Simplicity, consistency, accountability

[twreck555]

Week 1 day 3, 211 this AM, puffy as all hell in my face and ankles



Not sure where my estrogen is at but I'm guessing it's creeping up. The reason i had had the primo in place was to mitigate this, now that it's gone I anticipate needing to tweak things. If my e2 does get too high I will need to decide between: reducing the testosterone dosage, or implementing an ai. Which will force me to examine my priorities once again. Not a bad thing I suppose. Happy black friday

 

[readalot]

Week 1 day 3, 211 this AM, puffy as all hell in my face and ankles

View attachment 305383

Not sure where my estrogen is at but I'm guessing it's creeping up. The reason i had had the primo in place was to mitigate this, now that it's gone I anticipate needing to tweak things. If my e2 does get too high I will need to decide between: reducing the testosterone dosage, or implementing an ai. Which will force me to examine my priorities once again. Not a bad thing I suppose. Happy black friday

Looking great Brother!

 

[readalot]

My takeaway was that for a rough and inexpensive estimate that you are in the right ballpark, multiply the labcorp free t direct value by 0.7 and you should wind up in the 11.5-15.5 range to be in the top quartile of the range. (Assuming that quest range is what you go by? The labcorp ED range is way higher, 21-28 for the top quartile if i read that correctly?)

Yes multiplying by 0.7 roughly takes the direct pg/ml to ng/dl by ED.

Quest range is busted (long story) hence 15-20 ng/dl is reasonable target based on what we have go to by today for high end TRT.

Or spring for the more expensive ED test. Which for me at the moment I'm way above range either way I'm sure. But interestingly in the examples linked, so was the patient in question, though not quite so high as I am currently. I've already paid for my next labs which include the free t direct and I'm guessing after two weeks on this lower dose I'll still be high and need to titrate down again so I might just leave it alone and save the more expensive test for if or when fine tuning makes more sense.

Now I usually just take TT and SHBG and calculate FT by Vermeulen method. It runs pretty close to ED results typically.

Cool thread Brother. Wishing you the best on your journey!

 

[twreck555]

Yes multiplying by 0.7 roughly takes the direct pg/ml to ng/dl by ED.

Quest range is busted (long story) hence 15-20 ng/dl is reasonable target based on what we have go to by today for high end TRT.



Now I usually just take TT and SHBG and calculate FT by Vermeulen method. It runs pretty close to ED results typically.

Cool thread Brother. Wishing you the best on your journey!

Thanks Brother!

TT, SHBG, vermeulin method, 15-20. Copy that

Thank you very much for your support and information, I truly appreciate it. Looking forward to finding a place where things feel balanced, I know it's possible.

 

[twreck555]

Weight still moving up lmfao

 

[readalot]

vermeulin method

Free & Bioavailable Testosterone calculator

Free to use and undefeated in forum battles haha.

 

[twreck555]

Awesome man, thank you again. Testing again 12/11 so we'll see how this new protocol works. Psyched to achieve levels which may provide benefit for both immediate well being and long term longevity, in terms of maintaining physical fitness and relative health through my middle years and beyond.

I admit I got distracted by the gains there for a minute, but this is what's important in the long run and I don't want to forget that.

 

[readalot]

Awesome man, thank you again. Testing again 12/11 so we'll see how this new protocol works. Psyched to achieve levels which may provide benefit for both immediate well being and long term longevity, in terms of maintaining physical fitness and relative health through my middle years and beyond.

I admit I got distracted by the gains there for a minute, but this is what's important in the long run and I don't want to forget that.

Your self-awareness is exceptional. Well done.

 

[twreck555]

Hey so, guys, I'm having an issue and I need to troubleshoot. Any help appreciated.

I've been getting crazy charlie horses in my muscles and I don't know what to make of it. I'm not on clen or any orals.

