Pre TRT i had a level of 280, then 190 on second test. Was put on 100mg of cypionate a week. I split it into 2 doses. Anyway, 7 weeks later it brought me to T level of 470. Still didn’t feel good. Bumped up to 150mg/week which brought me to only 680.
I still don’t feel all that great. Most threads i read 100mg is bringing people to the 800s, and 150mg still doesn’t make me feel good. Should i try to get my dose increased again?
How much do you guys take a week, and what are your levels like? Thanks
How long have you been on your current protocol? I would like to add that your previous SHBG levels was 26 and can only imagine it is suppressed lower now that you have been on TRT longer. Most men lower SHBG don’t do well on even twice weekly, I would even argue men with middle range SHBG levels can be very sensitive to fluctuations between dosing.
You’re measuring the JUNK portion of testosterone, the free portion is all that should concern you. You will never dial-in your TRT protocol without FT. Let’s assume your SHBG is now 18 and your TT is 680, that would put your FT levels somewhere near the top of the FT ranges.
When you started TRT, you shut down LH which could lead to 35 other hormones that could be deficient. Also you body could be converting FT down other pathways such as estrogen and DHT, you need FT testing.
What idiot has you doing labs 12 hours after an injection? Your TT and FT levels peak closer to 36-48 hours, so by doing labs prematurely your hormone levels are have not yet peaked and this is making everything look lower than it really is, in fact your levels are very likely higher. I would fire your doctor because even basic knowledge is lacking.
Ok this changes things, SHBG is low as I suspected and changes the course of your protocol.
You will need frequent injections daily or EOD at a minimum, 10-14mg daily or 25-30mg EOD.
My free T is 712 pmol/l. Mt SHBG is now 16 from 26. Estrodial actually didn’t even change from the 50mg increase, still at 28. I been on this protocol for 8 weeks
Please include reference ranges because there are no standards, there’s no way for me to gauge these levels because I have nothing to compare it. FT can convert down other pathways like DHT or even epitestosterone. This is most likely why estrogen didn’t increase.
Usually levels stabilize 6 weeks after dosing changes, but the true measure of a protocol happens at 8 weeks and beyond.
Like I said, no standards and some lab companies are slacking off because you are unable to compare this FT value against the population and provides little info. You can plug-in your TT and SHBG result to gain insight to your FT levels using the Tru-T calculator.
680 with an SHBG of 16 - FT = 25.24 ng/dL (ranges 16-31 ng/dL) Of course these calculations assumes everyone binds/converts hormones the same.
One reason for TRT showing a lack of results is a sluggish thyroid, it doesn’t matter how good your fT3 is if rT3 is elevated, thyroid hormone is not making it into your cells.
NHS funding is insufficient to manage men on TRT and thyroid treatment, corners are cut and people fall through the cracks.
What do you recommend me to do? I’m already looking into a new trt doc, but i want to make sure my thyroid is good. Everytime i see you post about it it becomes clearer to me. I’m very sensitive to the cold and even find myself putting my jacket on at work. My anxiety is absolutely crazy, but it always has been.
Thyroid regulates metabolism, if you pay closer attention at work you see certain women have sweaters hanging on the back of their chairs because women have slower metabolisms and the thermostat is set for a man’s metabolism which is higher than a woman.
TRT cannot work when there are thyroid problems or when they are other hormones affected by the suppression of LH, you need the very best or you don’t stand any chance. An ordinary endocrinologists is inadequate, in a few hours of research you have already surpassed the knowledgeable of most doctors in the critical areas.
A cold sensation is one of the many symptoms you can experience with anxiety or panic attacks. If your circadian rhythm is out of whack enough that your body thinks you should be asleep when you’re actually awake, you might feel colder as a result of your internal thermostat being set to the wrong timing. You anxiety can throw your sleep patterns out of whack.
Another reason for feeling cold is your body happens to run cold. You could have anemia and Raynaud’s disease. As for your TSH, it’s a poor biomarker by itself, that would be like telling me your LH is 5.0, without a testosterone measurement nothing is known.
Must have been the same idiots thats do this professionally and studied the pharmacokinetics of testosterone cypionate or enanthate systematically.
Subq left and im right, both peak within the first 12 to 24h. At 48h the im applied T has already gone down by appr 10 - 20%.
I take 200mg once a week, labs at day six (day seven is Sunday) my total testosterone levels range from 880-920 and free testosterone 200-220. Last lab had SHBG at 21, E2 (immunoassay) 38 and (LC/MS/MS aka sensitive) 51. SHBG range is usually 19-24 and E2 38-50 and 51-70. The recent E2 levels, 38 and 51, were the lowest they’ve been for quite a while.
While the lab results would be, and are, interesting, all I needed to hear was this:
That’s enough to make me go to 200mg, or at least 180. With pre TRT levels of 190-280, I would have started with 160mg.
