just over 3 weeks on HGH, sore finger joints, swelling in feet, need some advice!

Hi,

I am new to this platform but the forum has helped answer quite a lot of my questions over the past few months so never really had to post. But there're a couple of questions I haven't found answers for yet & was really hoping to get some good advice here today.

I'd been on 4iu HGH (Genotropin) e.d. for just under 3 weeks (never done AAS or GH before in my life), & I noticed swelling in my feet although with very little pain, but it did scare me to see my feet swelled. I spoke to my doctor who recommended reducing the dose by half i.e. 2iu instead of 4iu from the next day. The next day when i got up the swelling was gone, but I still went for the reduced dose & continued for 3 days. The doctor then asked me to go back to 4iu which was yesterday & i had swelling in my feet again in the evening. So from this morning on I've again gone for 2iu & i think i am going to continue with that for a while now.

Apart from this, I've been experiencing stiffness in my shoulder joints & fingers right after getting up in the morning. Shoulder pain feels like rotator cuff injury though mild & disappears after a while but as far as my fingers are concerned, i am not able to close my fist with the same strength as before & its a little inconvenient, that's all. My pulse is also slightly higher than what it should be (around 85).

I am 36, been lifting for almost 22 years now, never used any gear ever, (I don't intend to use AAS anyway for the health risks it involves). But over the past few years I've not been able to make any gains at all, in fact I've had injuries constantly viz. rotator cuff, wrist, tennis elbow, biceps tendinitis over the last 5 years due to lifting heavy. I don't really intend to get too much bigger than what i am at the moment but all i want is a little muscle gain, overall increase in strength, strong and healthy bones & connecting tissues in the long run, cause i can't imagine life without lifting. So after a thorough research I decided to go for HGH.

Now my questions are:

1. How long should i continue with 2iu ed before switching back to 4iu?
2. is 2iu worth it, would it still help me with what i want to achieve i.e. strength, strong bones & connecting tissues & muscle gain over let's say a period of 3 months?
3. the side effects like, joint pain (fingers, elbows & shoulders), HBP, higher pulse & water retention, will they go on their own in sometime & should i just persevere & carry on taking my regular dose or should i discontinue it completely. I really don't want any long term chronic pains for the sake of gaining strength & increasing muscle mass.
4. Finally, are there any withdrawal symptoms i.e. will my body be able to produce its own GH like before after i've discontinued taking exogenous GH.

sorry for such a long read but i wanted to put as much detail as possible to get some objective advice.

Thanks in advance

What does your diet and cardio look like? It might sound like an unrelated question, but it's not.

Also, are your genotropins straight from the pharmacy? I ask because there are a lot of fakes out there of this particular one for some reason. By fake I mean generics in a good copy of a genotropin packaging. Many generics cause more swelling than some pharmacy grade growth hormone (except humatrope, which causes a lot of swelling for some reason). Genotropin is not know for lots of swelling, and the genotropin I used did not do that.

Hi,

a shot right after i wake up, 10 - 15 minutes cardio including 4 - 5 sprints immediately after that, about 45 minutes from the shot i’d take lime water, followed by almonds, a couple of bananas or a boiled potato, 30 mins from that work out which includes no cardio only heavy lifting.

a protein shake right after my work out and in the evening, 5 - 6 egg whites, lunch would include some rice and legumes or sometimes breads with vegetables, evening meal would be salad with a collagen drink, dinner would be a chicken salad

My genotropin is coming straight from my doctor so I wouldn’t doubt that. In fact i did read somewhere recently that hgh can cause swelling specially if you haven’t done that before and you start with doses above 2iu, but it didn’t say how to go about fixing it or what should be done if it happens.

Many thanks

I used 4 iu straight on my firsr cycle, no sides
Doing 3iu currently, had a numb patch over my food for a day. Now I am fine and have no other sides. I too am using pharma hgh.

Its just luck of the draw. Some people are unlucky to get the sides.

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Rajput said:

I used 4 iu straight on my firsr cycle, no sides
Doing 3iu currently, had a numb patch over my food for a day. Now I am fine and have no other sides. I too am using pharma hgh.

Its just luck of the draw. Some people are unlucky to get the sides.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

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Hi Rajput,

Thanks for your response.

I have sore joints (especially fingers & shoulders), which is bad when i get up in the morning, but then as the day passes it gets better. This i believe is due to water retention, any idea when would this go away?

and again the same question, do you feel it's worth just carrying on with 2iu if all i am looking for is strong bones, connecting tissues & a bit of muscle mass over a period of time?

I don't agree with your doctor's recommendation of backing down to a dose of 2ius for only a few days before increasing it to 4ius again. Typically this needs to be increased slowly over a period of 2-3 weeks. I'd suggest running it at 2ius for a few weeks, then increase it to 3ius for a few weeks, then try 4ius...

Even increasing it slowly like I recommended above you still may find that the sides are undesirable. The last time I ran HGH I couldn't handle the sides at 4-5ius so I ran it at 3.3ius everyday. I was experiencing a lot of water retention, numbness and tingling in hands, and wrist and elbow pain that made training upper body difficult at 4-5ius/day.

