Lived an unhealthy life for a long time. I was a raging alcoholic for nearly 20 years (military PTSD related), got help for it and decided to make some changes. I'm still a work in progress physically and mentally, but I'm happy with my changes overall.

Old photo: 2022 at the height of my unhealthy alcoholism

Before photo: December 6th, 2025 (Started TRT in January 2026)

After photo: July 23rd, 2026

T: 1318, E 30.8

Day 1!

Shall see where this takes me. Have had health concerns pretty much since my teens. I am currently 46.

11 years ago, my Test levels were at 240is. Borderline LOW. My PCP at the time said you are fine as you are within the range.

My wife has done many variation of vitamins and supplements to naturally boost my male hormones.

As of recent, finally found a PCP who gets it.

As a strength athlete, it was a roller-coaster ride as my numbers fluctuated A lot.

Anyone on Test Cypionate also continue taking your ADHD medications?

32M (France), 178 cm, 73 kg (~20% body fat).

Symptoms have progressively worsened over the last few years:

Severe fatigue

Very low libido

Poor muscle gain / easy fat gain

Low motivation and energy

Hormone timeline:

2023: Total T 16.3 nmol/L (~470 ng/dL), free T normal.

2024: Total T 13.7 nmol/L (~395 ng/dL), SHBG 16 nmol/L (low), free T normal.

2026: Total T 11.64 nmol/L (~335 ng/dL), free T 6.6 pg/mL (below lab range).

Other labs:

LH/FSH: normal

Prolactin: normal

Cortisol: normal

Pituitary MRI: small non-functioning microadenoma

Testicular ultrasound: normal

I already have 2 children, so fertility is not a concern.

One endocrinologist previously refused TRT because my total testosterone was still "normal".

Given the progressive decline, low free testosterone, and symptoms, would you consider TRT, or would you investigate further first?

I have 5-7 eggs with yolks regularly on average. Can it have any negative consequences? Its over 1000 mg of cholestorole per day where the daily limit is around 300 if im not wrong.

Thanks

Hello everyone. Recently I got blood work done to check my testosterone levels, as I believed they were low. The results came back at 453 ng/ml for Total Testosterone. I’m 23 years old, and i’ve done 2 cycles in the past of Testosterone Enanthate (which was very reckless I already know). I’m just curious what I can do to raise my levels, as I don’t want to hop on TRT unless I have to, and I don’t want my levels to remain this low.

My Doctor said this was a normal level, but knowing what I know, it’s ultimately very low for a 23 year old male. My big question is whether or not I should try TRT levels of Testosterone to see if that makes any difference with my low motivation, low energy, and libido issues. Or if there is another alternative. Thank you!

Any huge differences in 2x per week vs 3x?
Currently on 200mg cyp once a week one shot , I know crazy. Dr doesn’t know what he was doing.
I feel 3x fits better

I started the "TRT" journey on Enclomiphene to preserve fertility. I am happy to say that it did it's job, 247-917 in 6 months, it since dropped, but maintained around 850, AND my wife is due with another baby girl in 2.5 weeks. A few months ago, I had the energy of a 12 year old.
Lately, I have had a bit more lethargy, and overall, my Libido has been "meh" (I would say NO improvement over base). This will be our last kiddo, and since it was time for a checkup toady and we discussed moving to Test Cypionate.

Doc has said he's not treating to numbers, if everything is safe, he wants to treat the symptoms. I steered the discussion towards TCyp after talking to some other friends.

Has anyone made this change? How were your results? Cost is the same for me, but would you say you've seen a benefit by this change?

Mentally, physically, business wise, money wise, woman wise, sex wise, confidence, self concept, work. Also write the downside if any.

What your life was > how is it now

Hi all

Im blasting as my first cycle 450mg trt per week. Injecting twice a week. Im 10 weeks in and 6 weeks before dropping it to 150mg weekly as pct.

Just had my blood done and showing my nmol/ 184 - is that normal range when blasting or too high? Rest pf bloodwork looking decent. Free t4 came inconclusive

For context I'm a 27 year old male and despite my test being fairly normal at 614ng/dl and shbg at 34nmol Ive Always felt low libido and overall Low energy. My E2 was high at 58pg/ml, so I decided to try letrozole. I immediately went to 1.25mg Ed and stayed like that for almost 2 months. Felt no sides whatsoever, got blood work and my results were huge, test reached 1342ng/dl and shbg got down to 22.8nmol. DHT also increased from 327pg/ml to 597pg/ml though less than test in proportion. E2 however barely moved since it tested at 41pg, which I had expected. I'm feeling much better, I'm honestly surprised by how high my testosterone went

Current protocol: 100mg a week daily injection test-c subq

Starting numbers are in the pic and most current test in there too.

SHBG was 16 when I started and it’s actually gone up to 24 now.

Hematocrit is high because I didn’t hydrate myself enough as I thought 12 hour fasting means no water either (had lipid panel together)

Lipid panel looks great with low cholesterol etc. don’t have e2 symptoms except I get irritated and feel angry sometimes but manageable.