Possible culprits: rosuvastatin (prescribed), telmisartan ( was taking until recently), hormones, electrolyte supplements, other otc supplements. I take a lot of supplemental K+ and Mg+, a little Ca+

I'm thinking I should drop the electrolytes and all the otc stuff and keep only my hormones (test + gh), reta, and rosuvastatin. And see if that resolves the issue. Then add the otc things back in one at a time to see if I can find the culprit. I'm worried that it might be rosuvastatin causing the issue, if so I definitely want to figure that out so I can reduce dose or drop entirely. Don't want that statin rhabdo

 

[twreck555]

Your self-awareness is exceptional. Well done.

Hey thank you for that. I don't really know if I always agree with this statement but I do at least try to do the right thing now and again

 

[readalot]

Hey thank you for that. I don't really know if I always agree with this statement but I do at least try to do the right thing now and again

I am referring to your actions after the feedback from Jin23. Alot of guys including me vasilate between get huge and ripped vs long game. Appreciate your log.

 

[twreck555]

I am referring to your actions after the feedback from Jin23. Alot of guys including me vasilate between get huge and ripped vs long game. Appreciate your log.

That's me as well brother, but honestly I don't think I have legitimately exhausted my natural potential, let alone my potential at optimized but still physiological hormonal levels. Add to that the fact that I have room to improve in terms of diet, training, and day to day habits... and the best path for me appears to be to focus on the foundations while aiming for a highish but still normal hormonal environment.

If and only if I reach a point where everything else is absolutely on point, and yet I plateau for a long period of time, then perhaps it will be time to at least consider the possibilities of proceeding beyond the physiological range. But until then I think that would be a distraction for me at best, because without a strong foundation I don't believe I will get all of the benefits of the pharmacology, but the drawbacks will absolutely still be there.

I speak only for myself and I don't presume to know what is best for anyone else. These are just my own thoughts related to my own personal journey.

 

[twreck555]

Pondering more on my muscle cramps:

I was supplementing with 5 mg daily telmisartan until just a few days ago.

Telmisartan can cause hyponatremia.

Hyponatremia can cause cramps.

My electrolyte supplement is 2:1 K+ to Na+. I really don't eat processed food and only salt my food to taste

My Na+ level on my last labs was 132.

I think I'm making myself hyponatremic.

So keep telmisartan out. Maybe instead of cutting electrolytes completely, I should add Na+ to My electrolytes to make them either 1:1 Na+ to K+ or possibly even 2:1

 

[readalot]

vasilate

vacillate

Sorry. I'm on abusive dosages of AAS.

Kids: wait till you are old and WAY out of school, please.

 

[Trenbolonetax]

I am referring to your actions after the feedback from Jin23. Alot of guys including me vasilate between get huge and ripped vs long game. Appreciate your log.

Guilty as charged!

 

[readalot]

Pondering more on my muscle cramps:

I was supplementing with 5 mg daily telmisartan until just a few days ago.

Telmisartan can cause hyponatremia.

Hyponatremia can cause cramps.

My electrolyte supplement is 2:1 K+ to Na+. I really don't eat processed food and only salt my food to taste

My Na+ level on my last labs was 132.

I think I'm making myself hyponatremic.

So keep telmisartan out. Maybe instead of cutting electrolytes completely, I should add Na+ to My electrolytes to make them either 1:1 Na+ to K+ or possibly even 2:1

Those cramps are terrifying. Used to get them on inner thigh in middle of night. Whoa. I was doing hard keto and lots of bike mileage so for me it was definitely electrolyte issue. Sounds like you are on right track. I've been taking 10 meq K Rx for a few years now and issue gone. Post your CMP-14 if you have recent one. Sodium reads low.

 

[twreck555]

Those cramps are terrifying. Used to get them on inner thigh in middle of night. Whoa. I was doing hard keto and lots of bike mileage so for me it was definitely electrolyte issue. Sounds like you are on right track. I've been taking 10 meq K Rx for a few years now and issue gone. Post your CMP-14 if you have recent one. Sodium reads low.

K will do one minute

 

[twreck555]

Those cramps are terrifying. Used to get them on inner thigh in middle of night. Whoa. I was doing hard keto and lots of bike mileage so for me it was definitely electrolyte issue. Sounds like you are on right track. I've been taking 10 meq K Rx for a few years now and issue gone. Post your CMP-14 if you have recent one. Sodium reads low.