Interesting. I think I have a solid vitamin C intake through vegetables + daily MV. Iron intake might be in the bucket though. Should I add a Vit C panel, if that’s a thing?
If you are checking vitamins I would get the vit B12 and folate.
If your never checked prolactin you should.
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So the bloodwork came back today, the biggest thing that stood out to me was the elevated liver enzymes. Since coming home for summer, my alcohol consumption has been around once every week or two. Could this be an indicator that my t dosage is too high? My TSH has decreased from ~4.5 to 3.3 which is an improvement. Is my RT3:FT3 ratio look good? Any help or advice is appreciated!
Your thyroid is not good, Free T3 is below mid-range, Reverse T3 15> ng/dL and TSH is still elevated 2.5> indicating thyroid is not normal. The liver function looks like it’s starting to have problems.
Remember thyroid hormones (fT3) provide energy to all organs, including the liver. Having low thyroid hormones can affect liver function. I doubt drinking alcohol every week or two is the problem.
Thanks for the input.
I’ve researched RT3 a bit and I’m a little unsure what to do to get it down. Are there any lifestyle changes or such I should make? I have ashwagandha and Korean ginseng on hand, should I try either of those?
Would the reason why Iodoral worked at first is because megadosing iodine spiked my thyroid hormone production, but after some time, my body adapted to the iodine supplementation and began converting T4 to RT3 instead of T3?
For me Reverse T3 was elevated because of insulin resistance and diet, I’m sure everyone has their own reasons for elevated Reverse T3. Even if you could get Reverse T3 down, I don’t think Free T3 will come up enough.
It’s not like Free T3 is suboptimal because Reverse T3 is slightly above where it should be.
What type of dietary changes did u make to see an improvement? I noticed my symptoms were worst when I was restricting carbs
Thyroid needs carbs, so reducing too much is not good. I would eat steak, protein shakes, eggs and lot’s of chicken.
Would it be safe to try out Cytomel or NDT to lower my RT3 for a few weeks to see if I notice benefits? My doc would write me a script, especially with the labs I have that show no improvement after his iodine replenishment protocol.
Would it be safe to do a trial run of NDT?
Update:
A bottle of NDT is waiting for me at CVS. I’m trying one last thing before I commit to it, and that’s quitting caffeine. I feel as though I’d really regret starting thyroid meds if I hadn’t exhausted every possible option. Also, caffeine has been one thing in my life that I’ve finally admitted to being reluctant to quit. Been taking ~400mg daily pre workout for a long time (+1yr). Been taking stims preworkout for years with no breaks. Anyways, many accounts of people feeling much better after quitting caffeine.
Wanted to update and ask a few questions.
I never started the NDT. I didn’t fully quit caffeine, but I lowered how much I take to 200mg and only use it pre-workout. Prior to this, I was drinking coffee in mornings and before nights out as well as my 400mg preworkout.
I would really like to hear some of your opinions on this:
I’ve been reading a lot about guys feeling better on lower doses. Anybody Else Feel Better on a Lower Dose of Testosterone?
is one thread that I’ve seen in which a guy feels a lot better on a lower dose. I’ve always floated between 150-300mg T-Cyp weekly and have always used AI. My symptoms have for the most part always remained, maybe becoming somewhat improved with certain changes, but never remaining consistent. My main symptoms are brain fog and a sluggish libido. I manage to get by using Cialis, but I’m not very confident in my erection quality, even with the Cialis.
I really want to try just dropping AI and switching my protocol to 100mg test weekly split into ED injections with 250iu HCG EoD. I guess I could use some encouragement or guidance in this regard. I know my Thyroid is pretty sluggish, as labs have proven this twice now having high TSH, sub-optimal fT3 and relatively high rT3. Is my body, primarily my thyroid, just not equipped to handle such a high dose of testosterone? I’m currently on 200/7mg of testosterone and .25mg anastrazole every day and I’m very hesitant to make such a significant drop to 100/7mg T and no AI as I’m scared it will send me on another crazy hormonal rollercoaster, but if I had some reassurance that this may improve my symptoms, I would feel more comfortable about making the switch.
Should I just drop AI completely and bear with the high E2 symptoms? I’ve heard that some guys drop their AI, endure some E2 symptoms for a few weeks while their bodies adjust, and then feel much better. Should I stick with my T dosage and just drop AI?
Any advice is appreciated.
What symptoms do you get? Why are taking such a huge amount of anastrozole? That kind of AI dose is definitely causing you issues, you’re not taking 3 grams of test a week. What is your current E2 level?
I’d do 150mg a week and no AI. Why are you taking that crazy of an AI dose anyways?
@beak118
You’re taking 200mg now. Just drop the AI and see how it feels? If you don’t like it go to whatever lower dose you want. I say that because I did exactly what you’re talking about. Was on 220mg w/ AI and stopped AI and went to 100mg. I spent the next 6+ months going from 100-200mg and finding out 200mg was where I wanted to be. Had I just stopped the AI before reducing dose it would have saved me a shit load of time. When you reduce down to 100mg it’s going to suck for a little while.
The main symptoms I notice with high E2 are nipple irritation, bloating/water retention, testicles not hanging low (as if it were cold outside 24/7), and more emotional/less assertion. I’ve dropped AI in the past and within days my Nipples get very sensitive. I have a little gyno in my right nipple from when I used to cycle and it doesn’t bother me while on the AI but it becomes very noticeable (to me via irritation/sensitivity, not visibly noticeable though) prettt soon after I drop AI.
I’ve found this dose of AI to stop these symptoms.
I guess that could work. I’ve dropped AI before and noticed symptoms within a week. Maybe I could try dropping AI and lowering to say, 180 weekly and then if symptoms arise maybe skip injecting for a day to allow E2 to lower and pick back up at 160 etc.?
This is my own experience and yours may be different but even small changes effect me for 4ish weeks. Any time I change anything at all I have to remind myself that I’m not going to feel right for a month for sure. This was true for every 20mg increase I did, when I stayed at the same dose but went from daily to EOD, when I was at the same dose and protocol but went sub-q to IM, etc. I’m just saying for me it usually gets worse before it gets better and even when I know that’s the case I still second guess myself during that month.
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Dude use thyroid meds your symptoms are sounding so thyroid related I already was going to make the suggestion based on the title of your post. Doing a trial won’t hurt you. You’ll know quickly if it’s too much. If you don’t get high thyroid symptoms you know the body needed the meds. I saw you had a script and didn’t take it, instead you kept changing everything else. Here you are months later without resolution. Or am I wrong and you did try thyroid? Please elaborate.
Your body will get used to the hormones. Estrogen will not hurt you. Especially at such low levels. You should be fine with a higher free t around 20 . Give it 3-4 months and adjust or increase until you feel better. Stop changing your dose. Symptoms are expected, but it takes time to go away. These symptoms are nothing in the big scheme of things. Believe that I believe. I had many symptoms when I started and didn’t change a thing. I’m sitting here months later and I continue to feel better and better.
If you have high reverse t3 you fix whatever is causing that. Like system said. It’s hard but you can do it. For thyroid having high rrt3 you take more t3 than t4, and decrease the 4 to 3 ratio unto you figure out why rt3 is high or at least the rt3 value doesn’t increase.
From briefly re reading your history it sounds like you are potentially skipping right over the solution. Thyroid.
I had almost exactly the same symptoms (depression, anxiety, crazy deathly fatigue and brain fog. Zero focus. Couldn’t wake up) one pill of thyroid fixed me right up. After that trt started to work and symptoms disappeared.
I was in trt for 4 months before figuring this out. During those 4 months I felt zero benefits. Maybe once or twice I had ok libido.