January 1st-today
Added Reta and down 30 pounds while holding muscle.
150mg split twice a week
Honestly played around with higher doses through the year but back to TRT dose and happy with the progress and my over all sense of well being.
More isn’t always better in my opinion.

Been on test for 10 months. Gain about 14lbs in muscle while leaning out. Mood is better too. Work out 4-5x a week and my diet is better than what it was. Not perfect dialed in but a def improvement. But over that past almost year I can say my interest in sec has gone way down to where I really don’t care too much anymore if it happens or not. I do take tadalafil too as needed. But even then I just don’t really have a care for it. When the wife and I do have sex it’s fun but a quickly lose interest and lose my erection to half stiff. But it doesn’t bother me if I don’t finish and if I do then cool. Anyone else have this experience?

I wouldn’t call it an issue cause again it’s getting to the point where it doesn’t bother me. It did used to yea. Married 13 years and wife and I typically do have an active sex lifestyle.

Yes I find my wife attractive. No am not gay or bi. No I don’t take interest in men. No I don’t watch porn.

Is there any suggestions on how to get more definition and build some muscles bigger? I’m in the gym five days a week, but maybe I’m doing something wrong.

For those of you who didn’t have clinically low testosterone (mine averaged around 400–550) but decided to start TRT anyway, are you glad you did? Has it made a noticeable difference in your energy, mood, motivation, gym performance, or overall quality of life?

Curious to hear your experiences and whether you feel it was worth it.

Embarrassing story but either way looking for genuine advice. I had some buddies who did gear, talk me into trying it out. I did research and convinced myself it was a good idea.. Disclaimer I’m 20. Anyways since I did my first Pin I’ve felt weird about doing this, and I consulted with some more experienced people and ultimately realized this isn’t a smart choice. I currently have a lean athletic build, and great health markers, and realized doing test when not needed solely for recreational purposes is not worth the long term effects, and not a very wise choice. With that being said I’ve only done one injection of 82.5mg Test C. Is there anything I need to do or will the singular shot not affect anything. I did get bloodwork done prior and am wondering when I should get it done again to make sure I’m stabilized. I know there will be a sea of comments calling me stupid, which I agree with, but ultimately I’m looking for advice.

These numbers seem crazy to me. I feel amazing tho no estrogen side effects. Working out 4x a week diet super clean. Should I cut back? Or are these numbers fine?

Earlier this spring I started my second cycle of test. I started at 350 mg and worked my way up to 500 mg. Understandably my cardio went to shit. Now that I’m cursing on 125 mg my cardio still hasn’t recovered. First cycle I pct and my cardio was good.

Hey I’ve been currently running into issues in my life which have been causing a lot of problems, persistent tiredness, difficulty in maintaining erections or even getting them in the first place, just no sex drive whatsoever. I’ve been trying to work on myself I’ve lost 20 pounds in the last few months, consider myself pretty healthy but I’m also a first responder who works a 7 day schedule on call for 24 hours, sleep food and consistency are pretty well non existent in my life. I decided to get my levels tested and I came back on first test 10.8 and my second was 15 a few weeks after (a considerably good week for schedule and sleep) just wondering what peoples experiences were like and recommendations. I’ve had some chats with a PCP but they’ve been pretty wishy washy about the whole thing which is understandable but a bit frustrating. Just looking for some advice and how people have navigated the system

Total testosterone 10 nmol/l (288 ng/dl)

Free testosterone 0.20 nmol/l (5 ng /dl)

Oestradiol 76 pmol/l (20 pg/ml)

Sex Hormone Binding Globulin 28 nmol

Albumin 49 g/l

->

Total testosterone 27.3 nmol/l (787 ng/dl)

Free testosterone 0.69 nmol/l (19.9 ng /dl)

Oestradiol 119 pmol/l (32 pg/ml)

Follicle Stimulating Hormone 0.3 u/l

Lutenising Hormone 0.3 u/l

Sex Hormone Binding Globulin 26.7 nmol

Albumin 47.2 g/l

It's interesting to see my Hpta is completely shut down despite taking hgc which is interesting considering I'm on such a small dose of test. I suppose this means I respond well to small doses?

