What Dosage is Good for TRT?
-By BigZ @ MuscleChemistry.com
There has been a lot of discussion as to what dosage is good for TRT lately on many boards, and I see worrisome posts from people who don't seem to be getting proper care from their doctor regarding TRT. As far as testosterone and its half-life is concerned in relation to TRT, remember this: the range that they test for as "normal" is usually approximately 250 - 847, at least this is the range that I've seen from my medical providers in my area from the labs. We know from experience that when our testosterone levels decline, we start to feel run down, depression, and other symptoms of "low testosterone" far before we hit the 250 level. Logically then I'd submit that if we feel like that before levels hit 250, your body is not as healthy as it should be, right? Sure you can probably "survive" on levels at about 300-350 from a medical perspective, but your quality of life is definitely going to be poor--I'd think we can all agree on that.
Symptoms of lower testosterone include:
What then is an optimal level? Is it the exact middle of that range, about 550? Well, we all know that depends on age and some other minor factors. At age 25, the average level is 679. That means on the bell curve of statistics, that's right in the middle. (High & Low Testosterone Levels: Symptoms, Signs & Side Effects *Note that the range they reference goes from 270 up to 1070) The article mentions that some researchers suggest that the healthiest have levels between 400-600 ng/dL. Personally from experience, I'd dispute that. I never felt well around the 400 level. Even from a statistic standpoint, the average we just mentioned as in the middle was 679. That means as the bell curve goes that you would actually be more in the range of 400-900, and that would still probably exclude extreme outliers. We know that after that peak in the 20s that testosterone starts to decline, and that's when we start to have trouble. We want to get back to that level at the age of 25.
Dr. Anna Cabeca is a Triple Board Certified OB/GYN, Anti-Aging Medicine expert, and author of the best selling book, The Hormone Fix. She states:
"In general, a diagnosis of low testosterone is made if a man’s hormone level is below 300 ng/dL. Normal range is considered 500-1000 ng/dL. I typically optimized male testosterone levels at 600-800 and rarely above or below those numbers."
What Men Need to Know About Healthy Testosterone Levels - Dr. Anna Cabeca
Note the range that Dr. Cabeca is targeting. Approximately in the middle is the average that we want.
When we take the injection, we know that the level is going to skyrocket past 1000 as many who have been on TRT can attest after getting a blood test done the day after taking a shot of 200mg of testosterone. So to get the target level in the optimal range, what is the best time to test? We don't want to experience any time where the level goes below the optimal, and we're dosing on a weekly basis. This leads us to test at the end of the half-life which also happens to be seven days, or in other words, the day where we are in the trough or lowest point after the shot. If we are inside the optimal range of 600-800 at this point, then we've succeeded. If your dose leaves you higher than the range after seven days, then reduce accordingly and vice versa, if it's lower than the range then increase the dosage.
Some caveats to this is that if you've been on TRT for a long time, your body can get used to the injected testosterone, and it metabolizes it faster. This means to be able to reach the optimal range, you may have to split your dose up to be taken twice per week. Timing of a blood test would then range from 7 - 10 days, and the result may run higher than you may expect.
Obviously it isn't an exact science due to differences in how every person reacts and even differences as your own body changes over time. The best we can do is approximate. We see the best results healthwise however, when we are as close to that optimal range as possible without going below. We're generally okay to be over the range as levels peak since it isn't a long, sustained high level. Far and few between doctors understand this like Dr. Cabeca. Your doctor must work with you to figure out what the optimal dosage is for you to keep you at an optimal level whether it may be 100mg/week or even 400mg/week split into 200mg/twice per week. If your doctor doesn't or won't do this, then likely your health and quality of life will suffer.
