Steady-State Screen
Anytime you begin or adjust a prescription of injected Testosterone, the medication takes approximately 6-8 weeks to completely stabilize in your body. During this time its very common to experience unwanted side effects. When Loading Doses are utilized, the medication stabilizes immediately.
By utilizing a Loading Dose before a change to Testosterone Cypionate or Enanthate, the medication is immediately put into steady-state and causes a far more rapid stabilization of the testosterone level. Despite this rapid stabilization, the additional hormones that also change based on your new testosterone level will likely still take 6-8 weeks.
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*A Loading Dose must be prescribed by your physician.
Steady-State Tutorial
Steady-State
Certain Steady-State (CSS) is a medical term for when a medication has become completely stable in your body.
When you begin or adjust a prescription of Testosterone Cypionate or Enanthate, the medication takes approximately 6 to 8 weeks to reach a peak concentration and completely stabilize in your body. This 6 to 8 week period is often filled with unwanted side effects and must be endured even if you keep the same Dose and only change the Frequency. Example: Switching from injecting 2x Per Week to injecting Every 3 Days.
A simple change in Frequency may not seem like a big deal, but as you'll realize from the Peak-Trough and Free Testosterone Screens, it actually has a massive impact on both your Total and Free Testosterone levels.
The reason for this lengthy 6-8 week transitional period is because Testosterone Cypionate and Enanthate have a long half-life of approximately 8 days. What this means is that half of the amount you inject will decay over an 8 day period inside your body. This lowers the amount of medication working in your system and boosting your testosterone levels, until you add more with your next injection.
After approximately 5-7 half-lives (40-56 days), without changing the Dose or Frequency, the medication will be completely built up in your body and reach its peak concentration. From there onward, you will have the same peak and trough every time you take an injection, and many of the unwanted side effects should go away. This is known as achieving Certain Steady-State.
After achieving CSS, accurate blood tests can be taken and accurate personal input can be reported to your doctor, such as persisting side effects you may be experiencing and how you feel overall. When you eventually find the correct Dose and Frequency combination for your body, you should be totally free from testosterone related symptoms (dialed-in).
Loading Doses
A Loading Dose is a calculated one-time dose that replaces the first injection of a new medication schedule and immediately boosts your medication levels to their Certain Steady-State concentrations. For injected Testosterone Cypionate or Enanthate, instead of taking 6-8 weeks for your medication to reach Steady-State, a loading dose can be prescribed to get you to Steady-State much faster. This has the potential to create more stability while your other hormones adjust to the new testosterone over the 6-8 week period.
A prescription is required for a Loading Dose and your doctor will decide how long to wait between follow up visits when more potential changes can be made. It's important to keep in mind that with a properly calculated Loading Dose, your medication is instantly at CSS, but the full adaptation and potential resolution of symptoms will likely still take 6-8 weeks.
Dose & Frequency
Dose is the amount of Testosterone Cypionate or Enanthate (mg) you have been taking for each injection, and have become fully stable on (Certain Steady-State).
Frequency is simply how often you take your injection. e.g., Every 7 Days, 2x Per Week, Every 3 Days, Every Day.etc.
New Dose & New Frequency
New Dose is the amount (per injection) of Testosterone Cypionate or Enanthate (mg) that you are changing to.
New Frequency is how often the New Dose is taken. e.g., Every 5 Days, Every 4 Days, EOD (Every Other Day).etc.
Results: Loading Dose
When Dose and Frequency have been entered (your current medication schedule), along with New Dose and New Frequency, you will see the Loading Dose amount displayed in the box on the bottom half of the screen.
When first starting TRT with Testosterone Cypionate or Enanthate, Dose will be zero, as you aren't on any medication yet, and Frequency doesn't matter because the Dose is zero. New Dose and New Frequency will be where you enter your initial medication schedule.
Steady-State Conclusion
Key Takeaways:
1. Testosterone Cypionate and Enanthate take approx. 6-8 weeks to achieve Certain Steady-State (CSS) and fully build up in your body.
2. Loading Doses are often prescribed for long half-life medication in order to achieve Certain Steady-State concentrations immediately.
3. A prescription is required for a Loading Dose and your doctor will decide how long between evaluations and medication adjustments.
4. By utilizing Loading Doses, your testosterone levels will stabilize far more rapidly than with traditional methods.
5. A properly calculated Loading Dose boosts your medication instantly to CSS, but your body's full adaptations will likely still take 6-8 weeks.
