[Ironpump86]

So bit of a back story last few days have landed me in A+E due to arterial fibrillation and generally feeling like death warmed up ( life stress related)

History: Haven’t done anything over 100mg Test cyp and 500iu HCG a week since 2019 and before that the general dose was 250mg test e every 10 days, before that went up as high as a gram of test and numerous orals up to 50mg going back to 2011.

Thankfully after a battery of tests, ECG, blood work,echo etc everything’s come back ok and the Dr has advised me working nights along with a stressful life isn’t helping so over the last few days I’ve done the following….

Put a request in to change from nights to days.

Ensure I get 8 hours of sleep

Cut out all stimulants and pre workouts.

Avoid social media (I’m a bugger for getting caught on it for hours watching anxiety inducing videos)

And the big one…….

If I want to see my kids grow up and maybe see their kids I’m going to have to kick the TRT on the head I know people will say a 40 year old man who’s been using gear for 11 years would be better off just staying on TRT but recently my Hemetacrit,Hemoglobin have been creeping up inrreguardless of what I do and my TSH is now sub clinical for Hypotyroidism and I also have Hashimotos (The hashimotos I’ve had since 2019 that I know of but my TSH was normal being using gear) in addition to this there’s something that’s none scientific that’s within me, call it intuitive,spiritual whatever that’s telling me I’m doing the right thing coming off.

In addition to the above I’ve recently been seeing a lot of people that are half my age asking if TRT for life is their only option because their bloods are showing low, so there’s also a part of me that wants to prove to myself and others that you can get back a good level of testosterone.

I plan to stay off for 18 months as I feel the further time off will be the best tool for recovering rather than the standard taking bloods after 6 weeks and using it as a self fulfilling prophecy for going back on, I cannot use Clomid due excessive eye floaters (Caused by a 4 week blast of Clomid back in 2014) So the main things I’ll be using are as follows….

HCG 1000iu 3x a week for a week then reducing to 500iu,250iu then 125iu every week.

Tongkat Ali 400mg daily
Daspartic acid 3000mg daily
Vitamin d3 10,000iu daily
Ashwaganda ksm 66 1500mg daily
Zinc piclionate 50mg daily
Omega 3 3000mg daily
Fenugeek 600ng daily

I’ve tried to come off in the past and got my levels up to 20 non/L but always went back on like an idiot.

I have the full support of my wife and my training partner who has used anabolics in he past so they know the rollercoaster I’m about to face.

Just thought I’d do a journal and update where I’m at and maybe someone who’s thinking of coming off can get some benefit from it.

For me the goal is to feel better mentally and stay strong and healthy for life, I do t care how much muscle I lose my ego is what got me stuck in this vicious circle in the first place.

Please keep the comments on topic and if you can’t be nice then just don’t post.

 

[Godwin]

Best of luck mate.

 

[Brian Multigym]

Best of luck mate and will be following. I'm thinking of upping the Ashwagandha to 1500mg, so thanks for that!

 

[R5Gtt75]

Best of luck. I'm still on the fence whether to go trt for life. I've been blasting and cruising for 9 months now.

Same as you I'm thinking I'm nearly 50 the benefits from trt would out weigh the cons but after reading how it effected you it's food for thought.

 

[mrwright]

Best of luck mate and will be following. I'm thinking of upping the Ashwagandha to 1500mg, so thanks for that!

What is it an what's it do?

 

[Ironpump86]

What is it an what's it do?

Using it predominantly for stress and anxiety reduction but also for Testosterone and fertility.

A Prospective, Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Safety and Efficacy of a High-Concentration Full-Spectrum Extract of Ashwagandha Root in Reducing Stress and Anxiety in Adults

Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension, which can lead to underperformance and adverse clinical conditions. Adaptogens are herbs that help in combating stress. Ayurvedic classical texts, animal studies and clinical studies describe ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[DarkKnight]

Good luck bro

It’s no big deal if you don’t make it one, don’t focus on numbers and bloods too much and just get on with your life

90% of people will recover given enough time. That’s where people usually fail, they jump back on after a few months because they see a low blood reading

 

[lukeyybrown1]

Best of luck bro. If you set a long term coming off goal its absolutely achievable. I went off for 5 years cold turkey without any problems at all and recovered to normal levels, had children and now decided i want to run a little bit extra test for overall mood. As long as you can keep your brain occupied on other things also (family, business, work, other sports etc) its really quite easy. Its all mental

 

[dissident]

Ordered some of these ashwaganda pills after reading this post and about them. hope they work somewhat.

 

[albatross]

I am betting a lot of your issues will be down to working nights. Destroyed me every time I had to do it for extended periods. A couple of months of genuine 7-8 hours a night will do wonders for you.

Best of luck.

 

[TURBS]

Just thought I’d do a journal and update where I’m at and maybe someone who’s thinking of coming off can get some benefit from it.

