Safe way to take steroids??

goheavy63 · Oct 10, 2011

What dosage would you guys consider safe? It seems that a trt dose could be safe for a while. I am not looking to get huge anymore but I like the way it makes me feel while on. I do not want to do anymore damage than I already have to myself. I have not taken any in 6 years or so and was able to maintain motovation for the gym but for the last year I have not worked out like I should or have in the past. I got my test levels checked and they were low (300) but my free test levels were within range and the doc does not want to put me on trt. I just want to be safe as possible from here on out. I know there is always a chance with taking these drugs just like with any other drug but there has to be a safer way to do it.

saps · Oct 10, 2011

If you haven't worked out very well the past year I might start there. I mean you could take all the gear in the world and if your not training well its worthless.
You kept referring to safe but I kept interpreting it as effective.
The only safe dose [arguably] is no dose. Now that's extreme yes. But we could also argue that a gram a week is safe if you have all the proper ancillaries in place. You truly have to find your own working doses.
I'm a blaster and cruiser myself. I've run over 1500mg a week on blasts for years. I used to cruise with doses of 500+ a week as well. Now I cruise at 75mg E3D; which is arguably just a high dose trt. This works for me and is in my estimation safe based on my criteria of focusing on cholesterol levels, BP, RBC and hematocrit levels, joint collagen and acne. But thats just me, we all find our own best fit. So in my case yes I take a statin daily and some exemastane a few times a week, I also give blood every 8 weeks. This whole approach keeps me well enough during my cruises which I'm also discovering are increasingly necessary. I spent most of 2008-2010 on a blast with the aforementioned cruises of 500 a week which isnt really cruising per se.

Anyway, like I said above I'd start with an examination of my gym behavior and diet prior to beginning to poke myself again. Also can you clarify what the damage you did to yourself was/is?

goheavy63 · Oct 10, 2011

Cardiomyopathy and very high creatine level that landed me in the hospital for a week and on heart drugs for life. It has been under control for 6 years now but have always been scared to try anything else. My creatine level has also been good for years now. It just that I find myself with no motivation to better myself or go to the gym anymore. Maybe I am looking for something that is just not out there??? I know there is a risk and its my choice to take it or not.

saps · Oct 10, 2011

goheavy63 said:
Cardiomyopathy and very high creatine level that landed me in the hospital for a week and on heart drugs for life. It has been under control for 6 years now but have always been scared to try anything else. My creatine level has also been good for years now. It just that I find myself with no motivation to better myself or go to the gym anymore. Maybe I am looking for something that is just not out there??? I know there is a risk and its my choice to take it or not.

Yeah well then two things here. One is obviously you want to be alive and healthy. But two is that if you don't have gym motivation its high debateable whether taking even a trt level would just make you feel better to justify its use. Now sure tons of men who don't train use test at trt levels just for their lifestyle sans lifting. Generally speaking most bodies can handle 100-200mg of test a week without much problem especially if you have your system and ancillaries under control. However, I'm not certain about your specific case what with your Cardiomyopathy and all.
I'm also unsure if your path or greater well being which it seems like your seeking will primarily be achieved thru endocrinology.

Also do you mean creatinine instead of creatine?

splking1 · Oct 10, 2011

goheavy63 said:
What dosage would you guys consider safe? It seems that a trt dose could be safe for a while. I am not looking to get huge anymore but I like the way it makes me feel while on. I do not want to do anymore damage than I already have to myself. I have not taken any in 6 years or so and was able to maintain motovation for the gym but for the last year I have not worked out like I should or have in the past. I got my test levels checked and they were low (300) but my free test levels were within range and the doc does not want to put me on trt. I just want to be safe as possible from here on out. I know there is always a chance with taking these drugs just like with any other drug but there has to be a safer way to do it.

