Two and One-Half Years on Daily Injections: Stability Maintained

CoastWatcher · Jan 4, 2018

For two and one-half years I've been injecting 16mg of testosterone enanthate on a daily basis along with 250 iu of HCG twice weekly. It's been an enormous success for me, success confirmed by labs drawn in December when I (a Canadian) visited family in the States for Christmas. I have clearly achieved and maintained a steady-state in regard to the most critical labs and feel marvelous (high libido, strong erectile function, and so forth). I post these as there is a growing interest in daily protocols here at EM - they can work. Yes, I realize some of my friends here have not seen this level of success; it is another example of "how we're all different" plays out in the TRT game. Nonetheless, I wanted steady-state, and I got it. I wanted to avoid an AI, and I have. My hematocrit and hemoglobin seem impervious to TRT...for reasons I can't explain, and my SHBG has risen to a respectable level. A daily protocol is worth considering.

Sept 2017
[TABLE="width: 500"]
[TR]
[TD]Total Testosterone [/TD]
[TD]1030[/TD]
[TD]264-916[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Free Testosterone[/TD]
[TD]18.4[/TD]
[TD]7.2-24.0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]SHBG[/TD]
[TD]23.3[/TD]
[TD]19.3-76.4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Estradiol/Sensitive[/TD]
[TD]33.1[/TD]
[TD]8-35[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hemoglobin[/TD]
[TD]14.7[/TD]
[TD]12.6-17.7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hematocrit[/TD]
[TD]43.8[/TD]
[TD]37.5-51.0[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Dec 2017

[TABLE="width: 500"]
[TR]
[TD]Total Testosterone [/TD]
[TD]1022[/TD]
[TD]264-916[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Free Testosterone[/TD]
[TD]22.2[/TD]
[TD]7.2-24.0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]SHBG[/TD]
[TD]22.4[/TD]
[TD]19.3-76.4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Estradiol/Sensitive[/TD]
[TD]32.9[/TD]
[TD]8-35[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hemoglobin[/TD]
[TD]14.6[/TD]
[TD]12.6-17.7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hematocrit[/TD]
[TD]44.5[/TD]
[TD]37.5-51.0[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Vince Carter · Jan 4, 2018

Marvelous...really well done my Friend.

Now...SHBG you had seen that come up in the recent past hadn't you? and has it stayed up at ~23 or is that back down...?

Vince · Jan 4, 2018

Coastwatcher your labs are 90 days apart and almost the mirror image. You definitely have your protocol in check good job buddy.

HealthMan · Jan 4, 2018

Great numbers Coast! Glad to see daily injections worked for you. I am back to twice a week injection at a higher dosage after trying daily injections and i am starting to feel amazing again. TRT definitely a not one size fits all thing!

CoastWatcher · Jan 4, 2018

HealthMan said:
Great numbers Coast! Glad to see daily injections worked for you. I am back to twice a week injection at a higher dosage after trying daily injections and i am starting to feel amazing again. TRT definitely a not one size fits all thing!

Truer words were never spoken in regard to TRT. I believe Vince has a friend who actually prefers, and feels well, on injections every two weeks...it makes little sense to me, but if it works, it works. The leading doctors are those who aren't afraid of a new idea and welcome patient input.

I'm glad you are moving in the right direction. When TRT works it is a life-changer.

Vince · Jan 5, 2018

CoastWatcher said:
Truer words were never spoken in regard to TRT. I believe Vince has a friend who actually prefers, and feels well, on injections every two weeks...it makes little sense to me, but if it works, it works. The leading doctors are those who aren't afraid of a new idea and welcome patient input.

I'm glad you are moving in the right direction. When TRT works it is a life-changer.

I do have a friend that injects once every two weeks and is happy with that protocol.

FeelingLost · Jan 5, 2018

CoastWatcher your story gives us all hope. Congrats on getting your hormones so stable. No wonder you are so layed back and calm all the time.

lenny · Jan 5, 2018

Coast, where do you typically inject?

I've been injecting daily for almost a year now, and just got back some puzzling numbers that I'll be posting about soon. Sometimes I wonder if my various injection locations, which I don't keep very good track of, affect how well my protocol works.