That's quite a few lifestyle changes at once, hope the journey goes smoothly

 

[Ironpump86]

That's quite a few lifestyle changes at once, hope the journey goes smoothly

Thanks buddy, I’m fully aware it isn’t going to be plain sailing as I’ve made this decision while my hormone levels are optimol so it’s going to require some serious mind over matter once they start tanking.

 

[spod]

Can I ask if the doctors put your atrial fibrillation down to your thyroid issue/Hashimoto's??

...and if so, are they gonna be addressing this with medication?

Also, have you looked in to dietary changes? I was reading a few weeks ago about the Hashimoto diet - which focuses on reducing inflammation etc.

Best of luck with all this, buddy. Will be following.

 

[Ironpump86]

Can I ask if the doctors put your atrial fibrillation down to your thyroid issue/Hashimoto's??

...and if so, are they gonna be addressing this with medication?

Also, have you looked in to dietary changes? I was reading a few weeks ago about the Hashimoto diet - which focuses on reducing inflammation etc.

Best of luck with all this, buddy. Will be following.

Thanks for the question buddy, so the fib issue (should say palpitations) was likely due to poor sleep, working nights and also stress, cholesterol is in range, blood pressure good and also had an ecg and an echo so the Drs said due to me never having the issue before and it not causing me any day to day issues I’m to keep an eye on it and go back to the to the GP any other issues arise.

It may have something to do with my thyroid as I know heart palpitations can cause this so the plan is I’m hoping for my TSH to dropfrom 7 to around 2 once I’m off (based on past bloods) and also to eat more gluten free as when I do my anti thyroglobulin levels do lower.

 

[Brian Multigym]

What is it an what's it do?

From a post of mine on this forum, all investigated too:-

Ashwagandha - KSM66 with 5% Withanolides.

It is a medicinal herb that has been used for 3000 years. The best part of the herb is the root. The best extract from the root is KSM66 with 5% Withanolides. There has been 14 years R&D on this extract of the herb to perfect it. Any trials that have been progressed have used this extract too.

There are numerous benefits for taking this supplement, but for bodybuilders the benefits are:-

1. Reduces stress and the stress hormone Cortisol. Cortisol is catabolic and can inhibit protein synthesis making muscle growth harder. Cortisol can reduce testosterone.

2. Increases testosterone by up to 17% in trails.

3. Increases strength and muscle size in trails.

4. Reduces body fat in trails.

5. Increases energy, so you perform better in the gym.

6. Better sleep as it calms you.

7. Improves memory.

I have bought 500mg capsules. The extract I have bought and mentioned above is the most potent. I have spoken to my GP and he said "go ahead."

 

[Brian Multigym]

@Ironpump86 I thought you were talking palpations, most of the time they are nothing to worry about. I get them now from time to time, my GP checked me out and told me not to worry about it. In fact he said you have the triggers - exercise and stress are two of the triggers for palpations. A lot of athletes get them. Agree though they are not a pleasant feeling. Cheers.

 

[TURBS]

Thanks buddy, I’m fully aware it isn’t going to be plain sailing as I’ve made this decision while my hormone levels are optimol so it’s going to require some serious mind over matter once they start tanking.

Hopefully the reduction of stress will make your transition easier mate.

 

[mrwright]

From a post of mine on this forum, all investigated too:-

Ashwagandha - KSM66 with 5% Withanolides.

It is a medicinal herb that has been used for 3000 years. The best part of the herb is the root. The best extract from the root is KSM66 with 5% Withanolides. There has been 14 years R&D on this extract of the herb to perfect it. Any trials that have been progressed have used this extract too.

There are numerous benefits for taking this supplement, but for bodybuilders the benefits are:-

1. Reduces stress and the stress hormone Cortisol. Cortisol is catabolic and can inhibit protein synthesis making muscle growth harder. Cortisol can reduce testosterone.

2. Increases testosterone by up to 17% in trails.

3. Increases strength and muscle size in trails.

4. Reduces body fat in trails.

5. Increases energy, so you perform better in the gym.

6. Better sleep as it calms you.

7. Improves memory.

I have bought 500mg capsules. The extract I have bought and mentioned above is the most potent. I have spoken to my GP and he said "go ahead."

In trials
How well does it work in real life?

 

[Ironpump86]

In trials
How well does it work in real life?

Don’t think you understand how trials work mate, take it yourself and find out, get bloods before and after, I find it works really well but aside from people like me and trials what more do you want?

 

[mrwright]

Don’t think you understand how trials work mate, take it yourself and find out, get bloods before and after, I find it works really well but aside from people like me and trials what more do you want?

Exactly that, controlled trial conditions increasing this and that a percentage is all well and good just wanted to know if that transfered to real life use
I shall have a look at some