Hi all, hoping for some feedback. Have been on 200mg/week test c(pinned 100mg every 3.5 days) for about 6 months now. I feel fantastic, best I’ve ever felt. Bloodwork mostly looks fantastic, as well – I’m low SHBG, so this dose has my peaks around 850 and troughs around 650. Free test a little high @ 31.
The only areas of concern in bloods are estradiol and prolactin are a little high, at 52 and 26* respestively(labcorp values). Doc wants to get those down, so he’s telling me that he wants me to drop to 160mg/week.
I’m worried as hell. I currently feel better than I ever have. The only negative side effect I’ve seen at all is water retention. I read about other low SHBG guys struggling to have a good TRT experience, and dropping by 20% overnight is going to get my trough values down close to my pre-TRT fasted morning peaks. Am I overreacting here? Am I overworrying for nothing? I really don’t want to feel like I did before TRT again for months.
@anon18050987 can you plug that into your little calculator? This seems to be really odd based on the 1) low SHBG and 2) your estimated 1.4x multiplier peak/trough when injecting e3.5d. The peak seems really low I guess is what I’m getting at
Without units or ranges for the PRL, I’m assuming that’s about 3x the upper limit? Lowering your dose 20% isn’t likely to move that down enough; I’d investigate why it’s that high to begin with. Maybe it’s elevated cos e2 is elevated, and taking an AI would be more beneficial for both?
A lot of men on TRT typically run higher on the estrogen. Prolactin is controlled by two hormones, dopamine and estrogen, both of which are affected by testosterone.
I suppose that’s fair. I’m just super concerned because everywhere I look, I see other low SHBG guys struggling to have positive results on TRT, and I’ve had stellar results since I started. Afraid that dropping my dose by 20% is going to lead to me feeling like shit and then spending months trying to get to somewhere close to where I am now physically and mentally.
That’s going to be a common occurrence on these TRT boards, men having problems and seeking help. The men not having problems are continuing with the lives with no need to visit a forum.
I have low SHBG, 12 last time I checked and feel great.
Interestingly, elevated BP and RHR were symptoms of my low T. RHR is down by 15 since I started TRT, and my BP went from 150/90 to 130/80. No other changes except TRT.
Jatenzo @ 237 mg twice daily, peak 998 ng/dL at 2 hours, 298 at 12 hours. HCT 51.2%, HGB 17.5. I don’t tolerate cypionate and enanthate esters injecting every other day or daily, which are the only two protocols for which I respond to therapy.
Jatenzo is very expensive, $3400 per 12 weeks without insurance. Most insurance companies will not pay for it, unless you get a medical exception from a doctor.
Thanks. My insurance won’t cover anything beyond my appointments unless I have multiple tests below 200ng/dl, so definitely wouldn’t prefer to jump into something like Jatenzo.
It’s stories like that that make me nervous, though – my 100mg every 3.5 days has been great since day 1. Hopefully this doesn’t derail me, but I’ll trust my doc I suppose