Optimizing my TRT, having some issues at the moment!

[Xilence7]

Also - there are european based sources of blood pressure meds right here on the web site with good reviews.

It will, but not like coming and saying hey, I have high BP, I want meds. I will have to come a few times, each time waiting for hours, etc etc. And then talk why, reduce stress, bla bla bla come again and then maybe I will get it.

Great, didn't know that! It will be an option if it doesn't lower in 2 months changing lifestyle (sugars/cardio) and reducing the dose, for the next year I will be on them until I can safely get off and do PCT.

Thanks!

 

[Country Club Hero]

It will, but not like coming and saying hey, I have high BP, I want meds. I will have to come a few times, each time waiting for hours, etc etc. And then talk why, reduce stress, bla bla bla come again and then maybe I will get it.

Great, didn't know that! It will be an option if it doesn't lower in 2 months changing lifestyle (sugars/cardio) and reducing the dose, for the next year I will be on them until I can safely get off and do PCT.

Thanks!

You don’t need a script or to talk to anyone to purchase the BP meds from the places he’s talking about.

 

[Ghoul]

You don’t need a script or to talk to anyone to purchase the BP meds from the places he’s talking about.

Not to mention the fact that 95% of doctors don't properly address BP according to the guidelines from the EU and US cardiology associations.

For the last few years, experts on panels at their conferences have been raging at the fact not only do patients not adhere to BP treatment, but front line clinicians aren't taking this nearly as seriously as they should. There's no question this is the lowest hanging fruit for maintain good health over the long term.

Anything over 120/70 is now clearly understood to be harmful. Most docs do nothing until they see 140/80+, if that.

 

[Xilence7]

You don’t need a script or to talk to anyone to purchase the BP meds from the places he’s talking about.

Hilma where I get test doesn't have them, if you have any reputable EU source, feel free to msg me!

Not to mention the fact that 95% of doctors don't properly address BP according to the guidelines from the EU and US cardiology associations.

For the last few years, experts on panels at their conferences have been raging at the fact not only do patients not adhere to BP treatment, but front line clinicians aren't taking this nearly as seriously as they should. There's no question this is the lowest hanging fruit for maintain good health over the long term.

Anything over 120/70 is now clearly understood to be harmful. Most docs do nothing until they see 140/80+, if that.

Yes, especially here where I live, they will say you just got nervous while being here, it's okay, thank you bye next one haha

My second (resting BP) is now these days always less than 80, which is good, only my hearth beating BP is 140-150. Is it saying something?
One more thing is that I use creatine for years, but last months I figured out that I'm taking around 10g instead of 3g daily, which MAY contribute to BP? Or not, I stop taking it and will check, also started cycling after the workout for 20mins at 130-135 BPM

 

[malfeasance]

Anything over 120/70 is now clearly understood to be harmful. Most docs do nothing until they see 140/80+, if that.

Not sure what I would have to do to get mine under that. I am already a polypharmacy

Maybe starve myself under 200 pounds . . . not a step I am wanting to take

 

[Ghoul]

Not sure what I would have to do to get mine under that. I am already a polypharmacy

Maybe starve myself under 200 pounds . . . not a step I am wanting to take

From the same recent guidelines that establish over 120/70 as "Elevated", a low dose combo of 2.3, and now, in "resistant" cases 4 different classes of BP meds is seen as ideal, since they interact synergistically. ARB/CCB is the combo most frequently successful. It's preferable for adherence when they're in a single pill.

What are you on now?

 

[malfeasance]

From the same recent guidelines that establish over 120/70 as "Elevated", a low dose combo of 2.3, and now, in "resistant" cases 4 different classes of BP meds is seen as ideal, since they interact synergistically. ARB/CCB is the combo most frequently successful. It's preferable for adherence when they're in a single pill.

What are you on now?

ARB/CCB already

 

[Ghoul]

ARB/CCB already

The usual addition is a diuretic.

Which combo are you on? I found Telm/Amlodipine (aka "Twynsta") perfect for me. 40/5 brought me from 150/90 to 115/68 with no sides.

Several low-dose drugs better for BP than one pill: Australian meta-analysis - PMC

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[malfeasance]

amlodipine caused my ankles to swell up, along with the tops of my feet. Like a big mass of jiggly jello on top of each foot when I walked.

It was weird.

telmisartan 80 and metoprolol 50 but it is tartrate and once a day, which is odd but when I raised that with the dr the dr insisted

I was on 12.5 hctz years ago - massive cramping when I worked out and whenever it was hot outside and I engaged in activities outside. Arm would lock up in the position of the top of a hammer curl, whole front side of the abdomen . . . calves were awful anytime working calves or hamstrings or, weirdly, when doing lunges. I put up with it for a long time, tried supplementing various electrolytes. Nothing helped but stopping the HCTZ. The dr insisted it was in my head for a while. I still remember the first set of heavy squats I did after starting HCTZ, and I was seeing stars, which had never happened before. It was a lisinopril/hctz combo

 

[17SS]

amlodipine caused my ankles to swell up, along with the tops of my feet. Like a big mass of jiggly jello on top of each foot when I walked.

