question from a user
AlphaMD's Answer
There may be cases where one works better than another, but generally the most accepted form of Testosterone (Testosterone Cypionate) tends to do best for multiple reasons.
Your body prefers to have the most even levels possible, so doing daily injections of most esters would be ideal, but the changes between two-three times weekly to daily is generally so negligible that you shouldn't do it - As it will create needle fatigue & likely make it hard for you to be compliant with your regimen in the long term.
The only time that daily injections or shorter esters may be needed would be when someone is Right on the cusp of needing an AI, doesn't want to decrease their overall dose, and doesn't want to take an AI. At those times it may help lower spikes enough that you may not need an AI. However these cases are rare since it's usually more pronounced one way or the other for most men as either not an issue at all or a large issue. In both cases dose adjustment or AI tends to work better.
The final reason to stick with the traditional Cyp approach is simple cost. It's in high demand so pharmacies have a lot of competition with each other & that pushes prices down. We can source other esters, but you will likely need to pay a surcharge to make up the difference in cost that is probably not worth it considering you can most likely find a way to make cyp work as intended.
Most men we have worked with that wanted to try the shorter esters noted no difference. Also, in our experience men who use shorter esters tend to get needle fatigue (tired of doing shots everyday) and either switch back to a longer ester or switch to creams, which have a similar half-life as propionate with a better side-effect profile.
To be honest, we typically don't suggest propionate for the main reason that most men notice no difference and because it is so rarely used, most pharmacies charge a premium to make it. There is not enough demand, so supply is very limited.
Shorter esters may be preferred in men who are new to TRT and are "borderline", to see if they get symptom relief while on TRT, and if not, they can discontinue and be back to baseline much sooner. Or in those who are transitioning off of testosterone pellet therapy and we are unsure of how much remaining pellet is left still releasing hormone.
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