Stopping trt without a pct?

[Jmoney]

Just curious. I had a varicocele surgery and stopped my testosterone to see if the surgery improved my testosterone levels. I've been off for 4 weeks almost. I was on trt for about 2 years and my dosage was 100mg weekly split into two injections. I am 43 years old.
I haven't taken a PCT. What is the benefit of taking a pct vs not? I heard a PCT just lessons the crash, regardless your hpta will restart.
So far I don't feel awful but I definitely feel very tired, low motivation, low libido but I am still working out and pushing myself to do things. When should I retest my levels with labs also?
Thanks!

 

[Systemlord]

I haven't taken a PCT. What is the benefit of taking a pct vs not? I heard a PCT just lessons the crash, regardless your hpta will restart.

I didn't crash, I just kept feeling better the longer I'm off TRT. You're never going to get definitive answers, because for some of us we recover our HPTA rather quickly making a PCT redundant, while others take longer to restart HPTA functionality without a PCT.

My HPTA has always bounced back very fast, which tells me that testosterone was never my problem.

 

[Willyt]

I did the same several times. Just fight through the first 2 months and you will be good to go. I always liked the idea of challenging my HPTA system to restart on its own.

If nothing else, taking break from TRT gives you perspective on what TRT does and does not offer.

BTW, can you give some background on the varicocele surgery? I have read on this site that you may see modest bump in TT after.

 

[Jmoney]

I didn't crash, I just kept feeling better the longer I'm off TRT. You're never going to get definitive answers, because for some of us we recover our HPTA rather quickly making a PCT redundant, while others take longer to restart HPTA functionality without a PCT.

My HPTA has always bounced back very fast, which tells me that testosterone was never my problem.

I went to the urologist today. He offered me HCG and or Clomid. I didn't want it since I'm already a month and a week off. I figured the HCG would just shut me down again plus it costs a lot. The clomid I've tried in the past and it made me super grumpy. They also drew my blood today for a full hormone panel. I know I need more time to get to baseline but I figured I'd see how things are looking in the meantime.
So stopping without a PCT won't have any difference in the long run?

 

[Jmoney]

I did the same several times. Just fight through the first 2 months and you will be good to go. I always liked the idea of challenging my HPTA system to restart on its own.

If nothing else, taking break from TRT gives you perspective on what TRT does and does not offer.

BTW, can you give some background on the varicocele surgery? I have read on this site that you may see modest bump in TT after.

Exactly what I'm thinking. My plan is to go off the testosterone for 3 months, evaluate how I feel. I think 3 months should be adequate for my body to recover and be at its "normal". If I don't feel great I can always get back on and say I tried.
The varicocelectomy surgery was outpatient. I had the varicocele since I was in my early 20s. My testosterone even back then was in the low 300s. I always wondered what could be causing it to be low since I'm very athletic, eat very well and in great shape. This urologist was willing to do the surgery. Usually they only fix varicoceles for fertility, however there is some reasearch fixing it can increase testosterone up to 100 points. Because the dilated veins heat up the testis. I tried to get off after the surgery last year but it was to hard. I had a staph infection and the incision opened up. So I got back on.

 

[carlweathers]

I came off TRT a month or so ago, I was on for about 2 years. I had some clomid, so I used that for a couple weeks until I started feeling poor, then it came out and I felt ok.

Diet, diet, diet, and sleep. Focus on your nutrition, all those macronutrients are supporting your health, organs, hormones etc. Aim for a lower bodyfat percentage too. Use a calorie tracker such as Cronometer, it gives you all nutrient values pertaining to the food you put in your diary. Keep plugging in foods until there are full percentage values for the daily intake.

Beef organs have been a powerhouse in my routine. I take them with each meal, aids in digestion, metabolism, and recovery from training, among other things. They are a powerhouse for your hormones as well. They contain the most bioavailable nutrients on the planet.

 

[Belekas]

Been off TRT for the last odd 12 mos or something like that. Came off cold-turkey after the same time on and without PCT. I've done same only with PCT before but thought wtf might as well man up and see what happens. I have a lot of personal experience with aas, supps, nutrition, etc so I know how I feel and perform very well. And to be fair I will never do it again like this. As simple as that. Always did hcg then clomid and never ever felt anything but this time oh man I felt lots of "it" lol. At first no issues but it hit around 6 mos in. Dragged it out, now cool but still haven't done any blood tests to see how well I've recovered. Lots of changes but that would take a lot of time to type and since I'm still im bed post my morning decaf coffee I will make another post if theres interest about my cold-turkey experience. YMMV.