It was weird.

telmisartan 80 and metoprolol 50 but it is tartrate and once a day, which is odd but when I raised that with the dr the dr insisted

I was on 12.5 hctz years ago - massive cramping when I worked out and whenever it was hot outside and I engaged in activities outside. Arm would lock up in the position of the top of a hammer curl, whole front side of the abdomen . . . calves were awful anytime working calves or hamstrings or, weirdly, when doing lunges. I put up with it for a long time, tried supplementing various electrolytes. Nothing helped but stopping the HCTZ. The dr insisted it was in my head for a while. I still remember the first set of heavy squats I did after starting HCTZ, and I was seeing stars, which had never happened before. It was a lisinopril/hctz combo

Have you tried using compression socks/stockings? May have varicose veins that are barely visible.

 

[malfeasance]

Have you tried using compression socks/stockings? May have varicose veins that are barely visible.

Nope. I stopped taking amlodipine, and the issue went away. I had no reason to continue a drug to which I had a bad reaction and wear compression socks to combat the reaction.

 

[Sunflowers]

Has anyone here used pct247 recently? I emailed them (found email address here) and haven’t received a reply with price list. Is their process different than QSC? I’m looking for test cypionate, porcine dedicated thyroid, estriol cream, etc. I have looked through the vendor section here, but still a bit unsure…

 

[HUGE McBIGLARGE]

Hey all,

I'm on TRT for the last 7 months, started with test C but shortly after preloaded and went with Undecanoate ester, pinning 300mg every 2 weeks.

I'm having some issues at the moment, which are not that bad, but still I want to improve as much as I can so I want to hear your opinion what should I do/try to mitigate these side effects.

300mg test Undecanoate every 2 weeks IM
no AI
lifting 4x a week
very lean, around 10% bodyfat

Problems:
- started having 140-150 / 80-90 blood pressure readings, nothing too high, but still I was always on the lower side like 110/70 before TRT
- slight headaches during the day, prob due to high bp?
- feeling a little emotional and somehow bloated in the face, but nothing much

Last bloodwork a few days ago:

estradiol: 127.3 pmol/L - ref(55 - 122) - HIGH
total testosterone: 752 ng/dl
SHBG: 16 nmol/L (on the lower side)
free testosterone: 0.783 nmol/L - ref(0.091 - 0.579) - HIGH
free testosterone % : 3.00% - ref(1.59 - 2.95) - HIGH
bioavailable testosterone: 73.4 % - ref(37.3 - 69.1) - HIGH

I donated blood every 3 months since, didn't affect BP much, everything else including lipids, full blood panel is in the range.

From my understanding, my lower SHBG is making my free T out of the range which can be good because I need less testosterone to achieve high free T, which is the most important factor?
I'm not sure if my E2 is causing my high blood pressure, because is not THAT high, but I think lowering it to 80-90 might help?
Achieving that can be done by raising my SHBG somehow, which will "increase" my total T and decrease a little bit my free T to not to go over the range, and automatically excess free T won't be converted to the estrogen.

Now I'm changing some things in my lifestyle, I will do intermittent fasting 14 hours everyday, limit my sugar/carbs intake, and add x3 a week 15 minutes zone 4 cardio. I know it's hard to dial in with Undecanoate ester, but it's very convenient in my day to day life, since I travel ofter and I could easily preload double the dose and not to take a shot for a month or two without feeling low T.

I appreciate any help regarding the topic! I would like to hear from someone using the same ester or having the SHBG on the lower end, thanks!

Inject more frequently. Consider subq.

Take an antihypertensive to get that BP under control. You can always come off it later if you don’t need it anymore.

Drink lots of water if you don’t already.

Consider a very very low dose AI. Then assess symptoms.

Make sure you’re eating enough fruits and vegetables

CARDIO

 

[Exhortae]

Anything over 120/70 is now clearly understood to be harmful. Most docs do nothing until they see 140/80+, if that.

Your statement is wrong. A BP of 130/80 is totally fine, unless you work for companies who sell BP drugs.

 

[Ghoul]

Your statement is wrong. A BP of 130/80 is totally fine, unless you work for companies who sell BP drugs.

Almost all BP drugs are cheap, low profit generics. My statement is based on the position of the major cardiology organizations that establish treatment guidelines in the US and EU.

Your statement is based on outdated information, and what you're calling "Fine" is stage 1 hypertension.

Get with the program and stop spouting off bullshit that endangers people's health because you're too lazy and stupid to keep up.

