Why is my Estradiol levels off the charts?

[Deleted member 16042]

If you are concerned with long term side effects, start out with a minimum of 1/4mg after your injection.

Did you mean maximum?

When I took anastrozole, my E2 was not over 100, but I only needed a total dose of 0.25mg/week.

 

[kixx]

Saw the doctor yesterday and he wasn’t overly concerned. He wants me to stay with subq but inject eod. I’m going to check estradiol in 4 weeks. I did express that I really didn’t want to use an ai and he stated that he prefers not to prescribe unless symptoms warrant it. I really appreciate everyone’s input and advice. I’ll post an update when I get next bloodwork.

 

[FunkOdyssey]

Initial bloodwork showed test level at 206. I was prescribed .4ml every 3.5 days which I do subq. Anyhow my follow up bloodwork resulted in total test 559, free test 158, and Estradiol was 105. I have felt amazing and muscle growth has been great. I do feel like I am carry excessive water and the estrogen level makes that seem likely.

Saw the doctor yesterday and he wasn’t overly concerned. He wants me to stay with subq but inject eod. I’m going to check estradiol in 4 weeks. I did express that I really didn’t want to use an ai and he stated that he prefers not to prescribe unless symptoms warrant it.

To recap, you just started TRT with a reasonable protocol and you feel overall great but note that you have some water retention and are freaked out about a high E2 lab result. You're changing the protocol from twice weekly to EOD injections which would be expected to limit TRT-related side effects further.

What I want to impress upon you is that water retention when you first begin TRT is normal and does not continue at its initial level indefinitely. Even if you maintain the same exact numbers, including E2, some or most or all (depending on the individual) of the water will come off given time for adaptation to take place. As I read logs from AI users on other forums, I've observed the history of AI use in TRT is largely a history of impatient people that could not leave a good protocol alone for a few months to let things settle (this even includes prominent gurus and influencers).

If you're obese and taking cycle doses of test then maybe things never settle. Otherwise, with leaner folks on TRT doses, I'm with @RobRoy now. Give your body the months it needs to adapt, forget the E2 number. Checking E2 again in 4 weeks is probably a waste of money and risks triggering another premature protocol change.

 

[kixx]

To recap, you just started TRT with a reasonable protocol and you feel overall great but note that you have some water retention and are freaked out about a high E2 lab result. You're changing the protocol from twice weekly to EOD injections which would be expected to limit TRT-related side effects further.

What I want to impress upon you is that water retention when you first begin TRT is normal and does not continue at its initial level indefinitely. Even if you maintain the same exact numbers, including E2, some or most or all (depending on the individual) of the water will come off given time for adaptation to take place. As I read logs from AI users on other forums, I've observed the history of AI use in TRT is largely a history of impatient people that could not leave a good protocol alone for a few months to let things settle (this even includes prominent gurus and influencers).

If you're obese and taking cycle doses of test then maybe things never settle. Otherwise, with leaner folks on TRT doses, I'm with @RobRoy now. Give your body the months it needs to adapt, forget the E2 number. Checking E2 again in 4 weeks is probably a waste of money and risks triggering another premature protocol change.

So how long would you wait to test E2? My next scheduled bloodwork for the trt clinic is about six months. Just wait until then? That is what the doctor was planning. I was just going to do an early E2 test for my own curiosity. Thanks

 

[FunkOdyssey]

So how long would you wait to test E2? My next scheduled bloodwork for the trt clinic is about six months. Just wait until then? That is what the doctor was planning. I was just going to do an early E2 test for my own curiosity. Thanks

If you want to check on your free T and your E2 while you're at it, I would do that at 8 weeks, given the longer half-life of subcutaneous injections.

 

[Bmac]

Mine has been high 90’s and low 100’s several times the past 8 years. It normally runs in the 80’s on trt. I’m not sure what high symptoms are as I’ve never had any. I have crashed it twice on 1/4 mg x 2 /week of Anastrozole, and that won’t be happening again. I’m not taking ai ever again.
I also have always relied on the “oil based medicine goes in the muscle, and water based goes in the belly”

Would you be ok sharing your test dose and testosterone levels?

 

[Kazman]

Initial bloodwork showed test level at 206. I was prescribed .4ml every 3.5 days which I do subq. Anyhow my follow up bloodwork resulted in total test 559, free test 158, and Estradiol was 105. I have felt amazing and muscle growth has been great. I do feel like I am carry excessive water and the estrogen level makes that seem likely. I have an appointment with the trt clinic on 01/04/24 but the estradiol level has me freaked out. I search the internet and have not seen a number that high. Bloodwork was done at Quest. Should I stop injecting until I see the doctor?

