Hello, new here but I’ll see if I can follow procedure here. Some history and stats:
I am 36, no history of AAS use.
-5’8" 205lbs currently, was up to 225lbs highest weight, down to 182lbs 2 years ago at my lowest
-Lots of body hair and facial hair, getting some random gray hairs all over
-I carry all my fat in my midsection and pecs, otherwise fairly muscular but not defined at all.
-If I let my gut just hang out it looks like I am 7 months pregnant. Have to suck it in conciously.
-Had a horrible diet for a long time, no fruits or veggies at all. Mostly fast food and sodas.
-I should be a 300lb fatty but I guess I have decent genetics and my job is very physically demanding
-On a busy work day plus the gym my Fitbit tracks over 20,000 steps plus up to 4700 calories burned
-Have been working rotating 12hr day/night shifts for four years, circadian rhythm nonexistent.
I had been feeling lethargic, grumpy, and weak libido with some ED for awhile. Doctor put me on fluoxetine (Prozac) at the same time I gave up sodas and did a Keto diet. Lost a lot of weight in three months, from 215lbs down to 182lbs and I felt great with noticeably improved libido. Fell off my diet, medicine quit working and I put all my weight back on plus another 10lbs. Weaned myself off fluoxetine.
Fast forward a year and I listen to the Joe Rogan Podcast where he had Dr. Mark Gordon and a vet with PTSD and they discuss hormone replacement as a simpler and superior treatment for issues that sounded like me VS pharmaceuticals like SSRI’s etc…
Have my Testosterone checked and my level was in the 140’s. Had to fight with my doctor and the insurance company to approve a topical testosterone like Axiron which is what my doctor recommended. Told me I shouldn’t do injections. By the time it gets approved I get a call saying my doctor is leaving the office to work somewhere else and there is no one else that can see me anymore. Awesome
Find a new doctor who gets me approved for Androderm patches. What a joke! After three months my level only rose to 170. I then switch to injections and they only write the prescription for 50mg every two weeks. I divide that ridiculous baby dose into twice weekly sub q injections after doing research here. Three months later and my level went from 170 DOWN to 162.
At this point I’m getting fed up. I had asked for my E2 to be checked and it wasn’t done. I asked about adding HCG to prevent testicular atrophy and I was told I could be referred to an endocrinologist for that while still seeing them for the testosterone. Now I’ve had it and after some searching I found another doctor, my third so far.
He is awesome!!! He puts me on 200mg test enanthate/week, 1500iu HCG/week and arimidex as needed. Diet is currently mostly keto and I’m in the gym doing mild cardio and lifting heavy 4-5 times a week. I feel much better, am losing belly fat and adding muscle which is nice.
Three months later these are my labs. He didn’t have time to go over all of it, mainly told me to improve my cholesterol with diet change. If anything looks off please tell me, I’m still learning here.
Total testosterone: H >1500
Free testosterone: H 49.21 (5.00-21.00)
SHBG: 19.4 (10.0-50.0)
Estradiol: 29.5 (11-44)
FSH: <0.7 (0.9-10.9)
Free T3: 3.1 (2.2-4.2)
Free T4: 1.2 (0.7-1.6)
HGH: <0.05 (0.02-1.23)
IGF-1: H 254.1 (83.0-239.0)
LH: L <0.40 (2.80-6.80)
RBC: H 6.46 (4.70-6.10)
HCT: H 55.6 (42.0-52.0) I just donated blood after the labs were taken
Cholesterol: H 232 (100-199)
HDL: L 35 (>40)
LDLCAL: H 173.20 (0.0-99.0)
Progesterone: 0.4 (0.1-0.6)
Vitamin D: 45.0 (30.0-100.0)
APOLIPO A1: 120 (95.0-186.0)
APO B: H 124.0 (52.0-109.0)
B12: 893 (200-1100)
Cortisol: 14.0 (4.0-22.0)
So my doctor is ok with me staying on the same dosage but I’m thinking I should lower it a tad, especially the HCG. I’m all ears for any advice. The estradiol test didn’t say if it was sensitive or not so I’m a little unsure if I should increase my arimidex a little. I was taking .25mg twice a week but bumped it up to .5mg twice a week a couple weeks before my blood was drawn. Probably not a good idea when dialing everything in. Obviously if I lower my doses I need to lower arimidex as well.
Also when I donated blood they did the one where they hooked me up to the machine that pulled blood out and then pumped a clear fluid back in. Is that the wrong donation to do if I’m trying to lower my hematocrit and RBC? For the next two days I was exhausted. I have done regular donations in the past and never felt any adverse effects but this one wiped me out.
Thanks and I’ll be surprised if people read this huge wall of text but I’m hoping it might help someone or I’ll learn even more from this great site. I’ve already learned a lot here and appreciate the community here for the knowledge and experience that is shared.