Recent Bloodwork - Struggle Sleeping, Fatigue

Pharma TRT
1

Hi All,

Long time lurker, looking for some advice from knowledgable members. Now 31but abused steroids twice back when I was 17 & 18 (young and stupid) Sus & Decca is all I can remember back then but it was just the steroids I took, no PCT etc.

Before taking steroids: Struggle falling asleep (took hours), staying asleep was ok though
During steroids: fell asleep amazingly quickly, sleep quality seemed improved. Gyno issues with second round of steroids at 18 (really sore nipples)
After stopping steroids to present day: back to struggling to fall asleep, over the past 5 years the quality of my sleep as deterioriated and I also get pretty bad fatigue at random points during the day. A lot of the time I don’t feel refreshed after a nights sleep. ED problems since stopping the steroids all those years ago.Sometimes get morning wood but rare.

Recent blood work:
Hormone			        Result	Unit	       Ref Range
FSH			        3	IU/L	        (1-8)
Luteinizing Hormone      	5       IU/L	        (2-8)
Oestradiol		        131	pmol/L	        (<150)
Progesterone		        1.3	nmol/L	        (<4.1)
Prolactin		        106	mIU/L	        (45-375)
Testosterone		        15.1	nmol/L	        (6.0-28.0)
SHBG-restd		         39	nmol/L  	(15-50)
Free Testosterone	        280     pmol/L  	(200-600)
DHEAS			        6.3	umol/L  	(4.8-13.9)
pl.cortisol rndm	        236	nmol/L   	(70-400)
			
Collection time	13:56		
Fasted?	                 No

Couple of quick questions:

1 - Do my results look normal for a 31 yr old lifting? In particular testosterone. Given that I abused steroids all those years ago I’m wondering if it left something out of wack, particularly due to the sensitive age (17) and the Decca.
2 - Regarding the improved sleep whilst on steroids. Is there a relatively safe way to slightly bump my testosterone with prescription medication, to see if it makes a difference again with my sleep? Wondering if it may help with my ED/ Libido which doesn’t seem to have been right ever since taking steroids all those years ago.

If you guys need any more info feel free to ask.

2

Do you remember how long each of those cycles were?

4

Thanks for the reply Highpull.

For the first cycle (when I was 17), I would guess at close to 3 months as I accidentally took less than I was supposed to (i.e 1 x sus on Mondays and 1 x the other substance on Fridays, instead of both on both days) I don’t think the other substance on the first cycle was Decca, but I can’t remember specifically what it was. This cycle didnt feel harsh on my system at all.

For the second cycle, I’d guess at around 6 weeks, Sus+Decca, no idea of the dosages sorry as it was that long ago (2006). I got really sore nipples with this cycle. Looking back I’d say it was pretty harsh on my system, plus I was binge drinking heavily every Friday night whilst on the second cycle (daft right? If only I could go back)

Not lifting weights on either cycle, didn’t taper on or off of either cycle, nor PCT etc.

5

Testicle stimulation is acceptable, TT low given your age, FT barely midrange and your hormones looks more like a healthy 70 year old. DHEA is on the lower end as well.

It sounds like you’ve always had suboptimal hormone levels and the only time you’ve ever been without symptoms is on steroids, I wonder if your thyroid hormones look equally underwhelming. Your somewhat elevated SHBG levels isn’t helping, but increases in SHBG as we age is common and you will continue to see decline in FT levels from here on out.

6

Thanks for the reply systemlord. The results in my original post are from about 6 months ago. I have a different set from 2017 (different company that tested for me) which may contain the thyroid info you mentioned?

It would make sense about suboptimal levels untill I was on that first cycle of steroids, felt like I’d given something a break from hard work and as a result my sleep / wake cycle went back to what it should have been naturally. At this point this is purely discussion but suppose I want to try and address this with a low dose of something short term with a view to slowly taper off, what would be the best course of action? I currently live in a country where the doctors don’t speak very good english so seeing them might not be a route to take, however prescription medicines are readily available to buy over the counter here.

2017 results:

EST RESULTS UNIT REFERENCE RANGE REPORTED
Albumin 44 g/L 34-48 2017-08-03
ALP 64 U/L 30-130 2017-08-03
ALT 57 IU/L 1-50 2017-08-03 !
AST 43 U/L 1-50 2017-08-03
Basophils 0.02 x10^9/L 0.00-0.10 2017-08-03
Bilirubin 16 umol/L <21 2017-08-03
Calcium 2.31 mmol/L 2.20-2.60 2017-08-03
Creatinine 103 umol/L 59-104 2017-08-03
CRP <1 mg/L <5.0 2017-08-03
eGFR (Creatinine) 74 mL/min/1.73m
^2
Eosinophils 0.20 x10^9/L 0.00-0.40 2017-08-03
Ferritin 119 ug/L 30.0-400.0 2017-08-03
Folic Acid 14.0 ug/L 3.9-20.0 2017-08-03
Free T3 4.5 pmol/L 3.6-6.4 2017-08-04
Free T4 14.3 pmol/L 9.0-24.0 2017-08-04
Gamma GT 17 U/L 10-71 2017-08-03
Glucose 4.6 mmol/L 2017-08-03
Haematocrit (PCV) 0.443 Ratio 0.400-0.520 2017-08-03
Haemoglobin 157 g/L 130-180 2017-08-03
HbA1c 31 mmol/mol 2017-08-04
HDL 1.25 mmol/L 2017-08-03
HDL ratio 2.40 2017-08-03
Iron 21.6 umol/L 5.8-34.5 2017-08-03
LDL 1.52 mmol/L 0.0-2.0 2017-08-03
Lymphocytes 1.67 x10^9/L 1.00-4.00 2017-08-03
Magnesium 0.95 mmol/L 0.70-1.00 2017-08-03
MCH 31.3 pg 27.0-33.0 2017-08-03
MCHC 354 g/L 320-365 2017-08-03
MCV 88 fl 80-98 2017-08-03
Monocytes 0.31 x10^9/L 0.20-1.00 2017-08-03
Neutrophils 2.57 x10^9/L 1.80-7.50 2017-08-03
Platelet Count (PLT) 137 x10^9/L 150-400 2017-08-03 !
Potassium 4.5 mmol/L 3.5-5.3 2017-08-03
RBC 5.01 x10^12/L 4.50-6.00 2017-08-03
Sodium 144 mmol/L 133-146 2017-08-03
Total Cholesterol 3.0 mmol/L 0.0-4.0 2017-08-03
Total protein 77 g/L 60-80 2017-08-03
Transferrin 2.92 g/L 2.00-3.60 2017-08-03
Transferrin Sat 29.4 % 15-45 2017-08-03
Triglycerides 0.5 mmol/L 0.0-1.7 2017-08-03
TSH 1.5 mu/L 0.2-5.0 2017-08-04
Urea 8.6 mmol/L 2.5-7.8 2017-08-03 !
Vitamin B12 1022 ng/L 197.0-1999 2017-08-03
WBC 4.8 x10^9/L 4.0-11.0 2017-08-03
7

Just curious why you did two steroid cycles without lifting weights? Not judging you just curious as to why.

8

Is there an optimal SHBG? If 20 is low and 50 is high wouldn’t 30’s be where you want it?

9

Could certainly be better.

While starting steroids that young is not a good idea, you didn’t abuse them.

Given what you have reported, doubling testosterone levels is an option. Estrogen may be an issue with you, but you could manage it.

10

TSH is really good, doubt there are any thyroid problems going on, in extremely rare cases I’ve seen abnormally low fT3 with TSH this low.

This optimal SHBG level will be unique to the individual, I don’t think there’s going to be this profound change going from 14-30.

11

That’s me after starting TRT.
Pre-TRT : High TSH , Low FT3
During TRT : Low TSH , Low FT3

12

My libido ranked at the age of 40 after a friend told me to have my testosterone checked the doctor said there’s was basically nothing in the tank. So she put my on nabido every 2 months and it made a huge difference. (Only side affect is 2 weeks in I want to get in brawls wherever I go but it subsides after a while . It doesn’t help me with sleep which I also battle with but since I’ve used calcium and magnesium at night and training later in the afternoon to evening I get good quality sleep not long sleep but good quality

13

What’s the question?

2 MONTH protocols are a horrible idea for exactly the reasons you’ve listed. Levels are too high in the beginning and too low at the end of the 2 month period.

Most of us are injection smaller amounts 2-3x a WEEK to keep things stable.

I would talk to your doc about using something like test cypionate and doing at home injections 2-3 days a week. You can use small insulin syringes so you’ll barely even feel it.

14

Thanks for the replys guys.

Are all of the “safer” ways to bump testosterone injection based? I don’t want to increase my test too much by the way, just enough to see if it makes a difference to my symptoms short term. If it does I can then look into it in more detail.

15

If you under dose you may never find out if TRT is going to relieve symptoms. There is no such thing an short term TRT, it may take many months of trial and error to find the appropriate dose and injection frequency.

Injectable testosterone is the safest and most effective version of TRT.

16

@brenson
It doesn’t really work that way. You have to find the dose that works and that usually takes more than a couple months. The dose that doesn’t work isn’t necessarily going to have you feeling any better than without it. If you are feeling good enough now that you don’t know if you need it then don’t do it. When you get to the point that you feel like you have no other options then that’s a good time to experiment.

17

Thanks for the replies again guys.

Also note that I feel as though my sex drive hasn’t been the same since taking the second course of steroids with the Decca, including some ED, maintaining erections etc. I had a lot of stress at the time so the ED could be phsychological at its roots.

This was one of those things where I was wondering if my quality of life could have been much better than what I’ve been assuming to be normal, but at the same time I don’t want to be playing around with my hormones if I can avoid it, as that may have caused issues in the first place. If i had a time machine to go back to when I was 18…

Based on the feedback, I’m going to leave things alone for now. Thanks for the input everyone.