After being tired of being tired I finally decided to talk to some people about it; these people put me in contact with a TRT/HRT company that seems reasonable. They required me to get a panel (see below) which I thought was good and even though they want to sell me a dozen things I’ve started only a TRT treatment course for the next few months.
First the background: chronological age 43; lots of miles on the system though; 72", 190#, 14-16%BF (5 bodPods), 33/34 waist, seem to be able to grow a full grey bread quickly. Resistance train 4 times a week (used to split that between full-body lifts and running but have since focused more on weights); never looked to be ‘big’ but high strength to weigh ratio is useful in my sport/hobby; so 4-5 set of less than 8 reps. I think most people I exercise with would serious doubt I have low T but this fall I was surprised my bodPod indicated a % loss in lean muscle and noticed I was more tired and it was more difficult to recover. Had the opportunity to add in some crossfit classes in December and I’ve never been more sore and tired; part of that is to be expected but this was something worse that I think the ‘new’ exercise just illuminated.
Here are the labs from the end of Jan with the companies desired range and the LabCorps values.
Total Testosterone 385; CompXDesiredRange750 -1150; LabCorpRange348- 1197
Free Testosterone 8.4; CompXDesiredRange >16; LabCorpRange8.7 -25.1
Sex Hormone Binding Glob, Serum 50.2; CompXDesiredRange20-39; LabCorpRange16.5-55.9
FSH 3.1; CompXDesiredRange3.5 - 8.6; LabCorpRange1.7 - 8.6
LH 3.0; CompXDesiredRange3.5 -12.4; LabCorpRange1.5 -12.4
Cortisol 16.1; CompXDesiredRange2.3-14; LabCorpRange2.3 - 19.4
Estradiol 21.9; CompXDesiredRange13-20; LabCorpRange7.6 - 42.6
IGF-1 214; CompXDesiredRange180 -250; LabCorpRange71-250
DHEA 105.4; CompXDesiredRange275 -416; LabCorpRange102.6 - 416
Vitamin D 39.4; CompXDesiredRange50-80; LabCorpRange30-100
TSH 2.450; CompXDesiredRange0.450 - 4.5; LabCorpRange0.450 - 4.5
Thyroxine (T4) 6.6; CompXDesiredRange4.5-12.0; LabCorpRange4.5 - 12.0
Triiodothyronine (T3) 122; CompXDesiredRange71-180; LabCorpRange71-180
Prostate-Specific Ag, Serum 0.5; CompXDesiredRange0.0-4.0; LabCorpRange0.0 - 4.0
Vitamin B12 730; CompXDesiredRange700-946; LabCorpRange211-946
Cholesterol, Total205; CompXDesiredRange70-199; LabCorpRange100 - 199
Triglycerides 68; CompXDesiredRange0.0 -149; LabCorpRange0.0 - 149
HDL Cholesterol 62; CompXDesiredRange>39; LabCorpRange>39
LDL Cholesterol Calc 129; CompXDesiredRange0-99; LabCorpRange0-99
Glucose, Serum 92; CompXDesiredRange65-90; LabCorpRange65-99
BUN (Kidney) 14; CompXDesiredRange6.0-20; LabCorpRange6.0-20
BUN/Creatinine Ratio 15; CompXDesiredRange10.0 - 15; LabCorpRange8.0-19
Creatinine, Serum 0.95; CompXDesiredRange0.6 - 1.3; LabCorpRange0.6 -1.3
Bilirubin, Total 0.6; CompXDesiredRange0.0 - 1.0; LabCorpRange0.0-1.2
AST (SGOT) 95; CompXDesiredRange0.0-30; LabCorpRange0.0-40
ALT (SGPT) 50; CompXDesiredRange0.0-30.0; LabCorpRange0.0-44
RBC 4.73; CompXDesiredRange4.14-5.8; LabCorpRange4.14 -5.80
Hemoglobin 14.3; CompXDesiredRange14-18; LabCorpRange12.6- 17.7
Hematocrit 42.6; CompXDesiredRange37.5 - 51; LabCorpRange37.5- 51
So not crazy low totalT; but low free T; fairly high SHGB; low DHEA. They offered to treat me and it seems fairly aggressively. Here is the part of the protocol they offered that I accepted:
200mg/ml T-Enanthate (inject once a week)
1mg AI 3 times a week (EOD)
HCG 500 units SQ on days 5 & 6 following testosterone dose
Danazol: 75mg (only for first 7 week cycle)
I realize (per the sticky) that I should inject 0.5 ml twice a week as opposed to the once a week treatment (and once I get used to the injections I will probably pursue this course) and that this amount might be a little high; and that the AI dose at present seems higher than the forum generally recommends.
Just a couple questions:
(1) How long into the treatment do you think it will be until I feel ‘full’ affects; I don’t feel much after 10 days (didn’t expect to) but just curious other experience. I’m sure my system is adjusting do to the exogenous T.
(2) Does the recommendation seem reasonable as a first cycle? I intend to get key labs done toward end of cycle to make adjustments and will expect to be off Danazol at that point.
I take s few supplements: 1000 ui D3, C and FishOil, BComplex, 100 ui Q10, and those values are fine but I also added 50mg of DHEA as well per the recommendations.
This is mostly to document my progress but advice from those with direct experience will always be considered and appreciated.