Ok guys, just got my labs back from last week. This is my first blood draw since beginning TRT. Couple of disclaimers…
My cholesterol is still high, but it’s went down since my pre-TRT bloodwork a little bit. I just went back on a keto diet to try to get that, and my blood sugars under control.
I was fasted and a little dehydrated when I had this draw, so I believe that is why my BUN is a little off.
My PCP didn’t want to do SHGB, but from my Total and Free T I can conclude that it is really low. They didn’t have the option to do a sensitive E2.
The doc agreed to keep my Test where it is now, which is 100mg per week (50mgE3.5D). I assume my SHGB is really low, but I was taking a 50mg zinc supplement ED up until the time I got these bloods drawn. I stopped taking those a couple of days before the testing so I’m wondering if the SHGB is going to creep up?
On another thought, my doc was almost ecstatic when she told me Total T was at 493. She said this was PERFECT!! I told her that’s the levels of a 60 year old man (she didn’t like that! lol). I wasn’t about to argue with her anymore though because my Free T is looking like where I want it to be. My thoughts on this though are that I am a little put off by the fact that I am going to put a lifetime of self care under the supervision of someone who is obviously ignorant regrarding TRT (she wanted me to do 200mg E2W originally and I refused). I am thinking very hard about transferring my care over to Defy. I talked to them last week and the guy I talked to sounded like he really knew what he was doing. I’m thinking I would be more comfortable having people like that in my corner, but on the other hand, I’m also thinking I’m doing pretty good on the current protocol. Thoughts?
Thanks bro. I’m not feeling bad in general, as a matter of fact, I feel pretty decent overall. The only thing I’m worried about is that my BP is still a little high (around 145/90) and I feel these strong heart palpitations at night when I’m laying down. I’m guessing that has something to do with the BP and the higher blood sugar, which should both get better in a little while with the keto diet. I’m thinking I’ll give the diet a few weeks/months to see where I’m at and then re evaluate from there.
That is not a very bad blood test if you just got started in TRT.
The only thing that jumped out at me was the Albumin. Why is it so high? The most accurate Free T calculation uses Alb/SHGB/TT. I’d post a link to a Free T calcualtor but the management here flips out with links.
You can cut your High Trig in half if you start taking 3000-4000mg of fish oil everyday. Stop using corn oil(omega 6) and start using Olive or coconut oil (omega 3).
If you do have a low SHGB as you thing 100mg/wk can be just about perfect and maybe even too much with your Free T trough over range. You are not blasting and crusing you are on TRT 247360 Free T is where it’s at. Get that to the top of the range at peak then just set back and watch the magic happen. No Ai, No blood donations. Nice muscle development and a great libido. You just got to give it time.
As for Defy. Is insurance paying for your current TRT? If not go with Defy they are great. I have been a patient for the last 3 years and other than the ocassional front office flub up they are great.
I have tested consistently low shbg and 110 mg didn’t get my free T near the top of the range. Shbg doesn’t dictate what blood concentration of testosterone you will achieve from a shot of test, that’s up to individual metabolism and elimination rates of the drugs (and SHBG has nothing to do with testosterone elimination)
I’m not sure on why Albumin is high. The only thing I can figure is that the blood draw was done on a Wednesday, and I had a pretty good workout the evening before. Maybe the levels were high due to recovery after intense exercise, coupled with mild dehydration? The doc never mentioned it.
I do take fish oil supplements every morning. I’m hoping that after a month or so on keto my cholesterol and blood sugar levels will come down a bit. We’ll see.
My insurance does not pay for TRT, but they cover the office visits and lab work so that’s a plus. I think I will eventually go with Defy as I would rather have confidence in the person prescribing my care, not having to argue with them like a child to try and convince them to give me proper treatment. I guess I shouldn’t complain because she does at least listen and will eventually allow me to plead my case. That’s a good quality too. I just think that it shouldn’t have to come down to me having to learn everything about TRT on my own, and pretty much do the job for them, when that’s what I’m paying them for. If I hired a contractor to build me a house, and then I had to go and teach the contractor how to properly prepare and pour the foundation to make sure that I didn’t have shifting floors and cracks in the slab, then I would probably have enough doubts to go and find a more knowledgeable contractor! Lol
I really shouldn’t complain though. As you said, my levels aren’t that bad. And concerning blood sugar and cholesterol, and even the off normal albumin, they are high but not too crazy. The cholesterol has come down a little since the last test. Most of the information I can find says that a normal Albumin range is up to 5.4 so I’m still not too bad there. Not sure why this labs ranges are so tight. Their normal range for T is 240-950. I don’t understand how any lab can consider 240 to be within a normal range.