-BigZ
-By BigZ @ MuscleChemistry.com
There has been a lot of discussion as to what dosage is good for TRT lately on many boards, and I see worrisome posts from people who don't seem to be getting proper care from their doctor regarding TRT. As far as testosterone and its half-life is concerned in relation to TRT, remember this: the range that they test for as "normal" is usually approximately 250 - 847, at least this is the range that I've seen from my medical providers in my area from the labs. We know from experience that when our testosterone levels decline, we start to feel run down, depression, and other symptoms of "low testosterone" far before we hit the 250 level. Logically then I'd submit that if we feel like that before levels hit 250, your body is not as healthy as it should be, right? Sure you can probably "survive" on levels at about 300-350 from a medical perspective, but your quality of life is definitely going to be poor--I'd think we can all agree on that.
Symptoms of lower testosterone include:
- Brain fog and fatigue
- Night sweats (testosterone is important to a good night’s sleep!)
- Mood swings
- Increase in abdominal fat (testosterone inhibits fat accumulation!)
- Elevated cholesterol
- Anxiety and irritability
- Increased risk of insulin resistance
- Osteopenia/osteoporosis (testosterone improves bone density)
- Depression
- Decreased stamina
- Decreased muscle mass (testosterone helps maintain lean muscle mass)
- Decreased mental ability (testosterone synthesizes neurotransmitters so improves brain function!)
- Decreased erection (testosterone is essential for libido, arousal and orgasm!)
- Decreased urine flow
What then is an optimal level? Is it the exact middle of that range, about 550? Well, we all know that depends on age and some other minor factors. At age 25, the average level is 679. That means on the bell curve of statistics, that's right in the middle. (High & Low Testosterone Levels: Symptoms, Signs & Side Effects *Note that the range they reference goes from 270 up to 1070) The article mentions that some researchers suggest that the healthiest have levels between 400-600 ng/dL. Personally from experience, I'd dispute that. I never felt well around the 400 level. Even from a statistic standpoint, the average we just mentioned as in the middle was 679. That means as the bell curve goes that you would actually be more in the range of 400-900, and that would still probably exclude extreme outliers. We know that after that peak in the 20s that testosterone starts to decline, and that's when we start to have trouble. We want to get back to that level at the age of 25.
Dr. Anna Cabeca is a Triple Board Certified OB/GYN, Anti-Aging Medicine expert, and author of the best selling book, The Hormone Fix. She states:
"In general, a diagnosis of low testosterone is made if a man’s hormone level is below 300 ng/dL. Normal range is considered 500-1000 ng/dL. I typically optimized male testosterone levels at 600-800 and rarely above or below those numbers."
What Men Need to Know About Healthy Testosterone Levels - Dr. Anna Cabeca
Note the range that Dr. Cabeca is targeting. Approximately in the middle is the average that we want.
When we take the injection, we know that the level is going to skyrocket past 1000 as many who have been on TRT can attest after getting a blood test done the day after taking a shot of 200mg of testosterone. So to get the target level in the optimal range, what is the best time to test? We don't want to experience any time where the level goes below the optimal, and we're dosing on a weekly basis. This leads us to test at the end of the half-life which also happens to be seven days, or in other words, the day where we are in the trough or lowest point after the shot. If we are inside the optimal range of 600-800 at this point, then we've succeeded. If your dose leaves you higher than the range after seven days, then reduce accordingly and vice versa, if it's lower than the range then increase the dosage.
Some caveats to this is that if you've been on TRT for a long time, your body can get used to the injected testosterone, and it metabolizes it faster. This means to be able to reach the optimal range, you may have to split your dose up to be taken twice per week. Timing of a blood test would then range from 7 - 10 days, and the result may run higher than you may expect.
Obviously it isn't an exact science due to differences in how every person reacts and even differences as your own body changes over time. The best we can do is approximate. We see the best results healthwise however, when we are as close to that optimal range as possible without going below. We're generally okay to be over the range as levels peak since it isn't a long, sustained high level. Far and few between doctors understand this like Dr. Cabeca. Your doctor must work with you to figure out what the optimal dosage is for you to keep you at an optimal level whether it may be 100mg/week or even 400mg/week split into 200mg/twice per week. If your doctor doesn't or won't do this, then likely your health and quality of life will suffer.
-BigZ
