Same exact thing happened to me. Standing at attention at week 3 and then gone at week 4. Be patient. If you are like me, it will come back even better as levels reach their max. My dose is double yours and from all that I read, most need to go up from 100 weekly to feel good, so you may need to consider that if symptoms don’t go away.
1 Like
Thanks, @dlsmith
I have zero issue with the idea of going up in dose - it’s not that I think, 150 or even 200 are extreme / “huge” doses - I know better than that. I want to see where my levels settle out on this dose, what happens to my SHBG, and where the rest of my bloodwork ends up.
My SHBG was definitely at the poor end at the start, and if this is pushing that level down too much from there…then more T is just going to make for expensive urine or be aromatised.
I have plenty of room on my HCT before I would start raising an eyebrow at it (and I concede that others such as Dex might be right and there’s no reason to worry anyway - I’m seeing more evidence now that supports that argument)
I am also interested to see where my thyroid is going. Although TSH isn’t a great indicator on its own, I’m intrigued by the fact that a year ago it was nearly double the value it is now…even 10+ years ago it was slightly higher than it was on my last check. Will be getting the full panel.
You may find this interesting:
I respect a lot dr Rouzier and the great job he is doing by training doctors in HRT.
But I’m not willing to completely accept that there should not be any issue with elevated blood count if no elevated platelets are present. I mean there should be some treshold…
Is it ok to have HCT 58 in that logic? I cannot believe this alone cannot cause any issues.
And if there is no evidence it causes issues, that in my mind does not mean it really does not cause issues. The fact we lack evidence for something does not mean it is necessarily wrong. Maybe the correct studies were never setup to examine it properly.
I hope I wouldn’t have to worry about this. My HCT pre TRT was 44-45 and hope it will be confined within 50.
Mine hasn’t moved, 44.0 to 44.1, even with 1500+ TT. Hopefully you don’t have any issues either.
No idea why. I need to do some more research on that at some point. I see people all worried about controlling their HCT then for some reason mine stays the same even with relatively high T. It’s weird.
1 Like
How long has it passed? As I know it increases up to 6 months after reaching the desired TT levels
I started in July I believe, so 4-5 months so far without changes. It’s weird, I know. No clue why.
1 Like
Yes, I’ve seen that. I’m always open minded and willing to consider that conventional / prevailing opinions may be wrong. But I don’t jump on the bandwagon because of one preacher / study either.
At any rate given that I started with HCT/RBC nearly at the bottom of the “normal” range, I don’t think it’s likely I’ll be worrying too much - both could rise more than 20% from pre-treatment and still not put me outside the standard.
I’m not sure I’d put Neal Rouzier into the televangelist category, but just throwing that out there.
Personally, I’ve always donated just for humanitarian reasons. While I’m am not concerned that TRT could cause a clot, I still do.
I would look at each case individually. Some feel great with higher levels and those living at altitude have an increased life expectancy and decreased risk of heart disease. But some feel sluggish, get out of breath going up stairs, or see blood pressure increase when levels get too high, too high for them. I think therapeutic phlebotomy would be good for them.
Some do not see CBC changes, some see a lot. Hopefully, yours will bump up some. That would really help your energy and endurance.
Ah, the dangers of communicating online. In no way did I mean to sound like I was calling him a televangelist or anything remotely of that sort. All I meant was…that’s one opinion. I’ve seen 1-2 others that agree with him. I’ve seen a lot more that disagree with him. I take it all under advisement.
1 Like
Yeah, I wouldn’t say phlebotomy is never necessary. Some insist when hct hits 50.1, others 55, some in between, some never.
So the recipients of your blood can get jacked?
1 Like
I didn’t donate back in the day, but now that you mentioned it, do you think I should donate at trough?
I really don’t know how much it matters. It is only a pint, but in a woman it might be quite a lot. Not sure though.
I think blood levels are kept even by the release of hormone from the fat / muscle. I would guess it would be like a short term thing. Like test suspension. Might make a woman horny for a day though.
I was joking. I thought you were too. It doesn’t matter.
Was joking. I could potentially see it making a woman horny short term though. I don’t think any virulization would occur as the levels would drop very quickly.
It’s about 0.05mg per 500mL.
1 Like
Status update…
Earlier I had posted that after 4 weeks on treatment I had a brief-lived but outstanding run of libido and performance capability. Then after a few days, the ride was over. “failure to launch” despite being interested. Then I ended up with a couple of busy days and then got a cold.
Back in the game the past week and a half now (Total time in is about 8.5 weeks) . Not getting the heady sex-rush I got a month ago but I’d be happy enough to stay where I’m at.
Sac does seem to ride a bit higher and tighter. I’ve felt the motivation to (and have) start lifting weights (haven’t done that for a few years) again…so I’m easing into that. No other real side effects I’ve noticed at this point.
1 Like
I presume there’s no likely issue with these numbers?
fT3 - 3.8 (2.0-4.4)
fT4 - 1.24 (0.82-1.77)
TSH - 1.29 (0.45-4.500)
Prolactin - 9.7 (4.0-15.2)
As for T levels…well…they’re not stable right now. Despite knowing it would throw me back into the land of the unknown I decided to give a try running higher dose and at this point I suspect my body won’t like it. At 100mg, twice a week, trough TT is about 20% over the range, FT and E2 both double top of the range (47/24 and 80/35 respectively) and of course SHBG dropped. I think I’m going to cut back the total and go back to more frequent unless there’s reason to try sticking it out a while. Unless stabilizing here suddenly results in a major change that I like, there’s probably not a lot of value in riding supraphysio.
The only # that was actually a little surprising was DHT coming back midrange (59 on a 30-85 scale)
Symptoms? Nothing new. I don’t feel much different from pre-TRT with my T 20+ percent below the bottom of the range. I’m clearly not sensitive to changes (ie ability to sleep or get out of bed, etc). I do feel like I’m getting more out of my time on the weights at least. I suspect I’d like the results better there by sticking to the higher dose, but I really want to get my sex life sorted (Libido/ED/performance issues led to TRT and I’ve had a few good times since starting but not consistent I know I’m not helping things by tweaking the protocol). (And to answer the comments some might make, no, I’m really not into porn or jerkin’ it). The tone of this message wasn’t “Why can’t I fix my dick” (I know stability will be a key there!) it’s a comment on levels and how I’m feeling / thinking.
From my experience, jerkin it actually helps with libido and ED, as long as it’s not overdone. Gotta keep that organ doing what it was made for.