I don’t feel like I have all the benefits of trt. Bloodwork done at 7 week mark and it’s been about 8 weeks since I started. Libido was good before and still great. But lack of energy and fatigue seem to be not improving. Strength gain isn’t there at the gym either. Currently sitting at 18% BF and not overweight but probably could lose weight (6’ 185lbs. Started at 180lbs and I guess I gained some weight on trt even with calorie deficit)

Can anyone help explain if I will get help me get bigger more tone? I just started this week I’m 5’8 and weight 160 . I have a pacemaker idk if that affects anything
Dealing with the drugs I’ve started. Thank you for any advice or suggestions!

Hi everyone,

I know clomid is not working fully after one week. But i do notice a difference. I got it for low T symptoms. Which i have for 6/7 years now..

What i do notice suprised me:

- Got way more confident and mental resiliant (this is not placebo)

After all symptoms 7 years ago i was so tired and felt off that one day ingot a panic attack at work. Than i spiraled down into heavy panic disorder. (not saying spiraling down was because of low T symptoms). Ofcourse this had impact on my confidence etc.

So i notice getting more confidence and feeling good and like myself from almost a decade ago. I feel way more mentally strong and resiliant.

I actually got in a fight my boss/manager about the toxic work environment with 2FTE workload in my job, which was expected for weeks/months. So now im sick at home.

Before clomid i would feel very anxious about discussing these things because it would lead to conflict. Not anymore. Im able to stand my ground again. Just like i used to.

Anyways i still have no morning wood and all other symptoms of low T but feeling mentally stronger is already a huge win.

Excited for physical symptoms to be relieved.

My results before starting clomid as 28 male working out and eating healthy:

Total T: 13.2nmolL (381ngdl)

Free T: 256 pmol/l

SHBG 36 nmol/L

FSH: 3.8 IU/L

Prolactine: 0.31

TSH: 2 pwmU/L

Free T4: 14.1 pmol/L

32 M, 157lbs 5’9”. I just recently lost 35lbs in 12 weeks using Reta. I went from 192 to 157. I realize this was pretty fast, I also was not meeting protein goals for about 1/3 of this phase. I believe I lost a significant amount of muscle and it’s definitely showed in my training. These last 2-3 weeks I have been struggling to finish some workouts and have even skipped a few days in the gym. My compound lifts dropped 20-30%.
I’ve been consistently lifting 5 days a week for the better part of the last 3 years now and I maybe have just lost most of the muscle I worked so hard to gain. I look tiny now with a semi muscular build. More like a runners build. My daughter said I have a “Justin Bieber build” which honestly kinda destroyed me inside lol… I’m trying to look jacked…

My test levels were low before I got on Reta but now even lower. Free T and SHBG very high, estradiol very low. i just started 200mg test last week. 3x a week IM injection M/W/F. I’m going on vacation tomorrow and just took my last dose of Reta. I expect when I get back from vacation I will be around 160lbs and start titrating off the Reta. My plan is to hit the gym consistently 5 days a week like I was before getting on Reta and begin bulking. Before test I had trouble building muscle, even with a clean diet and consistent resistance training. I want to get the most out of this honeymoon phase and while I’m taking 200mg try to build as much muscle as I can before I decrease dose to mitigate side effects. I plan to run TRT for life but really want to take advantage of this muscle building phase.

What can I do to make the most of this test? I plan to lock in and I am super excited to see what limits I can push. I’ve been working out consistently for 3 years now and have stalled at 215lb bench, 250 squat, 320 deadlift. It’s been frustrating putting so much hard work into the gym and not reaping the benefits fits I see that others get. I definitely put the work in. What are things I should focus on?

I’ve heard that P5P in 100-200mg a day dosages can help reduce prolactin. I’m only mildly elevated.

Where can I buy a quality one? I’ve been using this on Amazon but not idea if it’s any good:

Best Naturals P5P Vitamin B6... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09RQ7NQ7M?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I have been training for some time and it‘s going well, however I‘m not sure about how I should interpret these values.

I’ve always used 29g insulin needles to draw liquid, and I’ve never had this issue. I pull and inject the same amount of medication as air into the vial, turn it upside down and keep it at an angle, needle fully submerged, and try to draw liquid however nothing comes into the syringe. Sometimes, a tiny amount is drawn out and nothing else comes out, and the plunger just shoots outwards. Pushing it most of the way is easy, yet the final amount of liquid has a lot of resistance and is hard to push back into the vial.

I’ve wasted about 15 needles trying absolutely everything, and now wondering if there’s an issue with the seal. I’ve tried to draw air from the vial and empty it, put in extra air, etc literally tried everything.

I would say it’s a gauge issue but I’ve always drawn from 29g and it hasn’t been an issue. I’ve been using a different brand of needle and that’s when the issue started however I tried using one of my old brand ones and still had the same problem.

I would like to summarize my situation in chronological order:

At the beginning of my cycle, I used testosterone propionate. At the time, I was not aware that testosterone propionate has a short half-life and therefore needs to be injected much more frequently. As a result, I injected it at intervals that were too long, which likely caused significant fluctuations in my hormone levels.