LTChris · Jan 6, 2018

you convinced me to give it a try. still dialing it in, but like it so far.

CoastWatcher · Jan 6, 2018

lenny said:
Coast, where do you typically inject?

I've been injecting daily for almost a year now, and just got back some puzzling numbers that I'll be posting about soon. Sometimes I wonder if my various injection locations, which I don't keep very good track of, affect how well my protocol works.

I like to joke that if I can reach it, I inject there. Seriously, nearly 100% of my injections are shallow IM and I rotate thighs, shoulders, and the occasional hip shot.

lenny · Jan 6, 2018

Ha, cool, thanks. That's basically what I do as well. I've found the belly fat shots to be the easiest, surprisingly. They never hurt and there's never any leakage from those injection spots. My shoulder shots tend to leak a tiny bit.

CoastWatcher · Jan 6, 2018

FeelingLost said:
CoastWatcher your story gives us all hope. Congrats on getting your hormones so stable. No wonder you are so layed back and calm all the time.

I spent a year walking in the valley of incompetent medical care before landing in a practice where a capable doctor made all the difference. Even then, it took a period of months to surmount the challenges most of us encounter on this journey. Patience...the one factor that can't be supplied by a doctor, but is critical.

CoastWatcher · Jan 6, 2018

lenny said:
Ha, cool, thanks. That's basically what I do as well. I've found the belly fat shots to be the easiest, surprisingly. They never hurt and there's never any leakage from those injection spots. My shoulder shots tend to leak a tiny bit.

What size needle are you using?

CoastWatcher · Jan 6, 2018

Vince Carter said:
Marvelous...really well done my Friend.

Now...SHBG you had seen that come up in the recent past hadn't you? and has it stayed up at ~23 or is that back down...?

Yes, SHBG had (surprisingly) risen in the past year. Hanging at the same point now.

CoastWatcher · Jan 6, 2018

LTChris said:
you convinced me to give it a try. still dialing it in, but like it so far.

Keep us in the loop.

lenny · Jan 6, 2018

CoastWatcher said:
What size needle are you using?

29g, 1/2 inch

Vince Carter · Feb 10, 2018

I have to wonder if keeping Free T to the upper limit and not going over as is so common in the low SHBG guy is what really helps with management of HCT/HGB, E conversion, etc etc

johndoesmith · Feb 10, 2018

Vince Carter said:
I have to wonder if keeping Free T to the upper limit and not going over as is so common in the low SHBG guy is what really helps with management of HCT/HGB, E conversion, etc etc

You've been making some great points and realizations lately, doing some research I assume?

Vince Carter · Feb 11, 2018

johndoesmith said:
You've been making some great points and realizations lately, doing some research I assume?

Thanks for that! I don't express it on the forum so much as most others with labs and complain about this and that, but my HCT is pretty out of control requiring donations (not a huge deal), I'm overly warm and sometimes sweaty in bed at night with my heat set @ 62 and a ceiling fan on high. Little body acne if I'm not really careful with it...minor things that are kinda tolerable. I'm using a lot of AI, too, bordering on .35mg EOD to control the E, whether its LC/MS/MS, Free E, or both. Just the Free T being astronomical just never came up when I was struggling so bad with over-converting to E. Just an idea that cutting the dose and bringing my Free T down.

HealthMan · Feb 11, 2018

Vince Carter said:
Thanks for that! I don't express it on the forum so much as most others with labs and complain about this and that, but my HCT is pretty out of control requiring donations (not a huge deal), I'm overly warm and sometimes sweaty in bed at night with my heat set @ 62 and a ceiling fan on high. Little body acne if I'm not really careful with it...minor things that are kinda tolerable. I'm using a lot of AI, too, bordering on .35mg EOD to control the E, whether its LC/MS/MS, Free E, or both. Just the Free T being astronomical just never came up when I was struggling so bad with over-converting to E. Just an idea that cutting the dose and bringing my Free T down.

Does your blood pressure rise when you HCT goes above normal range? Any other symptoms?