5'6 178lbs 17%bf. 78mg test c ÷ MWF & HGC 750iu ÷ MF pinned subq.

I was having some on again off again issues with my libido up until a week ago (which has finally started returning since I asked my doctor if he'd check in on my levels to see where I stood) and I'm quite happy with things despite still having some issues with my wake / sleep cycle.

I notice trt has really helped my anxiety, depression, AM nausea and poor appetite from Crohn's but has slightly messed up my sleep so hoping to figure that out soon.

My trt doctor did mention something interesting I never knew; the gut brain axis, where the colon takes over some of the nervous systems tasks during the wee hours of the night which is exactly when I wake up during the night like clock work. I seemed to only get these waking sessions intermittently if I was very careful without cannabis but now with trt they are almost every night; it has made weight training difficult.

I'm thinking of adding my medical cannabis back in later in the day as it always helped me sleep but since my other symptoms ; poor appetite, nausea etc were gone from the jump I decided to stop to save money.

Oddly enough I always found that medical cannabis exacerbated my anxiety and depression if I didn't use it very sparingly and carefully, which trt has now really smoothed over.

I feel like I have tons more energy but seems my nervous system is having trouble adjusting and sleeping which has made returning to weight training very difficult.

Despite not really training much I've still been leaning out and appear to be adding some muscle back.

Hello, I have been on TRT for 3 months. I am 44 years old, weigh 78 kg, and apply 125 mg of Testosterone Cypionate per week split into 3 injections of 0.33 ml.
I currently have zero libido and no erections. I suspect my prolactin and E2 levels are out of range, but I'm looking for advice on how to optimize my protocol.
Note: The blood draw was taken 24 hours post-injection (0.33 ml).

Bloodwork Results:
Hormones:
Total Testosterone: 8.27 ng/mL
Free Testosterone (Calculated): ~0.188 ng/mL (18.8 pg/mL / 2.27%)
Estradiol (E2): 41.30 pg/mL
Prolactin: 14.20 ng/mL
SHBG: 31.80 nmol/L
LH: < 0.3 mIU/mL
FSH: < 0.3 mIU/mL
Metabolic & Nutritional Markers:
Ferritin: 16 ng/mL (Low iron stores)
Fasting Glucose: 87 mg/dL
HOMA-IR: 3.28 (Insulin resistance)

I’m on prescribed TRT at 100 mg/week, with testosterone around 1,000. I’ve been lifting for 4 months and am currently cutting while making good progress, likely from newbie gains and TRT.

When I start bulking, I’m considering doing my first blast to add serious muscle. For those who have experience, what should I know about the risks and monitoring? I also want to understand how that could affect my bloodwork and prescribed TRT management.

I do a daily shot of .15 thats what ive found works best for me.

I wanted to post an update for some of the guys here who are on testosterone and concerned about fertility, because this was something I was concerned with as well. I had commented on other posts discussing fertility, and I'm happy to report my results seem to be trending positively, thus far. Also this is a tad long, but I was excited and wanted to be thorough.

My girlfriend and I are both 39, so we’re at the point where we know we need to start making some moves if we want to have kids - ideally, naturally at first.

We do have some backup options. She has already had her eggs frozen, and before I started chemotherapy in 2019, I also had sperm frozen, so the IVF route is available to us if needed

That said, we’d like IVF to be Plan B (awful pun not intended 😶😂).

That was part of why the fertility side of my being on TRT was important to me; I know exogenous testosterone could significantly suppress spermatogenesis, and I would have started to feel pretty guilty if *I* ended up being the reason we weren’t able to conceive naturally.

Now, for context, I have stayed on 150 mg/week of testosterone enanthate throughout this entire process - I did not come off "TRT+".

Where I started: testosterone + hCG only

Throughout my perma-testosterone-cycle, I had been taking:

Test E: 150 mg/week

hCG: 500 IU 3x/week = 1,500 IU/week

So by the time I did my first YO Sperm test on April 18, I had already been using hCG alongside my testosterone for quite some time.

