JensenZ

On 10/24/2023 at 3:50 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Isn't a side effect shrunken testicles, not sure the penis reduces, strangely ladyboys have a reputation for big ones and they take estrogen 

Of course, your testicles will shrink. If you inject testosterone, your own production will slow down and stop. This is a big problem for young guys on steroid cycles who need their balls at a later date, to start their own production again after their cycles. For old guys with natural testosterone production lower than girls the balls are already underperforming and there's not much use for big balls unless it's for cosmetic purposes. There are ways to preserve their size and current function, but that involves other injectables, specifically hcg, which is hard to get.

When you start TRT, it's a lifelong decision, so don't take it lightly. Get tested first. If you're in the normal range, don't start.

On 10/28/2023 at 2:48 PM, JimTripper said:

 

🤣 yep, that's true about the air. i'm always gasping like a fish out of water.

 

there is also a health issue of getting pool water in my mouth, eyes and ears all the time. it's a treated pool but you never know and the water is never really changed, just treated.

 

i have noticed body improvements (toning and losing weight, not so much stregth based) with the swimming that are equal to the rowing with seemingly less effort, but it could be due to other things 🤷🏻‍♂️.

I swam miles and miles in my earlier years. I used to swim in the ocean rock pools back in Sydney, Australia when I lived there to avoid the dirty pool water and chlorine. Indoor pools are really bad as the whole atmosphere is chlorine laden and humid.

Sure, you can get into good shape swimming, but it takes longer to get there. If you're not getting enough air you can test it out by doing breaststroke or backstroke. If that's easier, then your problem with freestyle is lack of air, not lack of fitness. You can buy special swimmer's snorkels. You'll be amazed at how far and how much faster you can swim when air is not the limiting factor. It also prevents water from entering your mouth.

On 10/28/2023 at 2:45 PM, fredwiggy said:

Stallone used it all the time, along with a few others. He was actually busted in Australia for bringing 48 vials. into the country. I was a personal trainer in 5 gyms for 16 years, and knew hundreds of users along with news on who did what. I was interested for awhile in HGH but never got around to trying it because I wanted to stay natural. I was built a lot like Stallone for many years, getting close to his ripped times without anything, and that's mainly why. I came close to his highest bench and was stronger in legs and deadlifts. My family is diabetes prone, so that' was another reason not to try HGH, as it can cause problems, along with joint pain which is my biggest problem because of extreme lifts for too many years. I know some get edema but not everyone.

It was a long time ago that Stallone was caught with hgh entering Australia. We have no idea if he still uses it, but I doubt it. Stallone is not a big guy and the reason he looks so jacked on the big screen is due to his very low body fat that he maintains when necessary for movie roles. Stallone builds his muscles with testosterone and hard work.

Ever wonder why the golden era bodybuilders looked better with no protruding guts? Internal organ growth? Those were the pre-hgh and insulin injecting days.

If you ever try hgh, you won't be on it for long - I'll put money on that. Bodybuilders have designed all types of injection protocols to limit the very significant side effects. One was to inject larger doses less frequently as daily doses causes a lot of problems.

He's not going to Japan, he's just trolling.

3 hours ago, JimTripper said:

I liked rowing for years, but I actually like swimming better now for the body workout. There's something about having to keep the body afloat over a longer period if time that feels much stronger then a rowing session.

 

 Have you ever rowed hard for 15 - 30 minutes on a Concept 2 rower? Swimming can get you out of breath quickly, but it doesn't build strength, especially core strength because you're floating. You're only pushing against water. An interesting point to consider with swimming is that most people are out of breath because they aren't getting enough air, rather than from the actual exercise. I've done a lot of swimming - I used to swim with a snorkel so getting sufficient air was never a problem.

I'm not saying it's not a good exercise, only that there are limitations and better ways to get fit and strong.

2 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

I will try it as soon as I can afford it regularly. It's mainly what Stallone has used over the years. You do need to be tested regularly by a sports doctor for any changes that aren't good. I just want to keep what I have for as long as possible. My joints were hurt by lifting so heavy for so long so I just work out lighter now. Problem here is that the only gym doesn't open until 2 PM, and I've been used to training early mornings for over 45 years.

