I’m the king of getting in my own head even when I know the rules. I can convince myself of anything. It’s great since I’m in sales but not great for TRT. Many a hard lesson has been learned. Now my TRT rules are whatever I add or subtract (supplements, dose, frequency, etc) I commit to the 8 weeks before I start, constantly remind myself of this point and stay aware that what I’m feeling during weeks 1-7 won’t be the same as I feel on week 8. We all know these principles but for some (like me) adhering to them required more than 12 months beforehand of “I know better than the rules”.
It does seem we all need that period to learn what we ‘know.’ February will be 12 months on T for me. So, maybe I’ll reach that point of TRT maturity soon
Since switching to ED injections at 250 mg/week, I have noticed better libido and far better mood on a daily basis — it’s been great. But I’ve also had random periods of extreme moodiness/emotion — so, there’s that. Randomly started crying a couple times, which is very much unlike me. Hormonal fluctuations are a thing.
Very true. Don’t even try to read the testosterone or TRT sections of Reddit, your head will explode. Those guys are a good 2-3 years “behind the curve” so to speak when it comes to TRT protocols.
Reddit the worst of the worst you’ve come across? TN is definitely the best TRT forum I’ve found. Curious what other folks’ favorites are. I pretty much don’t even check any others at this point.
Yeah I just read here and occasionally excel male. It’s kind of in-between as far as old vs. new ideas on AI’s, etc. I’ll answer reddit posts every now and then with varying levels of success.
One of the FB groups is decent but used to be heavily moderated (the Danny Bossa one) but there’s one other that is almost Reddit level bad as far as recommending AI’s, 20-25 e2 for everyone, etc. It’s pretty frustrating to watch but not a lot you can do to change all of their minds. It’s the usual advice… everyone thinks their nipples hurt, everyone thinks they have gyno, everyone thinks they’re emotional… blah blah blah. Same ol.
What kind of program are you running? How many working sets per muscle group per week? I think I’ve been doing way too much volume e and sending my cortisol through the roof.
Estradiol of 41 is the lowest I’ve ever seen on my tests and half of what I had last test (84 in August) – I think, based on these results, this is probably why I felt so bad. 41 may not seem like low E to others, but it’s low for me.
Some other thoughts…
SHBG last time was 46, now 63 (this seems odd because I had increased my Danazol dosage to 25 mg ED from 25 mg EOD, but may fall in line with the decreased T dosage)
Free T last time was 422, now 289 (that’s the lowest I’ve seen pretty much at any point on T)
Total T on this test was 1604, the lowest value I’ve seen since May 2018; over the summer, I was near 3000
Free T3 of 3.0 isn’t bad, but it might be slightly low
T4 of 1 is a bit low as well
TSH of 1.24 is probably too high – I’ve heard less than 1 is optimal
My DHEA has gradually dropped from 1009 to 453 to 218. This seems odd because I had been taking 50 mg ED.
Would love to hear what you guys think! I believe E might be the real key in these labs.
Ok a couple of minor points. I don’t think you should touch your test dosage. If you’re not supplementing DHEA, you need to start at around 25mg-50mg / day.
Do you have any history of asthma? I’m asking because your CO2 looks a little high. With asthma (something I suffer with) you have a hard time expelling all of the air back out of your lungs, so that can lead to a buildup of CO2.
Where you a little dehydrated? Albumin was a touch elevated.
Have you been fighting a virus? WBC is indicative.
I wouldn’t worry about thyroid right now. A TSH of 1.26 is pretty damn decent.
On E2, aren’t you glad you didn’t take a wild ass guess and start screwing around with an AI?!!!
Compared to your T, that’s pretty low. To get a decent ratio, where your T levels are at right now your E2 should probably be around 65-70
This is the weird thing to me: I was taking 50 mg ED consistently leading up to this test. That’s the most I had ever taken before. My DHEA had cleared 1000 when I started T, but it plummeted down to 218 on this test!
I don’t and haven’t had this in the past. I don’t know if there’s something one can do to “fix” this, but I wonder if it’s something I should look into.
Hmm, not that I recall, but definitely a chance. Amazing that you know all this about the ‘finer points’ on labs.
I haven’t and actually haven’t been sick in years. My WBC has always been on the low side, but last test was 4.5 – 3.1 is the lowest I’ve ever seen. Again, not sure if this is something I can “fix.” Last time around, my doctor wasn’t very concerned, but I was. It seems strange to be consistently under the reference range.
Man, you are right! That’s crazy. E was already apparently suppressed (for me). This falls in line with so many guys’ accounts of feeling like shit when their E tanks. When I felt my best, my E was waaaay higher.
I’m curious if @enackers@yeti308 will feel the same about the thyroid numbers. I’ve read most guys feel best with TSH below .5 and Free T3 at top of range.
Yeah I just did a quick look, and I am by NO means a Dr…so take what I say with a grain of salt lol…
The WBC could be diet related if you haven’t been getting enough nutrients along with your calories… Evaluate that and make sure that you’re getting enough minerals and vitamins along with your macros.
I think you’re going to need to bump up your DHEA significantly. This could be a major factor in why you’re feeling “off” as well. I’d be curious to know if there are some other factors at play as to why it’s continually falling?
Have you been screened lately for things like auto-immune disease, lupus, that type of shit? May be worth just ruling it out if none of the other guys or your Dr. doesn’t have any insight as to why the WBC is so low, and if there could be a possible connection to depleting DHEA levels?
Your thyroid isn’t “optimal”, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near in a bad place…I’d solve the other issues before I started trying to tweak things that aren’t really broken right now.
I thought this was with treated thyroid. I could be wrong but I would think below 0.5 when not being treated for thyroid would be closing in on hyperthyroid.
I think I eat a very nutritious diet – oatmeal, meats and veggies, etc – but I do have a protein shake and a bar each day and enjoy snacking on rice cakes, which don’t pack much power in terms of nutrients. I do still think I eat way more fruits and veggies than most people, though, and eat all sorts of meat.
This is what I’m wondering about, too. I took my highest dose yet (50 mg/day) and got my lowest number yet. That seems backward, so I’m perplexed. I guess I could bump it higher, like you said, but there seems to be a bigger issue there.
I’ve never been screened for autoimmune stuff – have you done that? I’d want to look more into potential causes of low WBC, but that’s an interesting thought to consider. I would think I’d have other common symptoms of autoimmune issues, though I’m not ruling it out by any means.
I see my thyroid values as “so-so” to maybe slightly subpar, based on what I’ve seen from other guys who are feeling good. I wonder if getting these biomarkers “optimal” could make a difference – I think it probably would.
Even if it’s not the perfect solution, I could definitely see it being part of the ultimate solution – get T/E and thyroid in the right place, and also try to correct the DHEA/WBC red flags.