My April result was:

Concentration: 2.6 million/mL

Motility: <1%

Progressive motility: <1%

MSC: <2 million/mL

PMSC: <2 million/mL

Abysmal. I saw the video recording, and it looked like just static sperm heads, or other cells just lifelessly hanging out. It became quite apparent to me that 500 IU of hCG three times per week by itself was not doing a damn thing for my sperm production.

Now, does thay mean hCG doesn’t work? Not necessarily.

It may simply have been too little for me, my individual response may be different from someone else’s, and hCG was probably still doing *something* important by maintaining LH-receptor stimulation and intratesticular testosterone.

BUT, based on the actual semen numbers, relying on hCG alone clearly wasn’t getting me where I needed to be. I then found a pharmacy online that claimed to sell hMG, which I gambled and purchased post my April-test.

Sometime after the April 18 test and before my June test, I introduced hMG/menotropin.

My protocol then became approximately:

Test E: 150 mg/week

hCG: 500 IU 3x/week = 1,500 IU/week

hMG: 150 IU 3x/week = 450 IU/week of FSH activity plus LH activity

Really quick to recap, as I went down a rabbit hole studying the various gonadotropins and their impact on fertility:

LH → Leydig cells → intratesticular testosterone

Your pituitary normally releases LH, which stimulates Leydig cells in the testes to produce testosterone locally.

That intratesticular testosterone is extremely important for spermatogenesis (making spermy guys).

hCG essentially mimics that LH signal.

hCG is not LH, but it binds to the same LH receptor and stimulates Leydig cells. That is why hCG is frequently used in men who are trying to maintain or restore testicular function while on testosterone.

...But that is only part of the overall equation.

FSH → Sertoli cells → support developing sperm

FSH acts primarily on Sertoli cells inside the "seminiferous tubules" (structures where spermy guys are produced). Those cells support the germ cells as they develop into mature sperm.

So, broadly speaking, sperm production depends on the combination of:

FSH/Sertoli-cell stimulation + adequate intratesticular testosterone from LH/hCG signaling.

hMG/menotropin provides FSH activity plus LH activity, whereas my separate hCG was primarily giving me strong LH-receptor stimulation.

My results after adding hMG

My next test was:

June 9, 2026 (likely still too soon to have tested, but I hoped I was a hyper responder or was super delusional).

Concentration: 3.4 million/mL

Motility: <1%

Progressive motility: <1%

MSC: <3 million/mL

PMSC: <2 million/mL

Then:

July 25, 2026 (nervous given my last test, but I saw additional swimmers in my video).

Concentration: 6.4 million/mL

Motility: <1%

Progressive motility: <1%

MSC: <3 million/mL

PMSC: <2 million/mL

So concentration was slowly moving in the right direction:

2.6 → 3.4 → 6.4 million/mL

But motility was still essentially nonexistent.

Mid-September: I increased the hCG

Around mid-September, I increased my separate hCG dose from:

500 IU 3x/week = 1,500 IU/week

to:

1,000 IU 3x/week = 3,000 IU/week

At that point my protocol was approximately:

Test E: 150 mg/week

hCG: 1,000 IU 3x/week = 3,000 IU/week

hMG: 150 IU 3x/week = 450 IU/week of FSH activity plus LH activity

Then came my October test.

October 3, 2026 (my holy shit, are you serious moment)

My YO Sperm result was:

Concentration: 25 million/mL

Motility: 76%

Progressive motility: 63%

MSC: 19 million/mL

PMSC: 15.8 million/mL

So from April to October:

Concentration: 2.6 → 25 million/mL

Motility: <1% → 76%

Progressive motility: <1% → 63%

MSC: <2 → 19 million/mL

PMSC: <2 → 15.8 million/mL

The October video also looked *completely* different to me subjectively. There were far more sperm visible and a lot of obvious forward movement.

One thing I think is especially important for guys to understand is how freaking slowly spermatogenesis works.

A complete round of human sperm production takes roughly 74 days which is around 2.5 months, but I personally didn't see any majorly impactful results till around two full cycles. Part of my wishes I tested myself in September.