You won't need to test for side effects as the number one, most common side effect is water retention. Extreme water retention which is dangerous. Joint pain in the hands and wrists is another common side effect. Another major problem was sleep apnea, caused by the water retention. Stallone didn't get his physique from growth hormone. I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't used it for many years.

16 hours ago, JimTripper said:

i gave up lifting weights at about 50 years old. no muscle gains and body fat increasing much faster, so why do it? if you're over 50 looking for muscle gains is it worth it? or maybe you just like a tough challenge (but no need for testosterone for that).

 

swimming, bike riding, rowing now. still on a strap water rower though, and not a magnetic one like the really old guys use for flexibility 😅.

The older you are, the more important resistance work becomes. You lose muscle every year as your testosterone levels decline, and you increase your body fat as your estrogen levels increase. You need resistance work to at least keep what muscle you have. It's not a matter of one or the other. You should be doing both cardio and resistance work.

Interesting you mentioned rowing - that's one of the best exercises of all as it works the whole body and keeps the back strong provided you don't overdo it or have a back injury. I have a Concept 2 Rower that I use nearly every day. If you had to do just one exercise, that would be the one if you can handle the boredom of it. I use 4 different types of cardio work throughout the week to keep my interest up, but do resistance work nearly every other day. Heavy lifting is not necessary, but exercises that keep a lot of tension on the working muscles. You can gain more muscle using less weight while reducing the risk of injury. I train muscles to near failure often, but I can achieve that with lighter weights through the use of advanced techniques.

As far as how I look - I don't care about that. I'm already old and ugly. It's how I feel that counts. If you feel better you do tend to look better too. One of the important benefits of exercise is the reduction of stress (if that is a problem).

TRT is for optimizing health, not building more muscle.

On 10/26/2023 at 10:29 AM, PoorSucker said:

I take an injection once per month, don't go to gym.

It just makes me feel better and younger.

 

It's no good taking it once a month. You'll have high levels for a few days, and then back to nothing for the rest of the month. The only reason why doctors go along with this nonsense (once every 3-4 weeks) is because people don't enjoy frequent injections.

The best way would be tiny doses twice a week, but that would be tough going for many.

4 minutes ago, SingAPorn said:

Most bodybuilders use it and rarely confess. The risk is that all this sh.... alters their minds and suddenly they can get violent and agressive for any absurd reason. They should be required to provide a medical certificate to proove they are not under steroids.

Assuming you're referring to testosterone... you need to study up on what TRT is. It's taking enough testosterone to get your levels up to a normal range. You will not become any more aggressive than any younger person with normal levels.

On 10/26/2023 at 11:21 AM, NoshowJones said:

Regular weight lifting with, or even without testosterone, just turns people into over muscled monkey men, as has been already said take up swimming, or bike riding, or even weight training in moderation.

This is absolute nonsense unless you have a very low standard of what you consider "jacked".

Assuming most people here are 50 plus (I'm 64), taking testosterone does not automatically make muscles pop. If you want a good physique as an older guy, and you haven't had many years of bodybuilding experience, you will find it very difficult to build muscle even with the addition of exogenous testosterone. I've been training for most of the last 50 years, so even if I take a long time off, I can quickly build up muscle again with a low dose of testosterone... but it is very hard work and a lot harder than when I was young as aging joints and connective tissue invariably slow you down. You really have to know what you're doing as the type of training I do now is very different from how I trained when I was younger.

Now, if you want to get really jacked as an old man, it will take a lot more drugs than just testosterone... and that gets very dangerous, and more dangerous the older you get.

Thanks for the suggestion of swimming and bike riding to maintain cardiovascular health. More than half of my weekly training is cardio work.

