TestOneTwo
Active Member
Gents,
I’d love to get some input on this. I’ve started TRT 3 months ago.
43, fairly healthy, lifting 4 times a week.
Baseline:
BP 120/72
TT 275 (264-916)
FT 12.5 (6.8-21.5)
E2, SENSITIVE 10.6 (8-35)
SHBG 25.7 (16.5-55.9)
HCT 45.1 (37.5-51)
TRIGLYCERIDES 117 (0-149)
HDL 35 (39- ?)
LDL 116 (0-99)
Yup, low SBHG, of course. After hours of reading posts in this forum I came to the conclusion that this is a not such an uncommon situation at all and that it seems to affect more people than one would think. It could also just be a search bias on my behalf so I’m not entirely sure.
Anyway, 3 months in:
BP 123/71
TT 622 (264-916)
FT 25.1 (6.8-21.5)
E2, SENSITIVE 24.4 (8-35)
SHBG 15.4 (16.5-55.9)
HCT 51.7 (37.5-51)
TRIGLYCERIDES 175 (0-149)
HDL 37 (39- ?)
LDL 117 (0-99)
Protocol: 140mg TC/week, 70mg E3D. That‘s it. It‘s a prudent approach since I want to know how each substance affects me on it’s own before I make any other changes, if any. I think it’s nearly impossible to make sound decisions with too many variables at play at a time. At this point I do not plan to add HCG.
I’ve had my follow up consultation a couple of days ago. We talked about how I feel etc which is mildly better compared to pre TRT and my wish to increase my levels slightly since I think there is a lot more room for improvement. Particularly drive, mood and hopefully some level of positives in the muscle building department. Libido and erection quality are already better. Surprisingly, my request was immediately shut down with the response that I am already very well dialed in and that any increase would only bring my E2 out off whack which will cause me to need an AI etc. Apparently, my lab work looks good which it does not entirely, IMHO. Lipids are off (prednisone?), HCT is off. Creatinine is also off (1.34) but that’s my typical result when I had been lifting and supplementing with creatine so I’m not concerned about that. I honestly think it’s highly unlikely that one is all dialed in after only 3 months in, particularly with a low SHBG.
I currently have very few side effects. Other than some testicular atrophy due to me passing on HCG which resulted in some I initial discomfort in my testicles and interestingly aches in and around my hernia repair sites, a couple of small pimples on my upper back and upper arms on some days, there’s really nothing else too bothersome. Ok, the lightning fast water retention was a little worrying but it seems to go down now. It had added nearly 2” to my waist within 3 weeks as well as in my entire upper body. I’ve been too long in the weight lifting game to not recognize that the quickly added mass some people even commented on was nothing but water. Zilch increase in strength though.
When I say upping the levels I don’t mean to crazy high levels, the justification of which seems to be frequently debated here. I’d like to shoot for TT around 850, which should give me around FT 32 ng/dL according to truT. I’d guess this is likely going to up my E2 to maybe around 30-40 pg/ml. Now, while the NP was clear about not wanting to up the dose they were fine with me increasing frequency, no matter whether EOD or ED but they were probably not fully aware that a drastic change in frequency without adjusting the dose might cause more disruption than just adjusting my bi weekly protocol from 140mg to say 150mg. Found that a little odd. Also, the consultation felt somewhat rushed, much unlike the initial consultation and I did not feel I had much say in my treatment plan which bothered me a little.
Here my questions for you guys.
Appreciate your time.
I’d love to get some input on this. I’ve started TRT 3 months ago.
43, fairly healthy, lifting 4 times a week.
Baseline:
BP 120/72
TT 275 (264-916)
FT 12.5 (6.8-21.5)
E2, SENSITIVE 10.6 (8-35)
SHBG 25.7 (16.5-55.9)
HCT 45.1 (37.5-51)
TRIGLYCERIDES 117 (0-149)
HDL 35 (39- ?)