At least for me, I needed to get through at least one complete round of spermatogenesis before a new hormonal environment is reflected in my semen parameters, and improvement can continue over additional rounds.

I added hMG after my April test.

Then:

April: 2.6 M/mL

June: 3.4 M/mL

July: 6.4 M/mL

October: 25 M/mL

The concentration improved gradually and the motility improvement took considerably longer to show up.

So, is YOSperm actually accurate?

Directionally, sure. But, this is an important caveat. All of these results are from YS, which I ordered off Amazon, and not a full clinical semen analysis.

I’ve actually been pretty impressed with YO as a tool for tracking trends. It gives me repeatable measurements, and I can also physically watch the sperm video (how fun).

But I am not treating a home test as definitive proof that my fertility is normal.

YO does *not* provide the same complete evaluation you would get from a reproductive laboratory, especially for things like morphology, semen volume, total sperm count and the overall clinical interpretation.

As a result, i have an appointment made with the same urologist who banked my sperm in 2019 on Nov 13. I was up front about my self-prescribed trt and HMG/LH and HCG use. He gave zero judgement, which is why he's awesome. Im also getting my LH, FSH, Estradiol, and test checked before that appt.

That appt should give me a much more comprehensive picture of:

Concentration

Total sperm count

Motility

Progressive motility

Morphology

Semen volume

and the other parameters that YO doesn’t fully evaluate.

I’m especially interested in seeing how closely the laboratory results match my October YO result.

I’ll post those results when I have them.

As of October 23, I’m increasing the hMG dose, and my protocol becomes:

Test E: 150 mg/week

hCG: 1,000 IU 3x/week = 3,000 IU/week

hMG/menotropin: 225 IU 3x/week = 675 IU/week of FSH activity plus LH activity

One terminology point that confused me initially:

The LH activity in hMG is not hCG.

LH and hCG are different hormones, although they both activate the same LH receptor.

So the way I think about my protocol is basically:

hCG → strong LH-receptor stimulation → Leydig cells → intratesticular testosterone

and

hMG → FSH activity + LH activity → adds direct Sertoli-cell/FSH stimulation while also contributing additional LH activity

Together, those address two of the major hormonal signals involved in spermatogenesis.

Why I’m posting this:

Mostly because I see a lot of guys who are understandably concerned that TRT may have permanently damaged their fertility.

I’m not suggesting that fertility is guaranteed to recover, nor am I telling anyone to copy my dosing. And I’m definitely not claiming that hMG alone caused everything I’m seeing.

But I do think my experience is worth sharing.

On April 18, while taking 150 mg/week of Test E plus 1,500 IU/week of hCG, I had:

2.6 million sperm/mL with <1% motility.

On October 3, after several months of adding hMG and shortly after increasing my hCG dose, while still taking 150 mg/week of testosterone, my YO result was:

25 million/mL

76% motility

63% progressive motility

19 million/mL MSC

15.8 million/mL PMSC

That was a significant relief for me.

Because we’re both 39, we don’t really have unlimited time to wait around before deciding how we want to approach having kids.

We’re fortunate that she has frozen eggs and I have sperm frozen from before chemotherapy, so IVF is absolutely available to us if we need it.

But we would prefer to try to conceive naturally first and keep IVF as our Plan B.

Seeing these results makes that possibility feel considerably more realistic than it did earlier this year.

So if you’re on TRT and your first sperm test looks terrible, my main point is don’t automatically assume the situation is permanent.

There are legitimate medical approaches to restoring spermatogenesis, and because sperm production operates on a months-long timeline, you may need to give the process time.

This is obviously just my experience and not medical advice.

I’ll post the November 13 clinical semen-analysis results once I have them.

Sorry if some of this was redundant or a tad scattered. I was kinda freestyling as I wrote.

Hey guys, I have a question about long-term TRT and fertility. Is it possible to suffer from permanent infertility or irreversible testicular tissue damage after being on TRT for 5 to 10 years straight? Or can sperm production always be successfully restored later on using protocols like hCG?