On 10/24/2023 at 9:39 AM, fredwiggy said:

Have been weightlifting 50 years, no drugs, and I'm not a stupid person as you assume. No tattoos either, although all my children have them, besides my 6 year old here. If I could get HGH, I would take it, as everyone breaks down eventually and I'm not concerned anymore with lifting extreme weights but staying fit.

It is easy enough to get hgh, but I wouldn't recommend it though. I had nasty side effects from it when I tried it back in 2009... and no, it wasn't the hgh as that was genuine and high quality and I was using a low dose. That stuff can kill you.

8 hours ago, bob smith said:

or me personally i couldnt care less.

if i died today then so be it,

 

This world is crap anyway.

booze is about the only thing thats keeping me going.

What you probably haven't considered is that most people die from disease or illness which can cause a lengthy period of suffering.

If you couldn't care less, then I expect that one day you'll have the courage to end your own life while you're still relatively healthy and able to post here. That way you can have your wish without suffering.

3 hours ago, Foxx said:

If the Buddha figure was within the tree trunk, it wasn't "unearthed".  Untrunked, or unboled possibly.  Definitely not "unearthed".

 

When I first read it, I thought they had dug it up under a mango tree, not inside the tree.

3 hours ago, p414 said:

many cannot earn any money any other way...they are and always will be 'Male'.

Fortunately, in Thailand, they are shown more respect, and considered to be a "third gender".

What this article failed to consider is that katoeys do attract many tourists who prefer them to women or men. There's a market for them. If there wasn't, Pattaya would not have so many. Labeling them all as criminals or potential criminals is extremely unjust.

5 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Good to see they are being proactive. 

 

But, could you imagine the uproar and lawsuits in the west especially in the U.S. if the cops did this? No way they could get away with it.

It's not good to see... police violating the rights of citizens by detaining them without charge due to profiling. I'm sure it's against the law in Thailand too, but they don't expect any of them to contact their lawyers.

14 hours ago, bobbin said:

Gynecomastia is the proper medical term. It's a not uncommon side-effect of TRT, usually associated  with higher doses.

Man boobs are a common side effect of aging. If your testosterone levels are too low, you'll get them too. Low testosterone is a side-effect of aging. Aging is not pretty. If men want to look like sh*t when they get old, then don't do TRT.

Testosterone aromatizes into Estradiol. Don't take anti-estrogen, or aromatase-inhibiting drugs, just lower the dose of testosterone. It's a bit stupid to take excess testosterone and then other drugs to control the side effects. Men need estrogen and too little is also a problem. The OP is/was using far too much. 125mg or less per week should be adequate for most people to increase testosterone to a normal range (for younger adults). Doing more frequent low-dose injections might help maintain more stable blood levels throughout the week, but that's a problem for people who don't like injecting themselves. You can have it done at a clinic.

I don't have a problem with gynecomastia, but hair loss/thinning is a problem and also excess growth of body hair. If you use finasteride to stop hair loss, then you'll have to deal with no sex drive. It kills it. (if you like to pay for it, it'll save you a fortune LOL). I've never had a problem with high blood pressure. I don't know what the OP is doing in the gym, but too much weight training and too little cardio exercise might be his problem. Training twice a day is not a good idea unless one session is cardio and the other is resistance training. You should not have a blood pressure problem caused by sensible TRT doses. (more to the point, it should not cause high blood pressure. There's probably another cause). One of the huge advantages of TRT is it can improve your sugar metabolism if you have high blood sugar.

On 10/20/2023 at 3:28 PM, TaaSaparot said:

Why do people always pick on public transport?

They are picking on baht buses, not public transport in general. I love public transport in Bangkok, but baht buses stop anywhere and slow down traffic just in the hope of picking up passengers. Frequently they will stop traffic just to tout for passengers.

Regular buses have bus stops to pick up and offload passengers. Baht buses slow or stop traffic to pick up or drop off one passenger. They are without doubt the biggest hindrance to traffic flow in Pattaya.

37 minutes ago, connda said:

Until you died.

You'd go into ketosis and start burning fat as energy which in itself isn't bad - I mean - that's the point of a ketogenic diet. 

