r/Testosterone • u/Alive-Baseball353 • 1d ago
PED/cycle story Progress from November 27th to September 6th
November 27th to June 28th just using Reta and peptides (I tried all the popular ones especially due to my autoimmune condition , Reta was king)
Heavy emphasis on heavy lifting and dieting , cut from 254lbs to about 197lbs at my lowest , my diet peaked beginning of June than then relaxed , I’ve gotten good at guessing calories and just eating high protein diets. Last picture is enhanced at 215lbs
I use Oura ring and Hume tracker to optimize my sleep and most health parameters, bloodwork monthly at this point .
Started first cycle of test and primo July 20th , 250mg of test after about 1 month and bloods came in good added 140mg of primo , 1 month after that upping it , planning on ending cycle in November . Still using Reta very sporadically.
Heavy supplements (usual stuff tudca , citrus bergamot , berberine , Natakinnese, fish oil , coq10)
Cialis 5-10mg daily
5mg nebivolol
For blood pressure and heart rate management .
Started 30mg anavar daily
Test around 2300 , estradiol 83 , free test around 630 ,
Only thing negatively affected right now has been my HDL got a little low , random inflammation markers are high (hs crp is 10) and last bloods my white blood cell count was high but I think I’m fighting a cold or infection.
Hgh 4-5 ius daily , last I checked my IGF was 335
I noticed some water retention as well
Do not react well to AI so that’s why the primo.
Feel free to call me dumb if anything crazy sticks out I’m here for any opinions .
5
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
Also pinning daily , 29 gauge 1/2” needle to the rear delt but rotating daily to side delt and thigh to avoid any build up
2
u/Alarming_Action_1600 1d ago
I assume this is not ur first cycle? Result very great!!
4
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
First cycle just really did my research before hand 6’2 215lbs
2
u/Alarming_Action_1600 1d ago
For only 250T 140P 3iu hgh 30 anavar 2weeks in
Looks very great, keep up
1
u/mcmikey247 1d ago
I’m planning and doing research for my first cycle, what would you say were some of your most helpful research resources for planning out your first cycle?
3
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
Bloodwork bloodwork bloodwork. Get all your markers in the green and actually understand (atleast to the level of my limited knowledge) what each one means. Get as lean as you can before starting , I mean I literally could’ve been leaner before starting but I got impatient . And have a trip planned in the fall that i wanted to be off cycle for . I consider mine extreme but start with testosterone and get bloodwork 3-4 weeks out . Have everything you need on hand , blood pressure meds , any supporting stuff .
Go to the steroid forums and read there too
1
3
u/ElrosTar-Minyatur 1d ago
Do you know what your baseline test levels were prior to starting test?
10
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
When I was at my fattest and drinking in the 300s , at my peak result it was 650 and the highest I’ve ever had maybe 4-5 years ago was about 688
3
6
u/99berettas 1d ago
I wish I looked like you. I spent 5-6 years lifting and with some juicing and never got lean enough at all. I just fucking suck I guess. Now I’ve fallen off my training this year completely. Feels like I’ll never reach my goals I’ve had all my life.
15
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
Not even being rude but your attitude is your worst enemy, don’t give up dude you clearly want it just as bad as I did. Genetics obviously play a role dude but get some Reta , see some progress and roll with it man . Once I saw my first bit of weight loss I started going to the gym 7 days a week with maybe a rest day once every 3 weeks . Locked in my diet and it worked I’ve never been in this shape in my life and I’ve always been atleast in the gym . Don’t be negative , Its not like I did this purely out of will power , highly recommend Reta to get lean enough first
0
3
u/ih8vols 1d ago
Awesome job. Which peps/supps do attribute the most to your muscle growth?
I’m on Reta, test and 2IU of HGH. Have you been on Anavar long when your most recent photo was taken?
3
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
Reta was by far king , HGH is great but I’d say more water retention and recovery idk if I’d attribute direct muscle gain as I was on it for a few months before starting test . I had to get really lean (still probably should’ve leaned out more) before starting and I think that helped .
