Feedback on 8 week blood work

[xqfq]

Hi folks-

I've loved reading this forum over the past several weeks. Thanks to everyone who participates (and to Nelson!!) I'd love some feedback on my recent lab work. I started TRT with the following protocol:

120mg testosterone enanthate MWF (40mg per injection)
250 IU HCG MF

I space out my MWF injections so they're 56 hours apart (evenly spaced through the week - e.g. M 7AM, W 3PM, F 11PM). I am doing subq injections in the glute with an insulin needle.

I got some premature blood work done, 4 weeks in, and my levels were:

TT: 447 ng/DL (264 - 916)
Free T: 8.18 ng/dL (5 - 21)
E2, sensitive: 18.7 pg/mL (8-35)

I know this was a premature blood draw but I was curious as I wasn't feeling very good, at times almost worse than before TRT. The blood draw was taken on a Friday at 5PM, a few hours before my next Friday injection.

My physician then bumped me up slightly to 150mg testosterone enanthate (50mg per injection). At 7 weeks into TRT (two Fridays ago) I got another blood draw as I was curious. This was done at 5PM and I inject on Friday at 11PM. Results were:

SHBG: 48 (16.5-55.9 nmol/L).
TT: 1458 ng/dL (264 - 916)
Free T: 30pg/mL (8.7 - 25.1)

As much as people say that you should get a blood draw shortly before your next injection, I doubted this was my "trough" value because I wasn't feeling that good most of the time. So the following week I had another blood test done, this time on Thursday around ~24 hours after my wednesday testosterone-only injection. I figured this may be my true "trough". My results were:

TT: 826 ng/dL (264 - 916)
Free T: 10.3 pg/mL (8.7 - 25.1)

---

Symptom wise I feel okay, certainly better than I did pre-TRT. Morning erections have returned after many years of absence and I have slightly more energy in the gym. But I really only feel 'great' 2 days out of the week. My libido is good for about 8 hours after injecting HCG but is otherwise largely the same as it was pre-TRT.

I'm wondering if there's a change in my protocol that would give me better results. Perhaps a larger injection with less frequency due to high SHBG? Or perhaps slightly more HCG or T? I'd love anyone's input here.

I've also read (on this forum- thank you guys!) that over time SHBG may go down. So it may just be an issue of waiting a while for my Free T to rise?

 

[Vince]

I would probably do Labs on Monday morning before you inject. I think that would be the best trough level.

 

[Systemlord]

You need to be consistent when drawing labs, if you don't then your labs will be inconsistent.

 

[CoastWatcher]

Make no changes, none at all, until you have drawn labs at a consistent time relative to an injection. The point @Vince makes about Monday morning is worthwhile. If your doctor won't order labs as often as you want, or you can't persuade him/her to test appropriately, you can use www.discountedlabs.com. Reasonable prices and all LabCorp performs all lab work.

 

[xqfq]

Thanks guys. I'm not confused about the inconsistent readings - it makes sense that given they're taken at different times they're different values. I got the additional blood reading because I wanted a better picture of my levels throughout the week, and I didn't want my doctor to think my "peak" was my "trough."

But I am surprised that the oft-mentioned "trough" before an injection may not be the trough, at least for me. Perhaps because of subq the testosterone is released more slowly?

 

[Cataceous]

I'm a little surprised at the amount of the inconsistency. Injecting T enanthate subQ EOD I had total testosterone of about 750-800 ng/dL no matter when I tested, and that's with SHBG closer to 30 nmol/L. In any case, I would have to chalk this up in part to an extra long "settling-in" period. I'd figure testosterone enanthate injected subQ may have a half life of 10-12 days with your above-average SHBG. So five half lives could mean at least a couple months for things to settle down.

This article may be helpful: Onset of effects of testosterone treatment and time span until maximum effects are achieved

 

[xqfq]

Thanks for that time span link, it's very interesting!

I definitely think the subq method had a longer 'settling-in' period which accounted for the very low initial test.

For members who've done subq, I'd be curious to learn where, relative to an injection, their 'peak' and 'trough' lay.