What is the lowest level your between-injections reach? This may be very important. Here’s why–
The normal diurnal rhythm of testosterone in young men is: high levels at night, and much lower levels during mid-day. Hormones act on receptors. High levels of a hormone cause reduced receptor-sensitivity and number of receptors–and low levels cause receptors to become more sensitive and increase in number.
Prolonged high levels of a hormone as are obtained with too-frequent injections (or hormone pellets, that last for several months) results in a dearth of receptors to act on–and a loss of any benefits from the hormone.
I’ve found my patients do much better when they inject more testosterone but at intervals of 7-14 days. Sure, that’s a little longer than the normal daily rhythm of a young man–but women, who have daily hormone rhythms like men–also have a monthly rhythm of their hormones. So my patients areessentially switching from a daily to a one or two week cycle.
I’ve switched to Natesto (testosterone nasal ointment) because it minimally suppresses endogenous testosterone production and has very flexible dosing. The downside is applying the ointment 3 times daily, but I actually love this flexibility. For instance, I take it immediately before my resistance training workouts, and I’ve subjectively had much better lean muscle mass gains compared to when i was using compounded testosterone cream. I’d never heard of Natesto until Peter Attia’s recent podcast with the urologist (#260, Mohit Khera).
More notes on Natesto: $140/month using manufacturer’s coupon at Walgreens, but at least I know I’m getting a reliable, branded product.
It is probably best to work with a doctor. But, if you are a self hacker you really need to track your blood work closely. I am doing 6mg of rapa once a week and 150 mg of cyponate a week. My doctor unofficially would likely approve. But, as we know most US doctors have their hands tied by the insurance companies when it comes to anti-aging interventions. I am 61, feel great, back in the gym almost back to where I was in my 20’s and 30’s. I did an extensive blood panel both before and after I started the testosterone. My total was about 330 and my free was at 11. When I took it again, my total was at 900 and my free was 18. You don’t realize how much you miss it until you get it back to a normal level again. I agree, the horror stories about athletes, etc. abusing testosterone gave it a bad rap. The caution I would point out is if anything in your blood work is wonky stop and get some help before proceeding. My iron levels were low. I found some good information about getting them back to a normal range and feel great now. I’ll follow up in a few weeks and make sure that everything is still in the nominal range. After age 60 if you do nothing at all the prognosis is not very good.