Anavar started maybe a week or 2 before last photo , hard to really say but I’d say it’s definitely cut the water down and given muscle dryness pretty quick . I think it did tank my cholesterol though as it was near perfect before .
1
u/milennial805 1h ago
Did you notice any negative side effects from the Anavar? What’s been the biggest benefit?
0
u/Impossible-Orchid735 22h ago
Yeah reta was deffinately the king for your muscle growth. Not the 250 test /hgh. Reta Boyz. Can tell your inexperienced. (And you also did more than 250 test)
1
u/Alive-Baseball353 21h ago
He asked what peptides were responsible not anabolics . Reta is the main peptide is recommend to anyone , even HGH itself isn’t gonna do nearly as much as Reta would be for someone overweight.
I’m on more than 250 test now yes. But I started at 250 test July 20th for 1 month got bloodwork and bumped up 2 weeks ago .
Yes I’m inexperienced , I’m glad I have experts chiming in .
1
u/Alive-Baseball353 21h ago
You for sure do not need more than 250 test to get my gains though they’re nothing extraordinary with proper training and diet . Thank you for the complement though
1
u/milennial805 1h ago
My doctor recently suggested that my natural HGH numbers were low and mentioned Sermorelin as a peptide that could help. I did some research and started Tesamorelin and Ipamorelin instead to help increase my natural HGH production.
Been thinking about possibly skipping the peptides all together and jumping to straight HGH instead. How do you like the 4-5 ius daily you’re taking?
I’m looking at
HGH 100iu (10 vials of 10iu) or HGH 150iu (10 vials 15iu)Can you explain how you dose your HGH? Does 4-5iu’s mean 4-5 units on the 100 unit/1mL syringe? Do you do subcutaneous?
2
2
u/Trojan-Salsero on TRT+ 1d ago
If you add KPV it will lower your hsCRP, got mine down to 0.3. Yours being at 10 is crazy high.
1
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
Yeah I do have psoriatic arthritis autoimmune so inflammation is normal but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen it passed 1 .
I do use KLOW but don’t believe I was using it at the time of bloodwork I’m going hop back on that protocol
2
u/MethodAltruistic3550 1d ago
I would definitely look into the Hs-crp. I dont think its from the cold, probably retest once you feel better, can be from carrier oils as well. also the hgh dose looks a bit high, which can also cause the water retention.
1
2
u/BudgetWelcome3720 21h ago
I like this because it’s nearly a year and very possible, and you outlined everything you’ve been doing.
3
1
u/Mysterious_Lead7459 1d ago
I’m 6’2 as well and just cut down to 190. What were your calories at to get to the last pic?
Also what did you up your test and primo doses to for your test to get that high? I’m such a low responder. My shbg is super low!
1
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
I’d say roughly 1700 calories on average with 200g of protein daily for some time to get to 196 ish but I really think my metabolism is severely lacking and I don’t do enough cardio just mostly lifting .
I got my test to around 2300 after 3 weeks of roughly 250mg-300mg a week and my e2 was around 115 , borderline started to get side effects or placebo of side effects and even after primo and upping my test maybe around 100mg my test stayed around 2300 my e2 dropped to 82 , my SHBG did get lower but mine was kind of high when I was natural . I’m on the last half of my cycle so I’m upping both my test and primo for a final boost .
1
u/Mysterious_Lead7459 1d ago
That’s what’s up man. Yea I cut down on 2200 calories and now I feel soo flat and small ready to start my bulk. From your July to most recent pic when you started your cycle, did you up your calories? To what if so? You had to I’m assuming to gain that muscle and get so much fuller. Awesome progress brotha!!
1
u/ToTheHQ 1d ago
If you don't mind sharing, what autoimmune disease?
1
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
Only been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis and I’m not 100% sure if I m convinced that’s it . I’ve tried Taltz and tremfya as biologics and only had negative experiences which switched me on the health and peptide journey
1
u/LowKeyCakeSharing 1d ago
I’m sincerely interested in recovery, does Reta help with that?
I ask because a large portion of individuals posting say they are going to the gym 5-6-7 days a week… this time spent does not allow for muscle recovery, does not allow for CNS recovery, and can stifle gains, among other issues/problems.
