Week 1 Observations on Testosterone:
Sexual
- Sex Drive: My sex drive has improved a little bit, nothing drastic but I do feel horny more easily. I started to feel how I felt when I was younger. I changed from a flatlined non-sexual person who needs loads of stimulation to get turned on, to a man who now has an itch in his loins that needs to be scratched and the urge for sex is now present there if nothing is done for three days (nofap/noporn/nosex).
- Erectile Function: The amount of visual/physical stimulation needed to get an erection is reduced. Previously I had to jerk myself off for a while and look at porn to get hard but I could now get a hard erection just with thoughts in my head. I had morning wood recorded on 3 out of 7 days compared to 0 days before starting TRT.
- Nipples: My nipples feel more sensitive now and even a slight brush against an object would feel good on the nipple. Nipples are in the slightest bit more meaty and rubbing them would turn me on.
- Testicles: No observable changes in size.
Physical
- Muscle Strength: Over the last week's workouts I have managed to increase my PRs by 5-10% for barbell compound lifts. These exercises have stagnated in weight for some time (bench press 100 to 105kg, military press 60 to 65kg, bent-over rows 80 to 85kg, squats 80 to 85kg). I think likely that it is not just testosterone that contributed but also the change in my diet (10 eggs/day) that improved the numbers.
- Tendon/Ligament: With the increase in muscular strength from my workouts, I had three muscle strains all within the span of the first week. After my back day doing bent over row, I suddenly had a lower back muscle ache that got pretty bad. Whenever I bent to pick things up I could feel the strain. Then after shoulder day my right thumb started to get strain when extending. The funniest one was my neck muscle when I got horny at the end of the first week and decided to take out my fleshlight (it’s counted as nofap since I thrusted instead of using hands?). When I was ejaculating I had the most intense orgasm and as I was looking at myself in the mirror my neck was striated and flexed beyond what I’ve seen and then the neck strain hit. The strains are pain but I push through them by continuing my workouts anyway and they seem to subside when I mobilise them.
- Muscle Mass: My weight was 89kg on the day of the jab and now I am 91kg. Notable steady increase of about 0.4kg per day with some fluctuations in between. But with an increased appetite, I can see how this has increased my body weight.
- Muscle Pump: The pumps are bigger and more intense now after workouts at the gym and DOMS stay for longer. Before TRT, the DOMS would only be felt the next day on the muscle I was working out on. However, now I would feel DOMS across my body even though the workout was focused on a specific body part. For example, I did a shoulder workout and the next day I felt muscle swelling and soreness across my chest, back, shoulders, legs and arms. It could be that I am lifting heavier weights more intensely now so it is engaging more muscles across my body. Who knows.
- Sweating: Sweat glands are definitely starting to work harder now because I sweat more easily and my body odour is muskier and denser if I make any sense, like it's not so much a bad germy B.O. but more of a masculine smell that I like the smell of. It's probably the testosterone doing its work on my pheromones. To me, it's a plus because the smell now gives me more confidence (weird I know but I like my own smell lol).
- Thirst: Likely directly linked to the increased amount of sweating, the amount of water I need to drink on a daily basis has increased. In the past, I would fill my 600ml water bottle up to three times a day, but now I drink so much water that I would fill up the bottle 4-6 times.
- Acne: No observable acne occurrence.
- Water Retention: No observable water retention symptoms
Lifestyle
- Appetite: My appetite is BIG. When the hunger hits I really do feel it now. I can eat huge meals and get hungry again a few short hours later, and when the hunger hits I get a strong urge to eat right away. It's not the kind of hunger where I'm like okay maybe I will pick up a snack to eat. No. It's an urge to eat a full hearty meal. About that, the preference for food selection also tends toward high protein and meaty diets. I have no more cravings for sugary / processed / fried foods. My body craves eggs, meat and foods with solid nutritional value. Coke and candy do not interest me any longer.
- Sleep: I have better sleep now but I am unsure if it is by pure coincidence that I fitted air purifiers in my room to clean the air just last week (yes I am crazy about optimizing my health right now). I feel that I sleep more deeply and do not wake up in the middle of the night. Based on my daytime alertness, I would say that I am having better sleep. But the fatigue does come in naturally when nighttime hits so it's not like I have excess energy that keeps me up even at bedtime.
- Mental Clarity and Alertness: I am more awake in the morning hours and clearer in my thoughts, my vision feels more vibrant like I can focus in my present state more clearly.
- Mood: I feel more calm and collected. Negative thoughts do still stay in my head but I think I care less now of things if I feel like it's not important.
- Motivation: Big improvements in motivation and I think this is where testosterone manages to pull all the improvements together. The saying that testosterone makes effort feel good does hold true. I have increased aggression (not in violence but an effortful drive) to push myself to do things and make myself better. There are less of the what-ifs and more of just taking action and doing things and getting things done to make myself better. Previously, it would take me quite an effort to drive out of the house and get to the gym on a weekend (when I could just rest in bed), but the drive now is more intense and I want to get myself going and doing things and not just be comfortable.
- Energy: Greater energy in the daytime, I feel more athletic and willing to move around. I do get a little restless when I am stationary for too long, but as long as I keep myself occupied with things and move out and about, the energy is burnt off well, and then I'm good.
- Stress and anxiety: I think I was put in some stressful situations during the week, especially during the Chinese New Year period when I had social gatherings and social anxiety would usually run strong. I feel more calm and can handle my emotions better. In fact, my emotions have become more masculine and I no longer become emo or sad when I encounter problems. Which is definitely a big plus.
With these improvements, right now I am on the side of continuing this TRT because the amount of benefit it has provided me as opposed to the cons is really life changing and I feel that I can optimise my testosterone to make the best of my life to do things for my own happiness and success.
5 more weeks to go before the second loading dose comes which is also where TRT will likely become a permanent fixture from then on, I am confident right now of TRT being a part of my life but I shall continue to observe the next few weeks if any negative effects start to appear.