I have been on TRT (injections) for a while with different doses without feeling good . The main problem is that my SHBG drops to 16-17 when starting TRT and I feel horrible . My DHt convertion is low(43 on Testosterone of 830 ng/dl) and I have a lot of high E2 symptoms despite normal numbers (26 pg/ml) . I have experiencmented with Anastrozole and the smallest dose drops my E2 to 6-7 after a couple of weeks and I feel a different kind of horrible . I ve played with my TRT dose from 140-60 mgs and never find any success.
I am asking cream users , how did it affect you SHBG ? Did it drop tour SHBG like the injections did ? How s you DHT conversion? How s your E2 conversion? How s your symptoms overall compared to injections ?
Here is my latest labs on 70 mgs a week Cypionate.
I cannot tell you how it affected my shbg as I never had it tested. If I was to judge by first initial free t/total t ratio to one of my last labs it did not change much. The ratio seemed pretty much the same. My DHT on the other hand got up to 260 where the top of my range was 85. My e2 did climb on cream as well. It probably would have settled on its own but was put on an AI that I was tapering off when I switched to injections.
I feel slightly better on injections but I also began t4 meds after my first labs with injections. That may be the reason I am feeling better, not actually injections versus cream. I felt relatively the same when I first switched even dropping from 800 total t to just under 600. I felt good on cream also though. My libido has gone down slightly since switching but that is a good thing for me. I was at a 10 with libido on cream and now I would say 7-8 if I was to score it.
I can spot your problem easily, you’re like me, low SHBG needing daily injections. You inject T and within 48 hours levels are declining quickly, then 6 days later levels are lower and you feel horrible. Naturally you are peaking every morning, now you are peaking once a week.
It doesn’t even matter if levels are high, the problem is levels are fluctuating too much, some men are very sensitive to these fluctuations. Spend enough time on T-Nation and you see a trend of other low SHBG men doing horrible on infrequent dosing and doing very well on daily dosing.
My SHBG last time I checked was 15 and feel terrible on weekly dosing even though my levels were high, on daily dosing I feel amazing. You should use 27-29 gauge insulin syringes.
That s not it , my T stays in 800s even 9 days after my injection if 70 mgs .I ve tried twice a week , EOD and ED NO DIFFRENCE. The issues I have are all E2 related ( water retention, nipple soreness, irritability … It subsides with Arimidex until it gets too low . My normal SHBG was 28 on TT of 480 but got really low on a minimal dose of Test Cyp . WHY IT GETS SO LOW IT S A MYSTERY .
If you tried daily perhaps you didn’t get the dosage correct, a lot of guys start out too high on daily dosing do to inexperience. Maybe you just didn’t ever spend enough time dosing it correctly on a daily protocol.
I stuck with each protocol the standard 6 Weeks , I am more than a year in and I worse and worse each day . I dont know if it is LOW SHBG OR LOW DHT CONVERSION OR E2 ISSUES ?
I thought I might give cream a shot.
I did 3x a week, 150mg total via IM for the first 6-7 weeks and finally started feeling better but was tired already of poking myself. Switched to 20% cream, 3 clicks per day (150mg) a few weeks ago and I’ve been back and forth some since switching. Hopefully it levels out. Some days I can feel it kicking in with a boost of energy an hour or two after applying then sometimes I don’t feel anything and libido/sensitivity drops back to like before TRT (like today)
I’m hoping it levels out soon. If I don’t in the next month or two I’d consider going back to injections.
I don’t have blood tests yet to see what either has done to my shbg
We’re all different but my E2 is 77 and I feel great. Have you considered estrogen may not be the cause of your issues and since you don’t feel good after a year maybe you should look into something else like thyroid, adrenals or something different entirely. I understand you’re low SHBG but if you don’t feel good after a year maybe try something drastic like letting E2 get high (27 is not high). You know how you feel like shit <28 so try 40. It doesn’t sound like you have much to lose by trying it.