Crashed Estradiol on TRT - Please Read!!!

[impact55]

Hello,

I am a 48 year old male, 6'0 and weight 205lbs first thing in a.m. on an empty stomach. I have been physically active since I was a teenager. I played sports growing up as well as as a teenager and high school too. I have been in the gym since I was 16 and have stayed very active for the majority of my life. I was diagnosed with "Low T" 2 years ago and was put on a dose of 100/mg of Test Prop - my dose was increased to 150/mg per wee and finally increased to 200/mg per week (divided into 3 shots/week). At 150/mg week and 200/mg per week I was getting itchy nipples and was then put on .5/mg of Arimidex, that did not help so it was raised to 1mg/week.

Fast forward to August 2018 - I woke up one morning and felt like someone/something had taken EVERY bit of life out of me!!! I had zero energy, zero libido, massive anxiety, depression, vision problems and an overall feeling of complete helplessness. The labs I posted below were taken in September 2018, several weeks AFTER my crash. I am now under the care of an Endocrinologist since taking these labs (I wasn't NOT under the care of an Endocrinologist when I started my TRT, I went to a rejuvenation center here in Florida).

I am scheduled for my follow up labs on December 7th and will then meet with my Endocrinologist on December 13th to discuss a TRT protocol moving forward. Since my crash I have not been on any Test or E2. I've been waiting to take my labs on December 7th and then figure out a game plan with my doctor.

Since my crash things have gotten a LITTLE better, but I still have zero libido, vision problems (I had an MRI on my pituitary and it came back NEGATIVE), some anxiety & depression, and recovery from working out w/ weights or any type of cardio has been extremely slow (blown out the day after). I have also stooped all Coffee (caffeine) it seems to bring back my body anxiety level and put me in tail spin for the remainder of the day (coffee never did that to me before my crash - any idea what that hapens to me know?

My QUESTION is, how long will it take for my body to recover from crashing my Estradiol? Is have been almost 4 months and I am still not back to normal. I am hoping that once my Endo puts me back on a TRT protocol and a mild AI if needed (maybe Aromasin) that I should slowly start to feel better. The reason what I stopped the TRT after the crash was b/c I felt TERRIBLE and no longer had faith in what the rejuvenation center was prescribing me. I am hopeful things will get better, but wanted to get your thoughts on my blood work. I will post my new labs after they are taken on 7th. Thank you for taking time to read my thread and please provide and thoughts or feedback, thank you!!!


CBC With Differential/Platelet:

• WBC 5.7 x10E3/uL 3.4 - 10.8
• RBC 5.25 x10E6/uL 4.14 - 5.80
• Hemoglobin 15.9 g/dL 13.0 - 17.7
• Hematocrit 50.3 % 37.5 - 51.0
• MCV 96 fL 79 - 97
• MCH 30.3 pg 26.6 - 33.0
• MCHC 31.6 g/dL 31.5 - 35.7
• RDW 13.2 % 12.3 - 15.4
• Platelets 176 x10E3/uL 150 - 379
• Neutrophils 63 % Not Estab.
• Lymphs 24 % Not Estab.
• Monocytes 7 % Not Estab.
• Eos 5 % Not Estab.
• Basos 1 % Not Estab.
• Neutrophils (Absolute) 3.6 x10E3/uL 1.4 - 7.0
• Lymphs (Absolute) 1.4 x10E3/uL 0.7 - 3.1
• Monocytes(Absolute) 0.4 x10E3/uL 0.1 - 0.9
• Eos (Absolute) 0.3 x10E3/uL 0.0 - 0.4
• Baso (Absolute) 0.1 x10E3/uL 0.0 - 0.2
• Immature Granulocytes 0 % Not Estab.
• Immature Grans (Abs) 0.0 x10E3/uL 0.0 - 0.1

Comp. Metabolic Panel (14):