If your looking to go the safest route then go with what the hormone doctors recomend. 200-250 test cyp every 7-10 days

In all honesty you can run a lot higher dose and still be safe. I guess it all depends on what your goals are. Plus You could get your blood work done every 12 weeks like i do to make sure all is good!

goheavy63 · Oct 10, 2011

saps said:
Yeah well then two things here. One is obviously you want to be alive and healthy. But two is that if you don't have gym motivation its high debateable whether taking even a trt level would just make you feel better to justify its use. Now sure tons of men who don't train use test at trt levels just for their lifestyle sans lifting. Generally speaking most bodies can handle 100-200mg of test a week without much problem especially if you have your system and ancillaries under control. However, I'm not certain about your specific case what with your Cardiomyopathy and all.
I'm also unsure if your path or greater well being which it seems like your seeking will primarily be achieved thru endocrinology.

Also do you mean creatinine instead of creatine?

Yeah creatinine. It was 1.6 when I was in the hospital but has been around 1.0 to 1.1 ever since.

swolegasm · Oct 10, 2011

I think the safest way is to do your homework

kscowboy · Oct 10, 2011

First i would try to do it the legal way and go to a trt doc. Your best bet

saps · Oct 10, 2011

goheavy63 said:
Yeah creatinine. It was 1.6 when I was in the hospital but has been around 1.0 to 1.1 ever since.

Most of us who lift have higher levels of creatinine just comes with being in the iron game. I'm also at 1.6 right now myself. That alone and isolated is not a red flag per se though

Ashop · Oct 10, 2011

goheavy63 said:
Cardiomyopathy and very high creatine level that landed me in the hospital for a week and on heart drugs for life. It has been under control for 6 years now but have always been scared to try anything else. My creatine level has also been good for years now. It just that I find myself with no motivation to better myself or go to the gym anymore. Maybe I am looking for something that is just not out there??? I know there is a risk and its my choice to take it or not.

If you already have heart issues I would reconsider using anything.

goheavy63 · Oct 10, 2011

Alin said:
If you already have heart issues I would reconsider using anything.

That is what I am trying to say. I don't want to do a cycle per say more like a trt dose. 100mg to 150mg a week. Do you think that would be safe??

Designbuilt · Oct 10, 2011

If you want to be safe, go to a doc, have him prescribe them and monitor your health... Your health is a lot more important than your looks... Good luck...

bigsport · Oct 11, 2011

with a T level of 300 you are in range, its not optimal, but never the less its still acceptable. if you have heart issues the most i would even consider doing would be a small dose of either test E, or test C. i would not administer more than 75-100mg per week, as this level you will have an adequate amount to get your T levels back to an optimal range.

additionally i would advise you to monitor your bloodwork at least 2x per year, possibly even quarterly just to make sure your cholesterol and hemotocrit are in check.

you want to find out sooner than later if you are at risk for clotting issues. baby aspirin daily as well.

remember you are only trying to replace your endogenous T levels, so with the low dose i dont think your risks are high, no more dangerous than if your normal levels were naturally at 500. by getting bloodwork you can adjust your dose accordingly.

goheavy63 · Oct 11, 2011

bigsport said:
with a T level of 300 you are in range, its not optimal, but never the less its still acceptable. if you have heart issues the most i would even consider doing would be a small dose of either test E, or test C. i would not administer more than 75-100mg per week, as this level you will have an adequate amount to get your T levels back to an optimal range.

additionally i would advise you to monitor your bloodwork at least 2x per year, possibly even quarterly just to make sure your cholesterol and hemotocrit are in check.

you want to find out sooner than later if you are at risk for clotting issues. baby aspirin daily as well.

remember you are only trying to replace your endogenous T levels, so with the low dose i dont think your risks are high, no more dangerous than if your normal levels were naturally at 500. by getting bloodwork you can adjust your dose accordingly.

