Advice on reducing test dosage

[xibxang]

Hi all,

I'd like some advice on reducing my testosterone dosage. Please by all means, treat me like the idiot I am because I still have much to learn. Below is my latest blood test results (as of yesterday).

Testosterone translates to 946ng/dl and E2 to 31.3 pg/ml. From what I understand, this means a ratio of 30:1 which is outwith the recommended 14-20:1 (my libido's been in the gutter for the past few weeks and I'm assuming this ratio could explain why). However, I've been using an AI which I really can't get the hang of, so this ratio is "artificially" incorrect, and it's one of the reasons why I want to reduce my dosage.

My current protocol is 70mg of test cypionate every 3.5 days with 0.25mg of Anastrozole at the same frequency. I'm 48 years old, 6 foot 3 and 209lbs. I lift weights and do a bit of cardio five times per week. I eat mainly clean and I drink 2-3 litres of water per day. My hematocrit is 46 and my PSA is 0.62.

The main reason why I want to lower my dose is because I feel "over-charged" and anxious most of the time. I'd like to find a comfortable level where I don't have to use an AI and I can let my body take care of my T:E2 ratio by itself (if it can), and maybe I can feel a bit less wired day-to-day.

I'm not really sure where to go from here and I was wondering if you guys might be able to offer some pointers. If I wanted to reduce my total T level to, say, 700-800ng/dl and then assess how that feels, how should I go about lowering my dose? Should I taper it gradually? How much should I lower my testosterone intake by?

Any advice and/or guidance would be really appreciated. When I first started TRT I was very much a "Wayhey! The more the better!" type of idiot, but now I'm actually managing to learn a thing or two about it all, which is why I'm coming to you guys for some advice.

 

[RonMexico]

I have been on TRT for 5 years. I fully get the less is more thing. However, I think you need go change your mindset on labs. First off, adjust dose based on how you feel. Labs can just the doctor and you on decisions.

Less is more for me. My total t is in the mid to high range. My free t is on the lower end. I feel fantastic. At one point my free t was double the high end. I felt terrible.

Follow you intuition and lower you dose a bit. 10% maybe?

 

[xibxang]

However, I think you need go change your mindset on labs. First off, adjust dose based on how you feel. Labs can just the doctor and you on decisions.

Many thanks for your reply.

Yeah sorry, I maybe didn't make it clear. The numbers on my blood test aren't my be-all, end-all. My main issue is that I almost constantly feel nervous and jittery. This is why I want to reduce my dosage.

I'll try a 10% reduction in dosage and see how it feels alongside a blood test at 12 weeks. Thanks again for your input.

 

[Vince]

Hi all,

I'd like some advice on reducing my testosterone dosage. Please by all means, treat me like the idiot I am because I still have much to learn. Below is my latest blood test results (as of yesterday).

View attachment 17939

Testosterone translates to 946ng/dl and E2 to 31.3 pg/ml. From what I understand, this means a ratio of 30:1 which is outwith the recommended 14-20:1 (my libido's been in the gutter for the past few weeks and I'm assuming this ratio could explain why). However, I've been using an AI which I really can't get the hang of, so this ratio is "artificially" incorrect, and it's one of the reasons why I want to reduce my dosage.

My current protocol is 70mg of test cypionate every 3.5 days with 0.25mg of Anastrozole at the same frequency. I'm 48 years old, 6 foot 3 and 209lbs. I lift weights and do a bit of cardio five times per week. I eat mainly clean and I drink 2-3 litres of water per day. My hematocrit is 46 and my PSA is 0.62.

The main reason why I want to lower my dose is because I feel "over-charged" and anxious most of the time. I'd like to find a comfortable level where I don't have to use an AI and I can let my body take care of my T:E2 ratio by itself (if it can), and maybe I can feel a bit less wired day-to-day.

I'm not really sure where to go from here and I was wondering if you guys might be able to offer some pointers. If I wanted to reduce my total T level to, say, 700-800ng/dl and then assess how that feels, how should I go about lowering my dose? Should I taper it gradually? How much should I lower my testosterone intake by?

Any advice and/or guidance would be really appreciated. When I first started TRT I was very much a "Wayhey! The more the better!" type of idiot, but now I'm actually managing to learn a thing or two about it all, which is why I'm coming to you guys for some advice.

My two cents is, just drop the AI and see what happens.

 

[MarcoFL]

I have been on 100,120,150 and 180mg per week along with anastrozole now at 12mg per day and feeling way better! One thing younger guys need to remember the rest of your life could be a long time to be overdoing it! I think so many are pushing hoping for something that just does not exist in higher doses. LESS is BETTER in most cases.

