I started TRT last year for about 3 or 4 months 200mg every other week injecting. My test levels went from 320 to 750.
Question is the urologist said my regular levels were a little low at 320 my bloodwork looked great but free testosterone is off the charts and referred me to an endocrinologist Said she’s never seen that and couldn’t explain why levels were so high.
You guys ever heard of that ? Should I go see another dr ? TRT has done wonders for me and I don’t see any physical problems so is another medical bill worth it
What you describe sounds like a natural consequence to low SHBG. Low SHBG is sometimes seen as just the way some guys are, but low SHBG can also be a consequence of diabetes. SHBG is made in the liver to scavenge sex hormones from the blood. SHBG increases with increased E2 and decreases with increased FT. So there is a self sustaining effect possible.
You should self-inject 50mg T twice a week to get smoother levels. With every other weeks, levels get very high then decrease a lot. Then your lab results are mostly a function of lab timing and such lab results are quite meaningless.
Evaluate your overall thyroid function by checking oral body temperatures as per the thyroid basics sticky. Thyroid hormone fT3 is what gets the job done and it regulates mitochondrial activity, the source of ATP which is the universal currency of cellular energy. This is part of the body’s temperature control loop. This can get messed up if you are iodine deficient. In many countries, you need to be using iodized salt. Other countries add iodine to dairy or bread.
Hello
My free test levels are off the charts as well. 3 to 4 times the upper limit. It has been that way for 5 years of TRT. My Dr. said it is so high because the test has nothing to bind with. The SHBG post probably also explains this. I also use Arimidex to keep E2 low. It is really nothing to worry about but of course I’m not a Dr.
Bigguns129:
My comment re diabetes or insulin resistance and low SHBG might apply to you as well. But we do see some guys who have low SHBG with no identifiable cause and they simply may be wired that way. We do see some with low SHBG who do not see to do as well on TRT as one would hope for. Might have something to do with estrogen transport, but one can only guess.
Went and did my blood test. He didn’t give me the results I forgot to pick them up. He did say my free test was 35 ?? Does that number mean anything to you
Thx
If it was FT=35 from LabCorp that is good number, if from Quest diagnostics it is very low. If same as before (8.7 - 25.1) your FT is nicely high.
You did not respond to my comment re injecting T twice a week to get steadier T levels. And lab timing matters too. This affects your lab numbers and this info is needed to properly comment on your FT result. If injecting every other week, your labs are meaningless as results are more affected by lab timing than anything else.
Blood test was from a doctor probably lab Corp that’s who we have here. I was just told it was too high off the charts but they did tell me that number was 35 I don’t know what measurement that is. Referred me to a endocrinologist
This blood test was done after four months of no injections
Results can also be age adjusted. Your age is not known in this thread.
I am having trouble with two other guys posting there own labs here.
Please get lab results posted with ranges. Again, FT labs can catch a peak value. TT tells the story. Low SHBG can also increase FT while lowering TT. A single FT lab does not tell the whole truth. Few doctors will appreciate the serum levels dynamics.
When I pry the report from the doc I’ll post. I’m 48yoa. Libido is fine now. When I went last year TT was 320 so started treatment no morning wood ect. 9mths in TT was 750 I stopped treatment in December because I couldn’t ever go get the labs done with my work schedule so the prescription expired. I just started back last week and last week’s blood test TT was 450 and FT was that 35 number and he said it was still high. He stated he doesn’t check estrogen levels the endocrinologist does.
I’ll get those labs as soon as possible so you can help me decipher lol