Bloating with Test E and topical with high shbg and estrone

[Stracy]

I’ve been on trt for the last 4 years. I’m 5’8 workout daily, run and crossfit 5x a week. When I started I was 185 about 13% bf, now 205 at 19%. Holding a ton of body fat and water weight compared to where I was naturally - was just tired all the time and had 300-350 T.

my largest issue is that no matter how long I diet or how much cardio I do I cannot lose more than a few lbs before my body stops. I eat very clean but this weight makes me look like I eat trash.


Have tried every dosing protocol known to man. Have tried 1x100 and 1x150/wk, 2x50mg and 2 x75mg/wk. T has been as high as >1500 and down to 600. These all caused bloating, edema and overall sense of being physically miserable. Over the last year I’ve swapped to topical compounded testosterone cream with daily Rubs of both the 100mg and 150mg dosages. These left me feeling fluffy and holding water but brought LH and FSH back into range.

Sex drive was trash while on larger doses but always ramps up the day a shot is due for some reason?

Shbg frequently goes into the mid 60s and estrone in the 90s.

I’m at the point of figuring out how to come off trt and see if the weight will come off then.

Needing suggestions - because my doc is a GP and is very limited on their applicable knowledge.

 

[sammmy]

My guess is, you don't count daily calories and they are too high. It doesn't matter how "clean" they are.

My second guess is that you do way too much exercise daily. That makes you hungrier so sticking to any diet will be impossible. It is much easier to count calories and diet when you DON'T exercise like crazy. Do a moderate workout OR a 1.0-1.5 hour continuous walk but not both on the same day. That will be the only cardio you will ever need. Leave the "daily workout, running, and cross fit" for professional athletes.

If you decide to stop testosterone and your only symptom is fatigue, guarana powder (0.5-1.0 teaspoons daily) is an excellent mild stimulant and anti-depressant. It contains caffeine but is better than it - contains additional compounds and strong anti-oxidants.

 

[Stracy]

My guess is, you don't count daily calories and they are too high. It doesn't matter how "clean" they are.

My second guess is that you do way too much exercise daily. That makes you hungrier so sticking to any diet will be impossible. It is much easier to count calories and diet when you DON'T exercise like crazy. Do a moderate workout OR a 1.0-1.5 hour continuous walk but not both on the same day. That will be the only cardio you will ever need. Leave the "daily workout, running, and cross fit" for professional athletes.

If you decide to stop testosterone and your only symptom is fatigue, guarana powder (0.5-1.0 teaspoons daily) is an excellent mild stimulant and anti-depressant. It contains caffeine but is better than it - contains additional compounds and strong anti-oxidants.

I’ve logged my calories And every single meal and water intake for 30 consecutive days. Macros at 40/30/30. I stayed at or under 1980 cals. This didn’t include any allotment for exercise cals burned. Most days I will get somewhere between 300-400 cals per workout so I’m sitting around 1500 net cals. The weight and water And bloating stay

 

[Dicky]

I guy I know at the gym had a similar problem. He was on Test Cypionate and had loads of bloating and water retention. He fixed his issue by switching from cyp to a different ester. The one he now uses has a blend of short and longer esters. He told me that over a few weeks after he switched, he was urinating all the time as the water weight came off. He thinks that the oil carrier in cypionate might have been causing him inflammation, which brought on the water weight. He now feels much better and is good and lean.

Admittedly, this is a long shot since you already switched to cream from whatever else you were using. But I did want to pass the info along.

I noticed your estrone is out of range high. I'm not smart enough to know if this is a problem or not. But it might be worth looking into. Some guys feel wonky on high E2. So it is within reason to wonder if high estrone could be troubling you.