 

[xibxang]

I have been on 100,120,150 and 180mg per week along with anastrozole now at 12mg per day and feeling way better! One thing younger guys need to remember the rest of your life could be a long time to be overdoing it! I think so many are pushing hoping for something that just does not exist in higher doses. LESS is BETTER in most cases.

"Less is better" is something I'm leaning towards more and more these days. Physically I feel great but from the moment I wake up (which is usually before my alarm clock) to the moment I go to bed, I feel quite wired. It's only recently that I learned that testosterone can over-stimulate the central nervous system, causing a feeling of anxiety.

I had initially put this down to (it was more of a guess actually) my E2 being too high, like I might be sensitive to it or something, but now that I've spent a bit of time reading this forum, I'm beginning to think (well, it's another guess) that my testosterone dosage might be too high.

I've decided to drop my dose from 70mg to 60mg every 3.5 days and in 12 weeks I'll assess how I feel along with another blood test. I'll take somewhat of a long view of it all, and explore going lower over time (without rushing things, obviously)

Anxiety and I are old, old friends. I say we're friends but at this point I'm sick of it, coming into my daily routines and taking over all of my plans. I'd like to get it out of my life.

 

[Cataceous]

Dropping to 120 mg TC per week is a step in the right direction. But keep in mind that this dose is still borderline supraphysiogical. It's providing 12 mg of testosterone per day on average. Meantime, the average healthy young man produces 6-7 mg per day. The normal production range is 3-9 mg.

The forums tend to give a skewed impression of things. If you look at Xyosted, a relatively new FDA-approved product, you'll see that the starting dosage is 75 mg of testosterone enanthate per week. Based on lab work you either drop to 50 mg per week or go up to 100 mg per week. There's no higher dose.

If you measured your testosterone at a pre-injection trough then be aware that peak serum levels could be as much as 50% higher. This would be pushing 1,500 ng/dL in your case.

There are cases where guys feel better at higher doses. However, feeling good does not preclude possible long-term harm from running testosterone higher than is natural for your body.

Here's my compilation of links related to lowering the dose:

Anyone combine injections and cream? How do you feel?

I’m a long term TRT patient, 39 years old. I’ve been on cypionate and inject a total of 154mg weekly in EOD subQ shots of 44mg each. I have been doing some thinking about the potential benefit of keeping dosing the same but experimenting with using a low cypionate base around 80-100mg weekly...

www.excelmale.com

Anyone combine injections and cream? How do you feel?

I’m a long term TRT patient, 39 years old. I’ve been on cypionate and inject a total of 154mg weekly in EOD subQ shots of 44mg each. I have been doing some thinking about the potential benefit of keeping dosing the same but experimenting with using a low cypionate base around 80-100mg weekly...

www.excelmale.com

Anyone combine injections and cream? How do you feel?

Interesting anecdote. I’m curious what what your SHBG and current protocol are? @JoeMatts im curious for this as well

www.excelmale.com

Hello, 60yo starting TRT.

Hi All. I'm 60yo, lucky with relatively few health problems so far. Total T 350-400. After about a year of research/consideration, about to start TRT, plan is just Test C, 150mg per week separated into two subq injections/week into delts/VGs, draw/inject using 29G 1ml. Get labs in ~8 weeks...

www.excelmale.com

Have you ever DECREASED your dose?

Hey guys. I've only been on TRT for about 9 months. I'm on Test Cyp 100 mg Q3.5d with 350iU of HCG IM. I recently (this week) lowered my Anastrozole from 0.5 mg on injection days to 0.25mg to see how it will effect me (side effects, changes in libido, and also then lab values). ****I'm happy...

www.excelmale.com

Hello, 60yo starting TRT.

Hi All. I'm 60yo, lucky with relatively few health problems so far. Total T 350-400. After about a year of research/consideration, about to start TRT, plan is just Test C, 150mg per week separated into two subq injections/week into delts/VGs, draw/inject using 29G 1ml. Get labs in ~8 weeks...

www.excelmale.com

TRT patient feeling better after lowering my prescribed dose

Hey Guys, Hope all's well and Happy 4th! I'm looking for feedback. As a young male battling ED and low T, hopefully sharing my experience on what worked helps someone too. Almost 32 now and I use to have severe ED as long as I can remember, maybe late teens. No clue on cause. Maybe it's...

www.excelmale.com

Dose Change Side Effects

Hi guys, I just switched to a daily protocol of 24mg after spending a few weeks on 100mg E3D. This E3D protocol kicked the shit out of me, I dont think I respond well to having so much T at one time. The anxiety and thoughts were nightmarish plus the lethagy is real. Is there anything that...

www.excelmale.com

 

[xibxang]

Here's my compilation of links related to lowering the dose:

Thanks you so much for your reply and the links. This is exactly the type of information I was looking for.