Reading the new blood pressure guidelines - Harvard Health

New guidelines now define high blood pressure for all adults as 130/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or higher. Lowering the threshold for treatment was found to give greater protection against he...

www.health.harvard.edu

 

[Exhortae]

Almost all BP drugs are cheap, low profit generics. My statement is based on the position of the major cardiology organizations that establish treatment guidelines in the US and EU.

Your statement is based on outdated information, and what you're calling "Fine" is stage 1 hypertension.

Get with the program and stop spouting off bullshit that endangers people's health because you're too lazy and stupid to keep up.

View attachment 315602

Reading the new blood pressure guidelines - Harvard Health

New guidelines now define high blood pressure for all adults as 130/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or higher. Lowering the threshold for treatment was found to give greater protection against he...

www.health.harvard.edu

You must really be an insecure individual if you have to call people stupid everytime they contradict you.

In france this is considered normal BP

Normal BP:

• Systolic: 120–129 mmHg
• Diastolic: 80–84 mmHg

and this is considered normal (altough high) values

• Systolic: 130–139 mmHg
• Diastolic: 85–89 mmHg

while Grade 1 Hypertension values are

Grade 1 Hypertension:

• Systolic: 140–159 mmHg
• Diastolic: 90–99 mmHg

You can even have a value like 133 mmHg with a low Diastolic value (less than 75) and be considered nomal-normal.

Now please post one single study where values of Systolic: 130 mmHg and Diastolic: 85mmHg increase cardiovascular risk (in healthy physically active people)

I prefer ten times to have those values with correct dietary and lifestyle measures than to take those shitty medications full of side effects that US big pharma is banking huge dollar with.

And you proposing that people mix 3-4 blood pressure medications is a total joke.

 

[AlexDavis43]

You must really be an insecure individual if you have to call people stupid everytime they contradict you.

Yeah, he's like that.

And you proposing that people mix 3-4 blood pressure medications is a total joke.

For people with actual hypertension, combinations of 2 lower dose meds appear to be more advantageous than 1 at full dose. Like 2 out of 3 at low dose: ARB, beta blocker, & CCB.

 

[rxzed]

You must really be an insecure individual if you have to call people stupid everytime they contradict you.

In france this is considered normal BP

Normal BP:

• Systolic: 120–129 mmHg
• Diastolic: 80–84 mmHg

and this is considered normal (altough high) values

• Systolic: 130–139 mmHg
• Diastolic: 85–89 mmHg

It's wild that someone still shares this opinion in 2025. Blood pressure medications have one of the best side effect profiles of any medication class, and are used in concert with other medications due to the linear occurance of side effects to dosage, and the unique additive health benifits many of them have. To fulfill your request, here's a meta-analysis describing the linear effect of SBP and the multitude of adverse health complications. If you actually read the entire thing, it even adresses the reason for some medical body's lack of definitive statements concerning SBP of <125mmHg.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/fullarticle/2629537

 

[egruberman]

Now please post one single study where values of Systolic: 130 mmHg and Diastolic: 85mmHg increase cardiovascular risk (in healthy physically active people)

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.21732

In france this is considered normal BP

There’s your problem.

 

[Exhortae]

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.21732

It's wild that someone still shares this opinion in 2025. Blood pressure medications have one of the best side effect profiles of any medication class, and are used in concert with other medications due to the linear occurance of side effects to dosage, and the unique additive health benifits many of them have. To fulfill your request, here's a meta-analysis describing the linear effect of SBP and the multitude of adverse health complications. If you actually read the entire thing, it even adresses the reason for some medical body's lack of definitive statements concerning SBP of <125mmHg.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/fullarticle/2629537

You are right, my information might be outdated or incomplete since the last time I tried blood pressure meds was 15 years ago. Didn't like the insomnia, fatigue from beta blockers. Seems like there are newer medications available now that I need to look into.

Some of the concerns I have with the study you posted :

1/ "our study included 42 clinical trials conducted for 144 220 patients with various comorbidities (including diabetes and stroke)"

These patients were likely already unwell, possibly with poor diets and sedentary lifestyles. For example, my grandfather suffered from severe hypertension, reaching 220 mm Hg, but his lifestyle (high salt intake, no exercise, anger) remained unchanged except for taking older medications.

2/ I am not able to find the precise baseline for these patients before treatment.

"The SPRINT trial randomly assigned 9361 persons 50 years of age or older with an SBP of 130 to 180 mm Hg who had an increased risk of CVD".

The baseline range is broad to draw any meaningful conclusions and I am not able to find anything on the distribution of values. Could be that most patients had 140 mm Hg of BP or even more. Nothing can be deducted about patients who started with 130 mmHg who ended with less 120 mmHg. and I am only talkin about patient who are healthy with no comorbidity.