However -

Olive oil isn't going to provide you with the minerals and vitamins that are need to keep you alive. But, nice slow way to kill yourself though.

Yes, without amino acids, essential minerals, and vitamins, he would die, no doubt. It would be an interesting experiment to see how long he takes to die. He would become quite sick in less than a week, especially with all that oil sloshing around in his stomach. It will save the Japanese ladies the "pleasure" of meeting him.

If I wanted to diet myself to death, I'd rather die by chocolate and ice cream. You'll last longer as they would have the essential amino acids.

20 minutes ago, Chris Daley said:

Divorce over a tablet.  what a loser.  Sounds to me like she is doing her bit.  Washing and cooking taking care of the house.  If you don't like Thai language you should have thought about that before having the kids and ruining her life.

The OP is very short on useful information. Which country? If it is not a strong English-speaking country like the UK, Netherlands, or the Scandinavian countries, then the incentive to learn a 3rd language would be understandably low. Learning English as her 2nd language is the most practical as the lingua franca of Europe.

5 hours ago, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

"she plays with her phone all the time."

 

Maybe she's just chatting with her "brother."

My wife is on her phone all day too - doesn't concern me at all. The OP should have had a good look around while he was in Thailand - EVERYONE is on their phones all day long.

When I want to discuss something with my wife, I do insist she puts it down - not an easy task at all LOL

4 hours ago, QuantumQuandry said:

That is the current western model but every relationship is different and has different dynamics.

 

Relationships don't need to all conform to the modern western "men and women are exactly the same and have the same roles and responsibilities" paradigm, imo.

 

That said, there does need to be respect going both ways.

It's an archaic attitude no matter how you want to spin it. What you're suggesting is that the husband and wife are not equals. The OP certainly doesn't think his wife is his equal, and he demands compliance to his wishes.

18 hours ago, Jingthing said:

So back to the question:

Do you think (most) financially struggling western retirees are stupid for not retiring abroad?

There's no question in my mind - I believe they are stupid to attempt to retire abroad. It's better off running out of cash in your home country than in Thailand.

Please note that my answer is based on the assumption that the home country is Australia or New Zealand. There's a good enough social network (if sought) to at least have a place to stay, food to eat, and medical assistance.

I can't comment on the situation in the US or Europe. Jingthing probably thinks we all come from the US.

4 hours ago, Pistachio said:

She doesn't have a system in things she brings up the children without rules she would like to give them a tablet which I have forbidden her to do

This comment indicates to me you have control issues. "I have forbidden", you say. This is quite an archaic attitude as these days marriage partners are considered to be equal partners. You need to negotiate, not rule.

I think you're expecting your Thai wife to adapt to your lifestyle in Europe, and she feels out of place. Europe is most definitely not one place, but many countries, with many different customs and attitudes. What language is she not learning?

Have you considered for a moment that you might be hard work to live with as you want everything done your way and you're not willing to compromise? I might be feeling sorry for your wife.

2 hours ago, Des1 said:

My thoughts on this are not about trade, but rather the dark road we are going down with the rise of authoritarian regimes. We are a species of warring tribes, history cannot be denied and we are long overdue for another global conflict and we are moving in that direction. Thailand may try to take the position of neutrality. They held on to that idea while capitulating to the Japanese in our previous world war, or they may decide to hitch their wagon to Russia and China. No one is fooled by that. As I said, it’s about choosing sides when deciding what sort of world we want to live in. China has no friends in Asia, aside from Russia and North Korea. That speaks volumes. Actions have consequences. Just my opinion.

I disagree. Thailand has been a military dictatorship for most of the last 10 years yet the rest of the world turned a blind eye, other than a few feeble comments here and there. Thailand is unimportant on the world stage, so staying neutral in this conflict will be of no consequence at all. They'll fly under the radar like they always have.

33 minutes ago, Des1 said:

It does hurt Thailand, in many ways.It's very much about choosing sides and Thailand's actions will not go unnoticed.

Would you be able to give just one or two examples of how it actually hurts Thailand?