• Glucose 89 mg/dL 65 - 99
• BUN 16 mg/dL 6 - 24

Creatinine 1.34 High mg/dL 0.76 - 1.27

• eGFR If NonAfricn Am 63 mL/min/1.73 >59
• eGFR If Africn Am 72 mL/min/1.73 >59
• BUN/Creatinine Ratio 12 9 - 20
• Sodium 140 mmol/L 134 - 144
• Potassium 4.8 mmol/L 3.5 - 5.2
• Chloride 98 mmol/L 96 - 106 01
• Carbon Dioxide, Total 27 mmol/L 20 - 29
• Calcium 9.4 mg/dL 8.7 - 10.2
• Protein, Total 6.8 g/dL 6.0 - 8.5
• Albumin 4.5 g/dL 3.5 - 5.5
• Globulin, Total 2.3 g/dL 1.5 - 4.5
• A/G Ratio 2.0 1.2 - 2.2
• Bilirubin, Total 0.7 mg/dL 0.0 - 1.2
• Alkaline Phosphatase 64 IU/L 39 - 117
• AST (SGOT) 25 IU/L 0 - 40
• ALT (SGPT) 16 IU/L 0 - 44

Lipid Panel

• Cholesterol, Total 124 mg/dL 100 - 199
• Triglycerides 57 mg/dL 0 - 149
• HDL Cholesterol 46 mg/dL >39
• VLDL Cholesterol Cal 11 mg/dL 5 - 40
• LDL Cholesterol Calc 67 mg/dL 0 - 99
• Testosterone, Serum 91 Low ng/dL 264 - 916
• Free Testosterone(Direct) 4.2 Low pg/mL 6.8 - 21.5

Dihydrotestosterone 18 Low ng/dL

DHEA-Sulfate 206.7 ug/dL 71.6 - 375.4

DHEA, Serum Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) 276 ng/dL 31 - 701

TSH 1.290 uIU/mL 0.450 - 4.500

Prolactin 16.5 High ng/mL 4.0 - 15.2

Prostate-Specific Ag, Serum/Prostate Specific Ag, Serum 0.5 ng/mL 0.0 - 4.0

IGF-1 - Insulin-Like Growth Factor I 194 ng/mL 67 - 205

Estradiol, Sensitive 5.1 Low pg/mL 8.0 - 35.0

Triiodothyronine (T3), Free 2.7 pg/mL 2.0 - 4.4

T4,Free(Direct) 1.22 ng/dL 0.82 - 1.77

 

[Nelson Vergel]

To be honest, this is one of the most popular topics here and you will find the answers here:

crashed estradiol excelmale.com - Google Search

 

[DragonBits]

I wouldn't have quit injecting Test Prop. Your E2 is 5% of your TT, which is reasonable.

What was your TT level before you started on TRT? Reason I ask, without being on TRT that is the best you can expect to have your TT rise to, and the best you can expect your E2 to be is a reflection of how much testosterone you are producing.

Start back up on testosterone injections, your E2 should also rise. I have no idea why your Prolactin is high.

 

[impact55]

To be honest, this is one of the most popular topics here and you will find the answers here:

crashed estradiol excelmale.com - Google Search

Thank you for reply Nelson! Any thoughts as to why my Prolactin was high?

 

[impact55]

I wouldn't have quit injecting Test Prop. Your E2 is 5% of your TT, which is reasonable.

What was your TT level before you started on TRT? Reason I ask, without being on TRT that is the best you can expect to have your TT rise to, and the best you can expect your E2 to be is a reflection of how much testosterone you are producing.

Start back up on testosterone injections, your E2 should also rise. I have no idea why your Prolactin is high.

Thank you for the reply DragonBits! Before I started TRT I was tested at 423 ng/dl.

 

[Vince Carter]

Prolactin can be elevated if you had sex/orgasm/etc within a 48hr window prior to your blood draw.

 

[impact55]

Prolactin can be elevated if you had sex/orgasm/etc within a 48hr window prior to your blood draw.

Thank you Vince!

