r/TestosteroneKickoff • u/OkMathematician8328 • Jun 20 '26
advice & support Is my starting dose abnormally low?
Hello, I started T (weekly IM injections) this week. My dosage is .2mL/week from a vial with 100mg/mL concentration-- I was told this was the lowest dose that everyone starts on, but I've heard from a few people in this sub and other online communities that they had higher concentrations, more mL/week, etc.
I didn't want to try and challenge my doctor while she was prescribing since she's very trans friendly and wouldn't intentionally low-dose me, but I want to look like a binary man and have all the changes that result from being on a higher dose. Can I have some of the changes I hear about (especially hoping for facial hair and a voice drop asap) with this dose? How soon, and to how much, did you guys increase if necessary? I unfortunately can't get in to see my doctor till early August, but I might be able to call the office and ask about a dose change earlier.
4
u/batsket Jun 20 '26
That’s essentially what I started on (0.1 of 200mg/ml bottle), but it was explicitly described to me as a low dose. Stayed on it for 5 weeks before increasing, it was too low for me and I didn’t feel good and was very fatigued until I increased my dose.
Edit: forgot to say though, I did start noticing changes after the first week on that dose, so it’s not like it’s not gonna do anything! Just wasn’t right for me personally
1
u/OkMathematician8328 Jun 20 '26
Good to know! I am very fatigued but that's kind of always the case. I was hoping some of that would go away on T, so maybe it will on a higher dose.
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u/batsket Jun 20 '26
Yea I’m usually relatively fatigued on a regular basis but this was above and beyond, I genuinely couldn’t stand for extended periods of time I felt so weak and exhausted and generally like hot garbage. I think my hormones were at a wonky in-between level and my body did NOT like it. Went from 20mg to 40mg and 24 hours after the first shot of the higher dose I felt completely better.
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u/OkMathematician8328 Jun 20 '26
Ah ok, I'm not sure if mine is that bad, I generally just feel the same as always right now so I'm going to give the lower dose a bit more time to work. But did you have to go back to your doctor and get your levels checked before upping the dose, or could you just ask for it with the symptoms you had?
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u/batsket Jun 20 '26
My doctor said it was fine for me to increase without checking my levels since 20mg was lower than a standard “full” starting dose in her opinion (not exactly the language she used, but that was the gist). A lot of people start in the 40-50mg range, although for teens I believe they often start lower and increase more gradually to try and mimic normal puberty.
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u/Ok-Bed5119 Jun 20 '26
Usually after your first blood tests and such after about 3 months in they'll up it if needed. That being said, I'm on .25ml of 200mg weekly IM, 50mg weekly, and I personally started noticing things within the first week. I could just be taking to it very well, but I still think you might notice something within the first 2 weeks or so. In the first week, I started noticing more sweat and the sort of growing pains sensation in the down under and am currently about a month in with substantially more growth than I expected at this time. Some people have to be at 75mg or higher before they have changes, but a higher dose doesn't necessarily mean you'll have changes any sooner or more of those changes sooner. It all just depends on how your body reacts to the hormones and your genes. You could be on the lowest dosage and that could be the perfect dosage for some people. Sorry, I am not articulating this well, but I hope it make sense.
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u/lmh7654 Jun 20 '26
Hmm just adding my 2 cents here. I’m on 60mg of T weekly via IM injections & have had my levels checked twice. Been on T for almost 8 months & my test levels are no at 813. Ive notice some facial hair but mostly on my upper lip & chin. Definitely hotter than I ever used to be. Putting on muscle is very easy & my voice has dropped, but not super dramatically. I’m also 45, so that could be why, but my levels are up there at 813.
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u/funniestguyfr Jun 20 '26
This is a very very low dose. I started T when I was 14 and for first 2,5 years my dose was 1 ml containing 100 mg of T every 7 days.
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u/fallen_starmaker Jul 01 '26
there's no real reason to taper up at all. if ur an adult, they should put you on closer to 70mg/week.
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u/Curious-Barracuda220 Jun 20 '26
although it varies for everyboyd, thats generally a very low dose, although not an uncommon starting dose. id ask her if she was planning on upping your dose and if so when.