u/No_Acanthisitta_93

38yo m, 5’9” SW 241.6

Started Reta in January, dropped to 217 extremely quick so got my T levels checked at end of February at 217lbs. Came back Total: 589, free: 68.5. These were extremely good numbers as due to being overweight and poor diet in the past my T numbers were in the 300s.

6 months later of roughly 1600 calories per day 150g protein/60g fat/ 150g~ carb/ macro target and I’m now down to 188. I’ve been doing calisthenics 3x a week and rowing 3x a week. Got levels rechecked and now am at Total: 277 and Free: 33.5. Almost dropped by half!

My thoughts is the 6 months of a 1000~ calorie deficit has wrecked my T levels. So shifting to eating at least 2000 calories a day and easing off the workout intensity for the time being while my body re adjusts. I’m not feeling any real side effects of low T other than lower than normal libido which I attributed to Reta.

Also doing 1iu of hgh for sleep and recovery assistance and Klow. Not wanting to dive into trt unless I have to as I know it’s a lifelong commitment.

So I have had a bit of a journey this year and my latest labs are making me think how to address it

Reta journey started January 12th
SW: 241
CW: 190
38 yo M
Strength train 3x a week, cardio 3x a week. Track all my food and cut out 90% processed food. Hitting my macros fine.

Lost about 20-30 lbs quickly and got my first round of labs done at the end of February
All normal ranges except for my HDL which was a 33. But historically it’s been in the low 40s.
Also got igf-1 tested and it was 77 and -1.2 z-score

Since February I started cjc/ipa for sleep benefits and to bump the igf-1. 100/100mcg dose. It has been working great but I’ve recently stopped taking it due to a mild reaction around the pin site and have since switched to straight hgh.

Anyways I just got my labs done again and my HDL is still 33 and improved my LDL and Total cholesterol all in the green range. However it showed a WBC count of 3.7. Just below the low of 4. I’ve noticed my tonsils have been a bit swollen the last couple weeks but otherwise feeling fine.

I have also been taking aod-9604 for the last 6 weeks.

My thoughts are to stop the aod in case it is carrying a bacterial load and that’s what I’m experiencing. Continue with the hgh to assist with sleep and recovery, Reta, and add in some medical grade tb-500 to assist with the immune system.

Or I’m just overthinking everything and my WBC count isn’t too far below to be a concern