Did you consume alcohol days prior or day before? I’ve had mine come back crazy high because of that.( I think)

 

[Deleted member 43589]

Did you mean maximum?

When I took anastrozole, my E2 was not over 100, but I only needed a total dose of 0.25mg/week.

Sorry, I did mean maximum. I have taken this stuff for 4 weeks now at .25mg/ injection. I am done and will do blood testing this week. My doctor wanted me to take 1mg the day before the injection and 1mg after. I told him that was not going to happen. A little of this stuff goes a long way and E2 is easy to crash.

 

[Daveleeander]

Would you be ok sharing your test dose and testosterone levels?

Right now my test dose is 120 mg/wk split into 3 shots. I’m currently also doing 60 mg of Nandrolone and 60 mg of Primo at same times (20 each day). When I was running 160 mg/wk of just cyp, my E2 was in the 90’s, and test level was 1200 pg/ml with free at 32. I didn’t feel any different at that level as I did when I’d take some Anastrozole just before bloods to keep my Dr. happy. I had anxiety issues and trouble sleeping, so after 6 months I backed it down to 140/wk. (test levels dropped to 1000 and 27. E2 dropped into the 70’s) and got rid of the anxiety. I dropped it a few months ago to 120 wk (test dropped to 800 pg/ml. E2 is in 60’s/70’s) trying to get some sensation back in my cock, and I just started stacking the cyp, nandrolone and primo 2 weeks ago. I’m going to run it for 3 or 4 months and see how I do. Might increase,decrease or leave it alone. I don’t know. I’m 68, have had some bumps along the way and have some aches and pains. Would like to see those go

 

[Daveleeander]

Right now my test dose is 120 mg/wk split into 3 shots. I’m currently also doing 60 mg of Nandrolone and 60 mg of Primo at same times (20 each day). When I was running 160 mg/wk of just cyp, my E2 was in the 90’s, and test level was 1200 pg/ml with free at 32. I didn’t feel any different at that level as I did when I’d take some Anastrozole just before bloods to keep my Dr. happy. I had anxiety issues and trouble sleeping, so after 6 months I backed it down to 140/wk. (test levels dropped to 1000 and 27. E2 dropped into the 70’s) and got rid of the anxiety. I dropped it a few months ago to 120 wk (test dropped to 800 pg/ml. E2 is in 60’s/70’s) trying to get some sensation back in my cock, and I just started stacking the cyp, nandrolone and primo 2 weeks ago. I’m going to run it for 3 or 4 months and see how I do. Might increase,decrease or leave it alone. I don’t know. I’m 68, have had some bumps along the way and have some aches and pains. Would like to see those go

Just got my bloods back after a month on the cyp/npp/primo stack. I injected Sunday afternoon and did bloods on Wednesday morning. Total T was 892 ng/dl (up from 764), free T was 21.5 pg/ml (up from 16.1), and E2 was 29.5 pg/ml (down from 39.6). I’m going to bump the npp and primo up by 15 mg/wk. I’m lifting hard 3-5 days a week, and I still have some soreness in my joints from Aurthor. I’d like to deaden that if I could. May have to cut the cyp back a notch or two if anxiety creeps in. I hope I’ve solved the continuing ED 5 min hard problem with an order of tri mix. If so, my wife is in for a ride. But since she’s got dialed in like an FM radio on her hormones, it may be me that gets ridden. Oh well, I could stand that too!

 

[Nelson Vergel]

This is the expected E2 and DHT that the body produces to balance different T levels:

How to Predict Estradiol and DHT at Different Testosterone Doses

I was able to come up with a table using the predictive model equation derived from data in this study: The Effects of Injected Testosterone Dose and Age on the Conversion of Testosterone to Estradiol and Dihydrotestosterone in Young and Older Men Summary This video discusses a research paper...

www.excelmale.com

Can anyone post here any data you can find about the effect of estradiol on water retention in men on TRT? I have found NONE.

Testosterone and any androgen (steroids, etc) decrease sodium excretion in the kidneys, which causes the body to retain water to dilute sodium.

Lowering TRT dose, decreasing sodium intake, increasing potassium intake, drinking water, sweating, and taking a mild diuretic as needed can help water retention.