 

[lowe2sucks]

everybody is different in recovery time some some say its few weeks for them, some say its few months, me and few other fellas never recovered 100%, dr crisler said he s seen cases where things never got better

 

[fifty]

You’ll be fine once you see your endo. Don’t listen to the gloom & doomers. You’ll feel better when you get your T, DHT, and E out of the toilet.

 

[Systemlord]

Anastrozole destroyed me even on tiny doses even though E2 wasn't anywhere near crashed, aromasin is milder and slower acting. Aromasin take about 3 days to take full affect, perfect for dosing twice weekly.

Always start out on lower doses to see how you tolerate aromasin, gradually increasing the dosage as it can take weeks for levels to find a new balance as the half lives builds up in your system.

Moving too fast always ends in misery.

Stopping TRT means you're not making more estrogen if testosterone goes to zero, so I wouldn't expect estrogen to come back up anytime soon. You need testosterone to produce more estrogen.

More often than not endocrinologist usually don't specialize in TRT, so take this time to educate yourself so you can vet him/her.

 

[Tgrappler]

it's been about two months since i crashed my E2. i don't have the labs to prove it, but my doc gave me 1mg anastrazole to take EOD. it was a huge dose, now that i know more about it.

i am still not recovered. depression, anxiety and just overall feeling of being barely alive has been extremely debilitating. for an entire month i could not sleep, waking up with hot flashes, profusely sweating and heart rate in the 100 - 105 range (that's supposedly while sleeping).

crashed E2 is the worst experience i have ever gone through. unfortunately i had some pre-existing issues with anxiety which probably added to the condition, but during the first phase of my treatment without taking any AI i felt marginally better.

i did my last lab work about 7 days ago and still waiting for the results to see where numbers are.

the only thing i can say, that from my experience it takes at least 6 weeks to start feeling a little better. i am still struggling, but it's nothing like a month ago. i am sleeping better and anxiety is a lot less... depression is nearly gone, but i've never really been depressed. not surprising to start feeling depressed when you can't sleep, eat or function.

 

[Gman86]

The answer is extremely simple for you. Just get back on testosterone asap at a low dose. I would start off at 100mg per week. No ai. Then get labs done after about 6 weeks and see where your levels are. Make sure to add SHBG to the labs. The fact that you were injecting 3x/ week is good. You could also inject EOD. Not much difference between the two. Whichever works better with your lifestyle. But either is a good frequency to keep estrogen at a minimum.

Then reassess things after the 6 weeks based off of labs. You shouldn’t experience any nipple sensitivity/ itchiness on 100mg per week.

Your DHEA and free T3 are also low, and should be addressed, but don’t want to throw too much at you at once. Those are definitely things you want to bring up with the Endo though. And I wouldn’t worry about the high prolactin unless it comes back elevated again on your next set of labs.

 

[impact55]

it's been about two months since i crashed my E2. i don't have the labs to prove it, but my doc gave me 1mg anastrazole to take EOD. it was a huge dose, now that i know more about it.

i am still not recovered. depression, anxiety and just overall feeling of being barely alive has been extremely debilitating. for an entire month i could not sleep, waking up with hot flashes, profusely sweating and heart rate in the 100 - 105 range (that's supposedly while sleeping).

crashed E2 is the worst experience i have ever gone through. unfortunately i had some pre-existing issues with anxiety which probably added to the condition, but during the first phase of my treatment without taking any AI i felt marginally better.

i did my last lab work about 7 days ago and still waiting for the results to see where numbers are.

the only thing i can say, that from my experience it takes at least 6 weeks to start feeling a little better. i am still struggling, but it's nothing like a month ago. i am sleeping better and anxiety is a lot less... depression is nearly gone, but i've never really been depressed. not surprising to start feeling depressed when you can't sleep, eat or function.

Thank you for taking time out to reply!!

