Could also be that your body is getting adjusted to higher hormone levels. My first 6 months to a year on TRT I was ready to get it on all the time. Honestly it was a bit of a relief when everything calmed down a bit.
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Thatās what I would think, though ā that I would have a run of 6-12 months with the libido roaring as my body adjusted to high hormone levels. In this case, the effect really dissipated after lowering the dose 260-200, which is still a high dose.
My understanding is we want to take into consideration Hemoglobin and RBC with HCT.
With cream how high did HCT and the other two get!? Iāve noticed many guys who switch to cream have less of an impact on other lab ranges like psa and hematocrit.
HCT on cream was 45.7, HGB was 15.5, and RBC was 5.2. So the first two were slightly better than they are now (third was the same), but I had only been on the cream for a month before that reading, so I donāt imagine the cream/injection delivery system would make too big of a difference in this case.
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Yeah not enough time
Total or FT or both?
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I donāt remember what the free test levels were but they were proportionately right there with total test at a little over the top end.
Taking 360mg weekly at peak levels I was right around 1100.
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I just havenāt found many guys who have run cycles who were also getting labs done. Everyone talks in mg per week but it really depends on the response and the TT and FT at the dose. Appreciate the info.
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Even though the dose isnāt that high the numbers sure are. Seems more like a perma blast than TRT lol. Atleast you feel good!
Haha, definitely not what Iām going for! But it seems like I will probably need a dose that high ā or close to it ā to have a decent Free T:T ratio. Right now itās at 2.2%, which is the first time Iāve ever been over 2% (excited about that). Pre-TRT it was 1.1% even though my Total T was 1989.
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I may be talking out my ass but I donāt think the ratio is that important from free to total. More that you are in a good spot with your free t. I think that ratio is just more ideal but you have to deal with where your shbg is. If your high or low your kind of screwed. Like I said though that is just my opinion and I may be way off on it.
Anything above 1100 is supraphysiological, and a cycle, not TRT.
I donāt really give a shit, but this is a cycle.
Permablast! Lol.
I donāt think Total T is an accurate marker. If thatās the criteria you want to use, I was on a cycle before I started any type of HOT, and then hCG alone had me 2X over that number.
Hmm, interesting. My provider has always emphasized the ratio as the key metric ā he said most guys feel their best at 2-3%, so thatās what Iāve been shooting for. Where are you at with SHBG now, and where have you felt best? Here are my numbers over time, since May 2018:
168
112
110
114
72 (felt best)
46 (most recent)
I didnāt even look at TT just FT, 3 times past the āmaxā range lol. Super jelly of that free T!
Yeah man, the numbers look ideal to me! Iām just wondering why my libido is so bad right now. Itās like a 3-4/10. Previously it had gotten as high as a 9. I also donāt have the same drive to lift or go as crazy in my workouts.
Never tested it, so dont know. Based on where my free t measured in relation to total I would guess low midrange.
Like I said I could be way off base. Always just got more of an impression that if you could get your free t in a good spot you would be alright.
Does he have a reason that would say why you would feel any different with a low ratio versus ideal? That is the part I donāt get because I would think as long as you got the free t where it is affecting the tissues normally it wouldnāt matter.
Just had my follow-up, and the Free T number was indeed what we focused on. So maybe I was just remembering incorrectly and seems you were dead-on.
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Follow-up is in the books!
My provider feels my issues with libido/motivation are tied to my Estradiol. When I was feeling my best, my E was 91 and SHBG was 72. Now, my E is 84 and SHBG is 46.
He said E might need to be under SHBG for me to feel good. Iām thinking the widening of this chasm (was 19 points, now 38) is why I feel worse despite the great Free T number.
We talked about a couple protocol options. He mentioned possibly using an AI, but Iām not into that, and I try to abide by the āfewer medications is betterā rule. So we are going to lower my T dose to 150/week. Though my Free T will drop a bit (maybe into the high 20s), I should also see a reduction in E, which is the key metric for libido as far as heās concerned.
And my SHBG should stay steady ā weāre planning to keep the Danazol dose the same because my liver enzymes look fine. But I was thinking maybe I should slightly reduce my Danazol (instead of 25 mg ED, maybe 25 mg 5X/week) to let SHBG get a little bit higher.
Thoughts on this new plan?
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