Sorry for all the messages. But you need a trt doc. You keep using non specialists and are not finding success. I bet if you go see dr. Keith Nichols or fall defy medical you’ll notice a big change. Until then our bro science and experience will be your only source of knowledge. You need a good doc to guide you and heal you.
I had fatigue and brain fog for months on trt. A little labido was noticed and that’s all . I started my thyroid meds and it fixed me. This happened when I went to a good doc who was a specialisr in hrt.
Are you saying 160mg 2x a week? or 160mg weekly in divided doses?
Thank you for your response! Much appreciated. I just ordered some T3 this week, will start at 25mcg once per day and see if I notice changes. Is there any way to increase free T other than just upping dose?
I am seriously considering going this route, i’m currently looking into Florida Alternative Medicine. Cost is about $108 a month for test, HCG, necessary swabs, syringes, etc, and consultations. Lab work would be $150 each time I need a draw. However, my dilemma is that I’m thinking there may be more than just hormonal things going on with me and I know TRT docs are more limited with what they can do as far as looking into the root cause. At 27 years old, I don’t mind the idea of being on TRT for life, but obviously best case scenario would be to find the root cause of the issue and not having to worry about it anymore. Hence my frustration with the pituitary MRI not showing anything. I have a follow-up with my endo next week and if all she wants to do is the sleep study and not any more investigating, I’m probably going to jump ship on her, even though it seems like she really cares. I’m still on the fence about actually scheduling the sleep study.
So, a couple of things. Why is your creatinine so high? Are you supplementing with creatine? Eating a ton of red meat? Not likely, because your ferritin level sucks too.
Weekly, but would be better if you split it up twice weekly. Your trough levels will be higher and estrogen better managed, it’s a win anyway you look at it.
Defy Medical is in Tampa FL, a walk-in anti-aging clinic as well as a telemedicine clinic if the place your looking into doesn’t work out.
i gotta admit, i only read the part about you being 27 and not finding anything in the mri. well i got a tumor and despite me having low t and low lh and fsh docs says my low hormones are not related to the tumor :/. just because prolactin is normal while acth is a bit high doesn’t mean my tumor could be non functioning and harming other hormones like lh, fsh and igf-1, but they say nah!
i mention it could impact FSH but i don’t truly know if this hormone could get impacted but i think i read it could somewhere. all i know my FSH is lowish lol.
This was taken 3 days after last injection on this protocol:
60mg test cyp 2x per week
600iu HCG EOD (this much is needed to keep the boys full)
25mcg Liothyronine ED
First things I noticed were high hematocrit and RBC so i just donated blood a few weeks back… feel about the same after donating.
And also slightly high free T3 which i’m not overly concerned with.
I’m still currently on this protocol and still feel low energy, depression, unable to lose weight, unable to maintain erections, and just always being tired. I decided to get a sleep study done. Well the results just came back today and I was diagnosed with:
I experienced 27 respiratory disturbances every hour as compared to a normal of 5 or less.
I really guess this helps explain at least what is contributing to my hormone issues and energy issues. I’m really hoping that getting the sleep apnea addressed will at least help out all of my other symptoms.
I’ll keep everyone posted and continue my posts as a personal log.
I would appreciate any input from anyone regarding recent labs and any insight on sleep study! Could sleep apnea actually be the culprit for all of my symptoms?
You should get a full iron panel + ferritin and b12 checked. Your numbers are low. Could be a reason why you are low energy.
Your SHBG is near mine (I’m 39.9) and I needed much higher T levels than you currently have to get any relief.
Your testosterone levels are low. You want to be at the top of the range to get the major benefits especially since you don’t have super low SHBG.
Your Estrogen is really low. If you’re taking an AI you should stop. When you raise your testosterone it will raise your estrogen which will likely help you feel better.
Your hematocrit is not crazy high and giving blood can kill your ferritin levels which can make you feel like shit.
The good news is raising your dose will likely resolve your issues.
At one point I was doing 80mg 2x a week instead of the 60mg 2x a week and didn’t honestly feel all that much better. I only had an increased sex drive (more than I do now which is still very elevated compared to before I started any hormone treatment.
I may have had a little residual AI in my system, but I’ve never had high estrogen levels so the most AI I’ve done in the past year or so is .5mg 1x a week. But I do want to say that I haven’t taken an AI since the bloodwork was done and honestly, I doubt there was much AI if any still in my blood at the time. Haven’t done an AI in 6 months plus.
I will definitely ask about a full iron panel and ferritin + b12, I don’t think I’ve ever had those done, thank you for the recommendation.
So SHBG is basically how quickly your body metabolizes the testosterone correct? Or something close to that regard? I’ve always been under the impression that SHBG should be the dictator of frequency of injection and that with my SHBG 2x a week is plenty and there isn’t much of a need to increase frequency.
@rb1234
I don’t know about SHBG dictating injection frequency but it really doesn’t matter. What does dictates injection frequency is if you are at once a week and it’s not working go to twice a week, then EOD then daily. I found daily worked best for me.
How long did you do 80mg twice a week? Any protocol change for me takes at least 8 weeks before I start getting any positives. I sometimes even feel worse. Anyways, I’m on 200mg/week. Started at 100mg and tried every 20mg increase with 2-3 months in between until I got there. It’s all trial and error. If what you are doing isn’t working after giving it enough time then try something else.
SHBG is the wharehouse for androgens. They bind to it and are not then “Free”. It also has two half-lives, one of which is really short. It has particulat affinity for testosterone, but will biind any androgen, kind of “saving it for later”.
