In spite of what some like to preach, free T is not the end all and be all. T that is bound to SHBG and albumin is still there, it’s just not free at the moment. You need the level that you need, period. It’s a lot more complicated than the free T number.
ok well that makes sense then.
There is a lot more to fixing anxiety or learning how to deal with it than just your sex hormones.
You have time to check other things that can make anxiety worse before diciding to go on needles for the rest of your life. Get your Thyroid fully checked out. Not just TSH. Make sure your T3 is above mid range. Is there a lot of stress in your life? Of course there is you are raising a child. Ask you doc to look into your cortisol levels. Then there are simpler things like your diet, sleep and the exersize you are getting. Too much or too can be an issue.
I hope that gave you some ideas to think about.
If you do deside to get on TRT make sure your doc is aware of how to treat your E2 issues that could follow. As a TRT guys with anxiety I find I have to really keep keep my E2 in check. There is no magic number to hit you will have to experiment to see where your E2 and anxiety is best under control.
An 11 year old, that is awesome. My grandson is 9 and lives with me. We are having a blast. scootering to the local field to throw the football, mtn biking to a favorite fishing hole, ice cream cones after a hard ride (((man))) life does not get any better. Enjoy this time, teach him everything you wished your dad would have taught you. In a few more years you guys will be lifting at the local gym, fixing cars and offering advice on getting a date for Saturday night.
This is the kind of stuff that will kick the shit out of that anxiety.
The weird thing is I really dont have too much of an issue with anxiety anymore. I haven’t since my early 20s. At least not to the point of panic attacks. Im not like the most outgoing person in the world if i don’t know someone but I have no issue being around people and things like that. The panic attacks really just came on towards the end of the 2nd month of androgel. I actually bumped from 1 pump to 2 then to 3 pumps a week prior to the panic episode.
The first doc i saw was a complete arrogant prick and its hard to even really explain but i left there very uneasy and i think that could of been a lot of the panic episode. It was bad enough to make me discontinue using it and the panic attacks disappeared within a week or 2 after. The last labs i just posted were a week ago my FT3 was 3.3 not really sure if thats good or not I’m still trying to learn all the meanings behind these numbers. As far as lifestyle I’m not sure really how much i can make any better.
I dont take any sort of caffeine no drugs at all not even weed. I rarely drink anymore maybe 1-2 times a month. I will admit when i do i do it big. I tie one on good usually. I cant sleep over 7 hours usually 6.5 no matter how early or how late i go to bed. I eat as clean as person possibly can. A piece of cheescake here and there or a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch cereal.
Other than that i drink gatorade post workout for the dextrose thats about the only sugar i eat. I went from 135-140 lbs 4 years ago to 185 lbs on a mon wed fri full body routine. I ate a lot of garbage in the beginning but still made mostly. Muscle gains. I switched to 5 day split about 5 months ago and dont miss a workout ever. The kid really isn’t a big stress issue he’s easy and I’m used to it. I raised my other 2 kids also and have a 21 year old son who’s USMC. Daughter is more stress and she dont even live with me. I think I’ve stayed single for 4 years just to eliminate the stress its a lot easier.
And well the ED is kind of an embarrassing issue when first trying to date someone. Starting to wonder if its all a mental thing. Seeing how my free T was kind of on the higher side. I agree with you on the fact id much rather not be on the needle for life if i dont absolutely need to be. @hrdlvn
I don’t think you can have a better T3 number than 3.3 if its the labcorp range which goes to 4.
So it sounds like going to 3 pumps of the angrogel is what did this.
So your E2 is 13 now that you are taking nothing.
Do you know what your E2 was when you were on 3 pumps? Were you taking an AI with the Gel?
Measured Free T is not very accurate many find calculating free T much more accurate. This is what I get calculating your Free T.
2 months after stopping gels your RBC and hct still high. That’s a flag. Something else could be wrong. I would not start trt until you investigate this.
I would also do an iron panel, ferritin and comprehensive metabolic panel. And another CBC.
I was on the gel only. No AI. I don’t know what my e2 was prior to starting or what it was while on the gel. The recent number is all I have to go by.
The ranges for T3 were 2.0-4.4 do you think the 3 pumps crashed e2 or raised it too high? With that free T calculator does that mean I’m in the upper high range?
I was looking back at my original tests from feb 18 and i noticed that RBC was high then also. I have had to do several esophagus dilations from scaring due to reflux and i can remember them saying my Rbc and or my wbc count was high back then also. I will have to get what you suggested checked out.
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Tag me when you get the new labs
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Will do.
Wonder if it could be some form of copd driving those numbers high. When i was 20 i was told i had chronic bronchitis. I smoked and smoked a lot of weed back then. Quit smoking pot 15 years ago and havent had a cig in 7 years. I have never had any other mention of chronic bronchitis since but i do cough grey phlegm up every morning and if i drink the next morning its really bad. Most beers make me feel like i have a head cold the next morning. Mexican beers are about the only that dont. Always assumed it was the yeast.
I would say your thyroid is fine. Your FreeT Is low and you E2 was probably sky high with 3 pumps. I never took angrogel but I did do Testim 1% 1 tube per day. My E2 and prolactin were thru the roof after 6 months. 1 tube of testim is probably equal to 2 pumps of angrogel.
Here were my numbers with 1 tube after 6 months.
Can you see my problems? Dumped this doc and went with Defy they had me fixed in 5 weeks with a TT of 900 FT of 33 E2 of 27 and prolactin on 8. Switching to injections with anastrozole was what did the trick for me. That was over 5 years ago.
Why would the labcorp have him at 400 when this one had him at 288? I know testing the same sample with the same equipment can give different results, but that’s not what you’re talking about. Different labs have different ranges depending on the average ranges of the men they test.
What is your protocol now? Still on AI?
50mg T cyp x2/wk, .125mg anastrozole 1x/wk more if I feel extra emotional. 400iu x2/wk HCG
Is hcg just for fertility or are there other reasons guys take it.
I take it because my balls ache without it. Some take it to reduce atrophy others to keep LH active in their balls in hopes they can PCT back to natty quicker. Some even take it because it makes them feel calm. Some can’t take it makes them feel like crap. As with all things TRT related you have to test it on you to know if it works or not.
It will raise your overall E2 a little so you need to keep track of that.
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A post was split to a new topic: TRT with Alpha Blocker?
Well I gave it some time about a month just to see if the androgel was the cause of the elevated rbc and others. I went to my regular doc due to the urologist being out of town for a month on vacation. He wouldn’t run an iron panel @charlie12. He said theres no point because my rbc was high if there was an issue i would be anemic and it would be low. He then said that me working out can cause elevated levels. I really didn’t know how to respond because I know nothing about the subject. He didn’t really run anything besides the cbc cmp and I said might as well run TT and FT just to see what its at. So this is basically 3 months after coming off the trt. I will post the labs. Tt was 416 and 437 i believe. Not sure how the same blood came up with 2 different levels or why it was even calculated 2 times. Looks like 1 time was with the FT then 1 time without and it came up 2 different numbers.