I get a complete physical 2 times a year now with all the blood work because of my heart history. On a positive note my cardiologist has told me he only wants to see me every two years now as he really isn't doing anything for me. He said that with just the physical examination my heart was normal. Last echo I had which has been 2 years ago my ef was around 48. This is way up from the 10 that landed me in the hospital. I really don't want to go through that again but I would like to feel more motivated to lift like I did just three years ago even after the heart episode. Its like my t levels have just fell off the last year or so. I am thinking maybe try 100mg a week for a while and see how it goes. Thanks for the responses guys. But let this be fair warning to you. Be careful and none of us are invincible like we think we are.

PitbullTank · Oct 11, 2011

search posts by pro Emeric Delczeg... its exactly what ur looking for....

maldorf · Oct 11, 2011

goheavy63 said:
Cardiomyopathy and very high creatine level that landed me in the hospital for a week and on heart drugs for life. It has been under control for 6 years now but have always been scared to try anything else. My creatine level has also been good for years now. It just that I find myself with no motivation to better myself or go to the gym anymore. Maybe I am looking for something that is just not out there??? I know there is a risk and its my choice to take it or not.

If you had cardiomyopathy then I recommend that you never use steroids again. I developed cardiomyopathy and my ejection fraction was down to about 35% or so. Several others on here had the very same thing happen to them. All but one of them has never gone back on steroids again. There is one guy on here that competes that went back on. I went back on and about 5 yr later I had my heart attack and almost died. Don't do it unless bodybuilding is the most important thing in life to you.
It sounds like you are one the right meds and healthy now. Have you had your ejection fraction measure again with an echocardiogram? Just wondering if you go in for a yearly checkup. When I got off the steroids my ejection fraction went back up to 50% and once I was healthy again I went back on. I blamed my cardiomyopathy on a virus or some freak thing, and I think I was very wrong.

maldorf · Oct 11, 2011

kscowboy said:
First i would try to do it the legal way and go to a trt doc. Your best bet

Yes. I am on TRT even after having the heart attack and blood clot problems. It can be safe, but only if you are under a doctor's care. The usual HRT dose is 200 mg/2 weeks. I take 100 mg/wk and my total t is in the upper 500s or more.

maldorf · Oct 11, 2011

goheavy63 said:
This is way up from the 10 that landed me in the hospital. .

WOW

! I'm surprised you recovered so well. What did you feel like when it was that low? Mine now is about 20% after my heart attack.

Were you using steroids at the time when you developed that? If you were, how long did it take for your heart to get back to the 48%? It took my heart about 10 months or so to get up to 50% from being 35%.
Now that I went back on and had the heart attack mine is stuck at 20%, and its going to go down from there as I age. Transplant is in my future if I live long enough that is.

maldorf · Oct 11, 2011

Pekkerwood

Pekkerwood on here went through the whole cardiomyopathy thing and his heart is now sitting around where yours is. You should PM him and see what he has to say. Maybe he will see this thread.

My advice is that if youre not happy with how you feel at your current test levels then see an endo and maybe they will consider the TRT. I was sitting at a total test of around 70 or so and youre in the 300s so I can see why they hesitate. Hell, my doc made me wait almost 1 yr before she would put me on the test because she wanted to see if my test would come back on its own. I was honest and told her about my steroid use, and yeah sometimes it does come back. Im assuming yours had been in the 300s for years so yours is obviously not getting any higher. That is a normal range though for certain age groups.

goheavy63 · Oct 12, 2011

maldorf said:
Yes. I am on TRT even after having the heart attack and blood clot problems. It can be safe, but only if you are under a doctor's care. The usual HRT dose is 200 mg/2 weeks. I take 100 mg/wk and my total t is in the upper 500s or more.

That is all am looking for. Just in the mid to high range. I am threw trying to be huge and all. Just want to be healthy and feel well. I know the drugs they have me on make me feel bad and weak but I have to take them to stay alive. I am 41 and feel like a 60 year old. I have thought about this for a long time so I am not going into it blindly. I have no desire for sex or being close to my wife anymore and it is starting to take a toll on our lives. I tried to tell my doc this but he blamed it on the meds as far as ed goes. He gave me some viagra and it does help but not at the right moments if you know what I mean. I have to plan it out and that shit gets old.