Have you ever DECREASED your dose?

[GA8314]

Hey guys. I've only been on TRT for about 9 months. I'm on Test Cyp 100 mg Q3.5d with 350iU of HCG IM. I recently (this week) lowered my Anastrozole from 0.5 mg on injection days to 0.25mg to see how it will effect me (side effects, changes in libido, and also then lab values).

****I'm happy to get into labs later. Suffice it to say I am high normal the day of my next injection. So, I MAY be supra physiologic the day after injection or so.

How many of you guys had better SUBJECTIVE benefits to TRT with dose reductions?? Forget about lab values for a minute. I'm curious how many felt better at, say, 160 mg versus on 200 mg??

I already know guys are doing very well on doses much less than 200/wk. I want to hear from guys, however, who KNOW they do better on lower versus higher, because they've been at both higher and lower doses.

Thanks in advance guys! I look forward to hearing about your experiences.

 

[CoastWatcher]

Dropped from 70mg every 3.5 days to 60mg every 3.5 days to 16mg every day (140mg total per week to 120mg total every week to 112mg total every week). Putting aside improved lab results, I felt better each and every time the dose was lowered. I am where I should be.

 

[GA8314]

Dropped from 70mg every 3.5 days to 60mg every 3.5 days to 16mg every day (140mg total per week to 120mg total every week to 112mg total every week). Putting aside improved lab results, I felt better each and every time the dose was lowered. I am where I should be.

CoastWatcher, can you tell me how you have improved, specifically? Also, do you notice any difference in strength or energy? If you can elaborate it would be great.

Thanks for sharing and good to hear you are doing well.

 

[pureblood]

Labs aside, I felt better at 150mgs/wk going 2 x's wk, and no A.I. and recently went to 200/wk, eod and sex drive seems worse and def got nipple sensitivity, but in all fairness to my Dr 150mgs/wk only got me into the hgh 500's for T. Still trying to dial this in though.

 

[Jon H]

GA8314 - I started at 100mg per week, then 160mg, and finally 180mg. I always felt better with each increase. I would hate to ever go back down.

 

[GA8314]

GA8314 - I started at 100mg per week, then 160mg, and finally 180mg. I always felt better with each increase. I would hate to ever go back down.

Thanks for the feedback. I kinda want to give a lower dose a try. I may decrease from 100mg Q3.5d to 90mg Q3.5d and see what happens. I guess there's only one way to find out.....

 

[CoastWatcher]

CoastWatcher, can you tell me how you have improved, specifically? Also, do you notice any difference in strength or energy? If you can elaborate it would be great.

Thanks for sharing and good to hear you are doing well.

The other members of the Forum who have posted here, all of whom are taking significantly higher doses than I ever have, and I have no interest in doing so, make a valid point - each one of us is different. That said, on 16mg a day my total testosterone floats just below 1000 and my e2 sits between 25 and 28, with no AI.

The subjective improvements that I can attest to on 112mg a week, 16mg a day, start with rapid induction of sleep. As soon as I began responding to TRT my sleep patterns improved, but at higher doses I still found it a bit of a challenge to fall asleep. Once that happened, I stayed down for the night, but on lower doses I fall asleep within minutes of turning the light out.

On higher doses of testosterone, I found delayed ejaculation, no matter how much stimulation was applied, to be a challenge. Lowering the dose helped significantly. I would have to say that penis sensitivity improved somewhat as well on lower doses.

I should point out out that each time I made a protocol change, I waited six weeks before testing. During that time I paid close attention to my body and did feel a bit "off" during the first two weeks of a change. As Dr. Saya has noted, as one lowers the amount injected, and moves to more frequent injections, everything has to be rebalanced. It takes a bit of patience.

But I feel great.

 

[Jon H]

CoastWatcher - This is why ExcelMale is my favorite TRT forum. Members here realize that while there are protocols that "work for most", not everyone is the same. That's why I value everyone's responses so much.

GA8314 - There are tons of reasons why some guys do great on 1x per week injections, while others like me need to break up the dose into 3x per week. Likewise, some guys feel the best on 200mg per week (and some even higher amounts), while many guys feel fantastic on 100mg per week. My humble suggestion is that if you are feeling some symptoms that are normally associated with higher levels of testosterone, you could try a lower dose for 6-8 weeks and see if those symptoms go away. Then readjust as necessary.