LDL 116 (0-99)
Yup, low SBHG, of course. After hours of reading posts in this forum I came to the conclusion that this is a not such an uncommon situation at all and that it seems to affect more people than one would think. It could also just be a search bias on my behalf so I’m not entirely sure.
Anyway, 3 months in:
BP 123/71
TT 622 (264-916)
FT 25.1 (6.8-21.5)
E2, SENSITIVE 24.4 (8-35)
SHBG 15.4 (16.5-55.9)
HCT 51.7 (37.5-51)
TRIGLYCERIDES 175 (0-149)
HDL 37 (39- ?)
LDL 117 (0-99)
Protocol: 140mg TC/week, 70mg E3D. That‘s it. It‘s a prudent approach since I want to know how each substance affects me on it’s own before I make any other changes, if any. I think it’s nearly impossible to make sound decisions with too many variables at play at a time. At this point I do not plan to add HCG.
I’ve had my follow up consultation a couple of days ago. We talked about how I feel etc which is mildly better compared to pre TRT and my wish to increase my levels slightly since I think there is a lot more room for improvement. Particularly drive, mood and hopefully some level of positives in the muscle building department. Libido and erection quality are already better. Surprisingly, my request was immediately shut down with the response that I am already very well dialed in and that any increase would only bring my E2 out off whack which will cause me to need an AI etc. Apparently, my lab work looks good which it does not entirely, IMHO. Lipids are off (prednisone?), HCT is off. Creatinine is also off (1.34) but that’s my typical result when I had been lifting and supplementing with creatine so I’m not concerned about that. I honestly think it’s highly unlikely that one is all dialed in after only 3 months in, particularly with a low SHBG.
I currently have very few side effects. Other than some testicular atrophy due to me passing on HCG which resulted in some I initial discomfort in my testicles and interestingly aches in and around my hernia repair sites, a couple of small pimples on my upper back and upper arms on some days, there’s really nothing else too bothersome. Ok, the lightning fast water retention was a little worrying but it seems to go down now. It had added nearly 2” to my waist within 3 weeks as well as in my entire upper body. I’ve been too long in the weight lifting game to not recognize that the quickly added mass some people even commented on was nothing but water. Zilch increase in strength though.
When I say upping the levels I don’t mean to crazy high levels, the justification of which seems to be frequently debated here. I’d like to shoot for TT around 850, which should give me around FT 32 ng/dL according to truT. I’d guess this is likely going to up my E2 to maybe around 30-40 pg/ml. Now, while the NP was clear about not wanting to up the dose they were fine with me increasing frequency, no matter whether EOD or ED but they were probably not fully aware that a drastic change in frequency without adjusting the dose might cause more disruption than just adjusting my bi weekly protocol from 140mg to say 150mg. Found that a little odd. Also, the consultation felt somewhat rushed, much unlike the initial consultation and I did not feel I had much say in my treatment plan which bothered me a little.
Here my questions for you guys.
- Do you think switching to EOD 40mg and, if necessary, reducing the dose AFTER 6+ is a good idea? I feel changing both frequency AND dose at once might give me a bumpier ride.
- Or should I go right into ED 20mg instead?
- Or should I not change anything at all and just wait and hope the levels creep up a little by themselves? Does that ever happen?
- I’m experiencing very strange strength fluctuations in the gym. My overall strength hasn’t changed a bit compared to pre TRT but every few days I’m having some steep 10-20% drops in strength without apparent reason. There is no clear pattern to it, as it can happen on the first, second or third day after injection or not at all for a week or so. Same diet, same sleep etc. Its the type of drop I would only ever experience pre TRT when I was about to come down with a bad cold or flu or something. I was really hoping for more positive changes in the gym but yeah, strength remains untouched.
- It’s obvious that my HCT and triglycerides ore off but I suspect that might have something to do with prednisone. I was at the tail end of 6 days taper when the blood was drawn. It was the second last day so at 10mg which I took after the draw.
- Should I better book my next appointment within the next 6 months with a doctor instead, as in, do you think there is more cooperation to be had?
Appreciate your time.
