Got it! I will try that. Thanks alot for all your input!No, that's not a clear case of high e2. Although low libido can be caused both by E2 being too high or too low. You didn't mention irritability which is another symptom of high e2. Like I said in my previous post. Drop the AI and drop your T dose and see how you do.
I'm just commenting after listening to a webinar on YouTube by Dr. Neil Rouzier. He doesn't try, he says, to control E2. A question was asked; If a patient isn't responding to a given dose of testosterone(and he prescribes compounded cream) what does he do? He said raise the dose. The follow up was asking if that doesn't work and he said he'd raise the dose, again, citing clinical abstracts that state that there is no upper limit for testosterone(That was my interpretation of what he stated). The pharmacokinetics of injectables and topical cream applied to the scrotum, being different, I don't know how one applies what he states to injectable testosterone.Also wondering, there are a lot of drs out there that say don’t worry about E2. Don’t even check it because it doesn’t matter. And never use an AI. Can anyone tell me what their approach would be then for someone that has a T level of 1000 but has no libido?
What is your Free T level on the 60mg to 70mg per week protocol? Are you using T Cyp? Do you inject subq? What size needle do you use? Does the HCG affect your Free T level? What is your HCG protocol? What is your SHBG level? Sorry for all the questions. Im still trying to get dialed in after many years. Thanks!Hmm... no one talks about SHBG and free T much, but I believe that is one of the major issues with long term TRT users... I started TRT with my total T in the 500s but my free T was really really low... I felt miserable. I have no idea why my SHBG was so high...
I started TRT and oh boy, did I ever get a honeymoon... I felt like a stallion, started at 120mg/w divided in two doses... It was heaven.... until... it wasn't anymore... so I started to chase that dragon again... I wanted to feel like in my first 6 to 8 months... so I upped the dose, and upped the dose to no avail... lol I ran superphysiological for so long... never feeling good until anxiety set in...
This group was a god send to me... eventually I figured out I needed to lower my dose, seriously lowering... At first I got my total T in range, 700s ~ 800s .... but my free T was still superphysiological... Hmm, Did my SHBG and it turned out low! Phenomena that is quite common amongst long time T users... especially if they ran hot for a long time... funny how the body works...
So I stopped worrying about my total T and focussed on my Free T ... to get that in a physiological range... which brings me to Total T in the 500s ... which I always thought was low but man, libido and erections were waiting for me in that range all this time... lol
I am now injecting every other day, and cruising between 60 and 70 mg per week depending if I am cycling HCG or not... and I can finally start to say I feel dialed in... (I am 66 and in decent shape)...
Also, I don't care much about estrogen, I see this as a bonus of trt as estrogen is protective of so many thing and if your T is in a good place, E will follow quite naturally... to lower E you are better with more frequent injections than with an AI... AIs are poisons...
Hope this helps
You want to find the weekly dose that doesn't require AI. For most people this will be between 100-140mg every 7 days; even 140 is probably pushing it for most people. I finally got dialed in at 130mg every 7 days. This put me at about 535 trough, if I remember correctly and estradiol at low 30s.Brief history. Been on trt for 7 years and have never felt what I would consider dialed in. Up until a year ago I did it myself but joined a clinic to better manage. I had to get off for about 3 weeks before getting labs at clinic. First labs with no trt was T 45 E 11. Started me on 100mg per week. Labs came back trough 425 E33. Actually had some libido at this level. The clinic wanted to get me to 8-900 so I was excited that I was going to get better n better. They increased me to 150 per week with 0.5 AI once a week. Labs 485 17. Started not feeling quite as well. Bumped up to 170 mg and 0.25 AI. Labs 889 and E 54. Not much libido. Started split dose 90 and 90 and 0.25 AI with each injection. Labs 1050 E2 26. Not much libido. Had about a 2 week period of grear mental clarity. Decreased me to 90 and 80. Labs 1040 E 38. Still not much libido. Now I’m doing 80 and 80 with Ai each injection. My question is, can my T level be too high for me even if my E2 is kept in range? I also feel like they may have messed up when they increased me to 150 because my T level didn’t jump up much at all but then doubled when they increased from 150 to 170. Should I try a much lower dose?
Congratulations! How long(weeks/months) once you brought down your dose, did libido and erectile function improve?Hmm... no one talks about SHBG and free T much, but I believe that is one of the major issues with long term TRT users... I started TRT with my total T in the 500s but my free T was really really low... I felt miserable. I have no idea why my SHBG was so high...
I started TRT and oh boy, did I ever get a honeymoon... I felt like a stallion, started at 120mg/w divided in two doses... It was heaven.... until... it wasn't anymore... so I started to chase that dragon again... I wanted to feel like in my first 6 to 8 months... so I upped the dose, and upped the dose to no avail... lol I ran superphysiological for so long... never feeling good until anxiety set in...
This group was a god send to me... eventually I figured out I needed to lower my dose, seriously lowering... At first I got my total T in range, 700s ~ 800s .... but my free T was still superphysiological... Hmm, Did my SHBG and it turned out low! Phenomena that is quite common amongst long time T users... especially if they ran hot for a long time... funny how the body works...
So I stopped worrying about my total T and focussed on my Free T ... to get that in a physiological range... which brings me to Total T in the 500s ... which I always thought was low but man, libido and erections were waiting for me in that range all this time... lol
I am now injecting every other day, and cruising between 60 and 70 mg per week depending if I am cycling HCG or not... and I can finally start to say I feel dialed in... (I am 66 and in decent shape)...
Also, I don't care much about estrogen, I see this as a bonus of trt as estrogen is protective of so many thing and if your T is in a good place, E will follow quite naturally... to lower E you are better with more frequent injections than with an AI... AIs are poisons...
Hope this helps
Any change I make I assess at 6 weeks, it takes that long to see real change... but aiming for a healthy physiological T level (including free/bio available T) is key. We all chase the superman feeling by going high but it is exhausting to some.... I for one get real anxious on higher doses... not good for my mental health that's for sure... feel much better and sure footed on a physiological dose.Congratulations! How long(weeks/months) once you brought down your dose, did libido and erectile function improve?
I've been all over the place with dosing for years and now just tired of TRT. Living with untreatable bipolar, mostly depression and caring for my wife. For the foreseeable future, nothing hopeful to look forward to. I've hoped that testosterone would bust the depression, especially high dosing. I've chatted with guys on Reddit who have depression and combat veterans with PTSD. For those men, it made a significant difference. My urologist is absolutely supportive, as is my psychiatrist. My brain and endocrine system haven't gotten the message. Oh well...