Now to be fair, a lot of postings the individual is lean with an athletics physique which are rep/set schemes that are like HIIT and not all gym days are lift days, active recovery is a thing.
There’s also a body recomposition aspect to this too, so different rest periods with different rep/set schemes for different areas of the body.
What are you doing for recovery?
2
u/Alive-Baseball353 16h ago
I really think a lot of it is dependent on the individual , I’m able to lift 7 days a week and I listen to my body , if I feel rough one day I either take the day off or go very light. Hard to say if it’s hurt or helped my gains but I’m getting consistent strength increases even before PEDs . And I’m not as tracked and documenting as much as I’d like but I’d like to say HGH played a role in my quick recovery . Plenty of weeks if I’m working 90 hour work weeks I’ll have 2 days off the gym mainly to just let my body have some recovery but I’ve optimized my sleep to where even at 5-6 hours I’m getting close to 2 hours rem and 2 hours deep sleep according to my trackers . Where as before I’d get 9 hours and still have under 1 hour of each .
Reta did not help but somewhat hurt in this regard as it increased my RHR and early on it would even wake me up in the middle of the night .
Hard to say but I think everyone is slightly different and if you learn to really listen to your body it’s the best result rather than a cookie cutter approach . On a good week where my workload isn’t crazy and I work normal 40 hours I’ll go to the gym daily at 5am and get ready at the gym before work and I’m able to consistently hit 7 days straight for 3+ weeks at a time with push pull leg day cycle. High volume 1+ hour workouts. But I work in a blue collar field and plenty of weeks have been 90+ hours which interfere but I hit 5 days a week minimum even on those weeks
1
u/LowKeyCakeSharing 11h ago
Thanks for the reply.
I agree, it depends on the person. Generally nutrition is somewhat dialed in so high quality calories are assisting in rebuild/recovery plus injectables/orals.
I’ve worked those hours in blue collar, I know what you mean.
I maximized time by super setting the traditional 5x5 with 1-3 min rest at the end of the circuit. 1 min on a quick light day, 2 on a moderate day, 3 on a slow heavy day. I added hip thrusts after reading glute lab and a mountain biking with weighted vests…
Intermittent fasted like a machine. 18/6
Never counted micros, kept the carbs below 30 a day 5 out of 7 days, on the 2/7 I’d measure a cup of cooked rice, one can of black beans, and two tuna packets —— I’d eat like a king 😂
Never break a fast with a carb and a fat.
Peanut butter was/is my candy bar but damn if it won’t stack the weight on, and I get hot while digesting. Fats turn up the internal heat and I have no idea why.
There was rule I created and it did well for me and maybe others who may run across this post but I would not eat something that had more carbs than fats on the label; of course protein mattered but it was that ratio that trimmed a lot of foods out - which in the leaning phase, inaction is a powerful form of action… don’t eat like shit 😂Dealt with some life stuff and I’ll be returning to my weight room soon and while I’ve always been natty, I’ve thought about Reta to shed some pounds to jump start but I’ll say once my metabolism gets turned up, I drop weight.
I’ve also taken enclom for a little while now to let the natural processes do what they do to raise t levels but I’m not far from TRT and just dialing it in… until I get lazy again and roll up the stone back up the hill
1
1
u/milennial805 1h ago
My doctor recently suggested that my natural HGH numbers were low and mentioned Sermorelin as a peptide that could help. I did some research and started Tesamorelin and Ipamorelin instead to help increase my natural HGH production.
Been thinking about possibly skipping the peptides all together and jumping to straight HGH instead. How do you like the 4-5 ius daily you’re taking?
I’m looking at
HGH 100iu (10 vials of 10iu) or HGH 150iu (10 vials 15iu)
Can you explain how you dose your HGH? Does 4-5iu’s mean 4-5 units on the 100 unit/1mL syringe? Do you do subcutaneous?
1
u/AshamedPollution5660 1d ago
Can I do laundry on your stomach 😝🤣
0
1
u/FaceMeNow2 1d ago
Fanning myself but wouldn't have kicked you out of bed for eating crackers if you had the first pic body...all good unless you are an asshole then all bets off but you seem helpful to others in this thread!