To answer your question above, 2ius is a great daily dose if all you are looking for is anti-aging benefits from the HGH.

TouaregV8 said:

I don't agree with your doctor's recommendation of backing down to a dose of 2ius for only a few days before increasing it to 4ius again. Typically this needs to be increased slowly over a period of 2-3 weeks. I'd suggest running it at 2ius for a few weeks, then increase it to 3ius for a few weeks, then try 4ius...

Even increasing it slowly like I recommended above you still may find that the sides are undesirable. The last time I ran HGH I couldn't handle the sides at 4-5ius so I ran it at 3.3ius everyday. I was experiencing a lot of water retention, numbness and tingling in hands, and wrist and elbow pain that made training upper body difficult at 4-5ius/day.

To answer your question above, 2ius is a great daily dose if all you are looking for is anti-aging benefits from the HGH.

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alright that's helpful, although i've mentioned earlier in my posts, that i am taking HGH to increase my strength & muscle mass, and for healthy bones & connective tissues so i can continue lifting heavy in the long run without having to worry about deteriorating my bones, ligaments & tendons. It's definitely not for anti aging purpose that i am taking it.

So would 2iu not help with all of this at all?

You also might try a different brand, e.g., saizen, which is known for being "dry," if your doctor can prescribe it. There are differences in effects even among pharmaceutical hgh.

You also might try splitting the dose when you increase to 4 again, e.g., 2 iu morning plus 2 iu evening or post-workout.

This is all very helpful guys, thanks.....the stuff i have will take me to the end of next month so don't really want to change brands just yet...but i am definitely not going over 2iu for now.

one last thing though, all of these sides are just temporary right?

TouaregV8 said:

I don't agree with your doctor's recommendation of backing down to a dose of 2ius for only a few days before increasing it to 4ius again. Typically this needs to be increased slowly over a period of 2-3 weeks. I'd suggest running it at 2ius for a few weeks, then increase it to 3ius for a few weeks, then try 4ius...

Even increasing it slowly like I recommended above you still may find that the sides are undesirable. The last time I ran HGH I couldn't handle the sides at 4-5ius so I ran it at 3.3ius everyday. I was experiencing a lot of water retention, numbness and tingling in hands, and wrist and elbow pain that made training upper body difficult at 4-5ius/day.

To answer your question above, 2ius is a great daily dose if all you are looking for is anti-aging benefits from the HGH.

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Thanks for this, is 2iu e.d. good enough to strengthen the bones, connecting tissues & perhaps adding a bit of muscle mass too?

kaps said:

one last thing though, all of these sides are just temporary right?

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They weren't temporary for me. I tried ramping up my dose very slowly like I suggested for you above, but it turned out 5ius was just too much for me for the particular brand (generic green tops) I was using at the time. The only thing that worked for me was lowering the dose permanently.

I'm almost 4 weeks in on a different brand of generics now, Puretropin, at 5ius per day and my sides haven't been near as bad as they were with the green tops.

oh ok...hmm...guess i am gonna have to speak to me doc

kaps said:

oh ok...hmm...guess i am gonna have to speak to me doc

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You were given the right advice. Mine...go off for a week, start back at 2iu for 2-4wks, then go to 3 and do same.I had to do the same thing when i first started hgh.

Yea 4 is too high. I agree with these guys. Lower your dose and taper back up. 2 is plenty to get good results. Especially if your new to HGH.

That's good to know I thought the swelling was a sure sign that it was real. Thanks for the tip!

Brilliant, thanks a lot guys for all your inputs, i am on 2iu now since over a week, swelling has disappeared, pain in the jaw disappeared, still get morning stiffness/ little pain in shoulder joints, inside of the wrists & feet.

one thing though, I've been on this for a month now with 3 weeks on 4iu & the rest on 2iu, except for better/ faster recovery after my workouts, i haven't noticed any other changes, for e.g. my stamina & strength are still the same, my appetite is also the same (I thought perhaps it'll make me hungry), in fact i don't think I've lost fat at all yet. Is it because its only been a month i am on it & it's a rather slow process with HGH?

Thanks

Sounds like you had the wrong expectations about HGH going into it. HGH is a long term thing. You aren't going to see results in a matter of days, it'll be more like months, especially at a lower dose. Give it 6 months with a relatively clean diet and you should start to see some benefits.

Many thanks.....at least i know now what to expect

kaps said:

i don't think I've lost fat at all yet.

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Steroids and hgh at most help, assist, they do not actually cause you to shed fat.

Two things will make you shed fat:

(1) Diet
(2) Cardio

So, what are you doing for cardio, and what does your diet look like?

JR. said:

That's good to know I thought the swelling was a sure sign that it was real. Thanks for the tip!

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His should be real. A doctor is prescribing it!

