Hey guys. Huge respect for the community. I’m 5 months into TRT. 180mg/wk, e3d, TestE. 6’3, 235lbs, 18% bf. My nuts have shrunk, my muscles grown, strength is up, belly fat reduced, but my Tot T only went from 300ng/dl to 605ng/dl. I dont understand it. I was really hoping for 900-1000. What gives?
Dose does not result in a certain concentration.
When did you take the blood test? (how many hours after injection)
What did Free Test come to?
Try keep that in the upper range and you are good.
You are also injecting 2x a week so your levels won’t spike much
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What were you hoping to get out of it? This all sounds positive?
Why does the number matter to you if you’re getting the results you wanted?
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My blood lab was done last week. Did it at trough, day 3 after pin. Do you think at peak my levels are closer to 800-900? Does it sway that much?
I’m in it for optimization and overall health. I guess I’m just worried that if 180mg/wk isnt going into a big change in Tot T, what else is changing? Have you ever heard of 180mg/wk only getting someone to 600ng/dl? I’m just new to this and want to make sure I’m going about it right.
Response to TRT will largely depend on androgen sensitivity (CAG repeats), someone with short repeats will see a massive increase across the board in all markers, especially hematocrit.
It’s a waste of time comparing yourself to other men. I recall some members needing 250-300 mg to achieve high normal Total T and Free T. Some men are even hyper sensitive on 80-100 mg.
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I understand. I was actually expecting to see my RBC and hemocrit really high on recent labs, but they hadnt gone up much from pre-TRT. I’ve been feeling “heavy chested” in the last couple weeks and thought maybe “thicker” blood. BP has been 140/88 average for months too.
Could BP or high cholesterol impact my sensitivity to T?
What was your free T pre-TRT and what is your free T post TRT and what is the free T test range of the lab you are using? That’s mostly what matters.
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Sure. Depends on when you draw your labs, your SHBG, and androgen sensitivity. Your TT the day after injection is certainly much higher. What is your FT?
Unfortunately, my labs dont include Free T or SHBG. I got labs on day 3 of e3d, so i know it was a trough reading. If im not sensitive to T, would it be worth increasing to 250mg/ week?
It could be. If you feel better etc, you don’t need to up the dose.
Don’t focus just on numbers. If the lowest number you hit is let’s say 500 since it will take a while for the next shot to pick up, it is not bad.
Focus rather on Free T, and how you are feeling.
You might want to find a new doctor. Those are absolutely required to understand your hormones.
If you feel fine and like the results, why do you want to change your dosage? More is not always better.
I just want to make sure I’m optimized, getting everything I can out of this experience. I see i really need to find a way to get Free T, etc tested. In my province, they only test Tot T unless you are way out of range. I may have to find a private lab or something.
You are only 5 months into TRT. When you stall on progress (whatever you define as progress), then I’d consider messing with your dosage. My two cents.
I get it. I want to constantly jack around with my dosages, too, but at some point it’s diminishing returns and you never know if you’ll make something go sideways that takes a long time to correct - if ever. Just read the posts on here - everyone is different and it’s Russian roulette on how you respond.
Based on my experience, there is no noticeable difference in how I feel or body comp changes between 200mg vs 250mg per week. But you could have a completely different response.
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my levels on 200mg/T week are like 507ng/dl Total 24.2 pg/ml Free
natural i was 220/7.
you need to know your SHBG + free T. chasing numbers is nonsense, I go purely by symptoms.
I do honestly feel better above 200mg/week, I wonder if my clinic is willing to go even higher
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The average TRT dosage is 120 mg weekly, beyond 200 mg is not common and most men will be supraphysiological for much of the week.
I didn’t respond to weekly, twice weekly injections, even with high normal Total T and Free T levels at trough. I require very frequent injections to respond to therapy.
If you have low iron, or low vitamin D, I would expect TRT to not work very well. This is my personal experience.
You’re lost without knowing your SHBG and Free T levels.
→ Private MD Labs.
I did show low iron. Vit D should be fine as I supplement with it. What does MD refer to as far as labs go?
You will be unable to optimize your TRT protocol with low iron. You can have your Total T and Free T high normal, if iron is low you won’t feel good.
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Will iron biglycinate work? Found one with vit C and B12 mixed in .
I take iron biglycinate chelate and have no trouble absorbing it even with a compromised GI.
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