That fits the elevated E2. 36 is very higher given that the top ref range is at 25.
FreeT measurement has unfortunately a very low precision and accuracy. Go with the calculated level.
That’s a very good sign, happy for you! Think about lowering it even more considering the positive trend in how you feel and how high your freeT is. There is nothing to loose only to win, you could always go higher again later if you want to do so.
Yes man exactly. I am def. thinking about that but don’t want to change the dose before the end of 6 weeks.
Seem like i’ve got no choice. How they calculate FT here must be either incorrect or very different than US labs.
So… what docs do you deal with that don’t mind boosting people up? Just wondering, my doc is rather conservative (doesn’t like numbers above 20nmol as he/she doesn’t see it to be medically required based on literature)… that being said the doc DOES treat according to symptoms, and lets me stay at between 17-29nmol… do I feel better with more? Yes… and I use more between bloods (be it T or synthetic derivitaves) never going above 300mg weekly (aside from short durations lasting about a week or so). I’d do it myself, however if I did then I wouldn’t have scripts with me to travel etc, so I don’t mind washing out for 1.5 months prior to each visit, esp considering I only have to do it like 1x-2x yearly… very knowledgeable doctor though. So I hover at around 35-60nmol androgen equivalent (haematological parameters don’t creep up, cardiac imaging is fine, lipids, lft, renal function all good
I’m actually fairly sure the doc actually knows what I get up to, I’ve dropped some fat hints… Its just never outwardly talked about/specified given how draconian laws are here
Do I believe it’s the healthiest… no… but then again the therapeutic benefit I perceive (medical history is a long story) from said protocol is immense… so ehh, rather cut ten or dare I say even twenty years off my life then live in a constant moderate level of pain that restricts daily activity
Reference ranges are always dependent on the method used. You cannot compare a calculated freeT with the ref range of a particular method which measures freeT.
‚Reference intervals for total testosterone and calculated free testosterone by the Vermeulen equation were 9.4–31.0 nmol/L and 0.245–0.785 nmol/L (2.5–97.5 percentile), respectively.‘
0.245–0.785 nmol/L converts to 7 - 22.6 ng/dL
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1258/000456306778520115
Doesn’t account for the fact that many labs in which may use the same methods will still differ within ref ranges… Lowest ref range I’ve ever seen on my bloods was 4-20nmol (like 100-500ng/dl)… like… seriously…
I’ve also seen some with a bottom cutoff of around 60ng/dl… I don’t care about the method used to measure TT, 60NG/DL is NEVER a normal concentration for a grown man
I’m not sure that I would agree that that isn’t TRT anymore. I think I mentioned somewhere above or maybe in another thread that I have experienced two changes in libido, sex drive and ability - one in my late 20s and one in my early to mid-50s. TRT at my current dose has addressed all of the symptoms that I began experiencing in my mid-50s but has had no noticeable effect on the changes that took place in my late 20s. Honestly I don’t know for sure that that was even a result of changes in testosterone levels though it certainly could be. Unfortunately I did not have the foresight to have my levels tested as a young man so I have no idea what they were back then. At any rate, if I were to experiment with the dose to see if I can get back to feeling like I did at 25 it probably isn’t what the doctor would recommend but I would not say that it isn’t TRT. I’ll let you know what happens if I try it.
What I mean to say is that if everything is working well, say you’re having sex once or even twice a day, but then say, “I want to take even more so I can go 3-4 times a day” some will argue that you’re pushing the limits of what TRT might be.
Keep in mind, I am absolutely guilty of this. The more I take, the better I feel. I’m doing an experiment as we speak to see how higher levels of T affect my overall bloodwork and then report the findings on my channel.
So you think 100mg twice weekly is too much for a man over 50? Im doing 100 twice weekly and feel fine. No side effects that I can tell. Of course I wont know of any internal effects until my next panel.
I guess it will bring your average T to around 1500 and freeT to around 35 to 40, which is beyond the physiological range for young men.
I personally would not recommend this dose to a 50 year old. But if you dont experience any negative side effects such an increase in blood pressure or high HCT than thats already a good sign. If its beneficial or harmful on the long run remains to be clarified - nobody knows.
1500?? I was doing 200 a week for 2 years and never got above 750 total and 28 free. I started twice weekly in order to regulate the highs and lows.
Looking forward to the results of this.
Yes, if you do weekly shots than the difference between the peak and trough level can easily be 600 to 700; that would make about 1500 peak on a trough level of 750, so on average than around 1200. FreeT accordingly, so likely around 35 average.
I feel a lot better at 2, 100mg shots weekly. I just dont want to over do it and have the E2 and/or hematocrit levels go sky high they did when I first started 2 years ago…
I’m going to copy this over from another thread only because it’s probably more relevant here than there:
1 hour after I posted that poll:
NO MEN between 0-14 ng/dL
11 between 15-29 ng/dL
11 between 30-39 ng/dL
2 between 40-49 ng/dL
2 between 50-59 ng/dL
9 over 60 ng/dL
How many of these guys are doing TRT to replace normal levels and those wanting supraphysiological levels for muscle purposes?
Our group is solely for men on TRT. We do not promote steroid cycles there at all. The goal is to be symptom free and have optimum health. This Sunday I am interviewing Joe Jeffery in the UK to discuss the use of growth hormone for replacement in conjunction with TRT. I could also send you photos of some of the guys over 40 and even over 50 ng/dL who are just regular guys and definitely do not look like they are on steroids just as I don’t look like that either.
That’s a bit confusing. Is that free or bio-available T?
Quest Diagnostics’s lab range for free testosterone is 35.0 - 155.0 pg/mL or 3.5 - 15.5 ng/dL which seems completely different from what you have there.
Free Testosterone. We never use Bioavailable.
Quest has a bogus range that you don’t see on other labs. The range typically goes to about 26.
Then you have LabCorp that reports the numbers in ng/dL but indicates that they are in pg/mL.
Don’t trust your labs. There are often tons of errors.
LabCorp is the 800 pound gorilla, it operates one of the largest clinical laboratory networks in the world. LabCorps Free T ranges for 20 year old men is 10.8-26.5 pg/mL, even Dr. Abraham Morgentaler references LabCorps ranges when talking about testosterone levels.
Quest Diagnostics, who are they again?
But they state free T in pg/mL when it should read ng/dL. So the number is correct but the unit of measurement is wrong.
If I had a dollar for every guy who sees their free T indicated at 18 pg/mL so figure they only have 1.8 ng/dL and start panicking…
Any idea how many people have called them? They still didn’t fix the problem.