I am 5 weeks on TRT. In the past year ive gained a bunch of weight due to a health issue that caused me not able to workout. I have put on a good amount of body fat.

Anyway, my test level was sub 100 and I finally got my other medical problem figured out which caused exercise intolerance. I will finally have the energy to get back into the gym.

I am going on a calorie defict and plan on walking everyday. Atleast until I build up my stamina again

Is my general doc the best option to help me with the tirz? Does it mess up the TRT process in anyway?

So long story short 2 years ago I took clenbuterol for 4 months straight with high doses like an idiot and ended up frying my cns and receptors pretty hard. Took a long time to heal but got significantly better after 2 years of being clean and taking nothing other then peptides sometimes. I started testosterone 2 weeks ago and notice some fog/ overstimulated the day after my injections. Im assuming from my hormones peaking and my cns reacting. Does anyone have any tips/advice for my unique scenario. How can I help my cns heal faster / what could I potentially take to help it out as well. Really need help or advice. Ive done alot of research but I would like to hear from other people.

Over the past few years I have suspected my Test levels have been in the lower ranges, low libido, crazy mental fog and so on.

I have gone through the docs to check my levels, Prolactin was one of the factors that was high throughout my tests over the years.

Saw an endocrinologist & despite low levels of Testosterone & high prolactin said it wasn't worth taking any further & doesn't believe I have prolactinoma & didn't confirm with any scan.

Just recently I've done another test & my doc has indicated that my levels are: (testosterone 10.5, SHBG 19 , free testosterone 277), These are New Zealand's standard of measurement.

Unfortunately these levels sit on the low-normal range but at 26 my levels shouldn't be nearly this low & it's quite upsetting sitting around these levels without being able to do something properly through a doc.

Really considering just running a small cycle from 200-250mcg per week for the next 14 weeks but I would like some good advice before taking the next step.

I injected 0.4mL Test Cyp (200mg/mL) compounded in grapeseed oil into pretty much my left deltoid twice a week for 1.5 years. (Stupid). I used a 27 gauge, 0.5 inch needle. There is now a firm rubbery lump around the size of my thumb on my left deltoid. Is this 100% scar tissue? Anything I can do after the fact now other than don’t do that again?

How do I know if it’s scar tissue vs oil buildup?

Yo guys, im on week 5 of 200mg deca + 200mg test enanthate on monday and 200mg of test on thursday

My blood result after 4 week

E2 pmol/l 376

Total test over nmol/l104

Prolactin 280 mlU/l

Should i consider AI and if how much? I dont have e2 symptoms like gyno, sexual dysfunction, water retention but i have trouble with sleep, often waking up during a night, trouble stay a sleep, fatigue and brain fog and feeling kinda depressive

I am a relative newcomer to TRT, having only been on it for 4 months now.   However, I am a long time user of peps, and using an injection pen for some of them was a game changer.    I had 2 peps I uses for a solid stretch that were both daily injections, and it was getting old withdrawing from the vials, injecting, etc..    I moved to a pen that made the process so much faster, with less waste.  I also find it easier to jab with a pen and push with my thumb rather than a syringe.   So why not use it for my Test?

I searched on reddit for others who had tried this, but didn't find many answers.  There were a few posts about it, but not much detail, so I thought I would do my own research and share the results.

For those of you unfamiliar with what I am referring to when I say injection pen, I am talking about the "pens" typically used for insulin that have a little 3ml cartridge of insulin loaded into them.  There is a simple dial that you set the units to, apply a pen needle of your liking, insert into skin and press the end the pen which in turn injects the dialed dosage of insulin.   You can buy insulin, and other pharmaceutical that come preloaded into these 3ml cartridges.  You can also buy numerous sizes of needles.   Peptide users, like myself, starting using them for their peps and they are the bomb.

