I’d be shocked if you weren’t the biggest guy at one of those, lol
Guys reading this forum, take note – if you need a physique confidence boost, just get a lift in at Planet Fitness.
I don’t think it’s imagined – I really do believe people just look at you at that gym if you’re in good shape, and that swells the ego.
1 Like
@bkb333 - thanks for letting me share those in your thread, much appreciate.
I’ve been using the same blood test codes each time I’ve done my own, so I can easily show the progression of each test/dose/frequency.
This one has me a little confused though. I know we’re supposed to test at trough… But I inject around 11pm every night. Zero chance I can get close to trough…
In previous tests, I’d go in around 4pm… But doing the math with time to peak using sub-q injections of around 45 hours - I’m wondering if waiting longer, I was in reality closer to peak than trough. For reference on peak times, I’m sure there are different studies that state different peak times and I’m sure @johann77 has some better, more recent ones, but this is what I’m going on -
"The time-to-peak level was slightly faster with IM testosterone (33 hours) compared to SQ 100 mg (36 hours) and SQ 50 mg (45 hours). The half-life for IM testosterone was also shorter at 173 hours versus 240 hours for SQ testosterone. "
[https://www.auanet.org/guidelines/testosterone-deficiency-guideline ]
This time, I got my blood drawn at 9:20am - about 9 hours and 10 minutes after my last injection…or about 33 hours after my injection 2 nights ago… I bet the number will just be high no matter when I get blood drawn.
I guess we’ll see what happens… I’ll report back when I have the results.
I can’t imagine there being much of a trough anyways if you’re injecting every day
2 Likes
I agree. @bcostigan41, brother, I’d probably be thinking a bunch about the timing too, but I don’t think it will end up making much of a difference unless you were injecting, say, immediately before the blood draw. Our daily injection protocol makes “trough” timing near impossible.
Looking forward to seeing the results!
Week 4 of Israetel’s programming and the volume is getting very real! Thankfully not every day is this long.
What are the reps like on those sets and are they all working sets? If those are straight work sets, yeah that is a lot of volume. Back and bi’s should be nice and pumped after that.
Yep, all are working sets. The first four exercises you go until 2 reps shy of failure, then the final two exercises are 3 reps shy. Definitely get a wicked back and bi/tri pump.
1 Like
@bkb333 - I’ve received some partial results.
June = 40mg EOD
November = 42mg EOD
January = 22mg Daily
I think the HTC number from June from Quest was wrong. I was tested at my doctors office about 3 weeks later and it was 47.
Still waiting on some other numbers like TT, FT and E2… I’m actually a little surprised by the increase in SHBG.
My thoughts are since I’m now introducing less testosterone to my body at a given time (22mg daily vs 42mg EOD), the lower injection amount isn’t driving my SHBG lower.
An increase in my SHBG could also be why I’m not “feeling” the test kick in like I did before. That “test buzz” is definitely not there like it was EOD.
What do you think about that? Sorta assuming now my FT and maybe E2 will be lower too? This is fascinating stuff. I’ll update once I have more numbers.
Did I miss how you feel now?
Libido, energy, penile sensation, etc
@steven90 - I’ve been on “test only” TRT for 2+ years. I’ve tried a few different protocols/doses along the way in search of symptom resolution.
I can’t recall ever really having any side effects at all accept acne on dose changes.
Generally speaking, I feel quite a bit better than before TRT. It’s hard to explain, but when I was on EOD, the day after my shot, I could feel the testosterone - I felt amazing…and the day of the shot I was so/so. I decided I wanted to feel amazing every day, so I switched to daily to see if I could find that feeling every day.
The day 64 below is how many days I’m into my protocol change.
But overall, I feel good… But not as great as The day post shot while on my EOD protocol.
Sorta playing the doctor game a bit. I’ll see where my other numbers come in at… But in all likelihood, I’ll probably increase my dose.
2 Likes
It’s pretty strange that your SHBG increased. I figured increasing your dose (though it wasn’t that substantial of an increase) would either keep it stable or maybe even lower it a little bit. For me, a higher dose typically means a lower SHBG, though Danazol has also been involved so that’s a confounding factor.
Those other numbers – T and E – should help a lot with figuring out what’s going on. Circle back when you have those!
HCT and HGB are obviously non-factors and nothing to worry about.
I had my appointment with a hematologist. She wasn’t overly concerned (and actually was very receptive to the idea of telemedicine and TRT) – but because I do have family history of Waldenstrom’s lymphoma (which is tied to WBC), she ordered a super elaborate blood workup. It contained all sorts of things I had never seen before.
Good news is everything is in the normal reference range and my WBC is back up to 4.15. The last test (3.1 in November) was likely an anomaly.
However, some other values are somewhat concerning. HGB (15.9 in November) is 17.5, HCT (46.5 in November) is 50.6, and RBC (5.23 in November) is 5.69. These changes follow dropping Danazol and increasing my dose up to the current 250 mg. I am feeling way better since.
I should note that the November bloodwork (like all of my others) was done fasted, whereas I had a meal and coffee before the most recent tests (because I didn’t expect bloodwork).
Think there’s any action steps I should take? Should I be concerned?
That HCT is fine. I don’t know enough about the other numbers to comment but it’s normal for it to increase with your dose increase.
It sounds like you’re feeling good again, awesome. I’m glad a little more T did the trick
Are you still doing subQ or IM now?
1 Like
Thanks man! That is great to hear. I wouldn’t say I’m completely dialed but everything is a lot better than it was in the fall. Overall I’ve gone from like a 3 to 7.
I switched to IM and am glad I did. I was getting pretty bruised up in the midsection even though I was holding more belly fat than usual.
Good deal, I was thinking you probably had switched. I never really liked SubQ. I tried 3 different brands of T and all of them burned like crazy, so it felt like I was getting stung every time I tried it. IM with small needles is the way to go
1 Like
I agree. I think it’s kind of like debating high carb or low carb for weight loss. It doesn’t matter as long as caloric intake (or, in this case, dose) is equal. It comes down to personal preference.
Hct is ok where it is but if it gets to like 52 your gonna want to go donate blood. I don’t remember what the cutoff is but if your HGB is too high they won’t let you donate. I dontate a double red donation twice a year and that seems to do the trick for me.
1 Like
I do a 5/8 inch needle in the glute. My doc counts it as subq there cause You carry more fat in the glute. I feel like I’m not adding to the lump of scar tissue I had built up from the 1 inch needles I started sith
1 inch needles?! Ouch!