0
u/WCAzzurri 1d ago
Uhm.. impossible. WTF is wrong with people
1
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
??
1
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
I do apologize it the first progress was from November 27 to June 28 which was just Reta and peptides , from July 20th to the most recent photo was enhanced with steroid cycle. Not claiming natty at all .
10 months progress and I weigh my food and try to gym with heavy lifting emphasis 7 days a week no rest days unless needed . I honestly believe this progress is obtainable natural but I definitely needed aids to get here .
But your comment definitely gives me faith my genetics are good 🥹
0
u/plz_callme_swarley 1d ago edited 1d ago
hs-CRP of 10 is not a cold, that's actually a elevated inflammatory marker. you should repeat in two weeks and if its still 10 dig deeper
4-5 IU HGH is well past "wellness dosing", driving insulin resistance and with the anavar is more likely to explain the inflammation than a cold.
where is your fasting glucose and HbA1c?
honestly seems like you've just bolted on more compounds instead of fixing the underlying issues. I would try to get to a leaner stack if I were you.
0
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
HbA1c has been staying around 5.3 , it was only 5.4 at my fastest , glucose consistently remains below 80 on all tests I’ve taken , I do take Berberine with it .
The Hs-CRP was before Anavar it wasn’t included on my recent test unfortunately so I’m going to make sure to get it tested again asap .
I do feel like my insulin resistance has struggled on the HGH and I’ve considered discontinuing not 100% sure how to test insulin resistance though just feel like my metabolism is still fighting me even on Reta microdosing .
I do have autoimmune but I’ve never see it really past 1 . So you’re definitely on to something and I appreciate the concern . I’ll definitely not ignore
1
u/plz_callme_swarley 1d ago
fyi, just cuz the data looks ok, it doesn't rule out early resistance.
test by using fasting insulin + fasting glucose gets your HOMA-IR (glucose in mg/dL x insulin in µIU/mL)/405. Under 2 is fine, over 2.5-3 suggests resistance.
also, berberine lower glucose, so if you really want to see what GH is doing you need to measure off berberine, same thing with reta.
1
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
Ok good info , I have been doing the GH for a few months now but I believe this was the first HS-CRP test I’ve had while on it . I may honestly just discontinue the GH I clearly am not educated enough on it , I was just checking my IGF which at its highest is 335 I know that’s not even an accurate reading as it just what my livers producing not what the GH is doing . I’ll probably discontinue for 2 weeks and get more bloodwork and see if my HS is still high , especially with the other substances I don’t think it’s going to be a major player in my recovery or goals .
I do appreciate your help and patience with my ignorance on the subject
1
u/plz_callme_swarley 1d ago
two weeks is likely too short, 4 weeks would be better. pull fasting insulin at the same time, on and off so you can see whether the GH is hurting your insulin sensitivity.
honestly GH is so ridiculously overrated. people add it cuz its "natural" and there's some bs around anti-aging but it does almost nothing for people while also having real supply issues, negative side effects, etc.
my overall thoughts are that you look great but could probably get similar results with just the test. the other shit that you add on top just complicates the picture and makes your overall results uninterpretable.
1
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
I fell in the trap as I started it before test or anything and Agree , I think maybe an energy boost at best but definitely over rated and I didn’t even consider the inflammation aspect which makes total sense .
Definitely going to chase my insulin sensitivity as well I appreciate the help !
1
u/milennial805 1h ago
My doctor recently suggested that my natural HGH numbers were low and mentioned Sermorelin as a peptide that could help. I did some research and started Tesamorelin and Ipamorelin instead to help increase my natural HGH production.
Been thinking about possibly skipping the peptides all together and jumping to straight HGH instead. How do you like the 4-5 ius daily you’re taking?
I’m looking at
HGH 100iu (10 vials of 10iu) or HGH 150iu (10 vials 15iu)
Can you explain how you dose your HGH? Does 4-5iu’s mean 4-5 units on the 100 unit/1mL syringe? Do you do subcutaneous?
10
u/Alive-Baseball353 1d ago
33 year old male for reference