How often to do blood tests

[Jayko]

Hi All,

Sorry this may have already been posted, but I've been searching for a bit and did not find anything on this. My question is how long should I go between blood tests. Quick snapshot, the first appt with this doctor was in August levels were below 200, he put me on 100mg per week for 2 months. Went back in October and my levels were around 500 after two months so he upped my dose to 140mg a week. He said my Hematocrit rose but he wasn't concered, so he said see you in 6 months, my next appointment is in April.

I'm loving things so far, my libido is back so is energy and the gym is great (I'm 34 years old). The only thing I'm noticing is my skin is pretty red and flushed, and I have a bit of a temper sometimes. I'm starting to worry that the red skin may be from a rise in Hematocrit . My question to you is should I be waiting 6 months to get blood work again? Or is there a better protocol. He said I can make an appointment at anytime if I notice any changes or get concerned.

Thanks for this site, I do not post much because I can usually find my questions answered in a previous post, but the knowledge on here is amazing.

 

[Vince Carter]

You can get all the blood tests you can afford with discountedlabs.com, there's no reason to wait 6 months. If you're looking to make changes to your hormone protocol, testing at 4-6 week intervals is recommended before making any change to your T or HCG, etc etc

 

[CoastWatcher]

As Vince noted, self testing puts you in complete control of your treatment. I would stress, as he did, that you patiently wait four to six weeks following ANY change to your protocol before testing.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Here is a basic schedule of blood tests:



More information here: Blood Tests Needed Before and During Testosterone Replacement Therapy

 

[Jayko]

Thanks everybody, this is really helpful. Great chart Nelson that is exactly what I was looking for. I think my doc is a good doc and is doing the right thing, I guess I just got worried about the flushing and red blood count. It's great to know about discountedlabs.com and I will look into it!

On another note regarding tests, I had a MRI done when I first was tested (my testosterone was below 10!) and my LH and FSH were low. Prolactin was fine, but they wanted to rule out a pit tumor. MRI came back clean. Is there any protocol to have a second MRI if a restart doesn't work after 1 year on TRT? Or will I just be diagnosed with secondary hypogonadism and be on TRT for life?

 

[CoastWatcher]

Thanks everybody, this is really helpful. Great chart Nelson that is exactly what I was looking for. I think my doc is a good doc and is doing the right thing, I guess I just got worried about the flushing and red blood count. It's great to know about discountedlabs.com and I will look into it!

On another note regarding tests, I had a MRI done when I first was tested (my testosterone was below 10!) and my LH and FSH were low. Prolactin was fine, but they wanted to rule out a pit tumor. MRI came back clean. Is there any protocol to have a second MRI if a restart doesn't work after 1 year on TRT? Or will I just be diagnosed with secondary hypogonadism and be on TRT for life?

If you don't have a tumour now, you won't have one in 12 months.

 

[Vince]

Hi All,

Sorry this may have already been posted, but I've been searching for a bit and did not find anything on this. My question is how long should I go between blood tests. Quick snapshot, the first appt with this doctor was in August levels were below 200, he put me on 100mg per week for 2 months. Went back in October and my levels were around 500 after two months so he upped my dose to 140mg a week. He said my Hematocrit rose but he wasn't concered, so he said see you in 6 months, my next appointment is in April.
I'm loving things so far, my libido is back so is energy and the gym is great (I'm 34 years old). The only thing I'm noticing is my skin is pretty red and flushed, and I have a bit of a temper sometimes. I'm starting to worry that the red skin may be from a rise in Hematocrit . My question to you is should I be waiting 6 months to get blood work again? Or is there a better protocol. He said I can make an appointment at anytime if I notice any changes or get concerned.

Thanks for this site, I do not post much because I can usually find my questions answered in a previous post, but the knowledge on here is amazing.

when I first started TRT, I had my testosterone panel after 12 weeks, now I have it every six months. That schedule is working great for me.

 

[Jayko]

Thanks for the feedback again, I'm not an expert, but CoastWatcher, am I not correct that pit tumors go undiagnosed from MRI because of their size?. I may be the minority in this forum, I don't know, but I'm only 34, athletic build little fat, eat okay, excersise, always been horny as hell, no drugs or steriods prior, and I had what I expect a sudden drop in testosterone. A sudden drop that left with me with less than 10 ng/dL. Not sure, but things got messed up pretty quickly and I noticed the difference in my mental and physical status. I guess I'm searching for answers, but from my research maybe I never will. Anyhow, no beef CoastWatcher but I'm just confused as anybody on here as to why this has happened to me, maybe I'll never know. I'll keep reading and educating myself and thanks for all of your expert advice.

 

[CoastWatcher]

Thanks for the feedback again, I'm not an expert, but CoastWatcher, am I not correct that pit tumors go undiagnosed from MRI because of their size?. I may be the minority in this forum, I don't know, but I'm only 34, athletic build little fat, eat okay, excersise, always been horny as hell, no drugs or steriods prior, and I had what I expect a sudden drop in testosterone. A sudden drop that left with me with less than 10 ng/dL. Not sure, but things got messed up pretty quickly and I noticed the difference in my mental and physical status. I guess I'm searching for answers, but from my research maybe I never will. Anyhow, no beef CoastWatcher but I'm just confused as anybody on here as to why this has happened to me, maybe I'll never know. I'll keep reading and educating myself and thanks for all of your expert advice.

Keep an eye on your prolactin if this is a concern. Wasn't it "in range" initially?