After 8 weeks on TRT - do these numbers look ok?

[seppuku]

So after years of having private blood tests and trying to improve my levels naturally, i finally took the plunge just over 8 weeks ago and started on self prescribed replacement (i know, not the best way to go about things but i'm on it now).

My last blood draw done back in June came back at 8.1 nmol/l (233 ng/dl). My free test was 0.148 nmol/l (4.3 ng/dl). Previous tests since 2018 have no varied much from that. So, since the 28th Sept, i have been injecting 120mg of test-e, split into two doses of 60mg, Sun and Wed. I had blood drawn last Wednesday before that days jab, so a trough reading as much as it can be seeing i split the dose over two days. Here are the results i had back today - do they look ok for a trough reading, or too high? That e2 readling looks a bit high, but after doing a bit of converting i work it out to around 2% of my total test (is that a good ratio?)

PS - i'm in the UK so those figures in mrs USA friendly numbers look more like this:

Total test - 856 ng/dl
Free test - 19 ng/dl
E2 - 74 pg/ml

 

[sammmy]

It is too high if your through levels are above the normal ranges, imagine where your peak levels are. You have to monitor your Hematocrit too.

You may wanna try 80mg /week, split in too doses.

 

[seppuku]

It is too high if your through levels are above the normal ranges, imagine where your peak levels are. You have to monitor your Hematocrit too.

You may wanna try 80mg /week, split in too doses.

Thanks, that's what i was thinking too. It's a bit tricky measuring as the concentration of test-e i have is 300 mg/ml (so it was easy measuring 60mg as it's 0.2 on the syringe). I think if i draw up a bit less than 0.2 then i'll be getting somewhere around 50mg per shot. I'll try that, thanks for replying.

 

[Systemlord]

So after years of having private blood tests and trying to improve my levels naturally

Do my numbers look ok?

Numbers are only part of the picture, how do you feel?

Do you have at least some symptom resolution?

 

[Cataceous]

With twice-weekly injections, peak testosterone can be 40-50% higher than trough values. I agree with @sammy: 80 mg per week would be more reasonable—2 x 40 mg. Your estradiol is about 0.9% of testosterone. This is quite high, considering it's typically 0.3-0.6%. Apparently you have plenty of aromatase—or else inflammation that's falsely inflating an immunoassay-based measurement. Even if the elevated estradiol isn't—yet—causing problems, it may be helping to push up your prolactin. Some men experience problems sooner or later at these levels.

It's a minor nuisance, but if you're stuck with 300 mg/mL TE then you might consider diluting it for better precision. This would involve transferring some to a new sterile vial along with some carrier oil and benzyl alcohol.

 

[seppuku]

Numbers are only part of the picture, how do you feel?

Do you have at least some symptom resolution?

I'll be honest, i've noticed very little at all, no mentally or physically. This could be though because i'm currently spending my days sat at home doing very little (I lost my job the same day i decided to put myself on trt. Also, i'm waiting for the NHS to give me a double hip replacement, and i'm now very limited in what physical activity i can do). I'll post up my previous bloodwork in a minute - my e2 on that one was BELOW range, and i was starting to worry that might have had something to do with my current arthritic condition. The NHS take no interest in e2 levels in men, i showed the blood results to my GP and she said "oh that doesn't matter in men".....

 

[seppuku]

With twice-weekly injections, peak testosterone can be 40-50% higher than trough values. I agree with @sammy: 80 mg per week would be more reasonable—2 x 40 mg. Your estradiol is about 0.9% of testosterone. This is quite high, considering it's typically 0.3-0.6%. Apparently you have plenty of aromatase—or else inflammation that's falsely inflating an immunoassay-based measurement. Even if the elevated estradiol isn't—yet—causing problems, it may be helping to push up your prolactin. Some men experience problems sooner or later at these levels.

It's a minor nuisance, but if you're stuck with 300 mg/mL TE then you might consider diluting it for better precision. This would involve transferring some to a new sterile vial along with some carrier oil and benzyl alcohol.

I've just had a quick look at the syringes i've got, and actually it won't be any trouble measuring smaller amounts as each 0.1ml mark is further divided by 5 so each mark would be 6mg test, making it fairly easy to get 48 or 54mg per shot.

Regarding my aromatase levels - i do indeed have a lot of inflammation goung on right now due to my hip arthritis. I'm on a few meds for this, amitriptiline, paracetamol and occasional codeine. I've recently started ramipril too for blood pressure. Not sure if these meds could affect aromatase?

Also, something i didn't mention - i take (and have done for years) dhea and pregnenolone each morning. I usually hold 25mg dhea and about the same amount of preg under the tongue for a few minutes before swallowing. Could these have affected my e2 levels, more so now that i'm on injected testosterone?

Lastly, due to postal strikes here in the UK, my blood sample took six days to get to the lab for testing - could that skew things in any way?

I do agree though that a reduction in dosage seems a sensible thing to do, and i'll start with that

 

[seppuku]

These were my blood results from June this year:

 

[Systemlord]

This could be though because i'm currently spending my days sat at home doing very little (I lost my job the same day i decided to put myself on trt.

A lot of guys have metabolic syndrome/obesity which lead to the low-T, fixing this with TRT alone may not be enough.

TRT is a tool for a healthy mind and body, so if you don't use it, you may not reap the full benefits.

 

[Cataceous]

...
Regarding my aromatase levels - i do indeed have a lot of inflammation goung on right now due to my hip arthritis. I'm on a few meds for this, amitriptiline, paracetamol and occasional codeine. I've recently started ramipril too for blood pressure. Not sure if these meds could affect aromatase?

Also, something i didn't mention - i take (and have done for years) dhea and pregnenolone each morning. I usually hold 25mg dhea and about the same amount of preg under the tongue for a few minutes before swallowing. Could these have affected my e2 levels, more so now that i'm on injected testosterone?

Lastly, due to postal strikes here in the UK, my blood sample took six days to get to the lab for testing - could that skew things in any way?
...

The inflammatory effect I was referring to is reflected in an increase in C-reactive protein. Immunoassay-based estradiol tests tend to be cross-reactive to CRP. Normally CRP is low enough for this interference to be negligible. But when CRP is elevated then estradiol results may be falsely elevated. You could test CRP when you next have lab work to rule out this interference. I don't know if those drugs you mention have effects on aromatase.

Although I'm doubtful, it is at least possible that higher DHEA and PREG could contribute to higher estradiol. Studies on DHEA supplementation are mixed on that—and I don't think any of them looked at the altered hormonal environment of TRT.

I'm uncertain what effect the delay in testing would have on your blood sample. You'll get a better idea with subsequent tests, even if dosing and other parameters vary. I always remind myself to never have too much confidence in the results of a single test.