My optimal protocol is daily injections of Estrogen and just 24.5mg Test per week

[seb288]

I first started TRT with far too much for far too long 250mg of T Cyp/week. None of my symptoms (crippling fatigue, very low libido etc. improved) Browsing through the internet, I even tried Aromatase inhibitors incase high E conversion was preventing benefits, but that didn't work. When I finally measured after a few months, I was off the charts. So I kept reducing the dose and testing every 6 months or so until I reached 50mg. When I got a low IQ girlfriend, I found myself getting extremely annoyed at her all the time because she sabotaged everything with poor decisions (but I remained with her because with my low libido, she was the only person who could arouse me because she was willing to dominate me). My annoyances with her only resolved one year later once I lowered my dose to 5mg T Cyp per day (which is 35 mg of T Cyp per week which is 24.5mg of T per week). I think this keeps me in the normal range (will need to do labs, but I haven't because I feel best at this dose). However, lowering my dose so much and my libido was still shit (same as pre TRT and same as when I had very high T). So I tried adding Estrogen. It worked. My libido improved significantly. Still not as much as average male but I think that's because of my very low dopamine sensitivity (I have ADD and CFS). The TRT was a desperate attempt to somewhat treat the CFS/exercise intolerance but didn't work. Now, my best protocol so far to date after 8 years of TRT is 24.5mg T per week (in daily injections of 3.5mg) along with estradiol cypionate/valerate injections every day.

 

[FunkOdyssey]

Some interesting AI answers to my question, "Does DHT or Estradiol raise dopamine levels more in the brain?"

Research shows that estradiol has a more pronounced effect on increasing dopamine activity compared to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in various brain regions.

1. Estradiol has been shown to increase dopamine turnover in the striatum and nucleus accumbens, boosting dopamine metabolite levels like DOPAC and homovanillic acid (HVA), suggesting enhanced dopamine metabolism without directly increasing dopamine concentrations (Di Paolo et al., 1985).

2. DHT, while capable of maintaining dopamine metabolism in castrated male rats, does not affect dopamine levels as significantly as estradiol. Studies show that DHT does not lead to a significant increase in tyrosine hydroxylase, the enzyme critical for dopamine synthesis, in contrast to estradiol which does increase this activity (Alderson & Baum, 1981).

3. Chronic estradiol treatment enhances dopamine receptor density in key regions such as the striatum and caudate nucleus, further influencing dopamine-related neurotransmission (Morissette et al., 1993).

In conclusion, estradiol appears to have a stronger impact on dopamine regulation than DHT, especially in areas related to reward and motor function..

 

[RotnGun]

I first started TRT with far too much for far too long 250mg of T Cyp/week. None of my symptoms (crippling fatigue, very low libido etc. improved) Browsing through the internet, I even tried Aromatase inhibitors incase high E conversion was preventing benefits, but that didn't work. When I finally measured after a few months, I was off the charts. So I kept reducing the dose and testing every 6 months or so until I reached 50mg. When I got a low IQ girlfriend, I found myself getting extremely annoyed at her all the time because she sabotaged everything with poor decisions (but I remained with her because with my low libido, she was the only person who could arouse me because she was willing to dominate me). My annoyances with her only resolved one year later once I lowered my dose to 5mg T Cyp per day (which is 35 mg of T Cyp per week which is 24.5mg of T per week). I think this keeps me in the normal range (will need to do labs, but I haven't because I feel best at this dose). However, lowering my dose so much and my libido was still shit (same as pre TRT and same as when I had very high T). So I tried adding Estrogen. It worked. My libido improved significantly. Still not as much as average male but I think that's because of my very low dopamine sensitivity (I have ADD and CFS). The TRT was a desperate attempt to somewhat treat the CFS/exercise intolerance but didn't work. Now, my best protocol so far to date after 8 years of TRT is 24.5mg T per week (in daily injections of 3.5mg) along with estradiol cypionate/valerate injections every day.

What is your estrogen valerate dose? Did you at one point crash your estrogen levels?