Additional Notes
If running Trenbolone ...
When running Tren, if you get your Estrogen (E2) levels checked, make sure to get the LC/MS sensitive estrogen reading. Why? Most estrogen tests are ECLIA or RIA. These will count tren as estrogen. This will give you a false estrogen reading if you are trying to dial your AI in. The only time you may want the ECLIA or RIA method is when you wish to see if there actually is Trenbolone in a vial that you believe to be Trenbolone—but this shouldn't be necessary, right? You wouldn't work with a source you don't trust, would you?
Tren has negative impact on the following that you should check if running it: Liver Function Tests (LFTs); fractionated cholesterol (HDL/LDL), AST/ALT/GGT/Bilrubin (liver hormones that show how well things are functioning).
Haematology: Measures haemoglobin, red blood cell numbers and size, as well as distribution of white blood cell types.
Electrolytes and LFT's: gives information on liver and kidney function.
Fractionated cholesterol: HDL/LDL ratio and triglycerides.
Iron studies: Total serum iron, transferrin levels (the carrier protein) and ferritin (the tissue storage protein).
Thyroid Function Tests: T3, T4, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) will tell you if there are any problems with your thyroid.
Cortisol: If your stress hormones are elevated it could point to other as-yet undiagnosed preexisting disorders or conditions. Tren has a tendency to elevate cortisol levels.
hGH, IGF-I: Only necessary if using hGH or hGH releasing peptides to measure effectiveness. A moderate rise will be seen with AAS use alone.
hGH stands for human Growth Hormone, a 171 amino acid polypeptide hormone released from the Anterior Pituitary gland in the brain. Its release is controlled by at least two hormones from the Hypothalamus...GH Releasing Factor and Somatostatin. GHRF stimulates GH in a pulsitile manner, while Somatostatin inhibits it's release. IGF-I, which is released from the liver into the circulation in response to GH release, is also thought to inhibit GH release in a negative feedback loop.
IGF-I is thought to mediate many of the effects of hGH. In response to hGH, muscle and many other tissues, can make their own IGF-I inside the cells. The resultant IGF-I synthesis effects both neighboring cells, and the cell itself via the Akt pathway (autocrine/paracrine secretion). Some of those neighboring cells in muscle are satellite cells, which are stem cells present inside the muscle sarcolemma, but outside of the actual muscle cells. IGF-I has the effect of increasing their number, and to differentiate (change them) into muscle cells. The satellite cell changes into a myoblast (primitive muscle cell) which then fuses into an existing fibre (particularly an inured one) and donates its nucleus.
When a muscle has to grow or repair, it requires more DNA which is donated by the satellite cells. This is to keep the protein/DNA ratio constant as a cell grows. Skeletal muscle is unusual in that it is a multi-nucleated cell. This is thought necessary as skeletal muscle cells are so relatively large that one nucleus could not adequately serve the whole cell.
The effects of IGF-I administration for bodybuilding purposes are controversial in terms of efficacy of low (microgram) dosages. In clinical trials it has been used in the range of 8-10 milligrams per day. There seems to be a great disparity here between anecdotal reports and published studies.
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