 

[GA8314]

The other members of the Forum who have posted here, all of whom are taking significantly higher doses than I ever have, and I have no interest in doing so, make a valid point - each one of us is different. That said, on 16mg a day my total testosterone floats just below 1000 and my e2 sits between 25 and 28, with no AI.

The subjective improvements that I can attest to on 112mg a week, 16mg a day, start with rapid induction of sleep. As soon as I began responding to TRT my sleep patterns improved, but at higher doses I still found it a bit of a challenge to fall asleep. Once that happened, I stayed down for the night, but on lower doses I fall asleep within minutes of turning the light out.

On higher doses of testosterone, I found delayed ejaculation, no matter how much stimulation was applied, to be a challenge. Lowering the dose helped significantly. I would have to say that penis sensitivity improved somewhat as well on lower doses.

I should point out out that each time I made a protocol change, I waited six weeks before testing. During that time I paid close attention to my body and did feel a bit "off" during the first two weeks of a change. As Dr. Saya has noted, as one lowers the amount injected, and moves to more frequent injections, everything has to be rebalanced. It takes a bit of patience.

But I feel great.

Great to hear Coast! Thank you for the personal details. Much appreciated.

JonH, I agree and thank you also for sharing.

I'm gonna slowly titrate down my dose. I've said it before, but I've been on irresponsibly high (400 mg/wk max but also 350, 300, 250/wk as well) doses, and while of course that is good for size and strength, it's NOT the best for overall wellbeing, or health (to state the obvious).

Those cycles are NOT the reason I'm on TRT, btw.

I'm gonna lower my dose to 90 mg Q3.5 days in conjunction with 0.25mg Arimidex (down from 0.5 mg). I realize I'm changing two variables but I'm o.k. with it. Labs to follow in 6 weeks. I do take around 350 iU HCG Q3.5d also. I'll report on my status as I find this very interesting and don't mind experimenting a bit to find the sweet spot.

The important lesson to me was that those supra physiological doses did not equal improvements in any aspect OTHER than size, strength, and endurance. Mood, libido, sexual function, absolutely were worse on those doses. Clearly this is old news to many of you guys, but I just wanted to see for myself.....

Thanks men!

 

[CoastWatcher]

Great to hear Coast! Thank you for the personal details. Much appreciated.

JonH, I agree and thank you also for sharing.

I'm gonna slowly titrate down my dose. I've said it before, but I've been on irresponsibly high (400 mg/wk max but also 350, 300, 250/wk as well) doses, and while of course that is good for size and strength, it's NOT the best for overall wellbeing, or health (to state the obvious).

Those cycles are NOT the reason I'm on TRT, btw.

I'm gonna lower my dose to 90 mg Q3.5 days in conjunction with 0.25mg Arimidex (down from 0.5 mg). I realize I'm changing two variables but I'm o.k. with it. Labs to follow in 6 weeks. I'll report on my status as I find this very interesting and don't mind experimenting a bit to find the sweet spot.

Thanks men!

Two points - don't be surprised if you feel off balance (no other way to put it) in the early stages of a transition, and give it sufficient time for your levels to stabilize. That means at least four weeks, Dr. Saya says at least five, and my doctor holds out for six. Good luck.

 

[GA8314]

GA8314 - I started at 100mg per week, then 160mg, and finally 180mg. I always felt better with each increase. I would hate to ever go back down.

JonH, how do you feel on 180mg? Do you feel like you should go higher?

 

[WayneC]

i decreased my dose from 200mg down to 120mgs. Added dhea 50mg with 50 mg preg. Doubled my AI from 1mg to 2mg a week. And have felt great since. Getting my blood work next week. Previously I was at 1499 test levels with 35 estradiol at 200mgs. And felt crappy with higher estrogen.

 

[Vince]

I was injecting 16 mg of testosterone daily and 500 IU of HCG twice a week. Gave me high levels testosterone. I recently increased my dose to 20 mg of testosterone cypionate and 500 IU of HCG. I feel even better at this higher supraphysiologic dose.