# Newbie to TRT - weight gain / can't lose fat & trouble sleeping?



## UrogenitalSubsect (Mar 13, 2018)

Hey  UGBBers,

I recently started TRT @ 125mg test E E3.5D. 19 yrs old, 5'5", 150lbs. When I got my bw done, a 4pm blood test yielded free test 20ng/dl, e2 < 5, LH 0.4, FSH 1.5. A morning blood test then yielded free test of just under 300ng/dl. 

Ever since I've started TRT, I've noticed my weight loss stalling / becoming a lot harder. Before TRT I was able to lose 1.5lbs a wk on 2500kcal a day and could see visible abs / changes in leanness. Ever since starting TRT (I'm 3 wks in now) I haven't lost any weight and even regained the first 4lbs I lost, and don't have the same leanness I did before, despite lowering intake to 2000kcal. My question is; is this weight gain / struggle to get lean normal due to estrogen rebound / increase causing water retention? And is this just water holding or actual fat intake? 


Another question is; I'm starting to have some struggle sleeping. It seems I'm really not getting any good "deep sleep" and instead kind of staying semiawake throughout the night. Is this normal due to hormone fluctuations? And will it cease as my hormone levels stabilize?

Thanks!


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## snake (Mar 13, 2018)

UrogenitalSubsect said:


> Hey  UGBBers,
> 
> I recently started TRT @ 125mg test E E3.5D. 19 yrs old, 5'5", 150lbs. When I got my bw done, a 4pm blood test yielded free test 20ng/dl, e2 < 5, LH 0.4, FSH 1.5. A morning blood test then yielded free test of just under 300ng/dl.



When you got your blood work done at 4 PM... this was pre-TRT? The morning blood work, 300 ng/dl... you meant total test?



UrogenitalSubsect said:


> Ever since I've started TRT, I've noticed my weight loss stalling / becoming a lot harder. Before TRT I was able to lose 1.5lbs a wk on 2500kcal a day and could see visible abs / changes in leanness. Ever since starting TRT (I'm 3 wks in now) I haven't lost any weight and even regained the first 4lbs I lost, and don't have the same leanness I did before, despite lowering intake to 2000kcal. My question is; is this weight gain / struggle to get lean normal due to estrogen rebound / increase causing water retention? And is this just water holding or actual fat intake?
> 
> 
> Another question is; I'm starting to have some struggle sleeping. It seems I'm really not getting any good "deep sleep" and instead kind of staying semiawake throughout the night. Is this normal due to hormone fluctuations? And will it cease as my hormone levels stabilize?
> ...



You did peal off 4 lbs and that's not bad. Stay your course on the diet for another 2 weeks and see what happens.

As for the sleep, I don't know why it's not good; sorry.


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## UrogenitalSubsect (Mar 13, 2018)

snake said:


> When you got your blood work done at 4 PM... this was pre-TRT? The morning blood work, 300 ng/dl... you meant total test?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This was pre-trt, sorry for the confusion. Yes I mean total test; the first bloodwork was a complete hormone panel done privately which is why it wasn't in the morning. The second test was ordered by my doc and done in the morning, but was just free testosterone.


I only plan to diet hard for another 2-3wks then do a slow switch to bulking. It just sucks not seeing your results when cutting due to water retention.


As for the sleep issue, I have a feeling there could be some other external factors at play. I sometimes drink decaf coffee later at night, and apparently decaf =/= 100% decaf, so it could be messing with my sleep a bit. 

Thanks!


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## snake (Mar 13, 2018)

Tell your doctor to do a complete panel. Why he would only do Free is beyond me; maybe watching too many of those Test boosting commercial.

Just me but hold off that quick jump to bulk. I'm afraid you'll be right back to square one. Slow gains is the train you want to take.


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## UrogenitalSubsect (Mar 13, 2018)

snake said:


> Tell your doctor to do a complete panel. Why he would only do Free is beyond me; maybe watching too many of those Test boosting commercial.
> 
> Just me but hold off that quick jump to bulk. I'm afraid you'll be right back to square one. Slow gains is the train you want to take.


My plan is to slowly increase calories up from my cut, maybe 100-200 a week, centered around training days / training. 

As for my sleep, I've done some research that says that high estrogen can cause insomnia, and I've heard that people in the early stages of TRT can have estrogen surges / quick increases before leveling


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## notsoswoleCPA (Mar 13, 2018)

snake said:


> Tell your doctor to do a complete panel. Why he would only do Free is beyond me; maybe watching too many of those Test boosting commercial.



While both of my doctors always pulled full panels, they were more concerned with free testosterone in my case than total testosterone due to my naturally high SHBG.  They didn't care that my total testosterone was over the high end of normal as long as my free was around 21.  Oddly, I've had my total testosterone near 1,500 with a 24 free and as low as 918 with a 21.7 free using two different doctors.  

I was told that there is some correlation between free testosterone, energy, and feeling of well being and that if it is too low, one will have no energy and generally not feel great.  That could be why the OP's doctor only cares about free, even though I'd still be worried about total too.  When I was running close to 1,500 with my old doctor, I noticed that my RBC and Hematocrit kept rising.


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## Jin (Mar 13, 2018)

Were you having significant low t symptoms?


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## UrogenitalSubsect (Mar 13, 2018)

Jin said:


> Were you having significant low t symptoms?


Yup, all of em tbh. ED, no sex drive, fatigue (couldn't make it past 7-8pm without wanting to fall asleep), irritability, etc despite having 8 hours of sleep and plenty of calories. Also not seeing any muscle / strength gains despite training.


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## Jin (Mar 13, 2018)

Although trt is the best remedy Most doctors wouldn't turn to that initially for someone so young. 

Give your body time to adjust to the test.


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## herrsauce (Mar 22, 2018)

Jin said:


> Although trt is the best remedy Most doctors wouldn't turn to that initially for someone so young.
> 
> Give your body time to adjust to the test.




This ^^. I started TRT young as well, ~ 20-21. It took me around 6-8 months to find an equilibrium. Once I cleaned up my diet, found a consistent exercise regimen, and felt balanced, I began to notice fat loss, muscle gain, stabilized libido, and overall increased sense of wellness. It just took some time.


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## BRICKS (Mar 23, 2018)

I agree with the time factor, give it some more time and see what happens.  I'm with Snake on the sleep.  Could be something totally unrelated to the test.  I know when I started trt I noticed a significant improvement in sleep with in a week. Improvemwnt in the gym was more like 4 weeks.


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## John Ziegler (Mar 23, 2018)

snake said:


> Slow gains is the train you want to take.



words of wisdom


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