Background:
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Began TRT in 2008 at 28 years old. Symptoms were brain fogginess, low energy, terrible sleep, ED, and no zest for life. Doctor ordered multiple testosterone tests and my numbers usually came back between the 200 - 300 range.
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Tried a clomid restart and failed, had an MRI of the pituitary, and had a full range of blood tests for thyroids and everything else. Everything came back within normal range other than Test, LH, and FSH. They were all low.
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My endo started me on a HCG only regiment. While on the HCG only my body responded great to a very low dose of HCG (only 180 IU) and this brought my TT up to the mid 500 range. Coming from where I started (200-250 range) it made a world of difference.
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Continued on the HCG only (180 IU) regiment for almost 2 full years before all my original symptoms returned (brain fogginess, zero energy, low libido, ED, etc). Got more blood tests done (got lazy with testing regularly since labs always came back fine for the previous 1.5 years) and my TT was back down to pre-HCG totals of 226. Tried doubling the HCG dose to 360 IU to see if more would help and all that did was raise my Estradiol while having little-to-no effect on my T (that went up to 306).
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After all the above we began T-cyp shots (100mg weekly) with 250 IU shots of HCG on the 5th and 6th days of the week.
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Age 31
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Weight 215 (16% bodyfat)
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Waist 34
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Carry fat very evenly (lucky), but if I had to pick I’d say love handles and butt.
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No other medication issues or allergies.
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No statin drugs
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No other drugs. Just caffeine-having pre workout supplements that I’ve been taking for years with no problems, multivitamins, and fish oil.
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BP has always been fine
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I lift weights 5 days per week and normally do 3-4 cardio sessions per week. Most times cardio is post weights but sometimes I will do it on its own day.
These labs were taken two days after my 3rd T-cyp shot of 100mg:
TT - 806 (241 - 827)
Estradiol - 54 (< 54)
Free T - 205.2 (35 - 155)
SHBG - 17 (8 - 48)
Pregnenolone - 10 (13 - 208)
Pregnenolone is a precursor to pretty much all hormones and it was low prior to starting T-cyp. We wanted to do 3 weeks of shots and have it rechecked before deciding if we were going to begin supplementing it. I am going to begin taking exogenus Pregnenlone as of today.
I feel great compared to before. All symptoms have improved and I’m waking up with morning wood a few times per week. I haven’t had that happen in 13 years or so.
Should I be worried about Estradiol of 54 since that is the exact high-point of normal? And is it strange that my Free T is so high off the chart since my SHBG and E2 are within range?
Sorry for the length of this post but hoping a few of you can offer your opinions. Thanks in advance.