Just to drop my experience into the mix. Check out local clinics too. I found one about 5 minutes from my house that specifically billed themselves as a ‘men’s health clinic’. My initial consultation and blood tests were free and returned something like ~205ng/dl. They started me on some dosage of test prop with I believe cotton seed oil? I had an allergic reaction to that immediately. I think their model is to have you come in every other week to have one of their clinicians administer injections but fortunately/unfortunately because of the allergic reaction to the cotton seed oil so they sourced some pharmacy Test E in sesame seed oil instead. Since I was picking up the prescription they went ahead and ‘taught’ me how to self administer (I had self-prescribed in the past so it wasn’t anything new to me). I think it was a slow ramp up to a peak of about 125mg every week.
The whole experience was actually pretty helpful because there were scheduled blood tests every 6 weeks. They really helped getting my dosage dialed in for both the Test and the AI I was using (anastrazole). Because the pharma test I was getting was 5ml dosed at 200mg/ml (1000mg per) and I was only supposed to use 125mg p/week (750mg per visit cycle) I was actually able save up 250mg every 6 weeks, or a few vials in a year. After I saved up enough I started doing mini-blasts that lasted about 4 weeks or so. I got pretty good at timing my dosages so that my bloods showed the correct amount when I’d go back in for my 6 week checkup. I really believe because of this experience I’m a better user today than I was a few years ago. I know how my body responds, I’ve seen 30 or so blood tests that support my dosing, I know exactly how much AI to use, etc.
Cons: It’s spendy. I paid out of pocket and I think it was about $60 a visit, every 6 weeks, and ~$75 per 5ml vial of 200mg/ml Test E which really isn’t that bad but when you’re paying $75 for 1000mg vs $30 for UGL 2500mg it kinda stings. I had the option to purchase prescription HCG too but iirc that ended up being like $200 a fill, way too rich for my blood. Also there’s a lot of hand holding from the clinic and you don’t get much autonomy deciding your doses. My docs were pretty good but even then they’d still freak out a little if they saw me getting close to 1000ng/dl and try to drop my dosage.
Overall though, the process was very useful and as I mentioned, it was kinda helpful to have a sorta mentor type relationship. When I pin I know exactly what my body is going to do, what I should cruise at, instead of guessing or going off some dude in the forums.
So that’s my two cents.