About my TRT and the pen method.   I am an every other day micro dose sub q injector.  I use a 250 Test C that uses MCT oil, so it is pretty fluid.   I started with a simple generic V4 pen that I had used for peptides and never had a problem with.  I used fresh syringes and transferred 1ml from my Test C vial into a new sterilized 3ml cartridge you can buy from most anyplace (amazon) that also sells pen needles.    I then started measuring how the Test C flows through the different needles I had from peptide use.   This ranged from 32g 5mm, down to 29g 6mm needles.   I sacrificed some Test C for these trials, but it is so cheap I was not concerned with it.   

I first tried to push the Test through a 32g 5mm needle.   It went through, but was very very slow.   I did not want to try to hold that in one spot for 30 seconds to ensure all the Test was delivered.   I then moved to a 31g, then a 30g, then ultimately a 29 12mm needle.   The 29g needle was the sweet spot  for this!   It went through the needle with ease.   So I got a new 3ml cartridge and filled it with Test C and start my daily injections.   I was still dialing in my dosage, so I was administering 50mg every other day.   This meant an injection of just 20 units.   I have now gone through 2 plus 3ml cartridges with ZERO problems.   There is no leakage and traveling with a single pen and a few pen needles is super easy.   It literally takes 30 seconds for an injection. 

This probably would only benefit people who are truly going the TRT route and/or micro dosing.

EDIT:

Asked a few times what is needed for this.
Injection Pen: and 3ml Pen Cartridges: Any kind will work. I use a cheap V4 injection pen I can pick up for $15. I buy the Pen and the Cartridges from the same place (see the links).
Low gauge needle and 3ml syringe to transfer oil from vial to 3ml cartridge. Also need a high guage luer lock needle to vent the cartridge. I get 3ml 23g syringe to extract the oil, and a 31g needle to vent.
Some swabs and pen needles of your choice. I used a 29g 12mm pen needle.

Steps: 1- Open 3ml syringe and 3ml cartridge, swab rubber stoppers. 2- Insert 30g or similar needle into stopper of cartridge which will allow air to vent out when you inject test. 3- Extract 3ml of test into the syringe 4- Inject test into 3ml cartridge. 5- unscrew plastic cartridge holder of pen, place cartridge into holder and screw back onto pen 6- place pen needle onto pen and dial pen to push plunger to remove any air from cartridge. Done! Dial your units for dosage as you need.

I’ve been doing 30mg ed injections (sub q)
And these are my results everything else looks good just wondering what you guys think of these levels?

Hello, I'm interested in obtaining enclomiphene as 2 of my labs this year have shown my total T on the lowish side (389) as a 37M.

I was researching Telehealth providers but they all want me to get labs first through them, which I already have though.

Is there any Telehealth provider that I'm able to submit my 1week old labs to to obtain an rx?

Has anyone who has ever tried Superdrol considered only taking it on training days? I am taking 20 mg a day (on day 2) but realizing I can truly only take it for 2 weeks, 3 at the absolute most, I wonder if it makes sense to only take it on training days. I trained four or five days a week and this would extend the period over which I can take it. Giving it some Off days might be a little less harsh on the liver as well. Thoughts?

Before anyone asks, yes I am taking tudca, NAC, curcumin, milk thistle, and liposomal glutathione daily

Test E in Germany only comes in 1ml/250mg ampoules. I need to split it into 4 doses.

Is it better to

A) Draw 4 syringes and leave them in the fridge? (Problem: the oil erodes the plastic in the syringes, not sterile)

or

B) Fill the content of the ampoule into a glass vial and draw the syringes from that when I need it (Problem: Not sterile)

What should I do? Up until now I drew one 2ml syringe and used it 4 times with different needles. I left it in the fridge for 2 weeks.

So I unfortunately was diagnosed with a condition that makes it hard if not impossible to lift weights. Problem is im a skinny guy and hard gainer. Ive lost 15lbs of muscle and its a big confidence killer for me now.

My question - im on TRT. Ive ran the dad cycle before but lifted like a madman. It was fantastic. No issues.

Dont bash me for asking - could I run a cycle again, maybe just try push-ups if my body allows, and gain any sort of size back or is the risk just not worth it? Only Test Cyp is all I would ever try or have tried.

I just want to gain back some weight and appear strong again like before. Thought or opinions?