T Nation

14 Weeks on TRT, First Bloodwork. Thoughts? Report Attached

T Replacement
#1

Hi,

I’m 41, Male, 5’5", Obese but heavy muscular built (225 lbs). Fat mostly on belly.

I tested my Free Testosterone 5 months back and it was

1.89 pg/ml or 0.189 Ng/dl.

I have been injecting 200mg T Enanthate per week, pinning EOD for almost 14 weeks now.

First few weeks were great then it started sorta going down hill. Gained muscles and strength, libido and erections are good, have morning wood after so many years, but last month or so don’t feel too good as in the first month. Sometimes anxiety kicks in and breathing feels as if heart is under load, and other times I feel completely fine and full of power energy. This change in feelings can happen quite quickly without any apparent reason, it’s different from mood swings.

So got my first Blood work done after 14 weeks on TRT and here it is, very high total T and low free T

Total T = 2800 ng/dl or ( 27.9 ng/ml )

Free T = 1.79 ng/dl or ( 17.9 pg/ml )

SHBG = 1041 ng/dl or ( 36.12 nmol/l )

CBC report also attached

What should be my next move? Should I reduce the dose or should I simply stop the TRT completely for now? or what? Please advise.

My EOD dose is 54 mg (0.3ml)

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#2

This is an error. Your calculated FT is 87ng/dL

#3

This is a botched blood test, test it again. I will say your protocol is pretty aggressive and too much T for an EOD protocol if the goal is high normal levels.

If you had ask about a good starting protocol, I would have been 50mg 2x weekly which typically gets most men slightly above midrange or higher in my experience with outliers needing more or less.

Don’t stop the TRT, just lower the dosage and therefore no need for androgen deprivation therapy.

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#4

I don’t understand, I used an online converter, how did you get 87?

#5

Actually I feel more stable with EOD than twice a week protocol, so I was thinking to lower it down to 2ml (36mg) EOD from current 3ml (54mg), that’ll bring it down to 540mg/month from the previous 810mg/month, or 135mg/week from 200mg/week. Or is it still too much?
What should be my new monthly total?

Actually it’s easier for me to calculate or move up and down in full ml rather than mg.

#6

Google free testosterone calculator. Plug in TT and SHBG

Also, with such a high TT and mid-range SHBG there is no possible way your FT could be low

#7

Yeah but it needs Albumin value to calculate, and 87 FT is assuming my Albumin is 4.3, right? As that’s sweet as default on both the apps I checked.
Damn, so now I need to test for Albumin too?

#8

I’d be very, very surprised if this was not close to 4.3

Edit: my last two lab tests it was 4.6 and 4.7, for reference

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#9

Okay, btw if my FT is 87, is that fine? What is a good level?

P.S. why do I get very little replies/response from the members here? What am I doing wrong?

#10

Did they test your Estradiol level?

#11

You’re on cycle then that’s pretty good

Edit: this is TRT section lol. Whoops, you might wanna dial it back a bit for longevity sake

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#12

No. Actually I’ve been asking here for over a month now about what tests i should take and there wasn’t too much help, the help I did get didn’t tell me to get estradiol checked as yet.

#13

Too high for long term IMO. 1500 ng/dL would be the highest I would consider for long term.

#14

Yes, that’s why since last week I have brought it down to 135mg/week from 200mg/week, or from 800mg/month to 540mg/month, and I’m already feeling a little better and lighter. It feels like there’s a lot less load on my heart, don’t know what that’s about though but I’m glad I brought it down.

Let’s see after six weeks or so if that much reduction was enough or it needs further adjustment.

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#15

At cycle levels, there is bloating, which increases BP, heart rate, ect.

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#16

Oh, didn’t know that. Didn’t even know that 200mg/week was a cycling level dose. I hope 135mg does the trick. Thanks

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#17

What is TRT for one guy might be a cycle for another. On 200 mg/wk (was on that before), my levels were 1223 ng/dL. That is borderline IMO. At 2800 ng/dL, that is cycle level.

If you were to do 500 mg/wk, I bet you would get crazy gains. Because your body gets to high blood testosterone levels (what matters for muscle building) with a low dose. I might have to take double what you take to get the same blood levels. At the same time, if I take double to get the same blood levels, the gains and risk would be equal on average. It just would cost less for you.

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#18

Also, interestingly enough, Stamina is also better and I’m losing weight too, have lost almost 5 pounds in a week. Haven’t done anything different apart from lowering T. Where as perviously I was gaining weight, fat and muscles both. I do hope that I will still be able to pack on some muscles at this lowered down dose. Thought I should share.

#19

You probably just dropped water weight (maybe a bit of fat). When you lowered the dose, your E2 went down, and when that happens you drop the water.

On this current blast, I gained 10 lbs in week one. It isn’t really muscle or fat, just water.

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#20

Dude that’s some awesome helpful info, thank you so much.

I’m curious, I wasn’t feeling good on 200 with all the palpitations and stuff, how does one handle being on high cycles like 500/week? How does that work? Do people always feel awful while on cycles?

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