 

[Fortunate]

@xibxang, I'll throw in my two cents. I, too, have struggled with a feeling of overstimulation/anxiety with various TRT protocols. For much of the last several years, I have been on Natesto, which has tons of upsides and some downsides. Over the past year or so, I have been trying to answer the very elusive question: is there are better protocol (better to be defined as convenient, with all the benefits of TRT and minimal side effects)?

I tried cream several times and it made me incredibly anxious. More recently, I have been on Xyosted 100mg/week. Feel great on front end of the week and tire out on the back end. I also got a terrible acne flare with the high dose. So, I figured out a way to get an Rx for the Xyosted 50mg dose, but use it twice a week (applying the concept that split dosing reduces peaks and valleys and mitigates side effects). Even on this schedule, I am feeling anxious and jittery. I even think it has raised my blood pressure. Unfortunately, I have only been tracking blood pressure recently, but I have a hunch it's elevated from Xyosted (which is testosterone enanthate).

So, like you, I think my system wants some middle of the road levels of testosterone. Too little = low T symptoms; Too high = jittery/anxious/heart palpitations, etc.

I am considering changing my dosing schedule to something unconventional (conventional being defined as weekly, every 3.5 days, daily, EOD, etc), like 50mg every five days or so to see if that helps. Alternatively, I may go back on Natesto, give it 12 weeks and track symptoms and blood pressure. I don't want to hijack the OP's original questions, but if anyone here has tried an unconventional dosing schedule, please chime in with your experience.

If you haven't hear of Natesto, I would definitely place it in your toolbox as an option you might consider down the road.

 

[newuser]

@xibxang, I'll throw in my two cents. I, too, have struggled with a feeling of overstimulation/anxiety with various TRT protocols. For much of the last several years, I have been on Natesto, which has tons of upsides and some downsides. Over the past year or so, I have been trying to answer the very elusive question: is there are better protocol (better to be defined as convenient, with all the benefits of TRT and minimal side effects)?

I tried cream several times and it made me incredibly anxious. More recently, I have been on Xyosted 100mg/week. Feel great on front end of the week and tire out on the back end. I also got a terrible acne flare with the high dose. So, I figured out a way to get an Rx for the Xyosted 50mg dose, but use it twice a week (applying the concept that split dosing reduces peaks and valleys and mitigates side effects). Even on this schedule, I am feeling anxious and jittery. I even think it has raised my blood pressure. Unfortunately, I have only been tracking blood pressure recently, but I have a hunch it's elevated from Xyosted (which is testosterone enanthate).

So, like you, I think my system wants some middle of the road levels of testosterone. Too little = low T symptoms; Too high = jittery/anxious/heart palpitations, etc.

I am considering changing my dosing schedule to something unconventional (conventional being defined as weekly, every 3.5 days, daily, EOD, etc), like 50mg every five days or so to see if that helps. Alternatively, I may go back on Natesto, give it 12 weeks and track symptoms and blood pressure. I don't want to hijack the OP's original questions, but if anyone here has tried an unconventional dosing schedule, please chime in with your experience.

If you haven't hear of Natesto, I would definitely place it in your toolbox as an option you might consider down the road.

Have you tried to combine with pregnenolone or progesterone or DHEA to your TRT? I noticed if I take small dose 1mg pregnenolone with DHEA (1:1) (EOD) to my any form TRT my anxiety decreases significantly. With just progesterone, decreases but just with once a week dosing. Regular progesterone dosing makes me depressed, kills libido and increases anxiety.

 

[Willyt]

Where

Have you tried to combine with pregnenolone or progesterone or DHEA to your TRT? I noticed if I take small dose 1mg pregnenolone with DHEA (1:1) (EOD) to my any form TRT my anxiety decreases significantly. With just progesterone, decreases but just with once a week dosing. Regular progesterone dosing makes me depressed, kills libido and increases anxiety.

Where did you find pregnenolone 1mg dose? Lowest I could find is 5mg

 

[newuser]

Where

Where did you find pregnenolone 1mg dose? Lowest I could find is 5mg

I have bought 99.3% powdered pregnenolone and dissolved in alcohol for transdermal application. You can dissolve up to 22mg/ml in alcohol or DMSO if you want to potentiate it.