Muscle Wasting - Help Needed

Symptoms Physical
#1

Hey Guys,

I took a single 1mg pill about 5 months ago and, within the past few months, have had a significant amount of muscle wastage. I’m 5’8 and 158 is a healthy weight for me. I weigh 147 now and this has come off pure muscle - I’ve always hovered around 9-11% body fat. I have literally watched my muscles melt away these past few months. I haven’t been sleeping too well obviously, some nights very little, but I’ve been staying on my diet pretty well, not intaking enough calories for sure. It is definitely muscle wastage, not simply lack of use. I am 24 now and have lifted weights since I was 17, and I have watched the body I have built deteriorate. This is on top of my cognitive and sexual symptoms. If I have blood taken again, what should I be primarily focusing on guys? If anyone has any experience with muscle wastage and generalized weakness, please contribute. It would mean alot.

#2

Hey dude. I was an avid weightlifter and runner before this and now my build is pretty average and kinda skinny/lean. It sucks, a lot. Like my entire being revolved around health/working out before all this. I still workout, but gains don’t come like they used to and I fatigue much faster than normal. I also don’t get the beloved “pump” in the gym like I used to :weary:

Over time, I think your progression of atrophy will stop. Don’t over work your body in the beginning if you’re still experiencing atrophy. I was doing that and it made me very tired. Eat well and get enough healthy proteins to prevent further atrophy.

#3

Would second that. Resistance training actually increased wastage in my case. Would try to preserve muscle by taking it easy in the beginning, until things calm down a little.

#4

Does the wastage ever stop, does this ever calm down? Will I reach a point where I can workout and actually not have muscle wastage? I mean what the fuck is going on here…When I lift weights, I get a very half-assed pump and it’s not the same connection to my muscles as before all of this. I know that stress and poor sleep has to be playing a role here, but can wastage and atrophy like this be permanent?

#5

Yes the the wastage comes to an end. But I’m my experience so far, muscle building isn’t the same. Right now, I’m finally at the stage where I can workout more often and not feel like dying. I’m tracking my calories once again and I’m going to try to cut some fat then bulk up on muscle like the old days. I expect less results because my body doesn’t feel like before.

In a few months, I’ll be able to tell you whether or not muscle can be made. But this is only after careful calorie tracking, macro tracking, lifting, and weighing in. Your mileage may vary from mine, though.

3 Likes
#6

Did you experience any heavy cognitive issues or ED issues? How’s your sleep? I know it’s probably in your story, figured I’d ask while you were responding.

Thanks for the response man.

1 Like
#7

I don’t mind being asked! Most people don’t update their member story to match their current symptoms. I had terrible ED when I first crashed, and now I can get hard for sex 95% of the time. Libido is still really low, though. Balls are still tight, too. And energy is rising, but not normal.

I don’t have insomnia, but my sleep isn’t refreshing. I wake up tired as hell many mornings, but that’s getting better. When I first crashed, my girlfriend was like why the fuck are you still in bed, you’re normally up by 6:30?!

My cognitive issues aren’t bad in terms of brain fog/feeling dumb. Instead, I have really blunt emotions and kinda feel like a robot sometimes.

Also, remember that I crashed on a drug called arimistane, so maybe my symptoms are different than yours. It’s an aromatase inhibitor but also sold as a DHT blocker. It’s now banned due to it being considered a PED. My symptomolagy perfectly fits this website, though, including the physical symptoms of muscle wastage, gyno, and smaller tight balls (hence my name)!

I’ve been like this for 2 years, but have come a massive way along from the deep hole I was in immediately after crashing.

#8

Thank you for sharing, and Kudos for pushing through such a dark time. I have taken so much for granted in my life and never really stopped to care what other people might be going through. My perspective is completely different now. I now know what it’s like to be in the darkest of places, not for just a day, but for months. I’m sorry this happened to you man. We will get through it.

3 Likes
#9

Yessir, when we’re out of this mess I’ll be a very different person. Peaks are higher when the troughs are lower!

1 Like
#10

The tight balls are they steady or worsening

#11

Steady as in haven’t changed since day 1.

#12

Awor, did you muscle wastage seem to stall, and you are able to build quality muscle again, or is it something that has persisted? I am more cautious now not to compare symptoms and stories, as everyone reacts differently. But what was your experience with the wastage and overall weakness? Thanks for the response man.

#13

It got slower but did not completely stall. Indeed, comparing stories on this point is difficult. We have seen the whole spread from strong, lasting wasting to incredible, effortless buildup of muscle. I am hoping our survey results will provide a little more clarity regarding this and many other questions.

#14

At this time, do you have any advice on what I can do? From reading some of your replies, I see that hormone levels aren’t really that important, as our body simply does not utilize them the same way.

#15

I find it really hard to give any reasonable advice on this subject, as there seems to be quite a bit of variability. In other words, what applies to me, may not apply for you. As I am on TRT, I can do pretty much anything I want with my hormone levels. From experimentation I know that raising T increases my wastage (and other sides as well). I would not say hormone levels do not matter at all. In my case, I need to try to keep them within a defined and low range. That seems to work best for me. You will need to experiment a little with exercise vs. no exercise to see what you can tolerate and what helps. I am really sorry that I cannot provide a more useful answer to you, I wish I had one myself.

#16

I’m going to go out on a limb and assume your username is a Rise Against reference. I like it.

#17

Does anyone else have any input on muscle wastage? It seems like there are only a select few who post regularly on this forum. I take it that it probably a good sign?

#18

High cortisol causes muscle wasting.

#19

Guys i’m getting worse, my body is really fucked up,my skin is so much softer and i’m getting man boobs. my nipples have changed and they sting all the time. My veins are non-existant and the actual skin is different. Will an estrogen blocker make this worse? is there anything I can do at all?

#20

From my experience, yes. Blocking the conversion from testosterone to estrogen will further increase your T levels. I noticed that increased T levels also increased my wastage.