So are you saying that I have a higher Free T because of a slower metabolism? I’m guessing on the SHBG comparing the Total vs Free. The doc wouldn’t put SHBG on the lab so I can’t know for sure.
No, you do have higher free T because you’re SHBG is likely low, I’m saying whether 100mg of test gets you’re T up there or not with regards to total and free T is dependant on metabolism and elimination of the drugs
Some will have a TT of 1000+ Ng/DL with free T 2x the ref range in 100mg/wk while some will only be at 200ng/DL it’s super individual.
Some testosterone is also bound to albumin btw. My albumin has always tested absurdly high
Thank you for clarifying. That makes sense. I’ll be curious to see if that phenomenon still holds true in my next bloods in a few months. Hopefully see better numbers all the way around!
Your TT is low for 100 mg’s per week. When was the blood draw in comparison to your last injection? That being said, FT is more important at the end of the day than TT, but high SBHG and Albumin come with some other issues.
I wouldn’t worry about high total cholesterol but worry about your high LDL. Typically, high LDL indicates systemic inflammation. Going keto is a decent idea to help curb that. Make sure you’re eating fermented veggies like sauerkraut and taking high dose curcumin and fish oil.
What Test are you injecting? Is it cottonseed oil? Some men feel better with grapeseed oil. If you’re even slightly allergic to cottonseed oil, this could cause high blood pressure.
Your blood sugar is also high for being fasted. Were you truly fasted or did you drink anything upon waking? When was your last meal?
Also, watch your HCT. It may rise with a higher T dose and I personally like to keep mine under 50.
No estrogen or comprehensive thyroid tests?
How are you feeling/were you feeling when the blood work was done?
Sleep deprivation can actually negatively impact our insulin sensitivity and make sure more insulin resistant which could have made your blood glucose levels higher in a fasted state. Your high BP, blood glucose and LDL would be what I would focus on primarily. Before you increase your T dose, I would try switching to the EOD injections with the same weekly dose.
Test cyp via a normal pharmacy is typically cottonseed oil. Usually compounding pharmacies tend to use grapeseed oil which could help your BP if you’re slightly allergic.
I was actually seriously considering LOWERING my dose to around 85-90mg per week total. You don’t think that my Free T at trough is a little too high? I couldn’t get the sensitive E2 done but I can imagine that I’m probably pushing the top of the scale there. Not symptomatic, but with Free T that high I would like to get some private testing to see.
Do you think that would be wise or should I just stick to the keto for a few months, leave the Test where it’s at, and see where everything falls after that? I don’t want to change too many things at once.
Thanks for taking the time bro. It means a lot to me.
The smart thing may be to not change anything trt related as of yet and get some private testing done via discountedlabs at a lab Corp facility to give a little more visibility. You can get sensitive male array e2 testing, shbg and I always like to test for rt3 (it’s an expensive one, but one I struggle with, so I typically pony up the cash).
I think you could reduce your dose or keep the same and switch to eod injections. I also think it’s wise to not change more than one thing at a time.
I would investigate potentially switching to grapeseed oil if at all possible.
I wouldn’t worry about it, if you’re injecting e3.5 days ur free T is at the very most 50 percent higher at peak (IF that), and unless you see ur HCT climbing up over 55% or you have unbearable sides I wouldn’t worry. Remember estrogen is only important if it’s out of ratio with regard to your testosterone or you have symptoms like HBP, water retention or gyno
That is the problem. Anytime Free T is over range for very long HCT will become an issue unless you live in a 3rd world country and are anemic from a crap diet.
I will suggest to continue to drop the T cyp dose until Free T is in range at peak T.
If you do that AI’s and blood donations become a thing of the past. E2 falls in line and your libido come rushing back. You will also be amazed at how fast you will recover from the gym.
At least that was how it worked for me and it took me 3 years of jacking around to find this out. Good luck.
This may be the case for you however this isn’t a proven fact. Firstly if E2 is high in line with high testosterone it isn’t a big deal unless you have symptoms. Secondly, individual sensitivity to the erythropoietic effects of anabolic steroids depends upon individual sensitivity to said effect. It isn’t as if “as SOON as free T goes over this range on the labs” HCT suddenly climbs up to ridiculous proportions.
