EQ at 600mg and the hunger is unreal, is it actually doing anything before week 8 or just making me eat?
12 posts · started by CaliBro · May 25, 2026
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CaliBro
283 posts · joined Apr 2018
May 25, 2026 at 11:05 AM
#1
Six weeks into 600mg EQ on top of 500mg test and the only thing I can honestly say its done so far is turn my appetite into a monster, im eating everything in sight. Strength is creeping but nothing dramatic and I dont have that vascular look people bang on about yet. Starting to wonder if 600 is even enough or if im just being impatient. For those whove run EQ properly, when did it actually start doing something for you, and was the hunger this aggressive the whole way through? Trying to decide whether to hold the course or bump the dose.
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Davo
466 posts · joined Mar 2016
May 26, 2026 at 7:04 AM
#2
the hematocrit creep on EQ at 600 is the one to watch more than anything else. mine climbed to about 53 by week 6 last time and i donate every 6 weeks when im on it, not the standard 8. cup of coffee in the morning and you read 54, lay off the coffee and slam water for 24 hours and the same blood draw comes back at 50. its that sensitive. if youre running EQ heavy and not donating ahead of every test youre arguing with a dehydrated number not a real one.
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GODZILLA
1,136 posts · joined Mar 2017
May 26, 2026 at 9:05 AM
#3
EQ at week 6 is genuinely too early to judge it, the wait is hard but the payoff lands in the week 8 to 15 window. Keep hematocrit and BP monitored through that stretch, those are the two numbers that catch people out on EQ.
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TEXMEX
334 posts · joined May 2017
May 27, 2026 at 7:04 AM
#4
6 weeks in is exactly the point everyone hits the wall on EQ. The long ester is genuinely not at steady state yet, you are still climbing. I bailed on my first ever EQ run at week 7 thinking it did nothing and a year later ran the full 16 weeks at 500mg and finally understood what people meant. The vascularity and the hard look landed at week 10 and built from there.
The hunger is the one thing that hits early though. If your diet is not planned out, the EQ will outpace your discipline. I write the meals out the day before now whenever I am on it because letting the hunger drive grocery decisions is how you end up adding fat through a blast that should have been lean.
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BIGDADDY
2,507 posts · joined Jan 2015
May 27, 2026 at 7:05 PM
#5
Week 8 to 15 is when EQ shows up properly. Keep the diet honest through the hunger phase and the back half pays.
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Chi Guy
669 posts · joined Apr 2015
May 28, 2026 at 7:04 AM
#6
Stick with it past week 8 and report back. I almost pulled the plug on EQ at week 7 of my first run for the same reason, hunger out of control and zero visual change to show for it. Week 9 the appearance started catching up and by week 12 my arms were noticeably fuller and harder, the look people associate with EQ. The other piece nobody mentioned yet, get your hematocrit checked now at week 6 so you have a number to compare against later. EQ is the worst offender for RBC and it creeps up slowly, much easier to manage with regular donations from a known baseline than discovering hemoglobin near 20 at week 14 and scrambling.
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CaliBro
283 posts · joined Apr 2018
Jun 1, 2026 at 1:02 PM
#7
Worth flagging the ratio mate, you're at 600 EQ on 500 test which is slightly past the half rule and some lads find their E2 drops a bit on that split because EQ has its own mild anti-e action. Get a sensitive estradiol pulled around week 8 before you assume the AI dose is still right. Other thing nobody warned me about my first EQ run was the metallic taste in my mouth around week 5 to 7, weird side but pretty common. If you're getting any wired anxiety on top of the hunger that's also classic 600 EQ, manageable if you keep cardio in but worth knowing it can creep up.
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GODZILLA
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Jun 2, 2026 at 11:05 AM
#8
One mod note on EQ, get a hematocrit reading at week 6 minimum. The hunger and the wired feeling get the attention here but the silent issue is the red blood cell count creeping up. By the time you feel it in your sleep or your face it has been climbing for weeks. Cheap blood draw, settles the question.
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Davo
466 posts · joined Mar 2016
Jun 3, 2026 at 7:03 AM
#9
Worth running a sensitive e2 before you change anything. 600 EQ on 500 test is over the half dose rule and EQ has its own mild anti-estrogen kick, plenty of guys end up with e2 in the gutter without realising. The flat feeling and the hunger people blame on EQ not working can be crashed estrogen as much as the compound. Bloods will tell you whether to back the adex off or just wait it out, the visual lands week 8 to 15 anyway.
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BIGDADDY
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Jun 4, 2026 at 7:04 AM
#10
EQ at 600 with the hunger running wild is just the compound doing its job. Eat clean and ride it out, the look shows up around week 8.
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TEXMEX
334 posts · joined May 2017
Jun 4, 2026 at 5:04 PM
#11
Week 6 is too early to judge EQ by far, the ester is so long it takes 8 weeks just to hit stable levels and the actual visual payoff lands between week 8 and 15. The hunger is the early sign its in your system not the result, problem is most guys quit right before it starts delivering because they havent planned the food and they put on a layer of fat from the appetite getting away from them. Worth running a sensitive E2 test if you havent, EQ has mild anti estrogen action of its own and at 600 on 500 test some guys see estradiol drop unexpectedly. Hold the course another 4 weeks and judge it at week 10, thats the honest window.
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Chi Guy
669 posts · joined Apr 2015
Jun 5, 2026 at 11:04 AM
#12
Hematocrit is what you actually need to watch on EQ, not the hunger. It raises RBC more than any other common compound, hemoglobin can climb toward 20 when the target is under 17.5. Donate before any draw and hydrate hard the day before or the number will look worse than it really is. If you can't get into a donor centre, hammer the water and book a therapeutic phlebotomy through your GP.