing how good you've progressed over the past 6 months. This type of insight will help many in their quest with TRT. I'm glad things are going great for you Burly.

Thanks, Ryan. It's been interesting for me as well. It is a challenge to think back several years to how I felt back then and to compare it to now simply because it has been so long ago. It is easier to compare my workload abilities, as that is a bit more measurable. I used to work 12-16 hours a day for weeks on end, with usually a day of rest each week. Recently I was doing this again on a project and though I was not doing 100% physical stuff, I was doing a lot of running around. Some days I loaded and unloaded 3000 lbs of materials by myself. I know that I could not have kept this pace 6, 12, or even 24 months ago. Or even 5 years ago.

My thoughts are clear again. I can remember names, street names, and other words that I simply could not recall. Its a horrible feeling to know that you know a word or name and cannot recall it. Even when it is as familiar as a family member. I thought I was losing my mind forever, and it was very scary, to be honest. My business depends on my mind being sharp all the time. And now I have my memory back.

Again, thanks for chiming in. Glad to have you along on the journey.

[O_RYAN_007]

Thanks, Ryan. It's been interesting for me as well. It is a challenge to think back several years to how I felt back then and to compare it to now simply because it has been so long ago. It is easier to compare my workload abilities, as that is a bit more measurable. I used to work 12-16 hours a day for weeks on end, with usually a day of rest each week. Recently I was doing this again on a project and though I was not doing 100% physical stuff, I was doing a lot of running around. Some days I loaded and unloaded 3000 lbs of materials by myself. I know that I could not have kept this pace 6, 12, or even 24 months ago. Or even 5 years ago.

My thoughts are clear again. I can remember names, street names, and other words that I simply could not recall. Its a horrible feeling to know that you know a word or name and cannot recall it. Even when it is as familiar as a family member. I thought I was losing my mind forever, and it was very scary, to be honest. My business depends on my mind being sharp all the time. And now I have my memory back.

Again, thanks for chiming in. Glad to have you along on the journey.

This journey is a work in progress, but you are progressing with unrivaled strides. I think a lot of your success comes from having an open mind and through a continual effort in seeking knowledge. God Speed buddy, and I'm here for the ride of a lifetime.

[burlyman30]

This journey is a work in progress, but you are progressing with unrivaled strides. I think a lot of your success comes from having an open mind and through a continual effort in seeking knowledge. God Speed buddy, and I'm here for the ride of a lifetime.

Thanks for your support and encouragement. It's true what you say about seeking knowledge. I have a lot of years of learning behind me, which is why I know a fair bit, but the more I learn, the more I realize how much learning I still have ahead of me. I know if I stop learning, I stop advancing. This is true with life in general, not just the gym.

[O_RYAN_007]

Thanks for your support and encouragement. It's true what you say about seeking knowledge. I have a lot of years of learning behind me, which is why I know a fair bit, but the more I learn, the more I realize how much learning I still have ahead of me. I know if I stop learning, I stop advancing. This is true with life in general, not just the gym.

My dad started telling me this when I first started having trouble in math... He actually helped me develop the will to want to learn as a young child... This has stuck with me ever since, "Never settle with what you know," he said. You need to want to learn more so you can be that much more valuable to everyone around you; including yourself.

[Jelisej]

Burly, you may find this helpful:
ADRENALS FAQ--the most frequently asked questions | Stop The Thyroid Madnessâ„¢


here is nice comparison; thyroid vs adrenal symptoms:
Adrenal Fatigue versus Hypothyroidism - DrLam

Anyway, reflecting on one of your previous post I would say that there are many possibilites that caused your hypogonadism, but its highly unlikely that cortisol caused it.
For some reason Broscience gave cortisol a bad name, and it is impossible to explain to people that cortisol is not a bad boy.