AC-262 is actually one of my favorite options alongside TRT because it's generally a milder choice if your goal is adding lean muscle while keeping side effects lower than many alternatives. TRT already provides your testosterone base, so there's no need to worry about preserving natural production the way you would off TRT. Before adding anything, I'd still make sure your TRT is dialed in with stable labs, hematocrit, lipids, blood pressure, and estradiol. What's your main goal right now: adding muscle, cutting fat, or improving performance?

Thanks, Dominick! Glad to have you here. Looking forward to seeing your progress and helping you get the most out of the community. Let us know your goals, and we'll build a plan together.

I'd first make sure you had a full hormone workup before jumping on TRT. A total testosterone of 577 doesn't necessarily tell the whole story. Free testosterone, SHBG, estradiol, LH, FSH, prolactin, thyroid function, sleep quality, medications, and body composition can all explain fatigue and low libido even when total testosterone looks "normal." If you're in the US, you can also check out LiveForeverLab.com. They specialize in hormone optimization and typically look beyond just total testosterone. If everything checks out and you still have symptoms, getting a full evaluation is much more useful than making a decision based on one number alone.

You're still very young, which is a huge advantage. The first priority is getting rid of the habits that are holding you back. Once your sleep, nutrition, training, and recovery improve, your testosterone and brain function may recover substantially on their own. I'd start with a full health assessment before trying to optimize anything. Get blood work including total and free testosterone, LH, FSH, estradiol, prolactin, HbA1c, lipids, vitamin D, B12, ferritin, thyroid function, CBC, CMP, fasting glucose, and consider a sleep study if you snore or wake up exhausted. For the first 90 days, focus on the basics. Lift weights 4–5 days per week with progressive overload, walk daily, eat mostly whole foods with plenty of protein, stay hydrated, eliminate smoking, alcohol, and weed completely, and aim for 8–9 hours of consistent sleep every night. Those changes alone often make a dramatic difference in hormone levels, body composition, and mental clarity. For the brain fog, don't expect an overnight fix. Your brain needs time to recover after years of substance use. Daily exercise, quality sleep, sunlight in the morning, reading, limiting social media, and avoiding recreational drugs are some of the most effective ways to restore focus and cognition. Once you've built that foundation and have your lab results, you'll know whether your testosterone is actually low or whether it's simply being suppressed by your lifestyle. At 21, the goal should be restoring your body's natural function whenever possible before considering more aggressive interventions. Keep us updated with your blood work and progress. We'll help you build a step-by-step plan as you improve.

@Goku Gregory That's actually a solid way to approach it, using short term experimentation to understand your own response instead of just guessing. There's real value in pushing a bit higher occasionally to map out where benefits peak and where side effects start, because that gives you a much clearer picture of your personal limits. The key is exactly what you're already doing, using those higher doses as a learning tool, then settling back into that ~5mg range where you're getting the results without the negatives. That balance between curiosity and control is what leads to the most dialed-in, individualized outcomes.

@Bastian Grimm If your goal is to preserve as much muscle as possible while using retatrutide, I'd focus on the fundamentals first: keep protein high, continue progressive resistance training, and avoid letting the calorie deficit get too aggressive. Those factors will make a much bigger difference than adding another peptide. GHRP-6 can increase growth hormone pulses and appetite, but it's not essential just because you're on retatrutide. You also don't need to stack it with GHRP-2. If you're getting tingling in your hands, that's a sign to back off and reassess rather than increasing the dose, since GH-related side effects like tingling or numbness can occur.