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David's avatar

If adding HCG to a trt protocol a few months in, should the initial dose be a little larger to 'catch up

'?

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

Yeah sure, if you want gyno LMAO. I wouldn't worry about it. 250iu eod is usually the way to go

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BowTiedShmedium's avatar

I’m not an expert. IMO starting at 250mcg 3x weekly is better bc HCG will increase estrogen but I could be wrong lol

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LD's avatar

After I finally cut down to 9% BF (visible 6pack, veins everywhere) I am starting to bulk.

What daily surplus should I am for and what would you recommend as intra workout suplementation?

I used to 10g BCAA with 15g dextrose + 15g dextrose with whey right after the session. I heard BCAA are not ideal, why is that?

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

Intraworkouts are highly overrated

But if you want something to increase gains like 2% you want EAAs because they activate mTOR/MPS and are not synthesized by the body

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LD's avatar

Thanks! And what do you think about dextrose in PWO shake, does it have any usecase if I have meal within 30 minutes after the session.

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

Sure! if you're taking exogenous insulin

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BowTiedShmedium's avatar

Lmao love the () on “9% bf” as if to say “yes really 9%, I am not redacted”

+200 cals bro.

I did that at first then added additional cals - ignoring my coach bc I had been tired of the strict discipline of dieting down to get lean and while I’ve definitely put on a bunch of muscle… have gone from 13% to 17%

Once I cut down again I don’t see any point in being above 13% certainly not 15%

EAAs > BCAAs Ngl can’t remember why. Might be leucine content to stimulate MTOR. But ya that’s enough dextrose for intra and I do find that it improves performance + reduces soreness

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LD's avatar

Cheers! I agree with 15% BF max in your bulk, was not worth it for me to be above 15% last time at all.

About the 9% I guess I wanted to emphasize its real 9% as almost everybody who say is 9-10% is usually like 5% more than that lol

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BowTiedShmedium's avatar

It absolutely has to be said haha

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Thomas Goyette's avatar

Looking to go on a clean lean bulk. What’s ur recommendation for how long to do it for/how many lbs per month? Gonna keep doing the 30 mins of zone 2. Just wanna make sure not a lot of fat is gained

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

I have nothing to add because BowTied Shmedium gave you a perfect answer

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Thomas Goyette's avatar

To follow up… is there any peptides that can help this process? Like a gh product like mk or Ipamorelin for example

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BowTiedShmedium's avatar

+200 cals, looking at about 1-1.5 lbs gained per month. Cut once you’re about 15%

It blows but this is why bodybuilding is hard. Losing fat is the easy part.

Peptide wise… I don’t think MK is the greatest idea bc you’re gonna have a hard time not over eating which means more fat gain than muscle gain which means less time spent gaining muscle bc u got fat

HGH or frag pre cardio maybe but tbh the biggest lever here is sticking to a small surplus with painful consistency

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

MK is only useful for guys that struggle with appetite and can't even hit maintenance on some days. Useful as a once in a while tool

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Jay Kurtz's avatar

From last Q&A (think I asked too many qs):

How to increase free T? Around 850ng total T, but about 14ng free T - and have read free T *could* be as high as 5% total.

High SHGB and DHEA low end of reference.

You asked what my fasting insulin is - wasn’t on blood work I can see.

And if I’m low carb - no. Actually quite high carb, about 3 months refined sugar free since mega dosing thiamine.

May need to get blood work again on this one

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

Yeah blood work is a good idea. I mean you can try megadosing the 10% eurycomanone tongkat from ND at 4-6 caps per day and see how that feels. Boron supplementation could help *if* you're deficient. Without bloods there's not really much else I can think of besides "take exogenous test" 😂 (don't do that without doctor approval)

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Jay Kurtz's avatar

Instructions unclear: just mega-dosed exogenous test at 10% of my bodyweight

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Berke's avatar

I'm curious about your thoughts total PSA and free PSA. my blood test, it seems to be at a level that's not quite optimal. I'm 28 years old, and my total PSA is 1.82 ng/ml, while my free PSA is 0.54 ng/ml. The values have been like this for the past two years.However, I couldn't find an exact answer on what the optimal level should be. In previous years, I've had issues similar to chronic prostatitis, but they were short-lived. Do you think these values are concerning? It seems like there is a lack of a clear, informative article on this topic. It would be really helpful if there were one.

I'll be trying your hair protocol in the coming days. My hair significantly thinned about 4-5 years ago. I hope to have positive results and contribute some good data :)

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

Yeah that's kinda high for your age bro. .5 or less total is what you usually want to see.

I highly suspect this is caused by an androgen/estrogen balance in most cases. Ever get free T, total T, total DHT, SHBG, and ultrasensetive estradiol with your blood work?

Insulin resistance/not being lean enough is usually the major contributing factor.

