Thank you so much for this informative reply. to be honest, the information you provided me has really benefited me because my knowledge of androgens/steroids is very limited. furthermore, you’ve given me a sense of direction if I ever do choose to use androgens. in such case, as you suggested, I’ll probably just stick to low dose medical grade testosterone which should do the job just fine
You're welcome.
You should know there is no "low dose" testosterone. Any external dose will shut down your entire body's testosterone production. This is why they call it testosterone
replacement therapy, because it always replaces what's in your body. The minimum starting dose is 100mg injected IM per week. Some doctors do less than this, but it's because they don't know wtf they're doing. Once your own testosterone is shutdown, replacing it with a dose that is lower than your natural level will lead you to feeling even worse than before you started.
For example, I take 100mg every 4 days. This maintains my free T at 1000. Every man is different... some take my dose but every 6 days, some take 75 every 3 days. It's variable. The goal is to be feeling good and have the full range of male functions
and have a free T of 1000 or lower. This will be testosterone replacement therapy. Bodybuilders use more, pushing their free T above 1000, which is not sustainable long-term. So bodybuilders will "blast" T (make their free T levels higher than 1000), and then "cruise" at a more TRT dose (1000 or less).
When you first start TRT, it takes some months to get dialed in. Three months is suggested. If you know nothing, it's better to work with a doctor. TRT clinics are better. Other doctors tend to not know what they're doing. For instance, it's very common for guys to say that their doctor is giving them 100mg every two weeks. That is an absurdly low dose and will lead to low T health problems. There is a
huge bias in the mainstream medical industry
against giving men testosterone.
This is all to say... that if you start taking testosterone, you must take the minimum replacement dose + any extra that brings your symptoms into optimal range. For example, if you have erectile dysfunction and low energy due to low T, then you start at 100mg of T per week and see if that corrects the problem. Wait some weeks. If it doesn't work, try every 6 days, then every 5 days,
while also keeping your free T at 1000 or less. I doubt you will need to dose more than every 5 days for TRT. Make sure you get blood work before you start ANY hormones, to know your baseline. Then after you start TRT, get tested again in about 6 weeks, and then again at 3 months. Those readings + changes in your symptoms will tell you if it's working. Once you find the sweet spot, stay at that dose and interval long-term.
Those are the basics.