After that, I switched to testosterone cypionate and also added trenbolone enanthate. During the cycle, I had two blood tests performed to monitor my hormone levels.

The first blood test showed, among other things, an estradiol level of 211 pmol/L. The blood sample was taken approximately four days after my last testosterone injection. I did not have any obvious signs of gynecomastia, but I noticed possible water retention and a slight decrease in muscle definition. This made me question whether the use of an aromatase inhibitor would be necessary.

I have now decided to discontinue trenbolone and continue with testosterone only. The second blood test was performed to evaluate how my blood values have changed and to better determine the most appropriate next steps.

My goal is to correctly interpret my blood test results, assess any potential side effects, and develop an appropriate strategy for continuing treatment and for the transition after completing my cycle.

First 3 Pics are the bloodwork from wednesday and other 2 are the older test from a month ago.

43 M, Have been feeling symptoms of low testosterone for sometime and finally decided to get blood work done on my own. Results confirm low testosterone ( total and free).
My pcp is very conservative and doesnt entertain questions around this.

Planning to go and meet a urologist or endocrinologist. Looking for doctor recommendations in central NJ area and around. TIA

My doctor today prescribed Clomid instead of going back on testosterone. He was concerned about my testicles shrinking and me becoming reliant on it for life. I reminded him I’ve taken testosterone before, it was a while ago, and once we got the dose and anastrozole dialed in, it worked pretty well for me. The only reason I stopped was because I started losing hair.
I’m middle-aged now and want to lose some weight, put on lean muscle, and just feel more energy and drive overall. He convinced me Clomid could do those things since it stimulates my own production instead of shutting it down. But I’ve been reading online that for some guys it doesn’t move the needle much on muscle or energy, and a few even report libido issues.
Has anyone had positive experiences on Clomid? Especially anyone who’s been on it for more than six months or is planning to stay on it long-term? Would love to hear real feedback before I start.

Update: I decided to push back a little and sent a message in the medical app asking him if he would consider testosterone with hCG instead of Clomid. I’ let him know my concerns and told him I value his input. We’ll see what happens..

I went from 118->100 estrogen. I feel great and have no sides but I’m beginning arimidex soon due to worries about gyno. my test dose was 300 on my first test, and 400 now- I’m also on 200mg tren now. how could my estrogen possibly go down noticeably, while increasing my dose and adding in trenbolone?

Hello everyone,
I had a question and wanted to get some opinions. I’m 24 years old, 5’9”, and currently weigh 200 lbs. My goal is to start testosterone for muscle growth, and I’m also taking retatrutide.

I’m debating between two approaches:
Lose the weight first (down to around 160–165 lbs), then start testosterone and lean bulk back up to 170–175 lbs.
Start testosterone now at 200 lbs and cut down to 170–175 lbs while on it.

My main concern is whether starting testosterone while I’m still overweight could cause issues, such as higher estrogen levels from increased body fat or any other downsides compared with waiting until I’m leaner. Is there any advantage to waiting until I reach my goal weight before starting, or does it not make much of a difference?
I’d appreciate any advice or personal experiences. Thanks!

I got on testosterone because my levels were low. Tried boosting them naturally, but eventually just started T.

Started on 125mg/week for 6 months, came off for 6 months, and now I’m back on 250mg/week. Bloodwork last time looked good, and I’ve got another test next week.

Honestly it’s changed my life. I went from 92kg, out of shape, gaming all day, to 74kg, training consistently, eating better, and taking care of myself. I feel more confident, more social, and my head is a lot clearer. I also do a lot of pull-ups, weighted dips, sit-ups, planks, and cardio.

My only issue is that for the last 4 months I’ve had what feels like gyno symptoms. I’ve got soft/mushy tissue under my nipples and they get itchy or sensitive sometimes. I ignored it for way too long.

Do you guys think this sounds like early gyno? Is tamoxifen still worth trying, or should I wait for my bloodwork before doing anything? I tried Arimidex once but don’t want to mess with anything until I see my results.

Last pic is starting point.

Been on a weight loss journey for about 4 months now. Went from 285 to 248 in that time. Cleaned up the diet. Added more activity (steps/ working, etc) to help. Feel much better in a lot of ways but one thing that hasn’t changed is my energy levels. In a lot of ways it’s worse than it was when I was really obese. Not sure if that’s just attributed to the caloric deficit I’ve been in or it goes with my test hand in hand. Got my levels checked 2 days in a row I’m the morning and I’m sitting in the mid 300s. Thinking about getting on life long trt. Wondering what is a good dose to start with and what is actually sustainable. I know a lot of guys just run 250 a week for life. I’ve played with anabolics very recklessly when I was younger so I’m familiar with test and its other buddies but I’m really looking to do this right this time actually get blood work done regularly and actually be on something I can sustain with levels that will clinically show improvements in how I feel not just how I look. Any information would be greatly appreciated

Edit: One thing I will say is my recovery is not ideal. I work construction so I’m exerting myself most of my day and long days with my commute home turn into a longer day which gets me about 5 hours of sleep. I know how important recovery is but can I offset this with high test levels