5mg daily tadalafil is known to help so ask a good doc about that or check out goodrx.com they have a cialis telehealth program that's really cheap, like 20 bucks per month total

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Berke's avatar

latest test results (LC-MS/MS):

- Total T: 586 ng/dl

- Free T: 12.2 ng/dl

- E2: 61.5 pg/ml

- DHT: 600.1 pg/ml

- SHBG: 32.4 nmol/L

- DHEA-S: 155 ug/dl

My insulin sensitivity is very high, but for some reason, my HbA1c levels are around 5.2.

Is a 15-minute email consultation sufficient evaluate blood tests? I plan to consult you for an soon. Since I live in Turkey, I can get pharmacy Cialis. I will ask my doctor . Thanks a lot for quick response bro.

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

Sure and yeah your e2 is high as fuck. More than double what it should be at that test level! I think there's the problem!

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

Btw i lived there for a bit. Turkish pharmacies are the best!

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Berke's avatar

Wow, I'm really surprised. I wish there were more options for TRT outside sustone in pharmacy.

Could there be a problem with link in your profile? It just shows a blank page.

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

Sust is great! Why don't you like it?

You talking about this link? https://calendly.com/bowtiedbiohacker

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Big Focus's avatar

What’s up Bio - do we need to be cycling tadalafil at all? Roughly 5mg preworkout sublingual.

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

Up to you and your doc but I don't see a reason to at all! The studies show it's actually healthy to take 5mg a day every day

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John's avatar

If you use BPC to regrow hair, will the regrowth only stay so long as you continue the use? And if so, do you cycle the BPC or always stay on it?

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

The idea is you use it to heal faster from the microneedling and make more angiogenesis gains. Those should last until negative lifestyle/environment/nutrition/stress factors bring you back to the point of reduced blood flow & hair loss again

I've been taking oral bpc daily all yr because it's good for so many things & personally don't see a reason to cycle off at this time.

Up to you / ask your doc

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BowTiedTiger's avatar

You are swayed by the eggplant gains lol

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Alex's avatar

Any solution for bags under eyes ?

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Wolf's avatar

I am aware of the only one question rule but I have an urgent question. How would you deal with a ear infection?

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

I'd go to the doctor and get an antibiotic asap. If no insurance, try lemonade health, it's 40 bucks. Use goodrx for a discount on your antibiotic script. Good luck!

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Phil's avatar

I started Finasteride about a week ago before seeing your posts. I'm going to stop immediately. Do you think that any potential damage has already been done? Or since it was just a week I will still be good?

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

A week? no big deal imo

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Thomas's avatar

Any thoughts on Pentosan? Just read a bit about it and had never seen it mentioned anywhere on health twitter or in any articles until just now. Seems like it's good for gut similar to BPC-157. Do you have any personal experience with this?

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

It's a drug for bladder inflammation

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The Big J's avatar

Recently started using DHT

Benefits and feel of quality of life is amazing.

Is it me or my hunger at times is off the charts? Is this a common side effect? Should I just blunt it with a high protein meal?

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

What kind of DHT?

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The Big J's avatar

Topical

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

Running anything else with it? If you just run topical you're going to be hating life in a few weeks as endogenous test, estradiol, dhea, pregnenolone, cortisol and aldosterone production all downregulate. Can expect joint pain, mood issues, dehydration, frequent urination, etc

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TheYiardRose's avatar

What’s up. I’m 26 years old and my blood work has my cholesterol - 303

ldl - 201

Hdl-90

Triglycerides-40

Prolactin- 80

T- 900

Free t-11

These where the major number I’m curious how my cholesterol and ldl can be so high with my triglycerides and hdl being where they are. Additionally why prolactin is also high.

I exercise and still compete professionally in track (100-200m sprinter)

Thanks for your feedback

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

HDL and Triglycerides are great. LDL is just high because you probably eat lots of saturated fats. I personally wouldn't worry so much if HS-CRP & Homocysteine are in range

Prolactin is high. That's a very complex question with dozens of causal factors. Ask again next week

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Pluto2256's avatar

Does tudca and oxbile provide same benefits?

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

1 question per week, but no

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Pluto2256's avatar

I had anal surgery five months , still pain is there , where can I inject bpc 157 to heal ? .

.does oral bpc 157 provide some benefits?

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

Injection: subcutaneous aka usually stomach fat

Oral: yes it does

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Bigninja's avatar

Hey man

In the previous Q&A I sent you my hormones and you told me that my E2 was low

I am interested if low E2 can also be causing slow/difficult muscle mass gains?

Btw, I started supplementing DHEA as you suggested🤝

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BowTied Biohacker's avatar

Low E2 makes it impossible to grow. Like impossible. Many bros who take steroids will vouch for this. One time more than doubled my testosterone to 400mg per week and also doubled my AI (bad idea hahaha) My e2 was 16pg/ml and I made ZERO gains despite having 4x a natural amount of T.

Estradiol contributes to muscle hypertrophy through the activation of estrogen receptor beta which stimulates satellite cells & also contributes to IGF-1 production, which btw means you're also most likely low IGF-1

Anyways, Good stuff man. You might also find 5-10mg of pregnenolone helps too!

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Bigninja's avatar

Appreciate the answer!

Life Extension Pregnenolone is coming in 50 or 100 mg

How do I take 5-10?

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