As for swelling, well, let's be honest, a LOT of substances can cause swelling, and there is no telling what the Chinese put into vials to sell to a gullible American market. One thing is for sure, however. If it is cheaper than hgh, and it mimics some side effects from hgh, then some unscrupulous Chinaman is selling it into the underground generic hgh marketplace. That is guaranteed.

malfeasance said:

His should be real. A doctor is prescribing it!

As for swelling, well, let's be honest, a LOT of substances can cause swelling, and there is no telling what the Chinese put into vials to sell to a gullible American market. One thing is for sure, however. If it is cheaper than hgh, and it mimics some side effects from hgh, then some unscrupulous Chinaman is selling it into the underground generic hgh marketplace. That is guaranteed.

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Ghrps, CJC, mk677 are a few I can think of. MK seems to be the most logical and I'm sure it dissolves in water. Can produce remarkable GH serum levels after taking, and large increases in IGF-1 levels.

Oral doses are significantly higher than is contained in each vial though, so I wonder about injected bioavailability.

Or it could have more to do with the quality. I don't know

malfeasance said:

Steroids and hgh at most help, assist, they do not actually cause you to shed fat.

Two things will make you shed fat:

(1) Diet
(2) Cardio

So, what are you doing for cardio, and what does your diet look like?

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5 - 10 minutes of the shot, brisk walk followed by a couple of sprints which altogether takes about 30 minutes & then an hour later, intense weight training. My diet is pretty clean except for 1 cheat day in a week but that too just some extra bit of carbs, i eat very little to no sugar at all..

I think he's looking for a better breakdown of diet. We hear "it's super clean" day in and day out then get asked how to lose fat. So that description doesn't really help. Something like this:

2300 calories daily
200g protein, 200g carbs, 78g fats

Meal 1
12oz egg whites
60g oats
1 tbsp Mac nut oil

Meal 2
3oz chicken
1 cup white rice
Greens

Etc, etc

Sure.....a shot right after i wake up, about 45 minutes from the shot i’d take lime water, followed by almonds, a couple of bananas or a boiled potato, 30 mins from that - work out which includes no cardio only heavy lifting.

a protein shake right after my work out, 5 - 6 egg whites, lunch would include some rice and legumes or sometimes breads with vegetables, evening meal would include salad with a collagen drink, dinner would be a chicken salad or chicken sandwiches

Ouch. Not a bodybuilding diet at all. I would take a very hard look at diet if you want to change your body composition.

kaps said:

Sure.....a shot right after i wake up, about 45 minutes from the shot i’d take lime water, followed by almonds, a couple of bananas or a boiled potato, 30 mins from that - work out which includes no cardio only heavy lifting.

a protein shake right after my work out, 5 - 6 egg whites, lunch would include some rice and legumes or sometimes breads with vegetables, evening meal would include salad with a collagen drink, dinner would be a chicken salad or chicken sandwiches

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Yeah, so the problem is 110% your diet. The GH isn't going to do anything with you eating like that.

If you're really willing to accept the diet advice and execute it, post up your exact stats and front and back picture. I will put something more realistic together for you. But please don't have me do the work if you're not willing to pack your meals to work and stick with it. No alcohol.

Let me know what you think

GarlicChicken said:

please don't have me do the work if you're not willing to pack your meals to work and stick with it.

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A very fair request. I grow tired (as I am sure you do) of dispensing diet advice and having it not followed. Back when I was learning diet, I had to beg bodybuilders to tell me how to eat. Thankfully, a couple of them helped me out. It made all the difference in the world, and I was thankful for it. Now everybody thinks they already know it all, that they eat "cleanly," and ignore your advice while continuing not to progress in the direction they say they want to go. That's what I get for mostly offering advice unsolicited, stupid me. Your approach is much better. Ask him if he wants it, and whether he will follow it. Hopefully, he does, and he will see changes in the mirror soon enough.

malfeasance said:

A very fair request. I grow tired (as I am sure you do) of dispensing diet advice and having it not followed. Back when I was learning diet, I had to beg bodybuilders to tell me how to eat. Thankfully, a couple of them helped me out. It made all the difference in the world, and I was thankful for it. Now everybody thinks they already know it all, that they eat "cleanly," and ignore your advice while continuing not to progress in the direction they say they want to go. That's what I get for mostly offering advice unsolicited, stupid me. Your approach is much better. Ask him if he wants it, and whether he will follow it. Hopefully, he does, and he will see changes in the mirror soon enough.

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Exactly. I'm not gonna put in the time it takes to write out a diet without them at least being willing to do it

Hi guys, sorry for the delay in getting back to you....been a bit out & about with work.....ok i think its a fair point & i am very thankful to you guys for taking the time out to give me a diet plan.....i actually thought what i was eating was good enough ).....anyway, do i just put my front picture in my profile....will that do?

Also in the mean time, i am 5'6 & 70 kgs...

Just a good, honest picture in good light (daylight is best, just avoid light with harsh shadows and such) helps the readers judge where you are. This, combined with a description of your goals, helps with putting together a plan to get you there.

I am looking forward to seeing GarlicChicken's diet plan for you.