 

[impact55]

The answer is extremely simple for you. Just get back on testosterone asap at a low dose. I would start off at 100mg per week. No ai. Then get labs done after about 6 weeks and see where your levels are. Make sure to add SHBG to the labs. The fact that you were injecting 3x/ week is good. You could also inject EOD. Not much difference between the two. Whichever works better with your lifestyle. But either is a good frequency to keep estrogen at a minimum.

Then reassess things after the 6 weeks based off of labs. You shouldn’t experience any nipple sensitivity/ itchiness on 100mg per week.

Your DHEA and free T3 are also low, and should be addressed, but don’t want to throw too much at you at once. Those are definitely things you want to bring up with the Endo though. And I wouldn’t worry about the high prolactin unless it comes back elevated again on your next set of labs.

Thank you Gman86 for the reply and info!

 

[impact55]

Prolactin can be elevated if you had sex/orgasm/etc within a 48hr window prior to your blood draw.

Thank you for the info!

 

[impact55]

everybody is different in recovery time some some say its few weeks for them, some say its few months, me and few other fellas never recovered 100%, dr crisler said he s seen cases where things never got better

Thank you for the reply and info!

 

[impact55]

You’ll be fine once you see your endo. Don’t listen to the gloom & doomers. You’ll feel better when you get your T, DHT, and E out of the toilet.

Thank you Fifty for the reply!!

 

[impact55]

Anastrozole destroyed me even on tiny doses even though E2 wasn't anywhere near crashed, aromasin is milder and slower acting. Aromasin take about 3 days to take full affect, perfect for dosing twice weekly.

Always start out on lower doses to see how you tolerate aromasin, gradually increasing the dosage as it can take weeks for levels to find a new balance as the half lives builds up in your system.

Moving too fast always ends in misery.

Stopping TRT means you're not making more estrogen if testosterone goes to zero, so I wouldn't expect estrogen to come back up anytime soon. You need testosterone to produce more estrogen.

More often than not endocrinologist usually don't specialize in TRT, so take this time to educate yourself so you can vet him/her.

Thank you Systemlord for the reply!

 

[impact55]

it's been about two months since i crashed my E2. i don't have the labs to prove it, but my doc gave me 1mg anastrazole to take EOD. it was a huge dose, now that i know more about it.

i am still not recovered. depression, anxiety and just overall feeling of being barely alive has been extremely debilitating. for an entire month i could not sleep, waking up with hot flashes, profusely sweating and heart rate in the 100 - 105 range (that's supposedly while sleeping).

crashed E2 is the worst experience i have ever gone through. unfortunately i had some pre-existing issues with anxiety which probably added to the condition, but during the first phase of my treatment without taking any AI i felt marginally better.

i did my last lab work about 7 days ago and still waiting for the results to see where numbers are.

the only thing i can say, that from my experience it takes at least 6 weeks to start feeling a little better. i am still struggling, but it's nothing like a month ago. i am sleeping better and anxiety is a lot less... depression is nearly gone, but i've never really been depressed. not surprising to start feeling depressed when you can't sleep, eat or function.

Thank you for the reply Tgrappler!

 

[impact55]

The answer is extremely simple for you. Just get back on testosterone asap at a low dose. I would start off at 100mg per week. No ai. Then get labs done after about 6 weeks and see where your levels are. Make sure to add SHBG to the labs. The fact that you were injecting 3x/ week is good. You could also inject EOD. Not much difference between the two. Whichever works better with your lifestyle. But either is a good frequency to keep estrogen at a minimum.

Then reassess things after the 6 weeks based off of labs. You shouldn’t experience any nipple sensitivity/ itchiness on 100mg per week.

Your DHEA and free T3 are also low, and should be addressed, but don’t want to throw too much at you at once. Those are definitely things you want to bring up with the Endo though. And I wouldn’t worry about the high prolactin unless it comes back elevated again on your next set of labs.

Gman, as a follow up to your reply, do you have any idea what Endos typically give to increase DHEA amd Free T3? Also, with regard to future Blood Tests I will be taking - in addition to SHGB, what are the other “key” things I should continue to get tested? Thank you!!