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Pirate, my T was very low and I got my level up significantly with Androgel, but alas it had no effect whatever. No improvement in libido or other benefits so many others report. As was mentioned above, I didn't care if I never had sex again. It's been 10 years and I still don't.

My body has a few issues stemming from high Lp(a), but I also have extremely low T (low 100s) and am on Clomid to raise it to the 4-500s. I take Anastrazole too but only a tiny amount.

One thing to understand about T therapy is that it can take a LONG time for it to help with ED. Extremely low levels like what I was dealing with CAN cause ED all by themselves, and T therapy CAN improve ED. In my case I would say it definitely did, as a I was all but impotent when I started, even with 5 mg daily Cialis, but after a few months I was able to cut my Cialis back to 2.5 mg EOD and still have useable erections almost 100% of the time.

If you are curious about TRT I would HIGHLY recommend checking out the forums at www.peaktestosterone.com - those guys are extremely helpful and informative and helped me through some really rough times.

Airpirate wrote:Started injecting last week. Uro has me injecting every two weeks. Numbers pre injecting were at 174. How long before I feel any effect and see numbers go up? Weeks, Months, year?

For me, Clomid brought T up from 120 to the 4-500s. It took months before I saw appreciable improvement in ED - I’d say three? And over a year later I think things were still not done improving. Low T can cause venous leak, which may or may not be healed in whole or in part by T therapy. In my case I went from almost totally impotent even with 5 mg daily Cialis to being able to have sex all the time with only 2.5 mg Cialis EOD.

Things are still not what they were, but I am 44 and have crazy high Lp(a) and two kinds of heart disease. I also lost over 50 pounds around about when I started TRT and started eating much better and walking every day. Who can say for sure what caused the improvement?

How would you describe your body now after the 10 years of training you have just accomplished?
How old are you?

There are always risks with anabolic steroids. For a start they are not the same as testosterone. When you run a course of AS, you shut down your natural T. This then deprives your body of Testosterone, unless this is part of what you are taking. The biggest issue with starting AS is that it becomes very addictive. Plus, 1 course will rarely permanently change your body. It generally falls back to what it was afterwards. A number of courses done over a period of years is when changes in muscular development may stay. There is then a very high chance that you can cause a dysfunction with your HPTA or cause changes in the erectile tissues due to a lack of Testosterone. Without adequate T nocturnals may reduce and penis maintenance declines.
My advice don't do it. If you have developed a good naturally looking muscular body naturally, this always looks better in my opinion.

I ended up with blood clots so my doctor told me to stop doing testosterone injections. Clots are apparently a known side effect of TRT.

68CatFan wrote:I ended up with blood clots so my doctor told me to stop doing testosterone injections. Clots are apparently a known side effect of TRT.

It would appear that this has been shown to be not the case with TRT. Guys taking TRT are not more at risk of developing clots than those that are not receiving treatment.
The reason some older men have had issues with T therapy is that they are most likely in a very bad state of health when they start exogenous testosterone. Many doctors prescribe too much too soon and this can suddenly put a strain on an already very dysfunctional cardiovascular system. These changes need to be implemented gradually with a change in diet and moderate exercise first.

I used use anabolics, started at 30.

If you take supraphysiological doses then your blood will become more viscous. You'll be at greater risk for clotting includng strokes, heart attacks and so on.

If what you inject is equal to normal testosterone production in a healthy male then this will not happen.

Steroids work very well for muscle growth. If you're young, don't do it, you could cook your system. I you want kids, don't do it.

Be aware of the side effects, they can be horrific. There is no safe way to use them. You're pushing your body beyond what it was designed to do.

It's generally a bad idea. I regret my use.

buratinio wrote:I have been hitting the gym for over ten years now and I seem to bee reaching my genetic limits in muscular hypertrophy and strength. The only way to continue the progress would be anabolic steroids I guess. I am not one of those skeptics and am completely aware that if done correctly and not in excess they can be a great temporary boost and the threat to one's health can be minimized. Now, I am not going after any outstanding results just want to see what my body can accomplish without pushing it too far.

Not sure why your post suddenly appeared after the answer I gave below to it. So will re-post to prevent confusion:

How would you describe your body now after the 10 years of training you have just accomplished?
How old are you?

There are always risks with anabolic steroids. For a start they are not the same as testosterone. When you run a course of AS, you shut down your natural T. This then deprives your body of Testosterone, unless this is part of what you are taking. The biggest issue with starting AS is that it becomes very addictive. Plus, 1 course will rarely permanently change your body. It generally falls back to what it was afterwards. A number of courses done over a period of years is when changes in muscular development may stay. There is then a very high chance that you can cause a dysfunction with your HPTA or cause changes in the erectile tissues due to a lack of Testosterone. Without adequate T nocturnals may reduce and penis maintenance declines.
My advice don't do it. If you have developed a good naturally looking muscular body naturally, this always looks better in my opinion.

I'm being direct here because I don't want to see a young man be as stupid as I was, the drugs are not worth it.

One cycle can absolutely put your system out of action for evermore. It's dangerous to give the impression that you are guaranteed to get away with one cycle.

Testosterone is a steroid. Everyone that runs a stack will have test in there as a base, they may stack others on top, but test will be present.
Generally your first cycle will just be test alone, you're simply taking much more than you would produce naturally. The idea that taking excessive testosterone alone does not count as anabolic steroid use is unjust, that is literally what you are doing.

One cycle of Steroid use (limited to excess test alone) does result in permanent increases in myonuclei, these are not lost upon muscle atrophy. The more you have the greater the rate of transcription, the faster you will build muscle in future, even years later. From one cycle, of test only.

You may get away with the abuse, I used test, tren, deca, dianabol and equipoise in my time, I didn't really get away with it, there has been testicular atrophy, I may struggle to concieve. That was with using all the auxiliary drugs required to keep things working as much as possible, along with PCT. I was religious in my use.

There is no safe way to abuse steroids, one cycle can do you in, stay way if you're young.
I understand the appeal, they work well, I slept with more women in the time I was on the gear than all the years preceding. Women love muscles, it's like I was no longer invisible. It's still not worth it. The rest of your life can be ruined for a few shallow girls in your bed. Which gets old pretty quick.

Simbarn, did you use steroids in the past? How did it go for you?
Have you thought about an implant eventually for your ED?

Simbarn wrote:

68CatFan wrote:I ended up with blood clots so my doctor told me to stop doing testosterone injections. Clots are apparently a known side effect of TRT.

It would appear that this has been shown to be not the case with TRT. Guys taking TRT are not more at risk of developing clots than those that are not receiving treatment.
The reason some older men have had issues with T therapy is that they are most likely in a very bad state of health when they start exogenous testosterone. Many doctors prescribe too much too soon and this can suddenly put a strain on an already very dysfunctional cardiovascular system. These changes need to be implemented gradually with a change in diet and moderate exercise first.

All I did was google "Can TRT cause blood clots" and article after article shows studies that confirm what my urologist told me. One or two states that it doesn't but I'll error on the side of caution.